Or is this sloppy and would you complain

[Yellow1949]

Had a locksmith come this morning to replace the locks. He said he had to ‘take a bit out of the door to make it fit’. Surely, if this is your job, you should be able to do it neatly. Top lovely straight line in the door is original, bottom bosh it job is how he ‘fitted’ the new lock in the door. To add insult to injury he said ‘it’s a beautiful door’. I didn’t add, ‘well it was before you rogered it with a chisel’. I know I’m supper fussy about quality of work, so AIBU?

It does look a bit rough, I'd not complain, as after 2 days I'd not notice or remember

Very poor work.

What's the problem??

@IamMaz

I'm fussy [and do lots of DIY myself] and I would NOT be happy with that! It would annoy me every time I used it. I think that's why I do so much DIY - only myself to blame!!!

Same! You would expect a professional to do a professional-standard job - that ain't it. He's a locksmith not a joiner, but this is part of his job. Shabby finish.

To be honest its not great however its the inside bit that once the door is shut no one sees - move on

@Beetlewing

What would you have wanted him to do differently? If you've ever tried to chisel a place for a lock, you'll know it's not an exact science. He 'may' have been willing to spend another half an hour sanding that little rough edge and filling it but it would've cost you ££

You shouldn't have to pay extra to ensure a good finish on the job you're paying for! Not having a go at you obviously... But if that's the case, at least explain to the customer "for this price, I'll install the lock... If you want it looking nice, it'll cost you an extra £X" surely?

I feel your pain. The quality of trades in this country is so variable and if you have high standards and get half-arsed work like this it's so disappointing. I have a similar issue at present, am trying to decide whether to complain (again) and have them back (again) to ultimately maybe not even resolve it, to ask for some compensation or to try to live with it! I see the same options for you as in - a) to have it perfect you'd basically need a new door, b) complain and get some money back c) fix it with filler and try not to think about it too much after that.

I agree, it looks a mess. I am also wondering whether it’s properly attached to the door. The screws look weird.

Yikes, it doesn't look like it's fitted correctly at all. Are the lefthand screws attached to the door (it doesn't look like they are) or are they attached to fresh air? If the latter, I'd get another locksmith to install it properly, and refuse to pay the bodger. If you don't, the lock won't be secure.

@Jaxhog

Yikes, it doesn't look like it's fitted correctly at all. Are the lefthand screws attached to the door (it doesn't look like they are) or are they attached to fresh air? If the latter, I'd get another locksmith to install it properly, and refuse to pay the bodger. If you don't, the lock won't be secure.

They’re holding the lock together.

Is everyone seeing a different picture to me? I can’t see the problem. Certainly not one in a bit of the house when I spend exactly zero time looking at.

Ok. Just consulted my Architect DH, who says it looks fine. Those 2 screws go into a backplate, not the door. He suggests a little mastic will do the trick. (He then showed me our front door which isn't a whole lot better).

So ignore my last post!

If he's a pro and fitting locks on a daily basis he should invest in tools that result in a quicker and higher quality finish than using hand tools. If I did this myself I'd be annoyed and even more annoyed if I'd paid someone to do it. In this scenario I'd just get busy with some wood filler and forget about it.

One of the chisel cuts was misaligned. I'd use a spot of black or very dark brown silicone (not filler, which will crack), darker than the wood. Nobody will notice.

The screws go into a steel plate that is fastened to the door and hidden by the lock case.

@SimonJT

Thanks, I thought if they were holding the lock together they would look neat, but obviously not.

Sorry, too slow.

He then showed me our front door which isn't a whole lot better

See, you literally never noticed. This is a complete non issue because no one ever looks at their lock.

I'd be annoyed with it, but DH and I do a lot of DIY ourselves, so I do have high standards for professionals. I could have done that job with that finish myself, so like you I'd be pissed off having paid a professional. He does this as his bread and butter job so should be proficient at chiselling.

However through long and bitter experience, there is no point at all in trying to get them back to sort it. What will happen is a bodge job with poorly applied filler that will annoy you even more! Better to fill, sand and stain yourself.

Top tip is to mask the edge of the lock so that when you sand the filler it doesn't roughen the edge of the lock. Once you've stained the filler then it should blend really nicely. I buy the tiny artists paintbrushes from The Range and WH Smith as they are ideal for really tiny and fine touch-up work.

Get him back, it’s not a professional job. I wouldn’t be happy with that. Too many people are happy with a bodged job.