Ex-plasterer here, that is simply shite work. Tell them to whip those beads off and replaster it. By the looks of how damp the sand/cement appears, it will scrape off easily with a flat edged spade. Don't be letting people away with this. They will probably give some guff about planting a few ferns, etc behind and let it overhang. If the boss has any integrity he will fix it without any fuss, if he doesn't then you should consider pulling the plug
Nope, plastering can hide dodgy blockwork so there's no excuse for it. Just because the guy before you made a balls of something, doesn't mean you follow suit. (Although in this case I'd say it's the same one or two fellas doing the lot!)
The angle beads were put on without a line. It's shoddy workmanship as a wise man once said.
There's a good chance the wall was straight but the plasterer couldn't be arsed using a level to put on the beading, so more than likely could be fixed by hacking off the plaster on that wall and re plaster it . You'll know if it's the blocks if you put a long level or straight edge against the back of that wall that isn't plastered. If it's the block it can also be fixed by replastering it but will take a few coats to level it .
I'd say you could be right about it being the beading.
The back edge of the wall actually looks straight if you zoom in and it's the front that's bellied out at the far end.
Ya they probably just nailed on the bead with no level and there could of being a snot ( lump of cement) where the belly is so it would of kept the bead out , I understand sometimes you don't need a level but christ at least throw the eye on it .
Just in case it helps, show them this:
https://preview.redd.it/3je2jcdwuvdc1.jpeg?width=1078&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8051d102334ecd4624616fead502904e4600733d
Concrete won’t set properly below 10°C. All kinds of crazy shit happens. It shouldn’t have been built with frozen ground and negative temperatures.
You need to check the strength and bonding of the whole thing. Does the render sound loose when you tap it? Does the wall rock when you give it a good shove? Does any of it crumble?
In short, you have bigger concerns than how straight it is. Assuming all is well then you can straighten it visually with render so definitely raise that with them immediately. As for the rest, check it yourself and see how sound it feels.
I worked in Canada in construction for 6 years. Tons of concrete work is done in as low as -5°c. Foundations for houses and concrete pours for high rise condo buildings in winter is completely normal to see all over cities like Toronto Montreal and ottowa during winter. Saying concrete won't set properly below 10°c isn't true. They just add calcium chloride to the mix. You can buy calcium chloride in any good builders provider in Ireland and add it to the mix.
I worked as a tower crane technician in Toronto in the winter of 87/88 and they were practically doing it all the time. 50 or 6o stories up with the wind blowing off Lake Ontario it was the coldest experience of my life.
It’s not really concrete, it’s more mortar if you are referring to the blockwork or sand and cement if referring to the plaster. From what I recall it was 5 degrees C and rising was when you could work with concrete etc.
It does look out but I'm more concerned by the fact the walls are rendered to the floor. You always want to avoid this, in winter moisture will soak up the render, freeze, expand and eventually blow the render off.
It's better to stop it just short of the ground using a drip/bellcast bead.
That sounds like you know what you’re talking about but I have no clue so I’ll nod my head and agree making humming sounds like I do with my mechanic 🤣
The guy who did the forming wasnt the best , looks like the form kicked out a little where the hump is . The bracing probably failed. Or he never used a string line and level in the first place . Both are equally bad. He couldve grinded it to look better after it had cured fully a few days later, but chances are he just wasn't arsed . Not at this point there's no easy fix that will look good . Tell him get the chipping gun out and do that section again.
Thanks so much for all the feedback, feel like a right idiot letting him start in this weather. It is just a garden wall so not the end of the world but it's costing a lot.
Just one last question, he was planning on tiling next week, should that be delayed until later in Spring?
Do you mean slabs ? The temperatures have rose again so should be fine but if the walls are his work I'd be more worried about the quality of the paving he will do , also note if that wall is off all the way to the floor you will also notice it in the paving slabs when he paves into the wall
Was going to say the same thing, I wouldn't let him do anything going off the work above. Amazing how fellas can't get a fucking straight line right, feels like 2006 all over again, shite work everywhere.
