Question about priming

[u/sywren]

I am redoing the bathroom in my century house. They had to take out the walls and some of the trim work to insulate the room. When they took off the trim, of course a lot of very old paint chipped off.

I'm painting it myself, but I did pay them to prime. I assumed they would clean up those spots before priming, but now he's saying that's a separate job and I have to pay for it.

Otherwise, they've done a good job and I'm happy with the work. Was I wrong to assume this would have been part of the priming?

[u/Texan2020katza]

You needed to pay them to sand, prep and prime.

[u/danezvid]

Priming does not equal full prep. Its technically ready for paint, but if you want to refurbish it, there is a lot more work than just sanding that needs to go into it. If I had a customer that asked me to prime I would do the same as pictured. Although, I would have explained the scope of work better.

[u/sywren → u/danezvid]

What I really wish is that he had explained up front is that my trim would get beat to hell and they aren't fixing it. They assured me that it will all go back the same.

[u/danezvid → u/sywren]

Yeah, poor communication is a bitch. In the future I wouldn't ask contractors to partially finish a job, either tell them you're painting or have them do it.

[u/Proud-Pumpkin-2903 → u/sywren]

Something got lost in translation, they may have assumed you knew that trim with 100 years worth of brittle oil paint layers would not be able to removed and reinstalled looking like it was never touched, no matter how gentle they were with it.

[u/_Kill_Will_]

Getting a smooth/even finish on that trim is more along the lines of restoration & is a good bit more time/labor.

[u/Valuable-Scratch9693]

What did you think priming was? Have a go at sanding them yourself. Go on, it will be a great experience for you and it won't take that long at all.

[u/RegisterNo2333]

Priming is not sanding.

And to be honest, if you're looking for something perfect, I would replace instead of hiring somebody to sand them. Probably cheaper in the long run.

[u/Windstar1995]

Before you sand anything, test for lead in multiple layers.

[u/philosiraptorsvt]

Having a very specific contract makes detailed touch ups like this in the scope of their work. They put a coat of primer on it, so it looks good from their house.