Handyman and breakages

amtc

Just looking for advice...I got a handyman yesterday to do a few small jobs...curtain rails, light replacement, plane sticking door and seal around bath. Agreed a price beforehand of 60 euro which I paid by cheque. Anyway I had to go to work so left guy at home. Came home to find all done...but two quite expensive pictures smashed in hall. Just left there with glass everywhere. I'm raging. Phone turned off (he did mention he was going away). No note. I'm very tempted to cancel cheque, but he did do the work asked to do. Advice?

pilly

Could the pictures have just fallen when he closed the door?

Vicxas

pilly wrote: »

Could the pictures have just fallen when he closed the door?

This,

Its possible he closed the door (maybe a little too hard) and the pictures fell off.

Seems a little extreme that he'd leave the glass on the floor.

amtc

They've been there for twelve years...

locustfurnace

amtc wrote: »

They've been there for twelve years...

I had a hanging mirror which was up 2-3 years just appear on floor smashed to pieces the other week. Went out for day with the kids amd came home to find it there. No windows open, no doors slammed. No one else about. The fixing just gave way by the looks of it.

amtc

Pictures are...or were...on upstairs landing. They hardly leapt off the wall.

dudara

The problem is proving he did it. Unless you can do that, or he admits it, I don't see what you can do

AudreyHepburn

amtc wrote: »

They've been there for twelve years...

Perhaps the fixings were weakened from having been there such a long time?

I'm sorry but I just can't see any decent person leaving glass and broken pictures on the floor and not telling you what happened.

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pawrick

dilling in walls may have caused them to slip off due to the vibrations running up the wall?

njs030

A picture on my upstairs wall fell off a few days ago, it had been hanging there for 3+ years.
The mirror in my bedroom fell and smashed after 6+ years.
These things happen randomly!

Putting glass back in a frame isn't that expensive, he did the job you asked him to do so you have no right to cancel payment. You could ask him to pay for the damage but it's up to you to prove he did it which could be quite hard to do.

chuckles30

Would he definitely have seen them? Reason I ask is that I had someone doing a job upstairs - I was in the house - heard something fall/crash and went to make sure he was ok & he said there was no problem. Later that day, I went into the sitting room & a picture I had over the fireplace had fallen down. He was working in the room overhead, so obviously the vibrations caused it to fall down.

Atlantic Dawn

Will his insurance cover them?

atilladehun

Could have easily happened while he was drilling an didn't hear them over the noise.

tabby aspreme

What kind of fixings were used to hang the pictures , I wouldn't trust the hammer in hardwall hooks to support much , vibration from a hammer drill could loosen them

amtc

Drilling was at back of house. Nowhere near pictures. Anyway...just have to get new frames!

Del2005

amtc wrote: »

Drilling was at back of house. Nowhere near pictures. Anyway...just have to get new frames!

I live in an apartment and someone drilling 2 away from me set off my alarm by tripping the movement sensors. You'd be surprised how far vibrations travel, especially in solid materials.

ssmith6287

60 quid seems very cheep, was it legit or a guy doing a nixer. Not sure if you have rights when it comes to black market work

the_pen_turner

This real y shows that we need to have this sort of thing in our terms and conditions. Some kind of clause that put s the owness on the customer to make sure that all breakable items are properly secured or taken down.

In this case it was a chap frame that could be easily replaced. Some people could have pictures worth thousands on the wall or stuff that could get hit.

Berberis

the_pen_turner wrote: »

This real y shows that we need to have this sort of thing in our terms and conditions. Some kind of clause that put s the owness on the customer to make sure that all breakable items are properly secured or taken down.

In this case it was a chap frame that could be easily replaced. Some people could have pictures worth thousands on the wall or stuff that could get hit.

NUTLEY BOY

A few thoughts.

There would be no realistic right to cancel the cheque. There is a simple contract in place. The workman would be entitled to payment for the agreed price for work actually done - quantum meruit.

On a practical level, do you know if the workman had a step ladder with him upstairs ? If so, I bet that he unhooked or knocked the pictures when he was slinging the ladder off or on to his shoulder. Why do I think that? I did it myself at home - the picture in question hopped off the wall, somersaulted down the stairs whilst simultaneously cartwheeling from corner to corner, bounced off the bottom step and out the open hall door. Luckily for me the picture was framed superbly as it survived intact:)

A quick look at the wall fixing and the securing wire/string on the back of the pictures will tell you if there has been any self-evident failure there.

If your house insurance has accidental damage cover that might help with the cost of repair if they are exceptionally expensive. Otherwise, you could fix it yourself. Be sure to get the right glass as some picture frames use a glass that is not highly reflective.

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Will his insurance cover them?

I'd be shocked if handy man has insurance, surprised he took a cheque to be honest and didn't want cash.

amtc

Thanks all. Just to be clear these are two pictures on an upstairs landing miles away from any drilling (well not miles obviously!). There are 50 plus pictures in the two rooms were any drilling took place and they're all fine. I don't think the handyman was the cleanest as I've found random nails and screws on the kitchen floor where there was no work to be done... ... i have a tendency to walk around in bare feet ....plus the sealant tube from the bath was left open on my oak coffee table. Anyway I picked up a couple of cheap frames and rehung the pictures. So sorted.

On the cheque...he actually asked for it rather than cash. I don't know why and it took me a while to find my cheque book! It was cashed same day.

Fred Swanson

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pm1977x

amtc wrote: »

Thanks all. Just to be clear these are two pictures on an upstairs landing miles away from any drilling (well not miles obviously!). There are 50 plus pictures in the two rooms were any drilling took place and they're all fine. I don't think the handyman was the cleanest as I've found random nails and screws on the kitchen floor where there was no work to be done... ... i have a tendency to walk around in bare feet ....plus the sealant tube from the bath was left open on my oak coffee table. Anyway I picked up a couple of cheap frames and rehung the pictures. So sorted.

On the cheque...he actually asked for it rather than cash. I don't know why and it took me a while to find my cheque book! It was cashed same day.

On a side note, can I ask where you got the cheap frames - apart from IKEA they seem to be hard to find.

amtc

Woodies..I even got my dad to buy them on pensioners discount!

pm1977x

amtc wrote: »

Woodies..I even got my dad to buy them on pensioners discount!

Aha! Great, I forgot to try there, cheers!