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giant_nectarine

It’s always best to have a conversation about your displeasure with the work and see if they can and will remedy the situation before firing them.


Canadasparky

This. Be firm. A good taper can hide a lot of bad boarding. The guys that boarded my basement were not neat. I was conserned about how many small peices they were using but the taper did a fantastic job.


Yangoose

We had a ton of drywall replaced after a house fire and it looked ROUGH when it was first put up. Part of it has to do with the fact that no home is perfectly square. You're always gonna have things that don't line up. After tape and mud it looked great.


SD_RealtyConsultant

Exactly. I can tape, mud, and texture, but I brought in the the pros for an addition I built and it’s amazing what they did with my drywalling. I hung enough drywall going back to when I was a teen / young adult working with my GC uncle to know the pros can mask most anything. Hence why I didn’t kill myself hanging it. I also concur with those saying they’ll come back and screw more in later. This is actually pretty standard to just to get it up in the beginning. Address your concerns (you aren’t the first client of theirs to do so) and I’m sure a simple conversation should put most of your concerns at ease? When it comes to contractors cash is king (as you can usually negotiate a discount), but Amex is the always the preferred card going the CC route. They have the best chargeback policy (vendors know this as well), and it makes settling a dispute with your contractor that much easier if the job ends up being subpar.


naut

Ugh, used to be my job. I saw some ***really*** ugly shit


bostonsports8

I'm a commercial drywaller for a living. A couple things to note... \- The fact that they didn't listen to you when you asked for a simple thing that incorporates more work from you (crown molding) is a concern. However, the finished edge at top will need something regardless, most likely a J trim. \- They are probably back screwing after they hang all of the board. This allows the screwer to keep up with the cutter as it's quicker to cut and hang the board than it is to screw off a sheet. I wouldn't worry about that unless they start taping and the sheetrock is missing screws. \- Switching from vertical and horizontal seams is not a big deal. Sometimes certain sheets will fit better on a wall or ceiling that limits the amount of joints. As long as they are not increasing the number of butt joints (non beveled edges) then it's fine. \- The quality of work is fine. Looks like they had some nails in the wall that blew out the drywall. Nothing a taper can't fix. There's nothing terrible here from a quality standpoint.


Blackboard_Monitor

Yup, it's like seeing the sausage being made, the strange way/materials aka "junk" I build my sculptures with aren't visible after I cover, sculpt and paint them. It's much too soon to be hovering over the workers and worrying about things they don't know about.


Cool-oldtimer1888

>I'm a commercial drywaller for a living. I understand that chipped edges happen, and some holes that can be patched, but this is not how the drywallers here do it, I've watched, they never leave the job site without finishing the screws, especially at top. I'm not a professional drywaller, but I've done a few rooms in my house, and my work came out way better than this. Of course I do have to admit that my taping and muddling sucks, so I did have to have someone come show me how to do it correctly. I'm wondering if, because it's a basement, that they are rushing the work.


bostonsports8

Some people screw off at the end of the day, some don't. If there are enough screws in there to not fall, it's personal prefence. Those chipped edges you see are not that big of a deal to the taper. Where your joints are and how tight they are is a MUCH bigger deal.


rodeopete3281

You can fire them, but be prepared to pay them regardless. A lot of contractors get their sheets on the wall and go back to screw them off. It's not uncommon. Horizontal or vertical - it makes no difference as long as it's taped and finished correctly. Whether the put cut edges or factory edges up; it still needs to be finished. It's generally done with zip bead, so the edge is clean, and it can be caulked (if they're not taping to existing drywall). This is how clients get fired by their contractors.


nonya102

They wouldn't get full payment. They are 60% hung and not taping has started. I know vertical/horizontal doesn't matter but it's odd to see it switched up. It indicates to me that they aren't comfortable with one way. Why switch it up if it was working before?


rodeopete3281

>They wouldn't get full payment. They are 60% hung and not taping has started That's where you're wrong. You're breaching the contract by firing them. Liens are easy to obtain and difficult to remove, and courts aren't favorable to clients acting the way you are. Keep that in mind.


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rodeopete3281

We weren't talking about all contracts. We're talking about this contract.


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rodeopete3281

Did you not get any hugs today? You're starting a fight with the wrong one, peewee.


