Apologies if it's not the right place to post it but I need some expert opinion please.
I am having a few things done on our house which is being fully refurbished. I needed a joiner for a new front door/frame, 5 inside doors to realign (were hung by me previously), door furniture for 6 doors, 3 window boards + 1 bay window board made of oak and skirting / architrave done in two rooms. I have had many quotes and contemplated for some time who to go with. At the end we went with the most expensive one on the basis of that he seemed the most professional and he seemed someone we can work with. We also waited two months for him to start which is fair enough since this was agreed. He only asked for deposit for materials and the rest is on completion. He has always appeared on time except once but then he called in advance so no complaints there.
I don't know if I'm expecting too much or I'm being unreasonable but I have expected more quality wise for the nearly 3k he's charging. Please just let me know if you think I'm expecting too much. I can post photos if needed.
The window boards look great. The actual real oak window boards are nice and smooth, waxed to perfection. I was extremely pleased when he first turned up with them up until he installed them. Almost all the sides of the boards are either rounded or just not at the right angle to the face of the board. It's hard to explain I expected nice crispy edges and got something looking like I carved it with a Swiss army knife. Some of them on the side look burnt. As in wrong blade have been used or when you cut something at a higher speed then you should. When I bodged something and used an angle grinder to cut wood.
The doors have been re hung I expected the hinges to be properly flush with the edges of the door but they are not. Yes he can blame my door frames which have been installed by me so can't complain much, all in all they look exactly they looked before I have paid £40 each to be re hung. To be fair two of them have been planed and the price included the installation of the door furniture which looks reasonable.
Today we had the front door installed. The main reason for the new front door as for insulation purposes. Around the old one you could see the sun shining meaning it was far from airtight. Also there is a small window on top of the door which we have asked him to order in double glazing to improve the insulation of the hall because we have been losing most of the heat there from the house. Now it's done I can see the same "silver lining" around the door. Again to be fair it is not all around but on one side all along, one corner at the bottom and also some places at the top. Where the hinges are it seems alright. He said the latch can be adjusted a bit but having some light coming in around the door is normal and nothing can be done about it especially around the corners. Is that true? What's the point of spending thousands on double glazing, roof/attic/floor/wall insulation if there is a hole around the door? Also the catch bit of the latch is already scratched. It was scratched before I had the chance to close the door once. He said it would have scratched eventually anyway. Is it reasonable of me to expect an unscratched latch on my new front door for which I am being charged £1250? At least for the first week and then let me make the first scratch for heaven's sake.
When I raised the issue with the window boards he said that any joiner would call it a professional job and that quite possibly I'm just trying to find faults so that I don't have to pay him. It is not the case. I have the money set aside for the last 4 months on a separate account and I am happy to pay the full amount but I expect a professional finish for it. I wanted a professional because I thought he can do a better job than I can faster. It would probably take me twice or three times longer to do the same but I am positive I could have done a job like this too. He blamed the walls which are not straight that is true, but I have not complained about the boards not following the wall. He can't do anything about it, it's not his fault(that's the plasterers fault but it's another story). He also said it should have been done before plasterboarding but he never said this when he had taken up the job.
Thank you for reading my first post any advise is much appreciated.
If you feel that I am being unreasonable don't hold back at least than I will know what to expect in the future from professional joiners and will not be disappointed or a pain in their backside. I want to be fair with people and want to be treated fairly too. I don't even know if I should trust him with the architraves or skirting after all this I have a feeling I will be disappointed with the outcome.
I am having a few things done on our house which is being fully refurbished. I needed a joiner for a new front door/frame, 5 inside doors to realign (were hung by me previously), door furniture for 6 doors, 3 window boards + 1 bay window board made of oak and skirting / architrave done in two rooms. I have had many quotes and contemplated for some time who to go with. At the end we went with the most expensive one on the basis of that he seemed the most professional and he seemed someone we can work with. We also waited two months for him to start which is fair enough since this was agreed. He only asked for deposit for materials and the rest is on completion. He has always appeared on time except once but then he called in advance so no complaints there.
I don't know if I'm expecting too much or I'm being unreasonable but I have expected more quality wise for the nearly 3k he's charging. Please just let me know if you think I'm expecting too much. I can post photos if needed.
The window boards look great. The actual real oak window boards are nice and smooth, waxed to perfection. I was extremely pleased when he first turned up with them up until he installed them. Almost all the sides of the boards are either rounded or just not at the right angle to the face of the board. It's hard to explain I expected nice crispy edges and got something looking like I carved it with a Swiss army knife. Some of them on the side look burnt. As in wrong blade have been used or when you cut something at a higher speed then you should. When I bodged something and used an angle grinder to cut wood.
The doors have been re hung I expected the hinges to be properly flush with the edges of the door but they are not. Yes he can blame my door frames which have been installed by me so can't complain much, all in all they look exactly they looked before I have paid £40 each to be re hung. To be fair two of them have been planed and the price included the installation of the door furniture which looks reasonable.
Today we had the front door installed. The main reason for the new front door as for insulation purposes. Around the old one you could see the sun shining meaning it was far from airtight. Also there is a small window on top of the door which we have asked him to order in double glazing to improve the insulation of the hall because we have been losing most of the heat there from the house. Now it's done I can see the same "silver lining" around the door. Again to be fair it is not all around but on one side all along, one corner at the bottom and also some places at the top. Where the hinges are it seems alright. He said the latch can be adjusted a bit but having some light coming in around the door is normal and nothing can be done about it especially around the corners. Is that true? What's the point of spending thousands on double glazing, roof/attic/floor/wall insulation if there is a hole around the door? Also the catch bit of the latch is already scratched. It was scratched before I had the chance to close the door once. He said it would have scratched eventually anyway. Is it reasonable of me to expect an unscratched latch on my new front door for which I am being charged £1250? At least for the first week and then let me make the first scratch for heaven's sake.
When I raised the issue with the window boards he said that any joiner would call it a professional job and that quite possibly I'm just trying to find faults so that I don't have to pay him. It is not the case. I have the money set aside for the last 4 months on a separate account and I am happy to pay the full amount but I expect a professional finish for it. I wanted a professional because I thought he can do a better job than I can faster. It would probably take me twice or three times longer to do the same but I am positive I could have done a job like this too. He blamed the walls which are not straight that is true, but I have not complained about the boards not following the wall. He can't do anything about it, it's not his fault(that's the plasterers fault but it's another story). He also said it should have been done before plasterboarding but he never said this when he had taken up the job.
Thank you for reading my first post any advise is much appreciated.
If you feel that I am being unreasonable don't hold back at least than I will know what to expect in the future from professional joiners and will not be disappointed or a pain in their backside. I want to be fair with people and want to be treated fairly too. I don't even know if I should trust him with the architraves or skirting after all this I have a feeling I will be disappointed with the outcome.
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