Aibu to think I've been ripped off?

[Sick243]

I hired someone to put wallpaper in my living room.
£20 a roll..I measured 3 rolls but got 4 just incase.
He said I used 4 rolls but he has left lots of paper on each roll..why not use 1 roll then move to next?
I bought a wallpaper with no matching up.
Also he hasn't stuck a piece properly
Aibu ..what do you think?

I stupidly didn't investigate properly
You couldn't see the small bit till I got up quite close

Have you checked that the leftover pieces are indeed long enough to do a length on the wall. Remember they usually have some overlap top and bottom for trimming.

I also know of some decorators who do estimate based on the number of rolls rather than a half day rate or day rate because it may not take a half day, as in this case.

It looks fine from a distance. Are there any air bubbles?

It does seem odd to not use full rolls though. Have you unrolled them? There could be damage to the roll further down forcing him to use new rolls. If that's the case you could try returning to the shop on the basis if damage. If not you've got spare in case it peels off the wall.

Wallpapering isn't as hard as it looks, easier with two people but I've done it myself. Corners are the hardest but less of an issue if you're just doing a feature wall rather than a whole room.

OP...he's a Jack of all trades and a master of none.

Yeah I unrolled them all long and not damaged
No air bubbles now and the rest does look fine

Likely the left overs aren't long enough to do a full strip.
You can't match a strip it has to be a full one with no join.

It doesn't look bad, it'll tighten up a bit as it dries out so you may need to apply paste to some more edges yet.
Next time you hire someone, watch them. Loads of things are easier than they look you can often diy once you've seen it done.

What he has done - precisely because you paid him per roll - is left you with only offcuts, instead of leaving you with any unopened rolls you could have returned to the shop to recoup some of your money.

Ah well - lesson learned! I would definitely hire a proper decorator next time though, rather than a chancer jack of all trades.

You've been had. Do you have any proof he was a trained decorator? Find on him on Facebook should have been your first clue. The far away shot looks odd. Is the paper ever so slightly rippled or out of alignment?

It's deffo OK from afar but the light and ladder reflection is making it look slightly off

Deffo lesson learnt guys thanks

I like it, it looks good and as someone else said, at least you have spare just in case!

The way I look at it, was it worth paying £80 to not do it yourself? Our house needed painting outside after it was rendered and it was worth £350 to us to get someone else to do it (a full day) whereas my FIL would rather save £350 and do it himself and get all stressed out with it.

Yeah I guess if you think of it like that.
Just hate that people think they can take advantage ..

So you paid £80 for the wallpaper plus £80 for him to do the job or did you just pay £80 all in?

No I bought the wallpaper £10.99 a roll and paid him £80 for him to put it up.

£80 doesn't sound like a rip off TBH. If he charged much less it wouldn't be worth his while to do a (relatively) small job

Yeah I guess if you think of it like that.
Just hate that people think they can take advantage

There's nothing worse. Still at least you can post an honest review with pictures on your Facebook page and tag his business page in it!

I think if he had said £80 to start rather than £20 a roll then only use half roles to bump price up I wouldn't of minded so much ..if that makes sense.
Anyway it's done now,going to get on decorating rest of house and stop moaning.

*rolls

The papering doesn't actually look too bad but it looks to me as though he has used all the rolls to maximise the charge to you. He could probably have got enough from 1-2 rolls .
50 mins work !
I've done similar op, got someone from fb to do some glossing for me , relatively cheap. I don't think they were even out of my street when I had to clean up spillages and go over it myself

That's really bad. Sorry OP. £80 for 50 minutes work?! I'm just off to work until midnight for less than that (minimum wage). It wouldn't be so bad if he had done a decent job, perhaps if he had taken a bit more time it wouldn't look like my blind grandmother did it.

i work min wage too and I think I slog my guts out then someone gets £80 for less than a hour.

I'd message him and say you are unhappy with the finish (shame you rectified it) and feel he pulled a fast one by using a little from each roll.
I don't imagine you will get any money back but if you do get a response you will have the satisfaction of letting him know you know what his game is and won't be recommending him to anyone.
I'd probably give him a poor Facebook review too.

Thanks everyone

Hi guys-just thought I would add today my dad has used the wallpaper left and managed to do two walls with it in my bedroom..
So he deffo pulled a fast one !