Dissatisfied with cleaning and painting work. How to proceed with defect rectification?

Hello everyone,

Since we are currently still abroad and our house is empty, we have been renovating it completely since the beginning of the year. Since I once trained as an electrician, of course I am doing quite a bit myself.

The house was completed in eastern Germany in 1980. The walls are plastered with a very sandy plaster that was applied in a very "wavy" manner. The unevenness is visible at first glance in some places.

In January, I called a well-known master painter/plasterer and got him excited about the project. He is a master craftsman and currently a one-man business, and has already completed several jobs for us; at that time he still had 2 employees. We did not conclude a contract or similar with him. It was agreed that he would smooth out the wavy walls for us and then wallpaper them with glass fleece and paint them white. A [GKD] was also agreed. Move-in was planned for early November 2025. Price according to effort.

He started the work in January and taped off the wooden floors that we want to keep. In May, he plastered over the open electrical chases and finished plastering the areas where radiators were to be installed later, as well as the door and window reveals. Nothing happened in June and July. In August, he applied the [GKD], filled, and sanded it. Further, he began filling the remaining walls and made good progress with it.

We had a phone call at the beginning of September. I told him that I was not satisfied with the speed and feared that we might not be able to move in on time in early November since follow-up work still needed to be done (sanding and varnishing the floors). I asked him if I should hire someone else. He said no, he would manage everything, so I let him continue. He then worked hard for 3 days and finished a room, in which I could sleep for the first time when I was working on the construction site.

In September, the other trades as well as I finished the respective work.

The painter managed to do quite a bit of filling and wallpapering until the end of September and came to the construction site as it suited him. Mostly only 1 day per week until today.

The rooms are largely completed. The hallway is still missing; I don't know if he will manage it by November, but it is possible.

Another well-known master painter was at the construction site 2 days ago. He told me that, in his view, the work was not carried out professionally.
These are the defects he noticed:

[*]Walls are still partially wavy (visible at first glance)
[*]Plaster is sometimes hollow
[*]Walls insufficiently prepared/sanded (unevenness shows through the glass fleece)
[*]Wallpaper partly not well glued (peels off at corners and in small parts also on the surface – according to him, wallpaper battens are missing)
[*]Switch inserts poorly cut out
[*]Unpainted spots/poorly painted

My idea is that, once the commissioned painter says he is finished or sends me the invoice, I will carry out an acceptance and point out the errors. I would give him 4 weeks' time, and if he doesn't manage it, then go to the other company and have them finish the work and then send the invoice to the other painter.

Is this okay or how would you proceed?

Best regards,
Robo

Here are a few pictures. I could send more.
It's not about getting money or not paying invoices. I would like to have a defect repair here. The question, of course, is whether these are defects at all?

It already looks okay but many paint drips, partly the corners poorly glued and nothing sanded at the corners. In some places the fleece does not stick properly to the wall, and you can see indentations on many walls because he partly did not sand the walls beforehand. He probably wanted to level the whole thing with a thick 160g glass fleece but only partly succeeded. You can also see that he really did not sand at all. He hardly masked anything and the new windows, doors, and radiators are all dirty and smeared with paint and plaster, etc. We had a fireplace installed, and he did not mask that either, so the paint or wallpaper paste has probably eaten into the new bench in one corner. If I look at the interior corners, they really look wavy just like some walls.

So far we have paid €9500 as a partial payment.

It's really a shame that he put in so little effort, everything seems like it was done quickly to finish. As a solo worker, he has a lot to do. It was a mistake to hire him, but now it is what it is. The construction site looked like after an air raid again.

My idea would be that when the painter I hired says he is finished or sends me the invoice, I do an acceptance and point out the defects.

The option of just letting the guy finish first and then letting him crash is a sure way not to get quality under control at reasonable costs. This behavior is what got you into the situation where so much botched work even occurred in the first place. The guy has been working in your house for months and you write that the plaster is apparently not smooth and say nothing about it. He must assume that he meets your expectations. Talk to the craftsman, ask questions about the areas that make you dissatisfied, enter into a dialogue BEFORE complaining. The quality you have now received is not only the result of the painter you hired but also of your deficient project management. Keep that in mind when negotiating rework, otherwise you will most likely crash yourself.

The approach of first breaking the man down and then letting him crash is a sure way to not get quality under control at reasonable costs. This behavior is what brought you to the point where so much botched work even arose. The man has been working in your house for months and you write that the plaster is apparently not smooth and say nothing about it. He must assume he meets your expectations.
Talk to the craftsman, ask questions about the spots that make you dissatisfied, engage in a dialogue BEFORE complaining.
The quality you have now received is not only the result of the painter you hired but also of your faulty project management. Keep that in mind when it comes to negotiations about rectifications, otherwise you will most likely crash yourself.

I pointed him exactly to these spots before and during the work when I was in the house doing the electrical installation. When I clearly told him that it was still wavy and that it bothered me, although I have to say, hey, the man is a master of his craft, where is the honor in that, he told me to wait until it was finished. I did that.
Furthermore, I find it ridiculous to hold me responsible for the sloppy work of a master painter/plasterer. I don’t see at all what poor, sloppy work has to do with my project management.
You have to turn it around: would a master painter/plasterer deliver such work at his own home? I don’t think so, and that is exactly the point.
I already sent him a message today; he was surprised that I am partly dissatisfied.
I also find that ridiculous. Very little was taped off and everything (windows, doors, fireplace, radiators) was smeared. Or the paint drips, badly taped corners, the fact that it was only painted once and accordingly some parts barely got any color, etc.

Now it is finished, wallpapered and painted. So it is probably difficult to fix anything without greater effort and costs, and that’s exactly where I wonder who is supposed to pay for that?

We are not people who say cheap cheap, we want good work and have always paid on time. You can certainly expect more than this for that.

Furthermore, I find it ridiculous to be held responsible for the sloppy work of a master painter/plasterer. I don't see at all what poor, sloppy work has to do with my project management.

That could be part of the problem. As the client, you have overall responsibility. If something goes wrong for months, even though it was pointed out, then something is wrong with the management of the employees or service providers. You are of course not responsible for the work itself. That the master you hired delivered poor work is a different matter. He now acts dumb with the experience that he has been able to do whatever he wanted so far.

I don't mean this negatively when I point out this mistake. On the contrary. I myself was only able to learn from such mistakes, which I made more than once, when I realized them. It is also not bad to make mistakes, even if it is annoying at first and costs lesson money.

Now it is finished wallpapered and painted. So it is probably difficult to fix anything without major effort and cost, and that's exactly where I wonder who should pay for it?

It is not fair if you have to have it done again, but that is probably how it will end up. You can reduce the invoice from the previous craftsman. The craftsman who fixes it is not involved and must be paid. Based on what I have read, I think it is difficult to successfully claim recourse from the current craftsman.
Really a sh… situation.
I wish you good luck.

even if it is initially annoying and costly in terms of tuition fees.

Yes, he probably already read that today and was not amused. He had also described the problem in another forum.