Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Nov 28, 2012 3:37 pm Hi I have a problem and i am looking for some feedback, just to see what other people think, or what you would do. We have just finished our OB in South East Melbourne and moved in a few weeks ago. So far we have been very happy with the result except for the paint job. The painter took 7 weeks to paint after telling us it would take 2, we almost had to kick him out a few days before we moved in. During the process we asked him several times if we could do a walk through to point out some spots we wernt happy with and he just kept saying wait until im finished. Now i don't want to come across as racist but he of Mediterranean descent and i do find him very hard to talk to but i tried very hard to express my point of view. In the weeks leading up to finishing we told him on several occasions that we needed him finished so we had time to get the mistakes fixed up. Some days he would only turn up for an hour then leave and just kept saying don't worry I'll be finished in time. We had deadlines to move out of our rental and we really couldn't wait to move in so we did 2 days after we told him to finish so we could get the carpets in the day before we moved in. Now that we have been in for a few weeks we are really strating to see what a bad job he has done. There are drips on walls, skirts and arcs that only have 1 coat, door frames that have been gap filled on 1 side but not the other, paint on the timber floor, paint on the door furniture, doors not sanded properly, the list goes on. We have short paid him about 4k and i know we have to give him a chance to fix it, but personally i dont want him to come back and fix anything. The paint he has used is crap and marks if you brush past a wall, the gloss paint he has used on the doors marks if you wipe your finger on it so we are already talking about repainting the whole house, not what we wanted to do 4 weeks after moving in. I asked him to come back to show him all the things we are unhappy with and told him i wanted to keep his money and he can just not come back again, but he wants to come and fix it. Problem is that we live there now and he has to work around us, and not get paint on anything. Should i just tell him to nick off and keep his money, or should i let him totally disrupt our lives for the next 6 weeks or so while he repaints almost the whole house ?? Hoping that he does actually do a better job that he has done so far, which is something i have serious doubts about. I really don't want him back and i am annoyed that we have paid him so much because if we owed him 10 k i would hold it all. What is the right thing to do ?? Thanks Brett Site Cut 17.02.12 Slab poured 29.03.12 Frame up 23.04.12 Roof on 10.05.12 Lock up 18.07.12 Moved in 26.10.12 252 days or 36 weeks to complete. Re: Bad paint job 2Nov 28, 2012 4:25 pm It really depends on how much time you want to spend on this. If he had insurance you could go down the legal track and sue him. Or lodge a complain with vcat.. Your other option is to send him a letter saying he did not do the job to your satisfaction and that you will not pay the balance of his fee as you will be getting the job re-done and tell him he has 14 days to respond in writing. If you get no response then go ahead and get someone else to do the job. Building Henley Monaco Nouveau Q1 - Mernda Villages https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=57810 http://razbuild.blogspot.com.au/ Re: Bad paint job 4Nov 29, 2012 8:48 am Believe it or nor but he came highly recommended ! We did want him to use Dulux paint but he insisted that he wanted to use Wattyl and well i guess we just accepted it because Wattyl does have a reasonably good name. I think he might have just used really cheap paint. Site Cut 17.02.12 Slab poured 29.03.12 Frame up 23.04.12 Roof on 10.05.12 Lock up 18.07.12 Moved in 26.10.12 252 days or 36 weeks to complete. Re: Bad paint job 5Nov 29, 2012 4:50 pm highly recommended by who? lol Did you get a written quote? Wattyl does have a good name, but they have cheaper trade type paint and their premium range (Wattyl ID) I've bought my own premium paint, Wattyl ID for walls and Haymes Ultra Premium for the ceiling & undercoat. All recommended by the store owner who sells Dulux, Wattyl etc. At the Ultra Premium end, he says there is little between them. The cost of the paint between the Standard and Ultra Premium is insignificant to the cost of the total paint job. I'll get the painter to just supply the labour. That way I can ensure the paint is of good quality. After your experience, I will ensure I have a look at the painters work while they are doing it. Re: Bad paint job 6Dec 06, 2012 3:32 pm Sack him straightaway, if you haven't already done so. That's the reason why i didnt let any painter come in and paint my house(which i owner built) Painted after work nights, weekends...etc You pay through the nose.... and when the job isnt to standards (bad luck). Vcat .....nothing will save you... so if you still owe him money keep it. Whats to say that he wont do a crappy job the second time around... and waste your time.. I had quotes ranging from $22,000 - $28,000 for a 36 sq house. high ceilings square set.... wood/framed glazed doors 135mm skirtings... Took me about 12 days. Never painted before. Job come out great better that what 70% of pro painters would finish it and it cost me 2200 to do. 1 coat sealer undercoat, and 2 coats dulux wash and wear to walls, flat to ceilings... special for kithcen bathrooms etc. ... Paint was the best dulux offers. Totally suprised myself with the job. come out mink.... Dont think you need a degree to roll a roller back and forth.... A couple of youtube videos and youre set.... That's $1600+ i was making (saving ) a day.... Thats serious dollars.... Should give up the office job and take up painting for a career... Tradies are way overpaid for skills you can aquire on youtube videos. Re: Bad paint job 7Dec 06, 2012 5:41 pm Hi Brett, I can certainly relate to your problem as I had the same problem with a tiler. I must ere on the side of caution here with you though, just in case you are not already aware. Was there a written contract involved when engaging your painter if not, the fact that you agreed to pay him for a service and he has provided a service at the set price does in fact constitute a contract be it verbal only. By law you will have to at least give him an opportunity to rectify his error in workmanship as he has already offered otherwise you may actually be in breach of this verbal contract/agreement and in turn give the tradesman leverage if this was to go to mediation/arbitration or small claims. If and when he does attempt to rectify his work you can then re-inspect the final product and then only if you are happy with the workmanship pay the man, however, if you are not happy with the workmanship and he still refuses to rectify the issue you then have grounds for not only engaging a new tradesman to rectify the issues but also have the tradesman (the one that stuffed up the job in the first place) pay for the cost of having the works rectified. This is fine in a perfect world but as e all are aware legal issues and dealing with state or governmental departments can take months. I dont claim to be an expert in contract law, I am however studying contract and building law for a Bach in Building Design after being injured after a 15 year military career. I can really just advise and let you know that yes you have indeed entered into a contract with your tadesman and if you decide not to let him into the property once he has already offered to rectify the problems you may well be in breach of that contract. Hope this helps. My wife and I are about to start our 5th build however this one is our own home. I hope you have worked this out if you haven't already and if not, I have many references here for either yourself and/or the painter that can assist in resolution. Good Luck Kind Regards Archie Regardless of wall hung toilet or floor pan toilet your feet will be right on drain, seems to me the waste should not be in that location given the design. Also are you… 6 7123 Last year I had a gas leak at my house. 3 days later, I have about 1 sqm of my exposed aggregate paving broken up. I am not sure how to go about getting it repaired… 0 10474 Thanks for much mate. I see that you do cabinets before flooring. For timber flooring, for most parts it's fine because it's got base plates, and for door jabs you can… 7 12531 |