[luapo]

The below picture is of a basement door that is below a framed drop box bulk head. As you can see from the picture there is an obvious issue. The right side starts out at 2" and the left side ends up at 1 3/4" and as you can see the box continues on its downward slope to 1 1/2".

I would like to get a few opinions on if you think this job would be acceptable? Or in other words would you accept this if this work was done for you in your house?

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

 

[12penny]

Did you put a level on it? Could be the door. The space between the trim and the corner on the right looks like it gets bigger as it goes down..

 

[luapo]

The door trim was supposed to be 2 inch across but they cut the door trim to fit under the non level bulk head. The door frame itself is level. Is this just bad workmanship.... something that should be redone or something that most of you would accept as being professional?

 

[12penny]

Sticks out like a sore thumb doesn't it.

I would ask them to fix it.

Who picked the trim package?

 

[Dorado]

Is that a photo or computer drawing or both?

 

[brockmiera]

Step back and take another picture. Why does that bulkhead fall off so badly on the left?

 

[luapo]

Sticks out like a sore thumb doesn't it.

I would ask them to fix it.

Who picked the trim package?

The builder picked the trim package. It is supposed to stick over the edge and looks good in the rest of the house but not so good when you jam it under an uneven framed box.

In your opinion this should be fixed and would not pass as professional grade under any circumstance?

 

[luapo]

Is that a photo or computer drawing or both?

Real life photo. It looks worse in person. The wife doesn't care... but every time I look at it bugs me.

 

[luapo]

Step back and take another picture. Why does that bulkhead fall off so badly on the left?

That is a good question. The bulkhead shouldn't do that but it does. In your opinion would this pass as a professional grade job? Attached below is another photo.

 

[brockmiera]

That is a good question. The bulkhead shouldn't do that but it does. In your opinion would this pass as a professional grade job? Attached below is another photo.

I'm not a professional so I don't know if this passes as professional grade. I know if it were my house there is no way in h - e - double hockey sticks that I would leave it like that. I'd drive myself crazy knowing it is there.

Since you paid for it make them come back and fix it like others have said. I'm sure there is a clause in your contract with them that will apply to this situation. If there isn't one I guess good for you.

 

[12penny]

Well...obviously someone made a mistake.
Talk to your contractor calmly, rationally
and see what he'll do to remedy the problem.

Easy peasy...keep attitude in check until you talk
with him.

 

[woodworkbykirk]

the door header has to be level for the door to operarte correctly, the finish carpenter who installed the trim did it correctly keeping it tight. the mistake was by who ever built the bulkhead thats whats causing the trim to have to be cut on a taper to keep the reveal on the jamb even then still hard up to the ceiling.

in order to fix it the trim will have to be removed and the bulkhead fixed. if this is an older home and the contractor was working on time restraints or a budget id let it go, sometimes this situation is best to have kept out of level as the existing ceiling may be so badly out of level that by making it level it will drop the bulkhead down so much that it makes the trim so small it will look worse that what was done, its a question of how far to go with certain things. small details that arent structural, mechanical or involve water proofing sometimes have to be let go in order to keep a job moving along. belive me when i say this ive run into so many situations like this its not even funny, on some jobs everything has to be deadly level and plumb which can add days to a project making old look new but that adds thousands of dollars onto a project both in labour and material, not everyone wants to be paying through their teeth. some can afford it and demand perfection others just want to keep the budget in check

as for the trim package. the reveal of the header where it hangs past the side casings is far too much.. on a detail such as this 1/4"- 1/2" is the most appealing look.. otherwise it doesnt look balanced

 

[brockmiera]

the door header has to be level for the door to operarte correctly, the finish carpenter who installed the trim did it correctly keeping it tight. the mistake was by who ever built the bulkhead thats whats causing the trim to have to be cut on a taper to keep the reveal on the jamb even then still hard up to the ceiling.

in order to fix it the trim will have to be removed and the bulkhead fixed. if this is an older home and the contractor was working on time restraints or a budget id let it go, sometimes this situation is best to have kept out of level as the existing ceiling may be so badly out of level that by making it level it will drop the bulkhead down so much that it makes the trim so small it will look worse that what was done, its a question of how far to go with certain things. small details that arent structural, mechanical or involve water proofing sometimes have to be let go in order to keep a job moving along. belive me when i say this ive run into so many situations like this its not even funny, on some jobs everything has to be deadly level and plumb which can add days to a project making old look new but that adds thousands of dollars onto a project both in labour and material, not everyone wants to be paying through their teeth. some can afford it and demand perfection others just want to keep the budget in check

as for the trim package. the reveal of the header where it hangs past the side casings is far too much.. on a detail such as this 1/4"- 1/2" is the most appealing look.. otherwise it doesn't look balanced

Again, I'm no contractor but I think if a contractor were going to make a decision to frame a bulkhead square vs. whatever was available based on time constraints and budget then they should have run it by the home owner who was paying the bill.

To me that framing is unacceptable.

 

[woodworkbykirk]

like is said its a smaller detail that sometimes has to be overlooked.. if its in a basement hallway it wont be noticed by everyone. just you.. if its on the main floor of the house in a high traffic area then yes the contractor should make sure its level..

its also possible that the contractor had his drywaller build the bulkhead for them out of steel track.. drywallers who do steel framing dont always go with level they go by measurement so what they put up is the same. the contractor may not have noticed it during that phase of the project. contractors that do smaller scale jobs dont like to micromanage their guys because it annoys the hell out of them and will leave the site if every little detail is picked apart. on high end jobs its more common to micromanage