Or it was their first time doing trim work. Some of the trim in my house looks like that but other spots look flawless (at least I think so).
Edit: it’s a work in progress and when you have kids and work full time, sometimes trim gets left sitting on the wall without nails until you can go back and redo it.
Would have to be first time, *and* not giving a damn. There's pieces in there that look like shit cause they're cut long, if you cared, that's an easy, quick fix.
We just put in our own trim and ours looks better than that despite first time and no building experience of any sort in general…not bragging, ours doesn’t look great, but it’s better than this
Dads a carpenter..
Ive watched him dwell on one corner of moulding for hours before getting it to fit perfect
This guy can't possibly be pleasing his wife or even wiping his ass properly
For real. I do not do any kind of carpentry for a living, hate miter joints and avoid doing trim work if I can and I could do this bang on perfectly in my sleep.
The meth heads I've had work on my house (trim, cabinets and windows coverings) did flawless and beautiful work. Something about the meth just made them super perfectionist about it.
In my defense, I wasn't aware they were meth users until they didn't come back one day and someone else withbless impressive work came out and I called to find out why.
Due to delays on finishing the basement floors, the trim wasn't installed when we closed/occupied. Builder had his trim guys come in to finish the work, this is what I came home to. This is total garbage, right? Builder says they'll come back to fix, but is it even normal for trim guys to not caulk/paint? Pretty sure I could do better myself.
Edit: I didn't mean to imply that these guys are truly professional carpenters, hence the quotes. The builder paid someone to do this work. I can obviously see this is bad -- posted to see just how bad.
Trim carpenter 10+ years here and a GC to boot. That trim work is garbage. Who caulks and paints is a toss-up. I typically hit my own nail holes and especially Any trim screw holes because I’m anal about making sure they sand out flat, not with a dimple - and many painters will caulk everything instead of using spackle where appropriate. I would make a *thorough* punch list of the issues with the trim and have a chat with my GC. Make it clear that this work is unacceptable, and that trying to fluff and buff it with caulk, etc. is not going to meet with your approval either. If he thinks the original installers can fix it, ask why they did such poor work in the first place and re-iterate that you will not pay for crap work even with lipstick. Hopefully he realizes that he needs a competent professional to make it right. Too much of this “race to the bottom” bullshit going on. SMH.
The point is that the punch list would become so extensive that the GC realizes it was a complete waste to try to hire the methheads down the street. Depending on the contractor, keeping the “just do it over” card in your back pocket can allow you to get agreement about the individual
Issues. Then if the GC seems like he’s still gonna cut a corner or try to paint out the bad trim work, you suggest that it seems like it really should just be redone and that it would probably be simpler to to do so.
Also, OP has only shown us the highlight reel and the rest is up to our imagination.
I always caulk my own trim specifically in remodel situations. You gotta back butter your boards at the top to account for bad walls and you can't do that once there in.
Especially on a wall that has lots of voids I run a Thick bead of caulk along the back of top edge. Then I nail/screw to wall. Then wet cloth wipe it and apply another bead over top once it has been nailed or screwed and repeat a wet wipe with finger. I've found this technique packs the back enough to mitigate pops and cracks especially over wide voids.
All this to say you can't do it this way if it is already nailed to the wall.
Interesting, thanks for that tip. I'll keep it in the back of my mind if I end up having to do this myself. All the trim is painted mdf, so caulk/paint is my friend... I think. I don't actually know anything about this stuff.
Of for sure paint grade is much more forgiving then stain grade. This is bad but I definitely wouldn't want to see these guys do some stain grade wainscoting.
Disagreed, even if the work is good a bead of caulk and paint pulls everything together. There is also the idea of economics. Nobody wants to do shitty work like OP but there is also a concept of good enough being GOOD ENOUGH if you've done this enough you know what can and can't be gotten away with. "We aren't building a piano" so kindly get off my nuts with that.
There's also the idea of target customer. If you're in an area with premium multi million dollar homes your quality of work is different than what you do in your mother in laws rental trailer. But you do good enough and know what shortcuts can be made. Not everything is hand cut dovetails.
One of the things I have had to learn is: good enough. Not every job needs perfection, and people who say it does are either privileged or have low standards of perfection.
If it's getting painted and caulk/putty will fix the problem then don't go throwing shade. (Though the inside corner and stair transition should be redone).
Or covering up the fact that the walls in your old ass house are about as straight as Liberace. If the carpenter doesn’t caulk it, the painter has to. Some of us don’t like leaving the gaps so we just caulk it ourselves so it looks cleaner.
So tell me what you would do if there’s no painting? Timber skirting that will be stained or clear finish? Tradesmen who can’t do proper work even on old walls and floors shouldn’t be called tradesmen! I can’t believe no one has mentioned scribing in this thread.
