acceptable paint stipple by professional?

[misterhelpful]

This Photo looks like Artex Stipple Finish to me !!!

I thought that at first but, as the OP says it's a re-skim, thought it must be the plaster, although it really does look like a lightly textured paint/Artex finish.
My assumption is that the paint was applied heavily with a medium pile roller and not rolled well enough before drying - I've seen it countless times from DIYer's and, sadly, a number of pros.

Back to the overall job:

I think 1½ days is pretty quick for a freshly skimmed room, even without knowing the full size and layout, which suggests no real prep was undertaken and some paint was just slapped on to cover everything. The blemishes spotted by opps are pretty common after skimming as plasterers can't always get a perfectly flat finish along skirtings/architraves/corners. This is where a good decorator will spend time filling and sanding to achieve the best possible finish. If you were happy with the plaster finish and didn't specify any filling, then I can understand why it wasn't addressed, but that doesn't seem to be your gripe. You are more concerned with the actual paint finish which, as stated by everyone here, can only be classed as poor, at the very best. It can be remedied with sanding and re-painting but, the question is, who bears the financial burden? A guy who has spent just a day and a half painting a room out isn't going to want to spend another day and a half rectifying things free of charge, even if he realises he has done a pretty bad job. you could come to a compromise, as suggested earlier, and ask for it to be re-finished to a higher standard at a lower price, but I think you will be 'politely' turned down.

IMO, you have got the finish that is expected with the time taken and the price. Would you have been happier to have paid double to get a much better quality finish, or were you happy with a timescale and price set out beforehand? Understandably, either way, you would have wanted a better finish, and that is where 'chalking it up to experience', like opps says, comes into play. At least next time you'll know that you don't get a quality job for such a low price in such a quick time.

Hopefully it gets sorted one way or another but, other than what has been said, I don't think much more can be offered.

Good luck.

 

[theogeorgio]

Thanks guys for your input. i can live with a bit some tiny spots etc.. my gripe now is that i paid so much money to get rid of teh artex and now im back to where i started!
as a client i think he should tell me what to expect.. what he would not do or what he should do to do a better job and advise me that it will take longer and ill have to pay more.. at least i can make the choice especially if im paying by the day..

just a reminder.. he told me he couldnt give me a fix price as he couldnt tell me how long it would take as its an old house and teh woodwork was repainted by someone else and needed sorting out..

by the way the other room he painted... it teh stipple is not that obvious?!

i think no matter if it took him a day or 3 days do you guys agree that the paint should not have an "artex" finish? and is not acceptable to be done by a pro?

 

[opps]

A pro should be able to price jobs like yours. It looks pretty straight forward. If whilst sanding the skirting the previous finish started to flake off, then it is reasonable that he charges you for the extra cost of having to scrape all of the paint off. He could not have foreseen such an event.

Pay tradesmen on a day rate if the job is full of unknowns AND you know that you can trust them. In all other cases, be clear about what you want and ask for a price. The decorator may well charge a little more (to cover minor unknowns) but you can withhold part of the payment in the event of things going pear shaped.

Again, regarding the quality of finish, you got what you paid for.There were degrees of fault on both sides. You may have been happy to pay more fore a better finish but your decorator either didn't realise that or is useless. I don't know either of you and don't want to malign either party.

 

[geraldthehamster]

The person who did that skirting isn't even a competent DIY-er, let alone a tradesman.

 

[sparkwright]

This Photo looks like Artex Stipple Finish to me !!!

This picture says it all.

Look at the dried out bubbles in it!

Obviously far too thick and not rolled out properly.

And if there was any doubt about the quality, the skirting board alone proves this is a very poor job.

I suspect the pic with the brush AND roller marks was an attempt to paint round something.

 

[theogeorgio]

This Photo looks like Artex Stipple Finish to me !!!

This picture says it all.

Look at the dried out bubbles in it!

Obviously far too thick and not rolled out properly.

And if there was any doubt about the quality, the skirting board alone proves this is a very poor job.

I suspect the pic with the brush AND roller marks was an attempt to paint round something.

He was painting around the socket in between the socket and skirting

 

[Bosswhite]

Thanks guys for your input. i can live with a bit some tiny spots etc.. my gripe now is that i paid so much money to get rid of teh artex and now im back to where i started!


So it was an Artex Finish that has not been skimmed with enough plaster, or was it skimmed with the DIY style Flat Finish that comes ready mixed in a tub ???

 

[misterhelpful]

It looks as if you've added some different pics to your OP since I read it, which has confirmed things. UNACCEPTABLE!

 

[theogeorgio]

Thanks guys for your input. i can live with a bit some tiny spots etc.. my gripe now is that i paid so much money to get rid of teh artex and now im back to where i started!


So it was an Artex Finish that has not been skimmed with enough plaster, or was it skimmed with the DIY style Flat Finish that comes ready mixed in a tub ???

it was skimmed by a professional with a very good finish.. the painter painted on a very flat surface

 

[theogeorgio]

Guys whats the best way to rectify this? Sanding it?

The guy tells me all rollers leave this type of roller marks and only way to get a flat finish is by brushing it?

 

[opps]

Guys whats the best way to rectify this? Sanding it?

The guy tells me all rollers leave this type of roller marks and only way to get a flat finish is by brushing it?

It will sand back quite easily. 240 grit should be fine.

Brushing leaves brush marks...

If you want a very, very, very flat finish- airless sprayer. Overkill in my opinion.

A roller with the right nap (thickness of fibre) will be acceptable to most rational people. if the paint is particularity thick, add some water or Floetrol.

Time to consider a different decorator...

 

[theogeorgio]

Guys whats the best way to rectify this? Sanding it?

Time to consider a different decorator...

Thanks.. i had to give him the chance to fix his work! if he cant fix it do i still have to pay him? he is now sanding the walls but it seems he wont be able to get any decent finish.

im planning to go get a roller and show him that it can be done by a roller...

 

[Chud]

Gripper rods are evil. Either rip them up and get new ones fitted later or put thin strips of carpet over them whilst you sand the upper parts of the skirting.

So evil in fact that the 'decorator' was obviously too scared to take a hoover anywhere near them before painting...hence why we have a nice collection of embedded crap in the paintwork that's been picked up from the floor.

I'd class myself as reasonably competent DIY'er when it comes to decorating and I'd be livid if I came home to find that mess in a newly plastered room. They certainly wouldn't get any money out of me (for time or materials) as I'd be thinking about how much it would cost to put it right, even to my standard which is probably a long way short of a proper professional.