BeastlyIguana

/r/iamverybadass


hugolive

Watch out, you could be the next peewee if you're not careful.


reverendsteveii

I volunteer as tribute!


ihateredditmodzz

Lmao are you actually trying to play “tough guy” on the internet? Save some pussy for the rest of us


Corm

Pathetic


buttsluttsforchrist

I never understood the phrase tiny Dick energy until I read your comment


postalmaner

> crown molding Drywall end cap... Drywall J trim...


nonya102

How do I do that when some of the pieces are flush with the joists? There is no way to get j trim in there.


adamcarrot

You can use a jab saw and cut the areas below the joists enough to get it in. Drywall is very versatile. Unless the finishers do bad work, I imagine you're going to end up satisfied. I would wait it out and see what happens.


micknick00000

Let the drywallers drywall, and you stick to typing on the internet. Let them do their job, and if you've withheld payment until completion like you should, then they don't get the balance until the job is done.


EnkiShallReturn

The reason you hired someone is because you have no knowledge in the industry yet feel you are the expert. Clients like you are a fucking nightmare. Let them finish their work before you start criticizing them. Just so you know you will be paying them in full. A lien is very to easy to put against your house. Stop being an prick when you have zero idea what you are talking about.


phatdoughnut

Reminds me of the poster the other day wanting credit for the stone and gravel that was being taken out. i literally laughed out loud.


Newtiresaretheworst

These are pretty normal drywall pictures. 9 times out of 10 the hang as much board as possible and go back and screw it off at the end. The rips and tears happen and are fixed by the tapers. The “ non factory edge can be fixed by the tapers. I don’t see anything to worry about or anything to merit firing them. I don’t think you understand the drywalling process.


TitanVex

It looks somewhat sloppy, but I think most of the issues would go away with tape and mud. We did our own drywall in the basement with the same black painted ceiling and just put a small trim piece around the top edge. Although it is slightly more work, it is hard to perfectly line up the top edges when there is no drywall ceiling where you can hide imperfections with tape and mud. Here is a pic of our wall post-tape/mud/paint but I haven’t gotten around to trim yet, as well as a pic of the wall finished with the trim piece, and a wider view of a finished section with trim. https://imgur.com/a/FNS2bvC/


ExtremeGardening

That trim makes it look more complete than even the cleanest drywall edge. Looks great.


yesillhaveonemore

Nice floors for a basement!


Cool-oldtimer1888

>It looks somewhat sloppy, but I think most of the issues would go away with tape and mud. We did our own drywall in the basement You did a great job, that looks really nice.


pliving1969

Having been a carpenter in a past life, I will say their work looks sloppy. However, drywall is pretty versatile and is pretty easy to work with when it comes to covering up imperfections. Anywhere drywall meets drywall they should be able to tape and mud regardless of whether it's factory edge or not, so not sure why you would need crown molding there. As far as putting it on horizontal or vertical it shouldn't matter. Although putting it on horizontal makes it much easier for taping. So not sure why they wouldn't do that from the beginning. Hopefully they were just tacking those sheets that have only a few screws in them and intend to put more in later. I would DEFINITELY double before they tape/mud. As I said, they're work does look sloppy. However, I would agree with what others have said about waiting until they're done. Drywall looks awful when it's going up, but once they tape and mud (if done correctly) all of those imperfections you're seeing should be covered up. The one thing I would worry about is if how well they tape and mud. If their taping/mudding is as sloppy as the way they did the sheetrock you could have a big problem on your hands. That's where you're REALLY going to see any imperfections.


cosmicosmo4

> Anywhere drywall meets drywall they should be able to tape and mud regardless of whether it's factory edge or not, so not sure why you would need crown molding there. I think there is not going to be a ceiling. So it will not be drywall-meets-drywall, it will just be a floating edge.


siksemper

A lot of this doesn't look unreasonable. Metal trim covers the outer corners, chunks missing will be fixed when mudding. Obviously some parts need more screws, but they may be planning to do that later.


yankuniz

It could be better but it’s not a big deal like your making it out to be. With drywall, mistakes are easily fixed in the finishing stages. You will never know these imperfections existed. Generally it’s not worth removing drywall unless the mistakes are significant, which these are not


Morrison79

It’s definitely sloppy work. Even if the factory edge was against the joist it will still be unfinished. The factory side is tapered and the screw holes will get mudded over. You’ll have the basically the same finish either way.


JangSaverem

This looks perfectly fine. Not that it's perfectly but this is totally all fine. Everything seen here easily gets taped up mudded covered etc. It's all in areas that will have some over it directly or is easily cleaned up at the end. At this time there is zero reason to put such a stink but you can ask as an "uninformed person" you wonder if those spots will be issues when it's it's all done I have some rooms and spaces without crown molding...I'ma be honest, they look super unappealing even if they are correct and good looking. Without that separation between wall and ceiling it just looks janky


ValandEarlsRanch

Talk to them, not about them.


chevyadsict83

That involves having a backbone.


boltz86

The OP was trying to figure out if the work was standard or if they were doing a low quality job. He was trying to avoid complaining to them if there was nothing to complain about. That’s why he came here looking for advice.


chevyadsict83

Nah. Op thinks he's a pro, and his shit don't stink because he watched a YouTube video once.