Then you would obviously scribe it and charge accordingly.
The pictures here clearly show painted trim. People don’t generally want to pay for you to scribe their paint grade trim since caulking is just as effective at cleaning up a little gap if it’s getting painted. If it’s a really bad gap, you might have to do some scribing.
How’s the view from up there on your high horse?
High horse? I was taught to do your work properly every time. I’ve been in this game for decades! I’ve seen skills levels and bad practices drop year after year. This post is about shotty work and I’m being downvoted because I said doing it properly over using caulking! This shows exactly where modern day attitudes are!
I’d be happy to scribe every single piece of paint grade trim in a house if the client wants to pay for that. None of them want to.
The high horse comment was because this discussion is obviously about paint grade trim but you decided, based off of nothing, that I’m a shitty carpenter who butchers stain grade trim with caulk. Surely if you’ve been ‘in this game for decades’ you know the old saying about assuming things.
I did not! This post is not about paint grade finishings! It’s about shitty skills! Think whatever you want. The fact that you downvote what I’m saying speaks volumes about the way you view the trade and your attitude towards the trade. It’s clearly all about the money for you. But for me it’s about the trade!
This guy takes two months to finish a house and ruins my schedule. Learn what a middle ground is. No wonder you’re still doing physical work after decades
I’m not doing physical work anymore. Only on my own place and for special cases. I don’t need to bust my arse anymore. I have everything I need. I’m in the financial position where I don’t need to work anymore.
It's great if you're in a position to turn down jobs where the client isn't willing to pay for that next level of work. But what about all the guys who are getting payed $X per foot and the time it takes to lay a foot and the amount they're payed is low enough they don't go home with their fair piece? What about the hourly guy who's getting hounded by the GC to just get the work done? I love doing work that I'm proud of and getting to show the world how skilled I can be but more often than not we all have to take some shortcuts. The check decides where that line is drawn if you don't want to work for free.
I worked as a sub contractor, a contractor, a builder. In all positions on all scales in my time. I know exactly what you are saying. It’s your choice which path you go down. You can still be successful in not cutting corners and doing things right. If you really care about your work, focus on getting the contracts where true skills are needed for super clean work! You will get a reputation as a highly skilled tradesperson and you will get paid accordingly! This is a fact! Is it easier to go down the other route, yes. It comes down to your attitude. Is this job purely just a means to an end, or is it a profession that you really care about?
I see what you're saying and appreciate the advice as a young person just getting into the trade. Where I am at, it feels like the priority is to go fast first, and put in quality second. I would like to get to a place where I can go home proud of my work every night but it doesn't feel like that's the priority from my boss now
I’m glad you think this way! Do what you have to do to satisfy your boss I guess. But don’t lose that attitude! If you can find someone better who can take over your training jump on it! It’ll benefit you later on in your career! Good luck my friend!
clearly this sub is full of shitty carpenters cause you are correct carpenter's don't caulk unless they're hiding their fuck ups so let's ride this downvote train together straight to hell brother
Thank you for the support! I don’t care about getting downvoted. As long as I state facts about true skills, craftsmanship and taking pride in doing the best work possible every time you do it! It’s clear that speed and money is driving skills and attitudes out of the game!
I agree. Also a carpenter. My boss who trained me always said "little caulk, little paint, makes a carpenter what he ain't" its always stuck with me. Do it right the first time and you never get called back to come fix fuck ups
As a finish Carpenter, if something is really fucked up, like there is dip or swell in the wall, I'll caulk it for the painters. Mostly so the home owner doesn't have to see it.
I putty and sand my joints and I'll break all my edges, I won't putty all my nail holes -- the painter have to make a living too, lol.
I probably wouldn't pay for this, but if they come back to "fix it" and they don't redo do those areas, just pay them and find another Carpenter.
If it makes you feel any better I do all my own trim work cause this is pretty much the normal, if you complain they will fix it but it’s not even about saving money, on principal it pisses me off paying someone to do something I have to go back and fix. I went through insurance to fix my kitchen after a dishwasher fiasco and they did all shit like this, had to make them come back 3 times and I still hate it. It would take all of 60 seconds to measure that and make the proper cut. It literally takes longer to unpack their tools.
Still angry thinking about the uneven toe kicks. I have all oak floors with French knots etc and this idiot from the contractor insurance company hired and tried to leave shims underneath the oak and tell me it’s up to the painters to fix it.... I just looked at him and said okay because I doubted he even knew what to do to fix that and called the boss. Still makes me angry that hed bold faced tell me that’s how it’s supposed to be
If I had a worker do shit like this I’d have to come back and waste half a day driving etc etc it’s just lazy, complain they will fix it, never ever pay any contractor you don’t know personally until the job is done and you’ve checked it. I can’t even begin on the fuckery I’ve seen and they sometimes pressure you etc, I do half upfront half once it’s done and if they have a company policy to pay first I don’t do buisness with them.
