C*$p plastering jobs

[Victor8181]

I'm renovating my house and have been using some Polish builders who have done good work so far. I've given them two rooms to plaster - the guy's done these by plastering the walls to a pretty poor finish and is now using a sander to sand them all flat! His boss tells me they'll look good when they're painted and indeed they are very smooth, but what a bodge!

They've only used one layer of plaster and after the sanding I'm not sure it'll be terribly thick, but technically they are leaving me wiht a finish I could paint and that will look good.

I'm torn between only paying part of what we agreed and getting the work redone professionally or just accepting as it's now smooth and looks good and just painting in teh hope problems wont arise with it in the future. Is this likely to come back and haunt me?

[B17NNS]

So long as the finish is acceptable to you I would pay the full amount. How he got the finish is up to him.

Personally I always apply 2 coats of finish and don't as a rule carry sand paper on my van.

[D14 AYS]

I have see a few Pole's plaster(I use the word loosely)this way, the saying "If you pay peanuts you get Monkeys" springs to mind, it is wrong on every level.

[carter711]

D14 AYS said:

I have see a few Pole's plaster(I use the word loosely)this way, the saying "If you pay peanuts you get Monkeys" springs to mind, it is wrong on every level.

A bit like wking in a lift

[Gav147]

I would have another coat applied, as they have only applied one coat and then sanded it down it will be very thin which will leave it more susceptible to cracking and also it will show any joints/imperfections through once you paint it.

[D14 AYS]

carter711 said:

D14 AYS said:

I have see a few Pole's plaster(I use the word loosely)this way, the saying "If you pay peanuts you get Monkeys" springs to mind, it is wrong on every level.

A bit like wking in a lift

or farting in a lift

[Jasandjules]

Uh, if you try and put up a picture or something it'll shatter I'd have thought if it's on that thin.......

Might be worth asking them to put another coat on, plaster isn't exactly expensive..

[xllifts]

carter711 said:

A bit like wking in a lift

So your the fecker that's making a mess in my bloody lifts!!!!!!

[GG89]

A skim should always be 2 coats. People who one coat are knowin in the trade as rough bds and any plasterer worth their salt does not need sand paper to get a decent finish. We've went to sort plenty of jobs after Eastern European Plumber, Spark, Joiner, Plasterer (Multi-trader) have had a go.

[hman]

I recently needed to plaster a fireplace which I bricked up - local plasterers wanted £150ish minimum to plaster over a 0.5x0.7m wide drylining.

So I bought some patch plaster, trowled it on and then finished it with a orbital sander- result £15. and it looks perfect.

I also did the whole nursery room in the house this way and it looks perfect, even the plasterer who did the stairwell ( I know when I'm beaten) commented that you couldnt tell that it hadnt been plastered in the traditional way.

I would expect a paid plasterer to do any plastering the traditional way as thats what I'm paying for but the finish can be equal or even better by skimming and sanding ( although hooking the sander up to the dyson seemed to help keep the dust level right down).

In future I will be asking any plasterer what method they will be suing as I can do skim then sand myself if thats all they are going to do.

[jas xjr]

i am a bodger but have only worked on my own places. never had to resort to sanding down plaster. even my mum can plaster. in the early days i would get over rough plaster by using lining paper but got better with practice

[Solitude]

What was your motivation to employ them in the first place.???

Oh, hang on...they were the cheapest right ?

In my opinion you got what you payed for (or not, as you appear to have the "balls" to knock them!!)

Hope that doesn't backfire on you too !!