ᐅ Dissatisfied with plastering and painting work. How to proceed with defect correction?

Hello everyone,

Since we are currently still abroad and our house is empty, we have been fully renovating it since the beginning of the year. Because I trained as an electrician, I am doing some of the work myself.

The house was completed in eastern Germany in 1980. The walls are covered with a very sandy plaster, which was applied rather unevenly, resulting in visible waves and irregularities at first glance.

In January, I contacted a well-known painter/plasterer master and convinced him to take on the project. He is a master craftsman and currently a one-person company; he has completed several jobs for us in the past when he still had two employees. We did not sign any contract with him. It was agreed that he would smooth out the wavy walls, then wallpaper them with glass fleece and paint them white. Installation of drywall (GKD) was also agreed upon. The planned move-in date is early November 2025. Pricing was based on time and materials.

He started the work in January and covered the wooden floors, which we want to keep. In May, he plastered over the open electrical channels and finished plastering where radiators were to be installed later, as well as the door and window reveals. Nothing happened in June and July. In August, he installed, filled, and sanded the drywall. He also began filling the remaining walls and made good progress.

At the beginning of September, we spoke on the phone. I expressed my concerns about the slow pace and worries that we might not be able to move in on time in early November, since additional work (floor sanding and lacquer) also needs to be done. I asked if I should hire someone else. He said no, he could complete everything, so I let him continue. He then worked hard for three days and finished one room where I could finally sleep when I was on site.

By September, the other trades as well as I had completed our respective work.

By the end of September, the painter had managed to do quite a bit of filling and wallpapering and came to the site whenever it suited him—usually only one day per week up to now.

The rooms are mostly finished. The hallway is still missing; I don’t know if he will manage it by November, but it’s possible.

Another well-known painter/master was on site two days ago. From his point of view, the work was not done professionally. These are the defects he noticed:

• Walls are still partially wavy (visible at first glance)
• Plaster is partly hollow
• Walls inadequately prepared/sanded (imperfections show through the glass fleece)
• Wallpaper poorly glued in some places (peeling at corners and in small sections on the surface – according to him, wallpaper strips are missing)
• Switch panels cut poorly
• Unpainted areas/poorly painted spots

My idea is to do an inspection with the contractor when he says he is finished or sends me the invoice and point out the defects. I would give him four weeks to fix them, and if he cannot manage it, I would hire the other company to complete the remaining work and send the invoice to the first painter.

Is this approach okay, or how would you proceed?

Best regards,
Robo