Fitted wardrobe disaster!

[Walmartin]

We've been saving up for ages and finally been able to afford some fitted wardrobes in our bedroom. Done by a joiner who was recommended by family.

Chose design and sent a diagram of the layout but they have not been made that way and I am really disappointed. Basically we wanted two identical double wardrobes with an end panel to take account of an uneven ceiling. What we've got is one double wardrobe and one with 1 and a half doors, the other half being the end panel. The joiner says that we didn't specify that we wanted the doors to be the same width. It never even occurred to me that he might not make them the same width and I thought we were working to the diagram agreed (which shows all 4 doors the same width but doesn't have measurements on).

Frankly they look ridiculous with stupid tiny door for no reason. There was plenty of space for four doors of the same size.

There is no solution other than to rip them out and start again. He says this is our fault for not specifying doors of the same size in writing. Is that reasonable? Was I unreasonable to expect them to be doors of all the same width like normal wardrobes?

We've reached an impasse where he's expecting to be paid for what he's done and for us to cover the cost of new ones which we can't afford. I'm so annoyed about the whole thing. I hope we can reach some sort of compromise but I don't really know how. He is very defensive and really thinks IABU. Am I?

Can you post a pic of the sketch and the finished wardrobes / a sketch of them? It's hard to tell if yabu without seeing what he was working to. On the face of it, no, yanbu.

That is a tricky one, and I can easily see how it’s happened. As there are no measurements, who is “right” I think comes down to the drawing. If the doors you look even, you probably are in the right.

In terms of how to go forward... I don’t know if you have any legal recourse, and that probably isn’t he best way to deal with it. But even so you shouldn’t be left with something that’s not what you want...

Bumping in the hope someone with more experience will come along?

Don't pay him until you reach an agreement on what happens now - that's your leverage. If you could post photos it would really help.

Sorry, been out all day and now I can't get the images to attach. Basically instead of 4 x 500mm doors I have 3 x 600mm doors plus 1 x 200mm door. Does that make sense?

Whatever was he thinking? No common sense at all.

He sounds an idiot, or he's misunderstood and realises he should have checked with you before he went ahead, but didn't and doesn't want to bear the cost for his mistake.

I honestly don't know. I am completely confused by it. He has actually said that it's my fault that I didn't state in writing that the doors should be the same size. I'm kicking myself that I didn't ask for a full technical drawing but I honestly never imagined not having equal sized doors as the end result. I think having the end panel has confused him but to me that was dead space and the wardrobes were under the full-height ceiling. I have no idea what to do now. He's never going to agree to do the whole thing again for free.

That's so weird, why would he do that ?!?

What you need to do now is get at least one other quote for what you actually want. Then go back to the first guy and tell him that he cannot blame you when he is the expert, who has failed to check with you sufficiently want was wanted before commencing work. Did he ask you to confirm the door sizes you wanted? I'll guess that no, he never mentioned it.

Once you have other quotes - ask around for recommendations - go back to him and tell him you've got a quote of £X and either he puts things right or you use the money you haven't yet paid him to go elsewhere and get it put right.

Once you've had that conversation and had an answer from him, you can get further advice on how to proceed. If you have him back to sort it out, do not let him work in your house without someone being there, however much of a pain that night be.

Is it just a case of changing the doors? That wouldn't be too bad. Or is the frame also split unequally? I doubt everything has to be ripped out.

Chose design and sent a diagram of the layout

So was there a standard template you picked?

How detailed was your diagram? Just measurements? Did he not one out to measure up?

come out

I think as measurements are so important to his job it isn't beyond his wit as a professional to say - can we put some measurements on this drawing before I start.

Would just new doors work, leaving the stuff behind it the same?

Having had various works in my homes, we always had drawings with measurements. I’m so surprised a joiner wouldntvhave done that

In any event, your drawing is part of your “contract”. If it clearly shows doors of equal size and he didn’t do that, he’s not fulfilled the contract. Show him the drawing again and ask how he could’ve thought you wanted what he has done. That you agreed his price for this drawing, what he delivered does not match that. If he takes you to court for non- payment, I’m sure if drawibgvis clear, they’ll be no issue. But you need to clearly write to him with the drawing and a photo of what has been done, illustrating the significant differences.

Measurements were done but the drawings only show the total and not the size of the individual doors. The whole lot does need to be replaced as the frames are not the right size either. It is such a mess!

but didn't he quote for handles and shelves and things like that, which would make you question what doors were going on?

did he make the doors from scratch? My joiner did ours but drew up the plans on graph paper and the doors were all shown in mm. , so 2 doubles one pair 600mm and one pair 500mm because we

I've never heard anything like it.

Have you paid him anything yet? Just clarifying whether you meant he wants to be paid for what he's done as well as the corrective work, meaning you've already paid him for the first bit.

Could you take the doors off and put sliding doors in front of the whole unit.

I would just text him back and say 'I am not happy' and see if he can come up with a solution. He might be able to redo it.

Also, ask him to show you another example of a wardrobe like this?

Just keep saying 'I'm not happy' and if he can't come up with a solution, then don't pay him. You are holding all the cards.

I do think though that he could fix the internal layout of the wardrobes easily enough, I had a joiner move a wardrobe and change it to fit into another room.

He could then leave the 2 x 600mm doors, and can replace the big and small door with with 2 x 400mm doors. Would that be a compromise?

Difficult to say without seeing the result. However, I have found that people tend to base their expectations without thinking of the details. When designing and building anything you are subject to manyou physical constraints that may not have been obvious to the customer. A diagram without measurements is just a sketch and doesn't deal with real world constraints. You sound as though you were happy with the quality so I think you should pay.

How would you feel if you were asked to complete a task at work, using your judgment, only for your boss to say that's not what they wanted and therefore you won't get paid?