Is our builder being cheeky asking for more than his quote?

[bananashoes]

Hi, we're having some painting work done and were given a quote that covered "Prep and paint dining room, kitchen and downstairs hallway including all materials."

We've recently been invoiced for an additional £1000 based on the fact that two extra coats of white paint beyond what was initially planned for were required on the dark grey walls to get them light enough.

In my mind, this is the decorators problem for miscalculating the time/materials it would cost to do the job and we may well have sought out additional quotes if this was the price we were initially given?

Am I being an arse or is the decorator taking the mick?

You don’t need to justify it. I’m sure every poster on this thread spends money on something that someone else would consider to be a waste.

that was not explained in your original post as it refers only to a decorator.

if your job is big enough that you have a main contractor who is then employing their own subcontractors then presumably you have a written contract setting out the nature and cost of the works to be done.

any variation or extra costs over and above the contract sum are a matter for individual negotiation. If extra work is required because the main contractor got their specification wrong then that is a cost the main contractor should absorb themselves, not seek to pass it on to their client. Your contract gives you the right to refuse to pay any such extra cost

To be fair, the actual title of the thread says builder, so the clues are there.

Ha! I am actually. There’s no denying £1k is high.

@bananashoes I get that but if the ceiling was already plastered then there was no rush….so did the painter see the job before pricing?

OP, to be frank, you are already paying a project manager on top of a painter to forsee this kind of problem, so no, you do not owe any more than was written in your contract. If you were dealing directly with the painter then you might do things differently.

Tell your builder to contact your insurer. This is his problem.

to be fair the OP does not explain the true facts, which, in best social media fashion, have now been drip fed, possibly because some responses were not what she wanted to hear

Oh god go do one

They didn't tell you before starting the extra coats? They haven't got a leg to stand on then.

He probably should have said that this is based on only one coat needed but difficult to know until start painting and see how it looks. That said, he will have to do this extra work, so are you suggesting he has to suck it up and make minimum profit? It is a lot more, but I don’t think much you can do. I can see why you’re paying a decorator given your situation, but they are so expensive.

LOL, hasn't taken you long to show why you are a card carrying member of MN

if you want someone to pat you on the head and go there, there, fair enough, do seek support on here.
meantime anyone with common sense would know that a claim for costs over and above what you agreed in writing is a claim, not a debt.

@Wot23 I can’t really follow your arguments here.

it doesn’t matter to the OP how much it costs for a self-employed trade to turn a profit or meet their pension contributions.

If there is a dispute it’s between whoever contracted the decorator, and the decorator. Not between the OP and the decorator. And she should not feel in any way obliged to pay the additional £1k from someone under costing a project.

Also @Wot23 did you miss that the OP has very recently had a c section and has many other young children and an incapacitated husband?

None of those things are the fault of the contractors but good, professional contractors and their subs should not be attempting to get one over on their vulnerable clients when clients’ eyes are off the ball.

Sure as hell the buck does not stop with the OP here. Main contractor maybe, and to you, the OP, I would recommend saying to the builder: “ you need to sort this out, we will not be paying for expenditure beyond quote without prior agreement. Any additional expenditure needs to be explicitly agreed with us before you subcontract the works. Thanks”

Basically, they have sniffed out a weakness and you need to stamp down hard on it. Otherwise, they will come out peachy and you will be dealing with many tiny children, a big surgery scar and a huge credit card bill ;)
(edited for typos)

@MusicalCarbuncle The OP hasn’t stated her other children’s ages, nor has she provided any information to indicate that she is vulnerable
🫠

ETA (after seeing your edit) why would you presume that OP would have a “huge credit card bill” 🙄 it’s £1k… she hasn’t paid it, and even if she does, how on earth would you know how she is planning paying by CC?

stop projecting

Wow!