Very Bad Sheetrock and Paint Job

ChristieW · 01-24-2007, 10:10 PM

I recently had contractors come in and finish a bonus room. Everything was going well until it came to the sheet rock and paint. It is awful!!!! I am not sure what has to be done to fix. After several arguments with him and many, many excuses why it look like a child got a hold of the room, he is back and I do not like what I see. But am not sure what should be done to repair it.

The walls have waves; it appears to be a bad mudding job. The corners are caked with some type of putty or more mud. There are holes near every receptacle and the molding has been taken down and pieced several times.

I need to know what steps should be done to repair this mess. I will do it myself if I have to. Any Suggestions????

majakdragon · 01-25-2007, 07:02 AM

Finishing a job that you paid for is never a good feeling. Have you suggested any compromises (money wise) to the contractor for you finishing the job? I am sure you can get all the help you need here for doing the work. Pictures would really be nice. Lots easier to explain how to repair something if it can be seen.

rjordan392 · 01-25-2007, 07:11 AM

If its not too late, withhold payment and find another contractor with referances. Ask him what needs to be done to repair it. If the first contractor is demanding final payment, tell him you expected craftmanship and did not get it. I would not pay him anything until repairs are made to your satisfaction.

ChristieW · 01-25-2007, 09:08 AM

It is too late. Like a dummy me and my fiance paid him already. (Lesson Learn!!!, the hard way of course) I asked him how he planned to fix it and all he says is that he will get it right. But at this point I do not trust him and would like to follow up behind him step by step. I do not want him making the problem worse. But I do not know the step by step that he should be taking.

Tmb9862 · 01-25-2007, 10:19 AM

No one here can say 100% what he should be doing without seeing it. It may be as simple as a sanding, it may need another wider coat put on, it may need to have the tape cut out of it and replaced, if he really used caulk on the corneres he may have to sit their and scrape it all out, it could be any combination of the above, or somthing not even mentioned.
Onto the holes around the outlets. Is it a hole in the wall or is the outlet opening simply too big? How big is the hole? Or how much to wide is the outlet opening? If it's too big for spackle he may need to patch it.
With the trim you're saying he used pieces instead of a straight run? How long is the room? Did he make the seams look decent?

Mikey · 01-25-2007, 11:08 AM

If the work is so bad and not worth the time to scrap, patch, sand. Consider doing some type of texture finish on the wall or foe finish, both will hide a world of mistakes.

**AtlanticWBConst.** · 01-25-2007, 08:27 PM

This job can be fixed, no matter how bad it is. I say this because over the years, we have had many a DIY Home Owner call us in to fix (Go over) the self attempted 'taping' and coating part of drywall. I have seen some really, really BAD jobs and thought: "I don't know if we can salvage this thing...."
But, when we were done, wow....I couldn't believe the difference.

The key is that: The guy you hired CANNOT fix it because, he obviously does not know how to fix it. If he did, it would not look the way it does. Taping is a specific trade talent. It is something that takes years to get right. The average carpenter's taping skills look NOTHING like an experienced taper's skill/work.

Sadly, you may end up having to take the hit on this one and call an experienced drywall taper to fix it properly. Wavy or whatever, an experienced taper can fix anything. We have and still are called in to fix some real ugly stuff.

If he can't fix this, which I know he can't:
Don't fret, make some calls around. One way to get a good deal is to tell them that you have other projects in the future planned and if they can help you out with this, then......(Hopefully you do, so you don't end up lying about that part)

PS - Suggestion: You could have the repair guy write up something about the workmanship. Then call the original guy and show him that you have something in writing that states the work was very poorly and improperly done and demand a refund of XXX amount of dollars. If he has a little integrity, maybe he will refund some...worth trying...

-My 2 cents-