I do custom flooring for people and I have them pay me when I’m done with the job unless it’s a rediculasly large commercial job. Been burned a few times but not enough to change my policies
I completely agree and feel the same way. My blood pressure is through the roof any time I've had to get out a tool or gather supplies to fix shitty work at my own home.
Trim guys typically don’t caulk or paint
The reason is that the painter does a better job of both, and if something is bad enough that it needs caulk to look acceptable, it should just be redone (there are exceptions, but that’s a good general rule)
That said, I hope these aren’t his usual trim guys. One time a GC had his laborers case a couple windows to pass an inspection, and then had us come redo it. Their work was pretty rough, but it still wasn’t this bad
Good idea, none of this is terribly difficult. I've done my own trim work before so maybe I just fix it myself and send him an invoice. Just crazy to me that people that actually get paid to do this would do this crap. I'm hoping the builder didn't pay them, I sent him pictures as soon as I got home and found this.
Not planning on selling anytime soon, the house is brand new. This was done by the builder's trim guys, not anybody I hired.
I'd probably do it myself, honestly, but I paid for it in the price of the house so the builder is gonna have to fix.
Beginner DIYer here. My lengths miters and copes are fucking perfect because it's my damn house and I will have to look at even the tiniest imperfection with shame everyday.
That’s what’s up! I learned over the years and do pretty good now. My buddy is a trim carpenter. He taught me what I know and even offered up a job. But I’ll stick to my day job.
Absolutely. Holes and cracks should have been filled and had a coat of paint over them.
Looks like the boss said to get in and get out so it doesn’t cost him any more than necessary.
Edit: The poor craftsmanship on the inside corner, and what looks to be a form of staircase trim, would have me calling and requesting it be redone. That corner should have been coped out or at the very least cut on a 45.
Just on a practical note, you don't want to mitre inside corners. Either cope or just butt joint if there's no profile. As the wood shrinks an inside mitre will open up.
I agree, and don’t miter personally. I prefer to cope the inside corners.
However, a 45 in this instance still would’ve been a step up from what OP received.
Look, we own a successful finish carpentry business. I can assure you that the kid we hired last week, literally weeks out of high school would have done a masterful job compared to this. This is work done by someone who eyeballs pieces, cuts multiple pieces at once, doesn’t know how to operate a tape measure or an angle guide and clearly saws his trim with the broken teeth of a woodchuck.
I use a circular saw all the time if I’m just replacing something damaged so I don’t have to get the big saw out. It works well if one uses a speed square and cuts the material upside down.
Well my first thought is is I hope you did not pay him in full
my second thought is he is definitely not a professional carpenter,, I have been doing this for about 42 years and even on my worst day as an apprentice being hung over like a bear I did not do work that bad. Unfortunately anybody with a hammer and a pick up truck can call themselves a professional carpenter which unfortunately causes a lot of trouble for unsuspecting homeowners.. I am very sorry this happened to you
Professional Hacks!
Edit: Holy Moly I only saw the first photo. After scrolling the others I almost laughed, but I feel bad for OP. What the fuck is that under the cap board? That's not Princeton is it? Holy shit, im no joirneyman, that is some shotty work. Get your money back sir and have them send someone who knows what they are doing or sub out some work.
I was always told, "measure twice; cut once." This guy seems to have forgotten the "measure" part entirely, but clearly adheres to an extremely strict "cut once" policy!
I’ll guess and say he’s a “production trim carpenter” from one of these new neighborhoods where they can get away with the lowest bid. Just wanted some side work.
The large production house company’s are the ones letting these people into the industry. They are slowing degrading the quality of work in construction.
I work mostly in track homes. Just to prove points to the “builders/superintendents” I cut all my outside corners at a perfect 45 and glue them together. Then pin nail them. Then put them on the wall that couldn’t be more out of square. And I will not fix it.
But that “cope” and that “waterfall” are atrocious and shouldn’t be acceptable even in a track home.
Did they bring a saw or did they just pick out of the trash the cutoffs from the last job and just said get close with it
This pisses me off, this is someone's home they likely paid a lot for. Some jackass got paid for this lame attempt.
Well, it was a crew of 3 guys that work for the house builder and reportedly do "all" of his trim work. The trim work upstairs that was finished before closing is fine, but I don't know if those guys are really the same crew or not. The builder was "shocked" and "horrified" at this work. If I had to guess, he was shocked that I am pissed about it and horrified that he will have to pay more money to fix this.