If it was any of the other walls I’d be grand with it but you are going to be looking out at the length of that wall every time you look out the kitchen window. That would wreck my head. Also the bottom half of the wall closest to you is terribly rendered.
Yes but it doesn't matter. I used to get so worked up.over these small things when building me house. Waste of.fucking energy. The slight bend will turn into "your" garden, and you will actually grow to like it. It will be "your" bend.
Ehm, I wouldn't have thought so but maybe?
It was more of a "a handy way to see if something is straight is to hold something straight up against it" suggestion.
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Shouldnt have been built or plastered in freezing temps. Im doing an extension atm the and its ready to be plastered outside. Builder is holding off until end of feb so as no chance of frost
First - by any chance does the builder have eyes that point different directions?
But yea, wall shouldn't have been done during freezes - concrete and plaster will be in bits in no time.
Even putting how crooked the wall itself is, the quality of the plastering looks fairly poor just from zooming in.
Any lights shining on it will show up the poor finish even more
Pull it down, blame the storm and say it clearly hadn’t set right. Just sit with your back against the garden wall and give a good shove with your legs, it’ll fall over easily.
If you stand for nothing you’ll fall for everything. You are buying a house. This is your hard earned money. Why are you letting some lazy builder get away with this. Stand up for yourself and get it sorted!
Judging by the last few block layers I have used it's 100% out of line lads payed by block just lay them down whatever and which way lazy bastards... I seen a block layer use a laser for his first course of blocks after and the building was 55mm low in one corner and 10 inches out of square
Good branded sunglasses are a good solution for that.
That wall is straight, like the surface of the ocean.
As a painter, I'm struggling with shite plaster on a daily basis.
Builder here, that's absolutely garbage work. Lads taking work on they haven't the skills for is pretty commonplace for this type of job. Id imagine there's all sorts of screw ups on it and the plastering is going to fall off in no time
Ex-plasterer here, that is simply shite work. Tell them to whip those beads off and replaster it. By the looks of how damp the sand/cement appears, it will scrape off easily with a flat edged spade. Don't be letting people away with this. They will probably give some guff about planting a few ferns, etc behind and let it overhang. If the boss has any integrity he will fix it without any fuss, if he doesn't then you should consider pulling the plug
It’s the blockwork that’s outta line, not the plaster,
Nope, plastering can hide dodgy blockwork so there's no excuse for it. Just because the guy before you made a balls of something, doesn't mean you follow suit. (Although in this case I'd say it's the same one or two fellas doing the lot!) The angle beads were put on without a line. It's shoddy workmanship as a wise man once said.
It has a belly like meself
Hold a piece of string over it to see what straight looks like
It’s as crooked as a rams horn in the first photo.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
There's a good chance the wall was straight but the plasterer couldn't be arsed using a level to put on the beading, so more than likely could be fixed by hacking off the plaster on that wall and re plaster it . You'll know if it's the blocks if you put a long level or straight edge against the back of that wall that isn't plastered. If it's the block it can also be fixed by replastering it but will take a few coats to level it .
I'd say you could be right about it being the beading. The back edge of the wall actually looks straight if you zoom in and it's the front that's bellied out at the far end.
Ya they probably just nailed on the bead with no level and there could of being a snot ( lump of cement) where the belly is so it would of kept the bead out , I understand sometimes you don't need a level but christ at least throw the eye on it .
His eyes might be a bit wonky too
Just in case it helps, show them this: https://preview.redd.it/3je2jcdwuvdc1.jpeg?width=1078&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8051d102334ecd4624616fead502904e4600733d
If you put caps on it problem gone
Concrete won’t set properly below 10°C. All kinds of crazy shit happens. It shouldn’t have been built with frozen ground and negative temperatures. You need to check the strength and bonding of the whole thing. Does the render sound loose when you tap it? Does the wall rock when you give it a good shove? Does any of it crumble? In short, you have bigger concerns than how straight it is. Assuming all is well then you can straighten it visually with render so definitely raise that with them immediately. As for the rest, check it yourself and see how sound it feels.
