To expect more from our kitchen fitter? So disappointed

[lonelylou09]

We wanted to renew our old kitchen with new doors/worktop ect.
I knew someone getting rid of a kitchen and got a good deal on it as long as we dismantled and took it away. We needed a little bit of help so
I had someone I've known for a long time come and help and he came in like a knight in shining armour and got loads done to help us. He was setting up a new business so we asked him if he would fit the kitchen for us and we agreed a set price per hour.
It's taken a couple of months to get to the stage of having everything ready to go so he started 2 weeks ago.
My other half said he would take a few days off to help with the heavy stuff and ended up taking a week off.
We are now at the end of week two and nothing is finished. He seems to pick and chose what to do..even when I've asked him to prioritise getting things like the sink done as we need it!
I've come home and it's still not done.. despite me saying twice to do the sink he's done some filler instead.
Aibu to say something? And if so what do I say? I'm not confrontational at all and I don't think he's deliberately taking the piss but not one single bit of the kitchen is actually finished.
I've had to say to him today that I will pay him for this week but my money is running out. At the relate he's going it will be at least another full week to get anywhere near finished.
I feel like crying. I know things always take longer than you think but everything is half done.
I just don't know what to do

You on earth aren't you asking him??? You aren't paying him to stand around!
What timeline did he give when you agree to pay per day?
How many kitchens has he fitted before? ANY?

Did you have any sort of agreement on how long it would take? This is the type of job that should be on a fixed price not a day rate (never even heard of an hourly rate in the trades!).

He’s taking the piss because you agreed to pay him by the hour! Why on earth did you not agree on a fixed price for the job?!
You’re going to have to get tough and as you’re paying him you need to tell
him, not ask him, to do exactly what you want. I would also be asking for an inventory of what he’s actually done each hour / day to make sure he’s not taking you for a ride - which I strongly suspect he is - and each day moving forward give him a priority to do list - he might not get through it but he should be doing things in the order you want / need.

An hourly rate to fix a 2nd hand kitchen sounds like a great money spinner.

Certainly not the sort of thing to get an inexperienced person to do on hourly pay.

Are they insured and are they submitting invoices or is it just cash in hand?

Thanks for the replies. I know I've messed up!
I love in a council house so this is the first time I've had any experience on this.
It felt important that it was someone I know and trusted but in a way that makes it more awkward to say anything.
He's not a kitchen fitter by trade but was setting up as a handy man and said he could do it.
He did so much for us on the removal that I trusted him to get on with her job

You needed a price for the project, not an hourly rate, OP. If I were in your position, I'd look for a joiner/kitchen fitter to give me a price for the rest of the job and pay this man for what he's done. Most kitchen showrooms employ self-employed joiners and plumbers. Finishing work already started is a drag so you'll have to go in and persuade face-to-face.

Your other option is to sit down with him and put together a project plan - list the tasks, put a timescale by each one, list them in priority order, put start and completion dates by each item, type it all up, give him a copy, go through the priorities with him each morning and get him to take you through what he's done at the end of each day. This approach will allow you to assess quickly if he knows what he's doing. If he doesn't, it's back to the option above.

He’s probably finding it really tricky, it’s a specialist job. Some people can do it but it does take bloody ages! You need a plumber and an electrician too (or should).
I wouldn’t have accepted on an hourly rate though?! You are paying for his dithering.

Yes I think it's exactly this..my other half said he spent a lot of time trying to work things out. It was been a bit tricky but nothing horrendous. We had already had the electric and plumbing work done ..other than the sink. He has plumbed it in but not sealed it still.
I think he wants to do a good job and obviously isn't experienced enough to figure things out and just get on with it.

@IdaGlossop yes in hindsight we should have agreed on a fixed price but also wanted to be fair to him and help him out in setting up his new business.
I think we'll have to do the rest ourselves as I don't think we could do much worse but I wanted it done properly... especially all the finishing touches.

I suspect he’s out of his depth.
to put it into context I had my entire kitchen removed, refitted, the gas and electric for the oven moved to the other end of the room, plastering and tiling done in a week by a team of professional fitters!

@MiddleAgedDread yes he has since said he's not a kitchen fitter! So I know we only have ourselves to blame 😭

A more positive take is that you have learnt to ask for a project price, giving details of the work to be done, materials specified, waste to be removed from site etc.

Typo

We recently did a massive renovation. We used our carpenter to fit the kitchen because he's fitted 100's before. He was meticulous with a laser to get the levels correct and took his time- but even he didn't take 2 weeks!!! And its a very large kitchen!

I also wanted to be fair to him and help him out in setting up his new business

Sorry, but you are a fool to throw money at him so he can learn on the job! Most 'handy men' aren't qualified kitchen fitters! I assume you are very wealthy to not have even asked what is going on after 2 weeks or even for a timeline???

Cut your losses, have an honest chat and get a professional in.

Thanks for all your replies. Just wanted to put an update.
So he did message to say sorry he didn't get the sink ect done like I'd asked and that he would come back (yesterday) to do that no charge.
So I did message back and say that for now we would leave it there as we were disappointed with how long everything was taking and that things were all just not finished.
He came and did the sink so I popped home to talk to him and clear the air.
He did use the excuse that he didn't think there was as much work as there was so he wasn't expecting it to take that long. I pointed out that he had taken half a day to do a job that even I could have done in an hour and even that wasn't completed. He said back that hadn't said he had finished doing it.
I didn't want to argue as I've known him for a long time and don't think he's done it deliberately..I think he's found it overwhelming and he's just generally a (painfully) slow worker.
I've agreed to settle up with him for what he's done so far.
The whole thing has left me so disappointed as it's such a small kitchen I cannot understand why after 2 weeks it's no where near finished. The bulk of the work is done but now it's all the fiddly finishing touches left which I really wanted done properly.
But I don't feel there's much I can do about it now. Lesson learned. 😞