Legal Action?

[NVS]

Good afternoon, firstly can I say that I'm a consumer and not a plasterer am am looking for some help and advice. I'm overseeing the sale of a bungalow on behalf of my inlaws who both sadly passed away last year. As part of the sale it was picked up on a homebuyers survey that there was a crack in the lounge ceiling that has an artex finish. I agreed to sort this and not knowing any plasterers in the area (Gloucester) I put the job out for quotes via 'my job quote' and received 3 replies: 1 quoted £300, another came in at £350, and the other wanted to come round and look at the job before quoting. I chose to meet the final plasterer at the property so he could assess the job, hopefully avoiding any nasty surprises when the job was complete. He came in at £785 and said that the others couldn't do the job for the money they were quoting, and said he would be using SBR to seal the ceiling before applying a bond and then 2 skims of plaster. Although it was a lot higher, I needed the job done quickly and felt confident he knew what he was talking about. 2 days later he called to say the job was done and sent me some pictures of the work, all looked fine so I paid his invoice. As the property was empty, no one entered until 13 days later when the house was sold and the new owners received their keys. To their horror when they entered they found the plaster had dropped and was all over the floor. The plasterer was contacted and without even going round to inspect said that there must have been a reaction to either the artex, or whatever the artex had been previously painted in. On this basis he said he was not responsible for whatever had caused the reaction and would not rectify it. After some heated words he said he must be given the opportunity to fix the work but would not skim it again as it would react and drop again, so said he would over board the ceiling and skim but would be chargeable as a new job, but is still adamant that he has no liability. I have attached a few pictures and would be interested to hear the opinion of you reputable plasterers out there as to what has caused this to happen and also what would be the best way to try and get a refund from him as the new owners don't really want him in their new home again. Thanks in advance

to all who can help.

 

[bobski]

He's f**k*d up the prep

He has to have another go,

And not use the sbr - prime with PVA or grit it.

Or board and skim.
Just buy him the boards, and get him to do the labour side which would be fair.


Not sure his quality is any good looking at pic 2.

But - you chose him.

 

[Spitandpolish]

Another go ?
Ffs !

 

[Monkey Boy]

Tidy up knock rest of plaster off, sweep up.
paint artex white
Bob’s your uncle Fanny’s your aunt

 

[The Hobo]

Tidy up knock rest of plaster off, sweep up.
paint artex white
Bob’s your uncle Fanny’s your aunt

A little snip a little slit and bobs your aunt. Just a thought lol

 

[NVS]

He's f**k*d up the prep

He has to have another go,

And not use the sbr - prime with PVA or grit it.

Or board and skim.
Just buy him the boards, and get him to do the labour side which would be fair.


Not sure his quality is any good looking at pic 2.

But - you chose him.

Thanks for your reply, your take on things as a plasterer is really helpful to me. Yes, you're right I did choose him, paying the most expensive quote isn't always the best idea!!! I've offered to supply the boards and asked him to fit and skim but he said as its not his fault I'd have to get someone else to fit them and he'd just do the skim work. Do you think he has used sbr at all, or just used the wrong product for the job? Just out of interest was £785 the right price for the job or did I pay too much? The room is just under 16m2. Thanks again.

 

[NVS]

Tidy up knock rest of plaster off, sweep up.
paint artex white
Bob’s your uncle Fanny’s your aunt

Thanks.......if only it were that simple. If it were my ceiling i'd be doing exactly what you said, but there was asbestos traces in the crack in the artex so for the property sale to go through we either had to remove and replace the ceiling or plaster over it. In your opinion what caused the plaster to drop?

 

[NVS]

Another go ?
Ffs !

I know!!! we're having a nightmare with him, in your opinion what has caused the plater to have fallen off?

 

[essexandy]

He has definitely f**k*d that up, nothing to do with unknown reactions with the Artex.
You will not find any mention of the use of SBR in conjunction with gypsum plaster on any official spec.
Personally I would have overboarded the ceiling and skimmed from the off.
Yes legally you have to give him the opportunity to rectify the work, but you don't have to pay any more money just because he now wants to change how he tackles the job.
As Bobski has already said, his finish does look a 'bit' suspect in those photos and I'm not confident you're going to get a satisfactory outcome.