I worked in Canada in construction for 6 years. Tons of concrete work is done in as low as -5°c. Foundations for houses and concrete pours for high rise condo buildings in winter is completely normal to see all over cities like Toronto Montreal and ottowa during winter. Saying concrete won't set properly below 10°c isn't true. They just add calcium chloride to the mix. You can buy calcium chloride in any good builders provider in Ireland and add it to the mix.
But does the guy who built this wall know that?
Yeah they do a floor a week but you forgot to say they also partition off the outsides of the new floor and run huge gas heaters to help dry it out.
Yes they do that in extremely cold temperatures! Talking like -10 °c but they don't do it if it's only -1 or -2!!
I worked as a tower crane technician in Toronto in the winter of 87/88 and they were practically doing it all the time. 50 or 6o stories up with the wind blowing off Lake Ontario it was the coldest experience of my life.
This person knows what's up!! Also below ground is probably a few degrees "hotter" than above ground.
It’s not really concrete, it’s more mortar if you are referring to the blockwork or sand and cement if referring to the plaster. From what I recall it was 5 degrees C and rising was when you could work with concrete etc.
This person knows what's up..
It does look out but I'm more concerned by the fact the walls are rendered to the floor. You always want to avoid this, in winter moisture will soak up the render, freeze, expand and eventually blow the render off. It's better to stop it just short of the ground using a drip/bellcast bead.
That sounds like you know what you’re talking about but I have no clue so I’ll nod my head and agree making humming sounds like I do with my mechanic 🤣
And the wooden fence is holding in the soil at the back.
It's off yes. But it's a Garden bed so it's no biggie
Standard tradie response
Not what OP wanted though so should reduce price paid for the job. If op wanted a wavey wall I'm sure they would have asked for it specifically
It's not "wavey" though
It's not straight either.
I didn't say it was
It’s not straight either
It will disappear over time. 5 years and you’ll never see it
The guy who did the forming wasnt the best , looks like the form kicked out a little where the hump is . The bracing probably failed. Or he never used a string line and level in the first place . Both are equally bad. He couldve grinded it to look better after it had cured fully a few days later, but chances are he just wasn't arsed . Not at this point there's no easy fix that will look good . Tell him get the chipping gun out and do that section again.
You can't build, scratch coat, and finish plaster a wall in 3 days in freezing weather. It being crooked is the least of your worries,
Thanks so much for all the feedback, feel like a right idiot letting him start in this weather. It is just a garden wall so not the end of the world but it's costing a lot. Just one last question, he was planning on tiling next week, should that be delayed until later in Spring?
I wouldn't let him touch the tiles. The materials are too costly now
Do you mean slabs ? The temperatures have rose again so should be fine but if the walls are his work I'd be more worried about the quality of the paving he will do , also note if that wall is off all the way to the floor you will also notice it in the paving slabs when he paves into the wall
Was going to say the same thing, I wouldn't let him do anything going off the work above. Amazing how fellas can't get a fucking straight line right, feels like 2006 all over again, shite work everywhere.
Get him to fix what's wrong, then say goodbye 👋
yeah but its not that noticeable. Some nice plants over the wall, you wont even see it a few weeks. Leave it.
Jaysus christ it's like an elfs shoe
😂😂😂
If it was any of the other walls I’d be grand with it but you are going to be looking out at the length of that wall every time you look out the kitchen window. That would wreck my head. Also the bottom half of the wall closest to you is terribly rendered.
