Bad paint job by our builder??

[Scoofy]

Hi all,
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We started painting in our recently built home, and we were in for a shock once we finally finished the room.
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As part of the contract, the builder painted the ceilings & cornices white. As we had to paint right up the cornices wit a different colour, we used masking tape over the cornices to protect them. <O:p</O:p
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When we removed the masking tape at the end of the day, the white paint on multiple places on the cornices came straight off! We used a good quality tape, designed to last up to one week, and we removed it after half a day. The tape was not sticky at all, but it still took away lots of chips from our beautiful white cornice. The ceiling and cornices had been painted at least two months prior to this.
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We are not experienced in painting, but I would have expected that no paint should come off when using masking tape?? We rang our builder, and the maintenance person said we should not have put tape on the cornice so it’s basically our fault.

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I also spoke with the supervisor who said the cornice is made of plasterboard, and that they would have applied a white water-based sealer and 2 coats of flat white water-based ceiling paint. He said that masking tape is not supposed to be put on cornices. <O:p</O:p
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Could any of the more experienced people here give me their opinion? Is it normal for the paint to come off this easily? Should I try to get the builder to fix this??
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Thanks
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Scoofy

[johnc]

I've never seen anyone use masking tape on cornice and the problem is really yours. There is no reason for the builder to have forseen that event. There is a little gizmo you can use to get a straight line without the risk of marking the paint, or a steady hand with a good quality sash cutter. I'd seek advice on how to fix the mess and get on with it.

John.

[hansp77]

I am a house painter Scoofy,
and unfortunately, in my humble opinion, this was well and truly your fault- thus is no responsibility of the builders at all.
I deal mostly with older house reno's, rather than new builds- but even on a newly built and painted cornice, there is no way I would put any tape on it without expecting the paint to peel off- it is just too risky. While not so much a problem for newly built/painted, even enamel on woodwork runs the risk of pulling paint off if you use masking tape.

As you probably know by now, what you are meant to do to get that nice sharp line between your wall and ceiling paint, is to cut it in by hand. It can be tedious and infuriating while learning and struggling with cutting in, but once grasped (I dare say mastered) it can be one of the more pleasurable and satisfying elements of housepainting.

At least because your cornices are new, there should not be too much paint that has peeled off, so that a touchup with celing paint will not be too visable (the more layers of old paint that have peeled off, the more visable the sharp edge of the paint will be). I would have to see it to really give an opinion, but I would think your options for fixing it up would be (and in order of dodgey to best)
1. Simply touch up carefully only the places where the paint has peeled off (a very good little paint brush, with paint not too thick, and then where possible or necessary rolled over after with one of the very small rollers will help to make it less visable. Probably need 2 coats.
2. Get some fine sandpaper (320 or so) and feather in all the edges of every bit of peeled off paint before touching up as with 1.
3. After doing 1. or 2. repaint one coat over the entire ceiling again (but if you can't cut in then this will be a problem)
4. Get some very nice plaster filler and fill in then sand back every bit where the paint has peeled, before touch up painting and then repainting the whole ceiling again. (this is what we do for older reno's, but this where many many layers of paint have peeled off in one go so that there is a dramatically different and obvious level- on your place maybe overkill).

Because it is flat ceiling paint, repairs such as this will be less visable than anything with any gloss in it- but how visable or invisable your repairs look will depend on a lot of things particular to the situation, the ceiling, the light, how bad the peeling is, how good you can repair it, and mostly, how fussy you are going to be with the result.

If you are not confident to do this, you may want to contact a painter or two and see what they will charge you to fix it up.
Other than this, how did your wall painting go?
Where you happy with the results?
Are you confident yet that you know the basics of painting?

Anyway,
bummer, and good luck fixing it up.

[dazzler]

Yep, agree with those above. Most people think painting is easy but there is definately an art to it and I am yet to see a painter use tape.

Probably why most are drunk at the end of the day, too much concentrating to keep it straight.

[Scoofy]

Thanks guys, I appreciate your opinion. Other people I’ve spoken to said that the paint should not come off that easily if it has been primed. But you sound more experienced so it sounds like we will have to take responsibility.

I actually have a picture of the cornice:
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http://s175.photobucket.com/albums/w124/scoofy_2007/cornice/?action=view&current=100_1214.jpg<O:p</O:p
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Other than that we were very happy with our paint work. The first coat was a bit patchy but the second looked fine. We had first used an edge painter with wheels, but as a white line remained between the wall & cornice we decided to mask the cornice to paint the line by hand.<O:p></O:p>
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Fixing sounds like a complicated job… May get a professional to look at it. Luckily this is only the first room we attempted!<O:p</O:p
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However given that the paint came off that easily, I wonder what will happen to the cornices/ceiling after some time, or in wet areas such as bathroom & laundry??<O:p</O:p
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Cheers<O:p</O:p
Scoofy

[Big Shed]

Scoofy, I have yet to see a building job where a primer is used on the ceilings and cornices!

I'm sure you could have had that, but I'd hate to pay for it.

Also, I have yet to a building job where masking tape is used on cornices!


Using those edge tools requires a bit of practice, my daughter is the best in the family at using these, so she usually finishes up doing that job. On the ones I have seen the wheels are adjustable, so you should be able to set it so hardly any white line remains. Having said that some white line has to remain, otherwise the colur will go on the cornice.

Same old story, practice makes perfect.

Your ceiling paint should be perfectly OK, even in wet areas, as long as you are not going to try and rip it off mechanically with masking tape.

[hansp77]

yeah, like Big Shed said,
we've never used 'primer' as such, but rather just a coat or two of basecoat before the topcoat(s).
As the first coat onto raw plasterboard simply absorbs in, I have heard it is more economical to water it down 50/50- spreads further, and seals just the same- but have never done this myself.

[thesupervisor]

well according to australian standards all wet area ceilings should be painted with a low sheen ,this is rarely done its even in the painters regerstration board requirements although i have done a few in flat enamel it does work well

[silentC]

We did all our wet areas with an oil-based low sheen enamel.

If I was you, Scoofy, I would rub those cornices back to feather the edges and then I would repaint the whole cornice, but leave the ceiling. You need to learn how to cut in, it's not hard. People always think that there's an easier way, but if there was, all house painters would use it - they don't cut in because they love it - with the possible exception of hansp77

[cyco]

masking tape on the cornice is not a good idea but it shouldn't do that to the paint job, the biggest problem with a new house is plaster dust if it is not all remove the paint does not adhere very well(sits on top of the dust instead of penetrating the plaster) and now days most painters use airless spray which makes it worse, i wouldn't say that is what has happened as i have not seen it in person. but all the best with the repairs and the rest of the house.

[Sturdee]

My solution is to paint all walls and ceilings white and add individual colour to the rooms by way of the furnishing and paintings.

Much simpler and I never have colour matching problems for repaints.


Peter.