ᐅ Dissatisfied with plastering and painting work. How to proceed with defect correction?
Created on: 25 Oct 2025 09:02
R
Robo987
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:
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
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
W
wiltshire26 Oct 2025 12:17Robo987 schrieb:
With this, I have fulfilled my obligation as a customer. Then everything is fine.
It seems I cannot help.
Tolentino schrieb:
Most people here are talking about spilled milk.
I will try to approach this differently.
Your first question: "Is this really poor workmanship?" I would try to evaluate this objectively:
For flatness tolerances, DIN 18202 table 3 line 6 provides the relevant reference measurements for you.
The inspection is done using a straightedge between two height points on the disputed surface.
For example, for 2 meters (6.6 feet), an acceptable tolerance would be 7 millimeters (0.28 inches).
So in your case, according to the common rules of technology (a.R.dT.), this is definitely to be considered a defect.
In general, DIN 18202 is the standard for dimensional tolerances.
The question is, did the painter raise any concerns before starting work? If not, he might not be obliged to meet the tolerances.
Your second question: what your options are now.
Your contractor is allowed to make corrections. Give him the opportunity or even request that he does so. If he refuses, think carefully about whether you want to pursue legal action. At the same time, have another professional provide a detailed cost estimate for the necessary defect repairs (with clear definitions of the required work scope and quality).
I would say that legal action is unlikely to be worthwhile unless costs exceed 10,000 EUR (which I believe will not be the case).
That does not mean you cannot try to recover the costs from the first contractor, but I would avoid legal proceedings.
Thank you very much for these suggestions. I will keep them in mind.
Today we recorded all defects in writing and took pictures. The painter will come next week; we will point out these defects to him and then send them again in writing, giving him 3 weeks to carry out the repairs.
Is this approach correct for now?
Do you have any further advice or recommendations for me?
ypg schrieb:
Yes, I also read the responses you deleted in the other forum.
I think this is what you want to read. 🙂 I would like to receive advice, tips, experiences, etc. from people who either have expertise in this area or have had relevant experience. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t have anything to add.
If I were in your position, I would probably proceed the same way. It would be better to involve an expert, but given the short notice, you likely won’t be able to arrange that. Formally, the contractor should first report completion (or of an agreed project phase), and you would then have to refuse acceptance and issue a notice of defects. However, if you have already decided to handle this as amicably as possible, it would be fair to have such a personal conversation with as little agitation as possible and first see how he responds.
C
chand198626 Oct 2025 13:34Robo987 schrieb:
In the original post, I wrote this:
And repeated it several times in between, so much for „it reads like that.“ Did you specify anywhere that the partial payment covers exactly the work that is satisfactory and excludes exactly the defective parts?
If yes, my mistake. If no, a crucial piece of information is missing.
If the contractor wants more money, you have a mutual interest. They want additional payment, you want corrections. You will have to negotiate with them. If they cannot or will not do it, there is no deal of money in exchange for repairs. If you involve a lawyer here, you would be throwing good money after bad.
If there is no deal, pay another contractor for the corrections.
Next time, agree on clear results in writing(!). Intervene early if there is any deviation from the agreed scope of work.
Tolentino schrieb:
If I were in your position, I would probably proceed the same way. An expert would definitely be better, but you probably won’t be able to get one on such short notice. Formally, the contractor should report completion (possibly of an agreed-upon phase of work) first, and you would then have to refuse acceptance and issue a notice of defects. However, if you have already decided to handle this as amicably as possible, it would be fair to have a calm personal conversation and first see how he responds. Thank you very much for the advice! That’s exactly what I have been looking for—it’s nice to feel understood.
We will carry out the acceptance inspection, point out and discuss the defects with him, refuse acceptance, and then send him a written report with photos afterward.
I could also bring in another plasterer after the appointment, who would provide a written assessment.
The second contractor already gave me some verbal feedback on what I should address.
According to the contractor, the living area is finished. Only the basement remains.
As I said, it was frustrating when we saw it, but it’s not so bad that I want to attack or blame others—that’s not my style. We will have a conversation next week, I’ll send him the defects in writing again, and then we’ll see what happens.
Similar topics