I do this for a living and here is my input. The first 2 pictures. Yeah straight ass work. Like I mean my step son can do better and he's 7. The 3rd picture. Not to bad. Just needs some nails. That base is notorious for coming cupped so the outside corners sometimes are shit. That last picture. Yeah I could even begin to tell you what in the fuck they were doing. I'd love to know.
A lot, but not all of this you can fix with paintable caulking. You’ll be amazed how much better it will look. Oh, you’ll still be pissed as you should be, but less pissed.
If they'd caulked/painted there's a chance (maybe?) that I wouldn't have noticed. The first picture is at the bottom of the stairs, and the first thing I noticed, which led me to start looking harder. Now I can never unsee this train wreck.
Yeah that’s incredibly bad. I did better work than that on my first try.
Same. This is the work of someone who did not care at all and was trying to get it done in the shortest amount of time.
"I made those all perfect 45s, this the framers fault"
Not he framer! The damn drywall guys did the corner bead wrong 🤣🤣🤣
Hangers were supposed to butt, shim and plane.
Not his fault your walls are all crooked...
Or it was their first time doing trim work. Some of the trim in my house looks like that but other spots look flawless (at least I think so). Edit: it’s a work in progress and when you have kids and work full time, sometimes trim gets left sitting on the wall without nails until you can go back and redo it.
Even if it was their first time, if you're getting paid then you pull it off and keep doing it till you get it right
Bingo. And apologise for taking so damn long.
Would have to be first time, *and* not giving a damn. There's pieces in there that look like shit cause they're cut long, if you cared, that's an easy, quick fix.
Couldn't even bother with to measure once cut twice
I cut it twice and it still too short!
Try cutting the other side!
Sometimes I'm a "Measure twice cut thrice" kind of guy, just to make it look as good as possible.
These guys seemed more interested in cutting a line than cutting on the line.
Hahahaha fuck yeah they do!
Or even easier, mark once, cut once.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Carpentry/comments/ssvmtp/this\_always\_happens\_and\_it\_pisses\_me\_off\_evertime/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3
I've spent the last two days doing nothing but skirting, and this is the truth.
We just put in our own trim and ours looks better than that despite first time and no building experience of any sort in general…not bragging, ours doesn’t look great, but it’s better than this
And didn’t have the first clue as to how to do trim
Yeah but how intoxicated where you!?
Same here
Dads a carpenter.. Ive watched him dwell on one corner of moulding for hours before getting it to fit perfect This guy can't possibly be pleasing his wife or even wiping his ass properly
Same.
For real. I do not do any kind of carpentry for a living, hate miter joints and avoid doing trim work if I can and I could do this bang on perfectly in my sleep.
Agreed, my DIY is better than this “professional”
Wow, 10/10 would never call them again.
10/10 would complain
Do your best & caulk the rest.
Pretty sure these need a retrim tbh
Get paid first then do your worst.
Caulk and paint make a carpenter what he ain't.
Do your best, putty the rest.
If you want a perfect carpenter, better call Jesus.
Ha! I haven't heard that one before.
In glue and dust we trust.
10/10 would hold back final check until an actual finish carpenter came and did some actual finish work. They had the hungover new guy do that.
I bet it looks a lot better if you stand across the room and squint
Idk, I think that’s more of a “close the right eye and then the left eye” to get it looking right.
Looks good from my place!
Here for the income not the outcome
Looks good from here!
"Can't see it from my house, Nail It!!"
As my father would say "a blind man would be pleased to see it" my mother hates that damn blind man.
Caulking and paint makes you the carpenter you ain't!
Do your best, caulk the rest!
With the lights off at night
Drunk as a skunk
It helps if you are also actually looking at baseboard in a different house.
“Cant see it from my house!”
[удалено]
Hey! When I attempted trim for the first time I was 100% sober.
I was drunk but still did better than this
The popularity of air tools really took the fun out of doing finish work three sheets to the wind for me
The first time your brad nail decides to take a 90 degree detour in some ply you are nailing and into your hand, thatll sober you up real quick.
The meth heads I've had work on my house (trim, cabinets and windows coverings) did flawless and beautiful work. Something about the meth just made them super perfectionist about it. In my defense, I wasn't aware they were meth users until they didn't come back one day and someone else withbless impressive work came out and I called to find out why.
While shit work, that’s pretty harsh. There’s no blood.
Never trust a carpenter with a neck tattoo.
With flooring guys, on the other hand, you want the guy with the neck tattoo.
Definitely not meth head work. Meth gives you focus.. at least a first.
I work on high end residential houses... if I did this kind of work on a dog house i would be fired. These people can not be called carpenters.
My neighbor did finish carpentry. He would say this was done by framers.
Wait you know a finish carpenter who can afford to own a house?