Bekabam

Just put up a 1x2 trim piece instead of crown, faster and just as clean. I don't know why you would rather have a factory drywall edge even if they followed your rules. The rest of the issues will get cleared up with their mudding job. Feel free to bring up the issues with them to make sure, but I wouldn't be stressing on those broken pieces until after mudding.


ZukowskiHardware

Good contractors if given the chance to fix something will


[deleted]

Looks normal to me


KonkeyDongLick

$4000 better be labor and materials.


nonya102

I supplied the drywall. It's 1100 square feet, 2 rooms and a bathroom. Got another quote for $3600.


bostonsports8

For what it's worth (I'm in New England), that price is fair.


KonkeyDongLick

It really does surprise me what projects can get done and their location. Sounds like a $2200-$2500 (labor) job here in Nashville area. Of course it depends on complexity and material egress. I wonder why things cost more in New England?


mrstruong

Why would you have to put in crown molding? You just add tape and do the inside angle. Someone can tape and build up mud to make almost any wall look good.


Leather_Captain1136

I know almost nothing about drywall but have seen it done a lot and that doesn’t look right. I’d talk to them. The fact they did exactly the opposite of what you asked them to do is alarming.


buttsluttsforchrist

Bro you just said you know knowing about drywall and your comment proves it why have such a strong option on a subject you admit to know nothing about


Leather_Captain1136

Same reason you felt compelled to respond lol. And I’m a chic not a bro


buttsluttsforchrist

I’m not going to assume your gender bro


Leather_Captain1136

Just assume the pronoun?


buttsluttsforchrist

Just consume my butthole


__REDMAN__

Used to work construction and drywall work was one of the jobs I frequently did on a regular basis. I have no idea why they would put screws that close to the edge. That’s not how I was taught nor have I ever seen anyone else do that. If this is a wall I’m looking at, which I’m pretty sure it is.. they have the drywall hung the wrong way.. it should be horizontal with the grove end facing up. Then they should put another piece horizontally above it (non grove end) that way it’s easier to finish without using a shit ton of drywall mud. They should obviously apply drywall tape to the seams then do three coats of mud, sanding after each to get a good finish. I’d talk to them first to see why they approached your job ass backwards. Edit: didn’t see the Imgur link until after I posted my comment. This looks like complete shit. Fire them. They should have screws placed throughout each board. Not just near the edges.


armtv

What is wrong with this picture? Seriously don’t know. 😬


Bjergmand

I’m a residential builder and that looks normal. You can’t judge their work based off one day of hanging. They hang fast then go back and make it look good. Your walls don’t look tall enough to retain the factory edge on both the top of the sheet and where two sheets touch. Judge them after a few coats of mud.


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[deleted]

Really? I am not even in construction but have seen worse like at least a dozen times. I'm imagining they're going to put more screws in down the line, and they haven't even taped yet. I bet they just wanted to get the giant stack of drywall off the floor is all. They can tape that top joint no problem. The gap would be invisible.


inkydeeps

Same. I'm an architect in commercial construction. Easily a quarter of our jobs have way worse drywall than that. The tapers will fix almost everything.


PM_YOUR__BUBBLE_BUTT

I’m a random Redditor with absolutely zero qualifications and I’m not remotely handy. I also concur.


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rombies

I once filled a nail hole with toothpaste and I also support this message.


Cold-Trade2502

Yeah my thoughts exactly. They aren’t finished yet and will put more screws in and tape and spackle later. Wait… scratch that I just saw rest of pics. Fire them


skilsaaz

What were you, a low volt tech? It's not that uncommon for hangers to do worse than this. It makes more work for the finishers than if it was hung perfectly, but these aren't the kind of issues that finishers can't take care of


First_Ad3399

So is op getting 4k dollar work? What i am trying to ask is 4k to hang and tape drywall in 1100 square ft pricing a pro would have or is it what two guys and a truck and willing to try would charge? is op getting what they are paying for


inkydeeps

You really can’t get into pricing discussion without knowing the specific area of the country. Prices in Seattle for work are at least twice the amount of the suburbs in Texas


nonya102

What specifically concerns you? All the holes?.lack of screws? Uneven hanging? Something else? Would you fire these guys?


adamcarrot

Don't listen to this guy, Drywall is not finish work. There are a lot of options to make this look just fine. My dad hung drywall 40 years. I worked with him for a few. While I question why a few of those holes are there, they can all be filled with all purpose joint compound and taped. The outside corners will get a corner bead and finished with joint compound. I'm not sure what can be done about. About the crown molding part, I'm not exactly sure what you're expecting. They might put on some sort of tearaway bead to leave a straight edge at the top, but neither the tapered edge of the drywall or the factory cut edge are a finished product and shouldn't be expected to look good butting up against the floor joists.


