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I recently had a new front door and doorframe constructed an installed in my Victorian terraced house. The old frame and door were ripped out, and a new frame and door installed. On inspection, I think that some of the work is well below standard, but I wonder if this is considered normal?

Which of these things are considered normal practice, and which things am I reasonable to complain about?

The top of the frame was left looking like this. Shouldn't they have replaced the whole frame? Poor quality top of door frame

The new sealant around the inside seems to have been applied by a novice in an extreme hurry: Poor quality sealant Poor quality sealant Poor quality sealant

The bottom of the frame looks a mess: Messy door frame

There are no mitred corners in the frame: No mitred corners

Where the ironmongary is sunk into the frame, it's not very tidy:

Poor quality door fittings Poor quality door fittings

Added: This job was done by a professional contractor, for a decent amount of money.

Rocketmagnet
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    Were they actually wearing stetsons & six-shooters? Looks like they should have been, definitely a cowboy job. – Tetsujin Aug 20 '22 at 16:18
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    I can't believe they just caulked their way out of a slightly too short frame post... – MiG Aug 20 '22 at 16:39
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    it is a crime... – Ruskes Aug 20 '22 at 18:04
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    If by "professional" you mean licensed, bonded and insured (these are all things you can verify), that's one thing and you likely have recourse. If by "professional" you mean their van had the company name on it and decent looking online ads, well, anyone can call themselves a "professional". – Armand Aug 20 '22 at 23:15
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    "Victorian". Updates to such old construction is difficult. That said, this is pretty bad work. –  Aug 21 '22 at 15:55
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    @TimM I've usually heard it described as the "No defects visible from my home" standard... – user1686 Aug 21 '22 at 16:01
  • Can you ask them to re-do the work ? Do you have to pay them extra to fix these problem ? – Job_September_2020 Aug 21 '22 at 19:03
  • Holy sh** this is absolutely atrocious man. Do not pay them a dime. – JonH Aug 22 '22 at 02:29
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    I am very much a hobbyist DIY and woodworker and would in no way call myself a professional. So when I say that I would be ashamed to call this my work, that should indicate something. – ThaRobster Aug 22 '22 at 11:11
  • If you haven't paid them in full yet, *don't* until they fix it all. – JacobIRR Aug 22 '22 at 14:45
  • Fellow DIYer here... I have done doors for friends, for only pizza and beer, while drunk, and STILL do a better job than this. I am not a carpenter and have done less than 4 doors in my lifetime. That should tell you all you need to know. – maple_shaft Aug 22 '22 at 15:08
  • Abysmal. Looks like one of the jobs that a big name company subcontracts out to some random guy who claims he can do it. – iDriveSidewayz Aug 22 '22 at 15:26
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    "Shouldn't they have replaced the whole frame?" What did you agree upon with them? That's really important here. If you paid below standard, the quality will suffer somewhere. – Mast Aug 22 '22 at 16:27
  • That's a certified "yikes" from me. Call up the company and politely "rip them a new one". – MonkeyZeus Aug 22 '22 at 18:31
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    While this question provides some nice rep-grabs for a few folks, it's entirely a matter of opinion. Most will skew to one side, but that doesn't change the fact that there's no objectively correct answer to be had. (Obviously the guy who did the work thinks it's fine.) Voting to close. To salvage the question, maybe revise to ask for items which could be addressed by the contractor. Good luck getting satisfaction. – isherwood Aug 22 '22 at 20:51
  • @Mast - The agreement was to replace the door and the doorframe, including the glass above the door. I assumed that would leave the front of the house looking respectable. – Rocketmagnet Aug 22 '22 at 23:12

2 Answers2

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It really does look like a hack job. The piece on top of the frame is sort of crown molding and replacement should have been specified in the contract. The contractor should have at least caulked the seams to make it look better.

The caulking is horrible and should have been smoothed out and cleaned up especially at the bottom.

The mitered frames are also something that should have been mentioned in the contract but many windows I've seen don't have them.

The hardware cutout looks sloppy too. There are some nicks and gouges that should have been repaired. The corner and spacing is also bad for a professional job.

JACK
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  • Did I miss something from the pictures, or does this door frame NOT have a bottom sill plate? Victorian or not, I think I would want that... – gns100 Aug 22 '22 at 18:41
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    Yes, it's missing a threshold. Maybe there wasn't one there before, just heavy weather stripping. – JACK Aug 22 '22 at 19:05
  • That would at least explain the heavy caulking... Forgetting the threshold is not an excuse for that though. – MiG Aug 23 '22 at 06:00
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The thing that is not mentioned in your question is who did you hire to do this work. A licensed contractor with an established business or more of a handy-person? If you have hired a contractor then yes- the work is very sloppy and ill-fit. If you have just hired a self proclaimed carpenter then you probably misread their abilities (or they vastly misrepresented them).

Bottom line is with a contractor or an established business you have every right to complain and withhold payment and demand they rectify the situation. If this is a "handyman" then you are pretty much in the same situation of having to negotiate an acceptable solution but there is much more responsibility for the state of things from your side and not much legal footing to stand on.

Kyle
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    Sorry, I should have mentioned in my question that this was a professional company, and I paid good money for this door. – Rocketmagnet Aug 20 '22 at 20:28
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    That is good news for you- simply get the owner or principal or supervisor out there to look over their job and state your dissatisfaction. There is no way this can be considered OK- the fitting is bad but especially the caulking job- looks like it was done by a 4 year old. – Kyle Aug 20 '22 at 22:27
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    Definitely make a list of everything you are not happy with, circle them in photos, and if possible find photos of similar areas elsewhere in your house or online that show what quality you expect. Then contact the big guy at the company. – Armand Aug 20 '22 at 23:18
  • I suggest you start by just asking for a supervisor to come and take a look, without even saying why. Most companies, if they value their reputation, will send someone in the next few days. And most supervisors would take one look at that, and immediately say something like "I see why you called. I don't know how this happened, but I'll take care of it." If this approach works (and it often does), you can avoid any unpleasantness, which may get you better results in the end. – Jeffiekins Aug 22 '22 at 19:08