AITA - Decorator Issues

kitkat9933

kitkat9933

kitkat9933

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We hired a decorator to do repaint most of the walls & ceiling in our house. In addition some woodwork that needed tidying up. We asked for it to be done in durable wipeable paint and it is is confirmed in text and in the invoice/quote. Cost was £4000 for all materials and two guys for 10 days.

Turns out it’s not durable or wipeable paint.

I feel like I AITA for asking them to redo it in what was asked but the the job they have done is good and most of the cost is labour. As it means they will have made no money on the job in a cost of living crisis. I can’t afford to get it redone either though. Most of the work was filling etc so I guess would be quicker to recoat.

AITA?
 
Bluecube said:
Decorators should’ve done it properly first time round. It’s their problem, not yours. Get them back to do it as agreed.
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100%

I did my WC in non-wipeable paint, and it looks a mess frankly (hand wash splatters etc). They'll need to bill their excess time to the "experience" charge code and move on.

However, do you really want all your walls to have a sheen to them? :S
 
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dLockers said:
100%

I did my WC in non-wipeable paint, and it looks a mess frankly (hand wash splatters etc). They'll need to bill their excess time to the "experience" charge code and move on.

However, do you really want all your walls to have a sheen to them? :S
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You can get Matt ones.

Newborn baby and young family life is easy wipeable is needed.
 
dLockers said:
100%

I did my WC in non-wipeable paint, and it looks a mess frankly (hand wash splatters etc). They'll need to bill their excess time to the "experience" charge code and move on.

However, do you really want all your walls to have a sheen to them? :S
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Found out when wife dried her hair and the water splats hit the wall on our new wall and stained.
 
Get them back, durable wipeable paint like Crown trade scrubable or Dulux trade diamond matt is a lot more expensive than regular matt paints. Possibly an oversight on there part or maybe they were trying to pull a fast one.
 
Cornubia said:
Get them back, durable wipeable paint like Crown trade scrubable or Dulux trade diamond matt is a lot more expensive than regular matt paints. Possibly an oversight on there part or maybe they were trying to pull a fast one.
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The finish he used says it’s wipeable but it definitely isn’t if it’s just getting water stains etc from a hairdryer.I

www.brewers.co.uk

Johnstones Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt Colour (Tinted) 5L

Johnstone's Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt is a high opacity emulsion for interior use on plaster surfaces. Ideal for walls and ceilings. Can be applied to coated plaster surfaces without thinning. On new plaster, thin the first coat with water to manufacturers recommendations. Easy to apply with...
www.brewers.co.uk www.brewers.co.uk

So the paint is crap I guess or someone pulling a fast one.

The previous paint we had, we could spill curry on the kitchen wall, miss it being spilt and wipe weeks later and it would come off no mark..
 
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kitkat9933 said:
The finish he used says it’s wipeable but it definitely isn’t if it’s just getting water stains etc from a hairdryer.I

www.brewers.co.uk

Johnstones Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt Colour (Tinted) 5L

Johnstone's Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt is a high opacity emulsion for interior use on plaster surfaces. Ideal for walls and ceilings. Can be applied to coated plaster surfaces without thinning. On new plaster, thin the first coat with water to manufacturers recommendations. Easy to apply with...
www.brewers.co.uk www.brewers.co.uk

So the paint is crap I guess or someone pulling a fast one.

The previous paint we had, we could spill curry on the kitchen wall, miss it being spilt and wipe weeks later and it would come off no mark..
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It does say "Ideal for walls and ceilings where it dries to a wipeable matt finish. " tbf.
 
Looks like poor product choice to me.

I've used Crown trade scrubable matt in my place and it's pretty resilient, I've wiped it down with a wet sponge on different occasions. Sometimes the dirty water can leave the odd mark but that can usually.be cleaned up.
 
I know this doesn't help you, but issues like this is why we try to get a tradesperson in to do a smaller job as a trial run before giving them a bigger job to do. This isn't always possible, but helped when we were deciding which plasterer to use.
 
Kohaashi said:
I know this doesn't help you, but issues like this is why we try to get a tradesperson in to do a smaller job as a trial run before giving them a bigger job to do. This isn't always possible, but helped when we were deciding which plasterer to use.
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When I’ve done that before, they always do a great small job before messing us around on a big job. These guys came highly rated from people we know and online so will see what they say.
 
kitkat9933 said:
The finish he used says it’s wipeable but it definitely isn’t if it’s just getting water stains etc from a hairdryer.I

www.brewers.co.uk

Johnstones Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt Colour (Tinted) 5L

Johnstone's Trade Covaplus Vinyl Matt is a high opacity emulsion for interior use on plaster surfaces. Ideal for walls and ceilings. Can be applied to coated plaster surfaces without thinning. On new plaster, thin the first coat with water to manufacturers recommendations. Easy to apply with...
www.brewers.co.uk www.brewers.co.uk

So the paint is crap I guess or someone pulling a fast one.

The previous paint we had, we could spill curry on the kitchen wall, miss it being spilt and wipe weeks later and it would come off no mark..
Click to expand...
Johnstone Cova Plus is fantastic paint and is often recommended as one of the better paints to use. When you wipe the paint with a damp cloth does any of the paint finish come off? If it does I'd suggest it isn't Cova Plus.
 
The Covaplus is decent vinyl paint and whilst wipeable it isn't durable or scrubable as per other paints in their range. Seems to me to be poor product selection. Cleanable matt or Endura super durable matt would appear to be more suitable products from the Johnstone's range.
 
How long did the job take ?

Why did you not check what paint they were using if it was what you wanted ?

A 1 minute conversation at the start of works about paint type would have clarified the situation.

Give them the opportunity to correct there mistake if they dont take them to small claims court
 
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mickyflinn said:
How long did the job take ?

Why did you not check what paint they were using if it was what you wanted ?

A 1 minute conversation at the start of works about paint type would have clarified the situation.

Give them the opportunity to correct there mistake if they dont take them to small claims court
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Took about 10 days.

I had confirmed in text and the invoice that it should be wipeable paint. I checked the day before on text as well. Just never checked in person as we were out of the house at the time mostly.
 
kitkat9933 said:
Took about 10 days.

I had confirmed in text and the invoice that it should be wipeable paint. I checked the day before on text as well. Just never checked in person as we were out of the house at the time mostly.
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Oh well it's done so give them the opportunity to fix it or small claims court it is.

Document with pictures/videos and dates .

Good luck.
 
Yikes, tough call seeing as the product is labelled wipeable. Just unfortunate if it's a poor quality wipeable.

That's why I usually specific the exact paint and/or either buy it myself.

At least if the exact spec is agreed beforehand then can only blame myself.

Also, for a £4k job I'd have definitely got some samples up on the walls and inspected and tested before okaying the whole job.
 
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