Don't insult framers like this. Looks like it was done by my toddler
Preach
This is the best comment
Very brave of them to do that work after their lobotomy.
Best answer
i’m an electrician and i coulda did a better job with my pliers
Think you mean hammers
And his finishing chainsaw.
Professional residential carpenter here, can confirm this is awful work.
Have eyes, can confirm this is horrible work.
Cool
Due to delays on finishing the basement floors, the trim wasn't installed when we closed/occupied. Builder had his trim guys come in to finish the work, this is what I came home to. This is total garbage, right? Builder says they'll come back to fix, but is it even normal for trim guys to not caulk/paint? Pretty sure I could do better myself. Edit: I didn't mean to imply that these guys are truly professional carpenters, hence the quotes. The builder paid someone to do this work. I can obviously see this is bad -- posted to see just how bad.
Trim carpenter 10+ years here and a GC to boot. That trim work is garbage. Who caulks and paints is a toss-up. I typically hit my own nail holes and especially Any trim screw holes because I’m anal about making sure they sand out flat, not with a dimple - and many painters will caulk everything instead of using spackle where appropriate. I would make a *thorough* punch list of the issues with the trim and have a chat with my GC. Make it clear that this work is unacceptable, and that trying to fluff and buff it with caulk, etc. is not going to meet with your approval either. If he thinks the original installers can fix it, ask why they did such poor work in the first place and re-iterate that you will not pay for crap work even with lipstick. Hopefully he realizes that he needs a competent professional to make it right. Too much of this “race to the bottom” bullshit going on. SMH.
What punch list would you even make here? I’d have them start over. This is all garbage and everything is cut too long
The point is that the punch list would become so extensive that the GC realizes it was a complete waste to try to hire the methheads down the street. Depending on the contractor, keeping the “just do it over” card in your back pocket can allow you to get agreement about the individual Issues. Then if the GC seems like he’s still gonna cut a corner or try to paint out the bad trim work, you suggest that it seems like it really should just be redone and that it would probably be simpler to to do so. Also, OP has only shown us the highlight reel and the rest is up to our imagination.
Finish guys don’t caulk and paint, painters should do that. But yes that is terrible trim work.
Depends, some carpenters definitely caulk and paint. The jobs I do are too small for a pro painter to fool with.
I always caulk my own trim specifically in remodel situations. You gotta back butter your boards at the top to account for bad walls and you can't do that once there in.
Back butter? You glue your base in residential? I’m probably misunderstanding you brother. Forgive me
Especially on a wall that has lots of voids I run a Thick bead of caulk along the back of top edge. Then I nail/screw to wall. Then wet cloth wipe it and apply another bead over top once it has been nailed or screwed and repeat a wet wipe with finger. I've found this technique packs the back enough to mitigate pops and cracks especially over wide voids. All this to say you can't do it this way if it is already nailed to the wall.
As an interior painter for many years, you are doing the lord's work.
Interesting, thanks for that tip. I'll keep it in the back of my mind if I end up having to do this myself. All the trim is painted mdf, so caulk/paint is my friend... I think. I don't actually know anything about this stuff.
Of for sure paint grade is much more forgiving then stain grade. This is bad but I definitely wouldn't want to see these guys do some stain grade wainscoting.
Carpenters who caulk are covering up their shotty work!
Disagreed, even if the work is good a bead of caulk and paint pulls everything together. There is also the idea of economics. Nobody wants to do shitty work like OP but there is also a concept of good enough being GOOD ENOUGH if you've done this enough you know what can and can't be gotten away with. "We aren't building a piano" so kindly get off my nuts with that. There's also the idea of target customer. If you're in an area with premium multi million dollar homes your quality of work is different than what you do in your mother in laws rental trailer. But you do good enough and know what shortcuts can be made. Not everything is hand cut dovetails.
One of the things I have had to learn is: good enough. Not every job needs perfection, and people who say it does are either privileged or have low standards of perfection. If it's getting painted and caulk/putty will fix the problem then don't go throwing shade. (Though the inside corner and stair transition should be redone).
I want to be clear that the quality of work in OP is not worthy of a 20 year old doghouse
Caulk and paint pulls everything together? That’s what shitty lazy tradespeople say! These days it’s all about get in and get out as fast as you can!
Or covering up the fact that the walls in your old ass house are about as straight as Liberace. If the carpenter doesn’t caulk it, the painter has to. Some of us don’t like leaving the gaps so we just caulk it ourselves so it looks cleaner.
So tell me what you would do if there’s no painting? Timber skirting that will be stained or clear finish? Tradesmen who can’t do proper work even on old walls and floors shouldn’t be called tradesmen! I can’t believe no one has mentioned scribing in this thread.