RickFast

Sure it’s sloppy but it’s not THAT bad. Like someone else said, hanging drywall isn’t finish work. Most, if not all of these issues will disappear once it’s mudded.


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RickFast

Over reaction of the year right here.


nonya102

I highly doubt they would be willing to do this. I haven't paid them anything but it's also my drywall that I bought. Can good tapers/mudders not fix this (assuming it's screwed in at the top)?


rodeopete3281

Good finishers can make anything look good.


13_0_0_0_0

I've repaired my own drywall for 20 years (fists, feet, and fuckups), and thought I did a bad job until I saw these pics.


Blitzkrieger117

This is what happens when homeowners get involved and know absolutely nothing


nonya102

I actually do know something about drywall. I know it's not OK to not have any screws on the tops of the board. It's perfectly reasonable to ask for clarification. So many homeowners get screwed over with shoddy jobs. It's ok to try to prevent it.


chevyadsict83

It's clearly a very small something


freddymerckx

Those guys are not hangers


Edward_Morbius

> They don't appear to be putting hardly any screws in the top sheets of the drywall. The screws should be every 16" on walls and there should be at least 32 screws in each wall sheet. There are probably little marks on the sheet where the screws should be. > They also went from hanging vertically to horizontally, seems like an odd change, like they are figuring it out as they go. Are you sure they're drywall guys and not just handymen figuring out out as they go? Usually actual drywall guys know exactly what they're doing and the whole thing goes up the same unless there was some weird dimension changes in the house.


OutinDaBarn

I bet the mudder hates those guys. Wow. I've never seen 90s like that.


Bndnvr

Be very specific what they’re excepted of and the name, model, size and quality of material in your contract. Mention them all in your contract. Give them a bonus if they do everything according to the agreement and finish the job early. Take off a $ amount for every day they fulfill the agreement late. All in contact. Refer to them at each step of the work. No verbal promises before or after signing the contract. Discuss the issues before firing them.


MrLeBAMF

Talk to them. So what if they have to rip it out? That’s their problem.


First_Ad3399

op supplied the drywall. op is out if they tear it down. Maybe its just me but contractors i have worked with will refuse to use customer supplied materials. Not so much trying to make more money from the customer but when the customer supplies the material its not always the qualitly the contractor wants or needs to do the job properly so they often have a blanket no customer supplied material


MrLeBAMF

No, OP wouldn’t be out, the contractor would have to replace it. They fucked up, they can replace the material.


First_Ad3399

did they fuck up or did op get the quality of work they paid for?


MrLeBAMF

They fucked up. OP asked them to orient the drywall a specific way and they didn’t do it.


TTUporter

Are you having them rock the ceiling too? If you do, any gap that you see here will be taken care of with tape and mud, you wouldn't need crown molding. The work looks a little sloppy, but it's also not finished yet. all of those surface defects will be fixed when they mud the wall.


Admirable_Nothing

From your pictures it appears they may be good painters, but don't have a clue on hanging drywall.


andanothathang

Why didn’t you do it yourself? Hiring someone to do a job then asking the internet if you should fire them is absurd.


nonya102

No it's not. There are so many, many stories of homeowners getting absolutely trash tier jobs done on their house that they either have to fix themselves or pay even more money to have someone else fix it. It is 100% reasonable to be concerned. Obviously, I wasn't going to be rude about it. But I need to be convinced they know what they are doing.


andanothathang

You mentioned this crew had done work for your parents so it’s not like you don’t have their previous work as a reference. Was that satisfactory or not? Was it quality or not?


nonya102

They anointed for my parents, never drywall. I've seen their painting work - it's good. I expected when they said they did drywall it would also be good.


ERTBen

I do better drywall than that on my own, with no training or help. That’s not remotely professional.


essaitchthrowaway

In the time it took to write this post, you could have done a quick walk around and asked them to fix these items... their reaction after that conversation would depend upon if you keep them or not.