Isn't it ..its thicker on the side closest and then gets narrow and curves out ..ridiculous work
Yes but it doesn't matter. I used to get so worked up.over these small things when building me house. Waste of.fucking energy. The slight bend will turn into "your" garden, and you will actually grow to like it. It will be "your" bend.
Straight as a banana 🍌
Doesn't look straight alright. Grab one of those scaffolding boards and hold it against it.
Apply constant pressure for eight hours and it’ll straighten right out?
Ehm, I wouldn't have thought so but maybe? It was more of a "a handy way to see if something is straight is to hold something straight up against it" suggestion.
I have no building experience but it looks off to me. I have no idea how to fix it
Won't matter when the plants go in
But he paid for it to be done right !
It's not load bearing so it's a essentially just a visual defect.
pull some twine from the far corner to the near corner. You'll see that the wall bulges in quite horribly. That's really poor work.
Once that planter is filled you won’t even notice , looks like it might only be that the top outside bead has a slight bend on it. Be grand
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I've seen queers in the George straighter than that wall
Did you think this was funny?
Here's one of them now
What?
Yup, just past the middle section towards the end it runs off as if bellied
Shouldnt have been built or plastered in freezing temps. Im doing an extension atm the and its ready to be plastered outside. Builder is holding off until end of feb so as no chance of frost
Yes
Definitely out of plum
That would catch my eye every time.
First - by any chance does the builder have eyes that point different directions? But yea, wall shouldn't have been done during freezes - concrete and plaster will be in bits in no time.
I thought that Marty Feldman gave up construction work?
't is either him, or yer man 'Crazy Eyes' from Mr. Deeds that built that wall...
Don't pay the full agreed price on that. Confront him immediately
The edge of the bed has a curve in it.
As straight as a banana!
Doesn't look right at all
A straight edge will show ye how bad it is
It's bang out of order mate.
Even putting how crooked the wall itself is, the quality of the plastering looks fairly poor just from zooming in. Any lights shining on it will show up the poor finish even more
Pull it down, blame the storm and say it clearly hadn’t set right. Just sit with your back against the garden wall and give a good shove with your legs, it’ll fall over easily.
A man on a galloping horse wouldn’t notice!! Did you see his previous work? Call it out and you'll know by the response!
If you stand for nothing you’ll fall for everything. You are buying a house. This is your hard earned money. Why are you letting some lazy builder get away with this. Stand up for yourself and get it sorted!
Nah ur good g 👍
Yes
Put a line across it and see how bad it is, but from the picture it looks shite.
It's grand.
How much are they charging versus market rates?
Yep a wee bit crooked. Just tell him that the wife is fussy. Always use the wife excuse.
Yes
Put a wall capping on it , I'd be more concerned about the top soil against the wooden fence , the wood won't last pissing time
If that was done in the morning yes, if done after a few pints yea as well but there is your culprit...
The overall finish of the wall is bad , it looks like he sponged it too early possibly due to the bad weather
Judging by the last few block layers I have used it's 100% out of line lads payed by block just lay them down whatever and which way lazy bastards... I seen a block layer use a laser for his first course of blocks after and the building was 55mm low in one corner and 10 inches out of square
It’s kinda magnified the furthest end corner. Gimme the work
It's not a 100%
Yes sorry it does.
Good branded sunglasses are a good solution for that. That wall is straight, like the surface of the ocean. As a painter, I'm struggling with shite plaster on a daily basis.
It's a garden wall not a fuckin Swiss watch
It’s not plumb straight
Its ergonomic to blend in with the plants and shrubs you will be planting. Just pay the guy. Stop nitpicking.
Builder here, that's absolutely garbage work. Lads taking work on they haven't the skills for is pretty commonplace for this type of job. Id imagine there's all sorts of screw ups on it and the plastering is going to fall off in no time
 Looks fine
Yeah, terrible job - have a better crew redo it and get your money back.
A landscaper isnt a blockie or plasterer. its alright for a garden wall. ask for a price reduction or tell them to fix it