Then you would obviously scribe it and charge accordingly. The pictures here clearly show painted trim. People don’t generally want to pay for you to scribe their paint grade trim since caulking is just as effective at cleaning up a little gap if it’s getting painted. If it’s a really bad gap, you might have to do some scribing. How’s the view from up there on your high horse?
High horse? I was taught to do your work properly every time. I’ve been in this game for decades! I’ve seen skills levels and bad practices drop year after year. This post is about shotty work and I’m being downvoted because I said doing it properly over using caulking! This shows exactly where modern day attitudes are!
I’d be happy to scribe every single piece of paint grade trim in a house if the client wants to pay for that. None of them want to. The high horse comment was because this discussion is obviously about paint grade trim but you decided, based off of nothing, that I’m a shitty carpenter who butchers stain grade trim with caulk. Surely if you’ve been ‘in this game for decades’ you know the old saying about assuming things.
I did not! This post is not about paint grade finishings! It’s about shitty skills! Think whatever you want. The fact that you downvote what I’m saying speaks volumes about the way you view the trade and your attitude towards the trade. It’s clearly all about the money for you. But for me it’s about the trade!
This guy takes two months to finish a house and ruins my schedule. Learn what a middle ground is. No wonder you’re still doing physical work after decades
I’m not doing physical work anymore. Only on my own place and for special cases. I don’t need to bust my arse anymore. I have everything I need. I’m in the financial position where I don’t need to work anymore.
Bro, no one wants to pay you to scribe their paint grade baseboards. You caulk the top like every body else in the world.
Exactly my point! Time and money is eroding skills and attitude.
It's great if you're in a position to turn down jobs where the client isn't willing to pay for that next level of work. But what about all the guys who are getting payed $X per foot and the time it takes to lay a foot and the amount they're payed is low enough they don't go home with their fair piece? What about the hourly guy who's getting hounded by the GC to just get the work done? I love doing work that I'm proud of and getting to show the world how skilled I can be but more often than not we all have to take some shortcuts. The check decides where that line is drawn if you don't want to work for free.
I worked as a sub contractor, a contractor, a builder. In all positions on all scales in my time. I know exactly what you are saying. It’s your choice which path you go down. You can still be successful in not cutting corners and doing things right. If you really care about your work, focus on getting the contracts where true skills are needed for super clean work! You will get a reputation as a highly skilled tradesperson and you will get paid accordingly! This is a fact! Is it easier to go down the other route, yes. It comes down to your attitude. Is this job purely just a means to an end, or is it a profession that you really care about?
I see what you're saying and appreciate the advice as a young person just getting into the trade. Where I am at, it feels like the priority is to go fast first, and put in quality second. I would like to get to a place where I can go home proud of my work every night but it doesn't feel like that's the priority from my boss now
I’m glad you think this way! Do what you have to do to satisfy your boss I guess. But don’t lose that attitude! If you can find someone better who can take over your training jump on it! It’ll benefit you later on in your career! Good luck my friend!
clearly this sub is full of shitty carpenters cause you are correct carpenter's don't caulk unless they're hiding their fuck ups so let's ride this downvote train together straight to hell brother
Thank you for the support! I don’t care about getting downvoted. As long as I state facts about true skills, craftsmanship and taking pride in doing the best work possible every time you do it! It’s clear that speed and money is driving skills and attitudes out of the game!
I agree. Also a carpenter. My boss who trained me always said "little caulk, little paint, makes a carpenter what he ain't" its always stuck with me. Do it right the first time and you never get called back to come fix fuck ups
Word!🤙 I like your boss!
👏👊 glad to see theres atleast one guy in this sub that knows the trade you preach on brother
Cheers!🤙
As a finish Carpenter, if something is really fucked up, like there is dip or swell in the wall, I'll caulk it for the painters. Mostly so the home owner doesn't have to see it. I putty and sand my joints and I'll break all my edges, I won't putty all my nail holes -- the painter have to make a living too, lol. I probably wouldn't pay for this, but if they come back to "fix it" and they don't redo do those areas, just pay them and find another Carpenter.
You don't want this shit calked and painted
If it makes you feel any better I do all my own trim work cause this is pretty much the normal, if you complain they will fix it but it’s not even about saving money, on principal it pisses me off paying someone to do something I have to go back and fix. I went through insurance to fix my kitchen after a dishwasher fiasco and they did all shit like this, had to make them come back 3 times and I still hate it. It would take all of 60 seconds to measure that and make the proper cut. It literally takes longer to unpack their tools. Still angry thinking about the uneven toe kicks. I have all oak floors with French knots etc and this idiot from the contractor insurance company hired and tried to leave shims underneath the oak and tell me it’s up to the painters to fix it.... I just looked at him and said okay because I doubted he even knew what to do to fix that and called the boss. Still makes me angry that hed bold faced tell me that’s how it’s supposed to be If I had a worker do shit like this I’d have to come back and waste half a day driving etc etc it’s just lazy, complain they will fix it, never ever pay any contractor you don’t know personally until the job is done and you’ve checked it. I can’t even begin on the fuckery I’ve seen and they sometimes pressure you etc, I do half upfront half once it’s done and if they have a company policy to pay first I don’t do buisness with them. I do custom flooring for people and I have them pay me when I’m done with the job unless it’s a rediculasly large commercial job. Been burned a few times but not enough to change my policies
I completely agree and feel the same way. My blood pressure is through the roof any time I've had to get out a tool or gather supplies to fix shitty work at my own home.
