Problems with a painter

maki

I got a painter in last week to give me a quote on doing some work around the house. He gave me a quote of €400, and said he'd start last Wednesday and be finished in 4 days (Saturday).

He didn't show up until Thursday, took Friday off, worked Saturday and Sunday, then took Monday off. I told him yesterday (Tuesday) that he needed to be finished by the end of the day, to which he said no problem, but an hour later he'd disappeared and wasn't answering his phone.

I had intended to have tenants in by the start of this week, but I can't because he's still not finished. He's costing me extra money at this stage.

Also, the quality of his work is questionable at best. I just noticed this morning that he hasn't sanded down any of the filler I put in to fill in holes in a few walls, so I now have rough lumps over some of them. There was also the remnants of a sticker on one of the doors that he simply painted over instead of cleaning it off first.

What can I do about this? I've already paid him half of his fee, and I certainly intend on pointing out all these things, but at the same time I don't want him staying here another extra day to fix them.

Nody

Did you actually agree that he was to sand it down etc. or did you agree that he was to paint the walls?

maki

Nody wrote: »

Did you actually agree that he was to sand it down etc. or did you agree that he was to paint the walls?

Initially paint the walls, but as I was showing him around the house I told him that I'd sand down the filler before he started, but he said he'd do it.

If it comes down to it, I can fix that myself.
The main issue is that he's (so far) taken 4 days longer than he was supposed to, which amounts to about €100 in lost potential rent.

foggy_lad

You have paid him half so has he done half the work yet? When he does just tell him to sod off that he is unreliable and his work is not good enough. He genuinely sounds like someone I know who used to look for part payment then went on the p1ss, he could start a job at 8am and work till 10.30am when he would take a break after getting paid some of the money, but might not come back from the break, he would only return to painting when he had to get more money for drink.

maki

foggy_lad wrote: »

You have paid him half so has he done half the work yet? When he does just tell him to sod off that he is unreliable and his work is not good enough. He genuinely sounds like someone I know who used to look for part payment then went on the p1ss, he could start a job at 8am and work till 10.30am when he would take a break after getting paid some of the money, but might not come back from the break, he would only return to painting when he had to get more money for drink.

Yeah that's pretty much him in a nutshell..

He's about 90% done at this stage. He'll definitely finish today, if he turns up.
So while he'll have technically done what I initially asked of him, he's taken forever to get it done, and I'm not exactly happy with some of the work.
As I said, I'm losing money as a result, so can I pay him less than agreed, since he's broken the agreement by taking double the time to get it done?

fussyonion

If he has half the work done, he's already been paid for half the work.
Tell him to get on his bike or else let him finish it and hold back €100 until you're satisfied with his work.

Regarding sanding down the walls, it is part of a painter's job to do that.....none of this ""Did you actually agree with him?"" business...that's what painters do!!!
This advice comes to you directly from a painter with over 45 years experience.

Bird22

First I would not pay anything in advance
Second 400 eur for painting what? Whole house ? V low price would be suspicious for me any invoice ?