So you really dont know how long it took???
He arrived at 2pm. At 4pm when I had to go out, I asked him how much longer he would be. He said another hour. That is a total of three hours which is what he billed. I was back home just after 5pm and he had left.
OK?
How could the professional painter have quoted 2 hours to complete the job given that you can not recoat oil based paints within 24 hours?
He would have to come back the next day and it's unlikely he would absorb further travel costs and only charge you two hours labour, that is spread out over two seperate days.
Thank you so much for your helpful comment.
Both the professional painters said if they had done the job originally they would have advised using semi gloss paint and both have assured me the job could have been completed in around two hours including sanding and dusting, which is what they would charge for.
What was done included no sanding or dusting and was only one coat.
I have simply passed on what I have been quoted by two professional painters. I have no idea about what paints are oil or water based.
count your lucky stars he didn't paint your whole house and remember next time to hire a professional.
I hardly think you can compare hiring someone to paint the whole house with doing a simple small job like a skirting board. He had previously painted the insert around the new wall oven and there was nothing wrong with that.
AFAIK the issue is that he not only did a sloppy job, but damaged (spilt) paint on some furniture, and dribbled into the grouting. Julia has said she doesn't blame the handyman for the colour mix up (though this certainly added to the stress of the whole event), even though he stated, "It'll be all right when it dries" when she queried the colour. Something he has obviously heard REAL painters tell their clients.
Even though the "handyman" isn't a tradesman (FWIW painting is not a "trade" anyway) - he should either have been competent enough to paint the area, or competent enough to say, "Hey Julz, this job's too big for me, here's the number for a real painter!"
Exactly, stewie. Thank you for pointing out the reality of the situation.
Painting is a trade as you have to be licensed to do any work above 3300 AUD.
So? What is your point? The work was not above $3300.
Anyway, a surprising resolution has occurred.
I decided what I should have done in the first place is contact him and express my concern about the substandard painting job and the damage to the furniture.
He never answers his phone. I left a message and his wife phoned back a few hours later, saying she would speak on his behalf. (??)
I explained that I was not happy with the standard of the work, pointed out the damage to the furniture, and said I would be getting a professional painter in to correct the problem at obvious additional cost.
To my total surprise, she said "well if you're so unhappy that you feel it needs to be redone, we will not dispute that. Just ignore the invoice".
So I have learned from this
1. never, ever to relax my rule of always getting a written, explicit quote
2. never, ever assume that anyone is competent in any field, however simple it may appear, until seeing evidence to that effect.
I thank all those members who have taken the time and interest to make
constructive comments.
Just as a contradiction to the above resolve about written quotes, today I had the tree pruner who has done a wonderful job for me for 20 years out to do some work. He would think I was totally nuts if I ever asked for a quote. He gets on with the work, no stuffing about, does exactly what I ask, makes sensible suggestions, and charges a very reasonable fee which I always pay in cash, adding at least 30%.