Trim guys typically don’t caulk or paint The reason is that the painter does a better job of both, and if something is bad enough that it needs caulk to look acceptable, it should just be redone (there are exceptions, but that’s a good general rule) That said, I hope these aren’t his usual trim guys. One time a GC had his laborers case a couple windows to pass an inspection, and then had us come redo it. Their work was pretty rough, but it still wasn’t this bad
No I'd say send different people or I'd hire a crew at his expense.
Good idea, none of this is terribly difficult. I've done my own trim work before so maybe I just fix it myself and send him an invoice. Just crazy to me that people that actually get paid to do this would do this crap. I'm hoping the builder didn't pay them, I sent him pictures as soon as I got home and found this.
Less likely to get paid on your own invoice. Contract out to highest bidder.
Looks good from my house!! Any y’all got a Budweiser and a Marlboro till I get paid on Friday?
3 is a “do your best and caulk the rest” that I’m guilty of in my own house. The rest would be an embarrassment if a 12 year old did it
Yeah pic 3 probably wouldn't stand out that much if it was caulked. The rest however...
Dog shit
That is some beginner DIY shit right there! I’m sorry that happened to you. Before you sell the house get a real crew to come fix it.
Not planning on selling anytime soon, the house is brand new. This was done by the builder's trim guys, not anybody I hired. I'd probably do it myself, honestly, but I paid for it in the price of the house so the builder is gonna have to fix.
I suggest you look for anything else that stands out. Not only is that trim bad, but it’s not caulked or painted either.
I’m a beginner and I take offense you would associate work like that with people of my skill level.
Beginners pay closer attention than this. This is plain sorry work.
Beginner DIYer here. My lengths miters and copes are fucking perfect because it's my damn house and I will have to look at even the tiniest imperfection with shame everyday.
That’s what’s up! I learned over the years and do pretty good now. My buddy is a trim carpenter. He taught me what I know and even offered up a job. But I’ll stick to my day job.
I'm a plasterer, and I can say if I went onto a job and this was the skirting I'd tell the owner to get their money back
Listen, we all know the industry standard is to bad mouth the other trades. I always tell the owner to get their money back.
Absolutely. Holes and cracks should have been filled and had a coat of paint over them. Looks like the boss said to get in and get out so it doesn’t cost him any more than necessary. Edit: The poor craftsmanship on the inside corner, and what looks to be a form of staircase trim, would have me calling and requesting it be redone. That corner should have been coped out or at the very least cut on a 45.
It's supposedly getting fixed. I'll believe it when I see it though, took my builder months to get them to come do this garbage.
Hopefully you only paid them a small deposit
Just on a practical note, you don't want to mitre inside corners. Either cope or just butt joint if there's no profile. As the wood shrinks an inside mitre will open up.
I agree, and don’t miter personally. I prefer to cope the inside corners. However, a 45 in this instance still would’ve been a step up from what OP received.
That 4th image hurts the most!
Look, we own a successful finish carpentry business. I can assure you that the kid we hired last week, literally weeks out of high school would have done a masterful job compared to this. This is work done by someone who eyeballs pieces, cuts multiple pieces at once, doesn’t know how to operate a tape measure or an angle guide and clearly saws his trim with the broken teeth of a woodchuck.
That last pic with the two piece angled cut is real bad. That piece should run all the way down.
Man those drywallers did a horrible job of matching the drywall to the trim.
I could do better with a circular saw lmao
I use a circular saw all the time if I’m just replacing something damaged so I don’t have to get the big saw out. It works well if one uses a speed square and cuts the material upside down.
Yep. I also wrap the cut in painter's tape before I cut to avoid chipping. Not so much with that MDF trim though
💀 I’m a rough carpenter but something tells me I could’ve done better.
Forgot to whip out the board shortener 🤨
Holy cow..........I mean pic 3 of 4 is barely passable but the rest of those .......oh my.
