Am I expecting too much from tradespeople?

[thelegohooverer]

In my head, when I call in someone to take care of a problem, I’m expecting it to be fixed, and not to have another problem to deal with. Basically, what my dad would have done if I’d called him, I suppose.

I’m not sure if I’m being unreasonable or not.

As an example, I was moving into a rented house several years ago, and there was a water stain on the ceiling from the upstairs bath. Landlord organised a plumber to investigate. I moved in a week later. The side of the bath had been removed and replaced to access the pipes, and a tile and piece of skirting board damaged. The trim along the bottom where the side and floor join was broken and left to one side.

So the problem with the pipe leak is fixed but any water splashes (which are fairly likely given it’s a bath shower with a curtain) are going to end up under the bath and damaging the ceiling.

It’s probably a small and simple job to sort out if you have a tool kit with a hammer, saw to cut trim to length, grout and time to go and buy tile, trim, plaster etc.

Is that an unreasonable state to leave the job in, or is that normal?

Another time a plumber installed a new radiator and left a gaping hole in the wall. The carpenter, knocked a chunk out of the wall replacing a skirting board. Then the painter who came next painted around them both. I didn’t actually find these until after they were all gone, but if I had would I have been unreasonable in expecting the plumber or carpenter to fix the holes they made? Was it unreasonable to expect the painter to fix them in the course of preparing the walls? Or should I have found a plasterer (or who?) to come in between?

Not unreasonable to expect it at all but sometimes a rarity to find good people these days! Basically they're fucking hopeless.

Take my builders for example. All fine up to a point but 6 months later I'm still snagging and some things they've had to redo 3 times. Just do it right the first time you muppets!!

It depends on what they’ve been paid to do.

If they have been asked to quote for a specific job without making good, their price will be different than if it includes it.

In general, if you are having several things done, it does not make sense to have each trade make good in between if another trade will thn come who would have done it anyway.

@CatherinedeBourgh are you saying that I need to specify “making good” at the beginning, or else it’s not assumed?

@Loofah01 that sounds maddening.

are you saying that I need to specify “making good” at the beginning, or else it’s not assumed?

I have learned you have to specify everything you want done before the work starts.

I know there are good tradesmen out there but a lot of them will just do what's easiest for them.

You have to be specific

I hear you OP! I was working abroad and our flat was rented out as a holiday rental with a managing agent. We'd paid for a minor repair on the toilet- replacing a broken toilet seat and fixing a blockage whilst away. On our return, we found that the whole seat was loose, wobbly and pulled away from the wall! The tradesman hadn't replaced the sealant around the loo, nor put it back in place correctly. Fortunately, we got them back to fix it, but it was substandard.

Problem is, if I already knew exactly what to ask for and the specifics of what I needed doing, then I'd be doing that job myself!!! I find myself now taking before/after photos of works done and also clarifying (in writing) that it will be left as it was before or to make good.

Yes, of course you have to specify.

They are not psychic. They don’t know what you want unless you tell them.

No I would not expect a plumber to make good anything he had to remove during a fix. You have to get plasterer and/or tiler in. A decorator should fill in holes etc - that should be discussed at the beginning. The carpenter should repair something he was responsible for breaking (I had a plumber put his foot through the celling and he got a mate to replaster and redecorate, conversely an electrician who chased in some wires was not prepared to replaster the wall).

Not unreasonable at all but my experience is that a lot of tradesmen (and plumbers are the absolute WORST) are generally crap. They don't arrive when they say they will, don't treat your property with respect, and don't do the job to a decent standard.

I am a tradesperson. I am very very clear in my quotes when work may cause xyz damage that will need to be repaired by others (if that damage falls outside my trade). Eg I may need to move the door stops when hanging a new door, which would then require the frame to be redecorated. I am not a decorator, and you will get a better and cheaper job with someone specialising in that trade (decs are cheaper per hour/day than chippies, plus will be quicker as it is their trade so fewer hours labour to pay too). If I find part-way through a job that further damage is inevitable, I let the customer know before proceeding. If damage happens unexpectedly whilst working I will repair at my cost if my fault, or explain and apologise if the building's (eg plaster is live and falls off the wall as soon as it is breathed upon).
I would expect the plumber in your OP to replace any panels and trim, and re-run any beads of silicone. I wouldn't necessarily expect any tiling or grouting to be replaced, as not their trade, but would expect to be told about this in advance. As the plumber worked, if it became clear a panel would not be coming off in one piece and would need to be replaced, I would expect the plumber to tell me and we'd decide together if they were to buy & fit a new one and charge me the extra accordingly.

I agree plumbers and sparkies are the worst for leaving a whole load of holes/mess. I also agree you need to give clear instructions if you are expecting it to be left 'fully finished' rather than just the main headline component covered by their trade.

You are not alone.
I dread getting any kind of work done because I know it will lead to something else having to be fixed.
It also annoys me that they will blindly do their job without thinking about repercussions - years ago when I owned a flat on my own I arranged for someone to come in and replace a kitchen cupboard with a dishwasher. The kitchen guy came round and quoted for it etc - I assumed this would be the whole job.
No. He installed the dishwasher, fine.
But could I open the door to it? No!
He hadn't factored in the skirting board so the door to the dishwasher wouldn't open.
He wouldn't help me fix it either because it wasn't his job.

Even when you specify that it needs to be "made good" you often have to watch really closely to check they actually do so.

I was really impressed this autumn when we needed repairs on the roof; they cleared up really carefully afterwards, collected all loose nails and tiles on the ground etc, left it spotless. It's ridiculous as that should be the expected standard but from previous work by others I thought I'd be spending half a day tidying up after them.

If it's your house (not rented) it's worth keeping or asking to keep any spares left from jobs like tiling etc for these sorts of eventualities.

They're all like this in my experience, including the supposedly sought-after ones, and it drives me nuts. I call it "Oh but you're going to paint that aren't you?" syndrome. Well yes now you've taken the hundreds of pounds of brand new wooden stair parts and used massive screws sunk in the most visible places and then smeared a bit of wood filler in the general vicinity, I'll have to, won't I, you twat? Whereas if you'd bothered to screw from underneath I would have had the option to have the wood on show. What's more I'll probably have to pick out the wood filler, countersink the screw holes, put the screws back in, and refill, otherwise I'll have the edges of the screw heads where you left them, nearly-but-not-quite flush with the surface. The electrician/plumber version is called, "Oh but you're going to carpet that aren't you?".

This is why I'm always baffled when people on mumsnet talk about DIY leading to a worse finish. I don't think it does. Sure you may be less skilled and experienced, but if you think the poor fucker who's going to be sorting out the next set of problems is you, you take the floorboards up properly/fill the chases nicely/generally treat it like your own house, and that makes all the difference.

Had so many shocking dealings with tradesmen over the years. We need to get a roofer in to solve a leak another roofer has failed to sort despite 3 visits and I am dreading it.