 

[malc]

I would get rid of the plaster ceiling rose. Overboard the ceiling making sure that the plasterboard spans the crack on the ceiling and then skim the plasterboard. Forget about the payment to this other chancer dont chase good money after bad.

 

[hector]

oh dear,

take a lot of photos,
get an independent surveyor/plasterer, and a report from them,
sue him, take him to small claims court,

have a good clean/sweep up,
shower, change of clothes,
nice meal tonight,
bottle of wine or two,

and move on put it behind you and let the legal process take its course,

do not worry or dwell on it , its done, now it needs to be put right by a plasterer.

 

[NVS]

He has definitely f**k*d that up, nothing to do with unknown reactions with the Artex.
You will not find any mention of the use of SBR in conjunction with gypsum plaster on any official spec.
Personally I would have overboarded the ceiling and skimmed from the off.
Yes legally you have to give him the opportunity to rectify the work, but you don't have to pay any more money just because he now wants to change how he tackles the job.
As Bobski has already said, his finish does look a 'bit' suspect in those photos and I'm not confident you're going to get a satisfactory outcome.

Thanks very much for the reply and your advice. Do you think the plaster didn't stick because he didn't seal/bond it, or was the wrong product used?

 

[NVS]

I would get rid of the plaster ceiling rose. Overboard the ceiling making sure that the plasterboard spans the crack on the ceiling and then skim the plasterboard. Forget about the payment to this other chancer dont chase good money after bad.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Yes I think it needs to be overboarded and skimmed, shame he's not decent enough to own the mistake and put it right.

 

[NVS]

oh dear,

take a lot of photos,
get an independent surveyor/plasterer, and a report from them,
sue him, take him to small claims court,

have a good clean/sweep up,
shower, change of clothes,
nice meal tonight,
bottle of wine or two,

and move on put it behind you and let the legal process take its course,

do not worry or dwell on it , its done, now it needs to be put right by a plasterer.

Thanks very much for your reply. We have already done what you said, had a few bottles of wine, and will let the courts decide who is right. Just out of interest what do you think he did wrong? was it a reaction or has he not prepped the job properly?

 

[hector]

Thanks very much for your reply. We have already done what you said, had a few bottles of wine, and will let the courts decide who is right. Just out of interest what do you think he did wrong? was it a reaction or has he not prepped the job properly?

he was not a plasterer

 

[Monkey Boy]

Thanks.......if only it were that simple. If it were my ceiling i'd be doing exactly what you said, but there was asbestos traces in the crack in the artex so for the property sale to go through we either had to remove and replace the ceiling or plaster over it. In your opinion what caused the plaster to drop?

Zero mechanical key

 

[bobski]

Thanks for your reply, your take on things as a plasterer is really helpful to me. Yes, you're right I did choose him, paying the most expensive quote isn't always the best idea!!! I've offered to supply the boards and asked him to fit and skim but he said as its not his fault I'd have to get someone else to fit them and he'd just do the skim work. Do you think he has used sbr at all, or just used the wrong product for the job? Just out of interest was £785 the right price for the job or did I pay too much? The room is just under 16m2. Thanks again.

Not his fault?

The s**t is on the floor, so take that to him.


If I did a job and it was on the floor I'd be so f**k**g embarrassed I'd have it sorted before doing another day's work anywhere.

Regardless of what anybody says above.
Some are just clowns.

If he's a decent bloke he'd do this. New board or not.

You can't leave someones gaff like that, and feel ok about it. 785 reasons not to.

However he wants to tackle it. Whichever way, say you just want it right.

 

[Danny]

I have had a few ceilings fail like that... But after the first one happened I started giving customers a choice...

Bond and skim 1 price

Board and skim another price

If bond and skim failed they have to pay the board and skim as well...

Arse was covered and the customer knew the risks