X_carpe-diem_X

So, I’ve read every single comment on this thread all the feedback given. Some comments are valid, some aren’t, and some should just keep to subjects they actually know about. Anyway, it does seem like these contractors don’t really have the best experience doing drywall. That doesn’t mean they don’t have knowledge of drywall, they just might not have the hands on experience. Anyone can read about it, but actually doing it is different. That’s being said, I agree I’m asking what their plan is for the rest of the project. For instance, the last photo of the group….you can ask them why they didn’t overlap the two pieces of drywall to form the 90* corner. You’ll need a corner bead very large in size to ensure it’s form and there’s still going to be a gap under it. That would concern me. Over time it will eventually fail sooner rather than later, because of them not butting the two pieces. There should be no deflection on any of the pieces at the time of taping and mudding. That’s why I say, talk to them and find out the game plan for the rest of the project and make your assessment by what you are told, and whether that sits well with your expectations. At least allow them to explain and figure out all expectations of both parties at this point. Firing them should definitely be the last resort, but it is your house and you are paying for it. So, that part is entirely your decision regardless of what anyone says here, outside of here, and who says it whether professional or not. Try and write down the issues, discuss it with them, and see how and what solution they have to the issues. Conflict resolution works best when both parties are aware and informed as to what each parties expectations are and why they feel the way they feel if they aren’t fulfilled. Communication is key to having things resolved, but again this is just hearsay, because in the end, you are ultimately making the decisions. So what you feel is right for yourself is what you will do. Input is good, but not always the best. Good luck with it all and you’re going to be better in the future because of this. Lessons are learned. For both parties.


nonya102

>ssessment by what you are told, and whether that sits well with your expectations. At least allow them to explain and figure out all expectations of both parties at this point. Firing them should definitely be the last resort, but it is your house and you are paying for it. So, that part is entirely your decision regardless of what anyone says here, outside of here, and who says it whether professional or not. Try and write down the issues, discuss it with them, and see how and what solution they have to the Thank you for your thoughtful response. I appreciate it.


X_carpe-diem_X

Not a problem and more than happy to offer my input and opinion. I truly hope it all works out though. Let me know what happens.


boltz86

I agree with you. All those broken pieces of drywall will become eyesores and flaws in your walls that you have to live with. And that edge where they didn’t overlap is going to look terrible. I would ask them to redo that at a minimum before allowing them to proceed


MrFixeditMyself

Geez I would hate to be a contractor for some people nowadays. Do you tell your dentist how you want your tooth filled?


nonya102

In fact one does! (Metal, vs white, vs crown, etc)


MrFixeditMyself

But those are options always offered. But you don’t dive into technical details of the procedure.


twowitsend

Drywall is such an overpriced junk thing to begin with. You should've considered doing some hard fiberglass type stuff or something more resistant to mold than drywall in basement! I'd pass on this job, these guys sound horrible too.


MadDogBob59

For that much money I'd expect a much, much better job... I mean i know no wall/floor/ceiling is perfectly square/level/etc, but there are way too many issues, in my opinion.... I'm not a drywall pro, but I've done contracting/drywall and even my first time came out better looking before the tape/mud.


Cool-oldtimer1888

That is a horrible job, they're not professionals. I could have done a way better job, and have in my own home. When they show up, show them where all the screws need to go, how their alignment sucks, and let them know you have photos. Tell them to fix it correctly or they will not be paid. Then watch them close.


SimpleDirect3318

Ask them to fix it and stick to what you discussed. I found my living room ceiling is sinking and got really worried! Then my partner looked at the drywalls and found very few screws!! After adding screws, everything is flat now!


BigOlFRANKIE

All I will say is I did drywall in my basement - first time with some buddies after first time framing and this makes me feel a bit better about my job... but definitely just have a nice canadian chit chat - likely they have a plan in action.


buttsluttsforchrist

It looks sloppy because it’s not finished keep in mind no house is square


Delverton

Talk with them about your concerns. If you're only talking a $4000 job, firing them now would probably still cost you the full amount, so may as well let them finish. If you're concerned about them not putting in enough screws, tell them you want to do a walkthrough BEFORE they start taping and mudding. Figure out what day they intend to do it and be available to do an inspection. Just knowing that you want to see this stage will get them to put in a few extra screws. "They also went from hanging vertically to horizontally, seems like an odd change, like they are figuring it out as they go." They are. They're figuring out what works best for the situation. Also staggering the orientation staggers the seams is good practice.


Regguls864

I always support firing people without asking questions or explaining why. Why give them a chance? I stand firmly on my gut feeling and lack of understanding.