Regarding the molding by the vent; I agree with "raveper". Also, a vent shouldn't be placed so close to the ceiling that there's no room for moldings. It's as bad as placing a light switch so close to the doorframe that you have to notch the door trim.
I've done a couple of such installations, and I made it look very nice by sawing+routing out in the molding to get a good fit, but it probably took 2 hours and resulted in some jig building and some test pieces, and there aren't many customers willing to pay 1000:- extra for that work.nino said:
Regarding baseboards against uneven walls, I usually run a thin bead of latex on the back of the baseboard, then just wipe off what oozes out against the wall with my finger when you press the baseboard in place, then the shadows disappear.
We want it to look nice so it can cost whatever it wants... maybe I'll try it myself... I still have some molding pieces left from their handiwork and see how nice I can make it... it's definitely a tricky spot. I mentioned it to the carpenter too but he just said it wasn't a problem. Just took off the lid and checked. Where it's narrowest there's only 1-3 mm to the ceiling. But if you have the seam in the middle and paint over, maybe it looks OK... maybe a different ceiling molding will be necessary in the end, or we move down the vent... but then you probably have to do some work on the facade too? Not so fun on the 4th floor.Daniel78 said:
If you use acrylic caulk and smooth it out as best you can, then paint, the shadows should disappear too? If we don't redo the baseboard.
We live in an area that was built in 2006 by a large construction company. (Lots of houses)
I think your pictures look pretty much like it does here. I assume that's how companies work these days. It has to go quickly, and then they fix it if someone complains too much. We are the others who live here, so we just have to accept the situation and fix it ourselves as we renovate.
I think your pictures look pretty much like it does here. I assume that's how companies work these days. It has to go quickly, and then they fix it if someone complains too much. We are the others who live here, so we just have to accept the situation and fix it ourselves as we renovate.
When you watch Grand Designs among others, they usually have different people; first, there are the structural builders who build the house, then the interior carpenters come in to do the inside.
Here in our country, it seems like a "carpenter" is supposed to handle everything, but the results do vary.
Here in our country, it seems like a "carpenter" is supposed to handle everything, but the results do vary.
No, I agree with some others here.
A carpenter doesn't automatically mean it will look good with the fine details.
We had a few guys who replaced all our windows in the house, and everyone said that the fine detail with the moldings, etc., had to be done by one of the guys because he was the best at it.
So as I said, it's almost best to do it yourself when it comes to the finish otherwise.
A carpenter doesn't automatically mean it will look good with the fine details.
We had a few guys who replaced all our windows in the house, and everyone said that the fine detail with the moldings, etc., had to be done by one of the guys because he was the best at it.
So as I said, it's almost best to do it yourself when it comes to the finish otherwise.
Bitter when it happens like that, but if you look at newly produced apartments and villas, it seems to be accepted. So it probably depends on who you ask, whether it's okay or not.
I hate setting moldings, but I always do it myself anyway because then I know it will be how I want it, or alternatively, I only have myself to blame if it turns out bad.
I hate setting moldings, but I always do it myself anyway because then I know it will be how I want it, or alternatively, I only have myself to blame if it turns out bad.
The hourly rate is just as high regardless of whether the carpenter is sloppy or not?murbrukm said:
Possibly, the final price becomes cheaper if they are careless and only bill the time spent, as sloppy work is faster to complete than professional work.
Renovator
· Västra Götaland
· 1 117 posts
The main issue in your story isn't how the outcome turned out or looks - but that you didn't have a proper deal before the work started. It seems like enormous opportunities - or risks - depending on how you view it. Those who did the work seem to have assumed they had free rein and that this was what you wanted, so somewhere there are definitely significant communication gaps.
When ordering something from a craftsman, never assume anything, be idiotically clear about how perfect the result should be, criteria that must be met for the job to be considered OK, etc. For god's sake, don't hand out a key to anyone before you have written copies of the agreement.
The trim by the vent, however, was not an easy nut to crack; I would have charged a hefty fee for that job if I were a carpenter myself... putting up a piece of MDF scrap, removing the vent cover, drawing on the back of the MDF, going down to cut out a template, measuring exactly where on the trim it meets the vent pipe and then cutting according to the template with a jigsaw. I would have cursed and sworn well there, in any case
But as mentioned, the biggest problem undeniably seems to be that you didn't have a clear agreement with those who performed the work.
When ordering something from a craftsman, never assume anything, be idiotically clear about how perfect the result should be, criteria that must be met for the job to be considered OK, etc. For god's sake, don't hand out a key to anyone before you have written copies of the agreement.
The trim by the vent, however, was not an easy nut to crack; I would have charged a hefty fee for that job if I were a carpenter myself... putting up a piece of MDF scrap, removing the vent cover, drawing on the back of the MDF, going down to cut out a template, measuring exactly where on the trim it meets the vent pipe and then cutting according to the template with a jigsaw. I would have cursed and sworn well there, in any case
But as mentioned, the biggest problem undeniably seems to be that you didn't have a clear agreement with those who performed the work.
Today I had a meeting with the boss I met for the job.
It started with us going through what we were dissatisfied with and discussing it.
We didn't agree, and he thought we were being "unnecessarily picky," which apparently you can't be when it comes to our own home.
He thought everything looked fine, including the hole over the vent according to him...
Then, the fact that I didn't think it was OK for him to let in workers I hadn't met or that we hadn't discussed the price, he had no understanding for.
It will be a matter of tearing it down and, like many others say, doing it yourself... that way, I won't feel bad about blaming someone else. If you want finesse, you have to do it yourself, I guess.
It started with us going through what we were dissatisfied with and discussing it.
We didn't agree, and he thought we were being "unnecessarily picky," which apparently you can't be when it comes to our own home.
He thought everything looked fine, including the hole over the vent according to him...
Then, the fact that I didn't think it was OK for him to let in workers I hadn't met or that we hadn't discussed the price, he had no understanding for.
It will be a matter of tearing it down and, like many others say, doing it yourself... that way, I won't feel bad about blaming someone else. If you want finesse, you have to do it yourself, I guess.
But what did he want to be paid for the job?LinusW said:
What did you agree on regarding the price now that you weren't satisfied?
In my opinion, your photos looked awful, and such a contractor wouldn't get a dime from me.
I also pointed out to him now that I thought it was strange that we hadn't even discussed the price, and he said that they normally don't do that. We aren't paying for the job... he asked when I wanted his guys to come and tear it down, but I said he doesn't need to waste time with labor on that when we'd rather do it ourselves. The atmosphere was quite tense when he left so...nissenhj said: