What did you two agree he was to do? Was he to sand all trim down or just wipe off and repaint with the same color?? Was wall covering removal a hrd dollar bid or on T&M? Was he supposed to remove things like medicine cabinets and such ? Did you two discuss this? Did he give you a written quote detailing what he agrred to do for the quote? Have you paid him?

I would certainly ask him to come out and look at the things you are not pleased with and get them settled. If he said he would take care of the issues, let him. If he won't come back or refuses to work with you, hold back payment. If you paid him already - speak to the folks that recommended him and with small claims if you must have some kind of retribution. Otherwise, move on.

VINGENCE IS MY SAYS THE LORD!

Dear God...
That looks like hell...I think our Golden-Retriever could've did better than that!!

You'll have to look at your contract. The devil's in the details here!
* You may "verbally" agree to something, but since paintjobs have so much potential for error/slopiness, you have to sign one for sanity's sake!
* Potential details include: Cleaning, Sanding, Priming, Full glue removal/cleaning, # of coats of Paint, ACTUAL BRAND/SHEEN to be used, etc., etc....
* Doesn't matter what the painter thinks should be done. Study some past info. on these threads, and you'll KNOW what has to be done & why... so you can state your expectations in a contract.

>>> Was the Red cleaned/primed-over b4 he painted that??
>>> Was the paper-wall ever cleaned of glue and rinsed??
>>> Any primer used on that papered room??

Good luck...I'm hoping for a good outcome for ya!
Faron

The most important part of any contract is the summary of the scope of work.

For example.

All materials are guaranteed to be as specified. All work to be completed in a workmanlike manner according to standard practices.

If that clause is in your contract, you have visual proof that the work is not according to standard practices.

Michael

Thank you all so much for your responses.

OK - my question now is what has to be done to fix it? Do the baseboards and molding have to be sanded. Do the walls have to be sanded down to new? I am guessing that is what has to happen. Is there anything special other than sanding?

How do you start cleaning up a mess like this?

How do you start cleaning up a mess like this?

Not being able to see the full extent of the damage, I would suggest a sit down talk with your painter before he paints the family room. Show him what you have shown us. Ask if he is finished in the rooms you've shown to us. Show him the problem areas. Tell him this is not the quality you are counting on for the money you are paying - normally this is something you should do during the painting of the first room, not the last.

His response will set the tone for the rest of the talk. If he has a good reputation, I'm sure he will fix the problem areas. The trim should be sanded and repainted - taped off or neatly cut in. Walls - where wallcovering was removed, it should have been washed to remove glue - throughly. Now the walls will need to be sanded and primed or re-primed and painted with two finish coats. Does your contract or agreement include prime and 2 finish coats? Without a TOOKE gauge or other destructive test instruments, you may not be able to tell how many coats he applied. Bottom line is, if it shows through, it's not right.

He should know what to do. Don't let him proceed without resolving these issues. If your contract is not specific, did you talk about what you wanted? Did he say he would work until you were happy? Has he indicated at all that he is finished with the rooms?

Have you paid him anything?

I discussed this with him today. I told him that before we go to the next room, I would like for him to come and assess the bathroom 1st. I suggested he tour the room .I suspect that he did not actually paint the bathroom himself as it is not the same quality as the dining room and study he painted. I told him that I wanted him to look it over and tell me what he thinks are the issues. Then we can discuss expectations for the finished product. He agreed to do that and will be here Tuesday morning.
The contract is not specific, but we did talk about and verbally agre to what I wanted to happen. He said he would work until I am happy.

I paid him for all but the room he has not painted.

I just wanted to know what he needs to do so that I can be sure he agrees to the right thing.

I appreciate your response. Sanding/priming is what I will ask for and repair of the cabinet doors.

Thanks so much for your reply!

It's good you had a discusion with him. It lets him know you are watching and that you know quality work vs shabby work.

Once he sees the problem areas, he should know what to do. Again, not being able to truly see what all the issues are makes it hard to trouble shoot this online.

Let us know what happens.

Good luck. I don't think I see a good ending here. While everyone believes he will 'do the right thing' and that you should give him an opportunity to fix things that are not right. In this particular case, any painter (that calls himself that) with this kind of end result and willing to let it go is not someone you are going to be able to get to re-prime and paint. . . That's almost the entire job over again and its not something but the best and most reputable painters around can and will do.

OK the painter came back today.

He said all the right things.

He is going to sand and prime the walls and baseboards. Paint the ceiling and replace the cabinet doors.

He promised that I would be happy or get my money back. He apologized profusely and said it was his fault for not checking his employees work.

We'll see what he does. He sure sounded sincere.

Thanks for your help. I'll post the final results after it done next week.

Ohhhhh....So he DID have "subs" working for him you're saying?!
* In your 1st post..."He did....". Sorry, I thought you were dealing with the actual person himself.
* He sure hired some bad helpers!!!

I'll be thinkin' of ya!
Faron

Faron, I did not know he had employees until we met. I was at work and had only seen him. He said he had three guys helping him that day.

Thanks for thinking of me and for your expert advice. I have been reading through the threads and have learned alot ( a little late). I was armed for discussion thanks to you all here! I should have been on here before the painting began!

Congrats on making the contractor do his job. Face to face confrontation is often a good leverage tool becasue no one wants to deal with folks face to face anymore. When they have to, it seems they are attentive to say the least.

Good luck!