Shoddy carpentry of fussy customer

[Cakewalk7]

Hi all,

just trying to get a reality check on this one. Had a carpenter in to do an Ikea pax hack as although I can do a bit of carpentry I’m not mega confident. A builder came to quote for a much bigger job - member of federation of master builders and lots of 5* reviews. I asked him if he could do the ikea pax hack, then lay flooring and put on skirting. He said no problem and his carpenter came round and quoted and got to work.

the finish is not quite what I was expecting and am a little upset. Have added a few pics. It is all quite rough but aside from the bigger bits am I being too fussy?

problems:
wardrobe door won’t open properly as it is too close to the wall and even they they have chamfered the skirting it is still an issue.

cut round socket is an absolute mess

skirting wasn’t scribed to floor

some skirting is too long and some too short

they have fixed it with nails with heads so it looks a mess

the joins on the wardrobe are messy and not neat

ive spoken to the builder and after an initial brush off about caulk and scotia he has agreed they need to come back. He was actually reassuring and said all fixable do not worry.

I can’t see how they can fix the door without making the skirting look terrible. Or hide all those massive nails.

he said he will fit a socket surround so at least that mess of a socket won’t be visible.

really getting me down but not sure if my standards are just too high. Paid £1122 (well will do) so it wasn’t exactly cheap!

edit: title should say shoddy carpentry or fussy customer

Ask them to come back as you're are not happy with the work, most will be happy to rectify

That is not good - the finish on all the jobs is so shoddy

I’m a little wary although the builder is lovely to chat to and says he will sort he put up an instagram post today saying about ‘another great job done’ with pics that you can’t see the awful finish. Which makes me worry I am going to get a brush off

That’s a hellish mess.
No, you are not being a fussy customer. The wardrobe door is not going to work at all. The gap under the skirting is going to gather a lot of dust and dirt.
I would see if they make the correct repairs but if you are still unhappy then I’d report them to the relevant trades ombudsman or similar if they are registered.

Thanks for the advice. Do you know who I would go about complaining to? They are registered to federation of master builders from some googling I could complain through there if they can’t sort to my standards. No idea what easy fix they think they are going to do about that door!

Should have put a spacer in against the wall. Chamfering the skirting board is a real botch job. With a spacer you would be able to open the door properly. However it may be a measuring issue, that is on you for trying to fit the unit into a too small space. A cabinet maker /carpenter would have pointed this out before fitting the unit and given you the option to change the units to allow for a spacer.

The gap under the skirting is to allow for expansion. Did you decline the edging they can fit. It is glued to the skirting but not the floor to stop dust collecting but allows expansion.

That's really appalling. My son and DiL have just done a full wall of pax, made to look built-in, they did it all themselves, they have little DIY experience. They built a base the height of skirting first and put the wardrobes on top so that the doors can open without hitting skirting, then covered the base with new skirting to match. They also had a bit of space either side which they filled with MDF to match in with the wall so the doors can open. Theirs looks fantastic, you would expect an actual carpenter to do a professional job, but unfortunately they've done a total bodge.
I have heard, no idea if there's any truth in it, that anyone can pay to be in the federation of master builders, there's no test of skill needed.

I don’t think it was a measuring issue as there was 12cm extra width (6cm either side when it was centred) the carpenter asked me when he got here if he could put it flush to the wall and I said I didn’t mind as long as it worked ok. Didn’t cross my mind about skirting but I would have thought he should have considered.

I was advised I didn’t need the edging by the flooring shop as the skirting is all new so they could fit an expansion gap and then fit the skirting.

I think you need to complain. Obviously the builder didn’t measure properly. As for the carpenter, no words.

Good to know your son and DiL had good success. We did think about diy but wanted a good finish and were a bit perplexed about the chimney breast so thought we would be smart and get someone in. Turns out that wasn’t the best idea!

This is shoddy no question about it. The problem you have is both the builder and carpenter seem to think this is high quality work. I would speak to your builder and tell them it needs to be out right, and to consider getting someone else to fix it.

Give him a week to get it finished off correctly or honestly review with photos his business on social media..

Yeah, that’s not a good job at all.

I'd refuse to pay point blank for such a crap job OP, it really is appalling! A decent chippy would have known straight off that you can't put a unit like that up against the wall, unless you raise it up above the skirting board, as a previous poster explained her family members did. Alternatively, he should have put a filler between the wall and edge of the unit to bring the door so that it opens beyond the skirting board. Is there room above the unit to raise it up at all? The shop were correct, if you were having new skirting, or even the old removed you shouldn't need the scotia, as the boards should be cut leaving room for expansion and then the skirting should just sit on top and cover the gap. The skirting should have been drilled and screwed to the walls with countersunk screws, which are then filled with a bit of caulk or filler so that they can be painted over. Not quite sure why you have a blanked off socket, but in that situation I would have cut a small hole in the board, and then screwed the blanking cover into the board, not cut around it.

All in all, whoever did this job was a rank amateur, and I would tell the builder/chippy that they need to come back and do the whole job properly, or they won't be getting a penny from you, as you'll have to pay someone to do it to a decent standard. As a matter of interest, what was the builder's name 'Bodgit & Scarper' by any chance?😂 Sorry OP, I couldn't resist. Hope you get it sorted.

Very shoddy and unprofessional. I can do better myself, and have done. What was he using for the electrical box cut out - your bread knife?? Looks like everything he's done needs to be taken out and done again. The gap between the skirting and floor is far too big - an expansion gap doesn't need to be anything so huge.

lol the blanking plate is there as was waiting for wardrobe to go in and me to paint before sockets are in. The blanking plates are on because I was worried about cats messing with wires. Blanking plates are staying.
thanks all, messages making me feel better. Especially the comment on the bread knife!

What a shocking mess.

Sorry I mean blanking plates aren’t staying obviously 😂

Absolutely awful workmanship on so many levels. As it all seems built in with shelves to the right of the wardrobe I would suggest raising the base of the Pax and running the skirting in front of the wardrobe. This does mean adjusting what is to the right but quite frankly that socket cut out looks like it was done by a blind person.

If there is gapping under the skirting they should have considered scribing but given the rest of the work I don't think he could do it. would not be paying anywhere near what you have been quoted.