needed advice on bad drywall repair job

17 years ago

We recently had damage done to our celing due to water damage from the upstairs bathroom. The area removed was a 4 by 4 section that needed to be repaired. The company we used repaired patch only, retextured damaged area, primed damaged area and painted entire ceiling. The contracted work was supposed to be texture, prime and paint the whole ceiling. They did not but assured me that the texture would blend after it was sponged which supposedly would make it smoother and said they would credit me the difference which was only 100 dollars. My instincts told me no but I let them sway me because he was so confident. It did not turn out good. It pretty much looks like a 1,600 dollar patch job. So my question is what process now should be done for this to look right? The new area is a lot more texture and looks splotchy. I don't know if another coat of paint was needed? They did a coat of primer and two coats of paint on new area in a little over two hours. Shouldn't there be drying time in between? Should the new area be sanded and repainted or should they retexture whole ceiling? Does a mud need to be applied over existing texture before retexture? Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks lisa

Comments (7)

kudzu9
17 years ago
Do you have a signed contract that specifies what was to have been done?
californian
17 years ago
$1,600 to repair a 4X4 area? Sounds like you were ripped off. We had three whole rooms ceilings sheetrocked for $400, but we had to paint it ourselves, and we removed the acoustical tile that used to be there ourselves so we could insulate the ceiling before they installed the sheetrock. You could have probably fixed a 4x4 area yourself for less than $30 worth of materials.
BTW, the crew that did it was a father and his two daughters. The daughters looked stronger than most men.
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lisaca
Original Author
17 years ago
We were given a quote which included taking out drywall, putting back dry wall, priming, retexturing, and painting the whole ceiling. They retextured about 30% of the ceiling.The project manager had given us the estimate with grand total and had us sign a seperate contract with grand total price but not with the work to be done. The paperwork was then given to the supervisor of the construction department who said he did not know the whole ceiling was supposed to be done. When I asked to see the sq footage of texture to be done it said 345 sq ft, which is the size of my whole ceiling. When I told him that, he said he did not know the sq ft. of my ceiling because he did not have measuring tape on him. He does this for a living so he should know they did not spray 345 sq ft of texture.We did not have to pay anything upfront, so fom a legal stand point what are our options if the job does not get done or if we are still not happy with the results?

Thanks lisa
bus_driver
17 years ago
Once you pay them, you will get nothing more from them. The price was a ripoff. Sounds like the work quality was also. Don't pay until it is right. For that price, they could easily replace the whole ceiling, texture all at the same time and be sure of match. You asked for advice and this is mine.
lisaca
Original Author
17 years ago
We also thought that sounded high, thats why we got a total of four estimates and they were all in the same ball park.We went with the one that our homeowner's insurance recommended. We have not paid them yet. Can they put a mechanics lien on our house? They also have some carpet repairs upstairs to do and they want to do it on Tuesday. I'm thinking I should probably hold off until they straighten this up, if they can. The area of texture they did looks like a horrible splotchy mess of rougher texture that looks nothing like the rest of our ceiling. Does anyone know what process needs to be done to make it look right? Does anyone know why the area of texture would look so splotchy. You can see roller brush marks. I tried another coat of paint in a small section and it did nothing. Should the whole ceiling be skimmed or can texture go over old texture and still look right? If they try to fix it and it still looks bad can we only pay for the actual drywall repair itself and find someone else to retexture and paint?

Thanks
Lisa
davidandkasie
17 years ago
do NOT paint that section until this is resolved. they may try to claim that YOU screwed it up.

let them do the carpet, but refuse to pay the portion of the bill that was for the drywall patch and painting. you legitimately owe them for the carpet, the removal of the old drywall, and everything else that came before the new patch was textured. if they put a lein on your house you could be screwed. so try to work with them to get it fixed properly.

if they refuse to fix it, or keep putting you off, contact local media about it as well as let your insurance know tha tthey are doing shoddy work. sicne your carrier recommended them, they want to know about this type of poor workmanship.
lisaca
Original Author
17 years ago
The supervisor came out today and agreed of the poor workmanship, told me not to worry, that they stand behind their work and that they would retexture and repaint the whole ceiling. So it seems I've got nothing to worry about. Thanks for everyone's replies.

Lisa