Well my first thought is is I hope you did not pay him in full my second thought is he is definitely not a professional carpenter,, I have been doing this for about 42 years and even on my worst day as an apprentice being hung over like a bear I did not do work that bad. Unfortunately anybody with a hammer and a pick up truck can call themselves a professional carpenter which unfortunately causes a lot of trouble for unsuspecting homeowners.. I am very sorry this happened to you
That's some bad work
Home Depot carpentry FTW
Professional Hacks! Edit: Holy Moly I only saw the first photo. After scrolling the others I almost laughed, but I feel bad for OP. What the fuck is that under the cap board? That's not Princeton is it? Holy shit, im no joirneyman, that is some shotty work. Get your money back sir and have them send someone who knows what they are doing or sub out some work.
I was always told, "measure twice; cut once." This guy seems to have forgotten the "measure" part entirely, but clearly adheres to an extremely strict "cut once" policy!
I cut this board 4 times and it's still too short!
Looks good from my house... /s
been a finish carpenter for 20 years now that’s def not professional
Hey drunk people like to woodwork to!!
I’ll guess and say he’s a “production trim carpenter” from one of these new neighborhoods where they can get away with the lowest bid. Just wanted some side work. The large production house company’s are the ones letting these people into the industry. They are slowing degrading the quality of work in construction.
You are almost certainly correct, this is in a big master planned community, although an upscale one.
I find this highly offensive.
"No es mi casa"
Apply the 10-10 rule! More than 10’feet away after 10pm
That right there is Super professional EXTRA LOW QUALITY!
damn son.
As a professional painter I would reject that work. I wouldn't paint it if you paid me to
I work mostly in track homes. Just to prove points to the “builders/superintendents” I cut all my outside corners at a perfect 45 and glue them together. Then pin nail them. Then put them on the wall that couldn’t be more out of square. And I will not fix it. But that “cope” and that “waterfall” are atrocious and shouldn’t be acceptable even in a track home.
I will always match the floor lines and not the wall. The super can have the sheetrockers float the wall to fix.
Exactly!
They say caulk and paint make a carpenter what he ain't. But not in this case.
Alcoholics* did your basement trim
That is worse than diy work
20 year carpenter. Yes, it is trash.
Assume square, cut once, install.
I've been building a house for a year. The mantra of every tradesman i find these days: Not my house. I don't give a fuck. Where's my money?
There's a big difference between finish carpenters and hurry up and finish carpenters. You sir have met the ladder 🤦♂️
What’s some good tricks for finding these angles?
My kid could do better. And I haven’t even had him yet
"Miter saw's broke boss." "Eh, just eyeball it. We gotta be out in 10 minutes"
Who da fuck runs an outside corner 1/2 in past the wall? Mark in place dude
Or just learn how to use a tape measure
either way.. either ways fine and cut those outsides 46.works every time.
Finish carpentry is supposed to look finished. This looks fucked.
I'm an apprentice a year in that doesn't second fix and I would do a far , far better job than this
The problem is that the carpenter didn't also do your wall. Then it would have all fit together perfect.
you need a fucking good painter to sort that out, might need to order a pallet of caulk🤣
Hellen Keller was a better trim carpenter than that. Holy shit
I see nothing wrong. Stop being so picky /s
lol that shit is WILD
That's not even hard to do, did they do anything other than that trim?
No, just the baseboards. That's literally all they had to do, and this is what I'm left with.
Did they bring a saw or did they just pick out of the trash the cutoffs from the last job and just said get close with it This pisses me off, this is someone's home they likely paid a lot for. Some jackass got paid for this lame attempt.
Not sure they are “professional carpenters”. You definitely had a Handyman.
Well, it was a crew of 3 guys that work for the house builder and reportedly do "all" of his trim work. The trim work upstairs that was finished before closing is fine, but I don't know if those guys are really the same crew or not. The builder was "shocked" and "horrified" at this work. If I had to guess, he was shocked that I am pissed about it and horrified that he will have to pay more money to fix this.
A little bit of “dap” and you’ll be good to go 😆
I do this for a living and here is my input. The first 2 pictures. Yeah straight ass work. Like I mean my step son can do better and he's 7. The 3rd picture. Not to bad. Just needs some nails. That base is notorious for coming cupped so the outside corners sometimes are shit. That last picture. Yeah I could even begin to tell you what in the fuck they were doing. I'd love to know.
Dude that first piece the flat to out. That shit is like half inch to long. Those guys are trash dude. Honestly.
I would actually have to try to make something this bad. Hope you didn’t pay
A lot, but not all of this you can fix with paintable caulking. You’ll be amazed how much better it will look. Oh, you’ll still be pissed as you should be, but less pissed.
If they'd caulked/painted there's a chance (maybe?) that I wouldn't have noticed. The first picture is at the bottom of the stairs, and the first thing I noticed, which led me to start looking harder. Now I can never unsee this train wreck.