I hired Erik to build a custom bookshelf wall. I sent inspiration pictures showing exactly what I…read morewanted and asked Erik if this was something he could do since it was a big project. He assured me he could definitely handle this project. His rate seemed fair so I decided to go forward with hiring him. The result, however, is a hideous badly done bookshelf that can't even hold my books.
The bookshelf looks okay at first glance, but when you get close there are a lot of problems. I was concerned and contacted Erik to request a partial refund (He wasn't finished with my work yet but asked for payment and I felt pressured to pay him even though our contract says he shouldn't be paid the remainder until completion of the project). He assured me that while he wasn't going to give a refund he would come and fix all the problems. I trusted this since I had no other choice. He didn't actually fix much of anything, even after spending a whole day "working" on it.
So let's dive into the problems. The trim is badly cut, many pieces are too short, leaving big gaps all over the bookcase. The top trim has such a big gap, due to him cutting it too short, he had to put in a small piece and then cover it in joint compound to try to make them match. He didn't properly sand it down, however, so it was just a globby mess. The shelves themselves can't hold my books, we tested this after he was gone and they bow really bad in the middle. Erik might say this is because of my choice of wood, but I followed his suggestion when he confidently told me the plywood he chose would be just right for the job. As a professional, he should know whether a certain wood type is sturdy or not.
The whole bookcase itself is not attached to studs, despite that being the original plan, which is dangerous being such a heavy furniture piece. The top section of the bookcase was built separate to get to the height I wanted, this was a good concept but Erik forgot to screw them together. The bookcase was also not the length of my wall, despite the original agreement was for it to be that long. He had his measurements wrong, which actually led him to cut out an outlet hole in the wrong spot.
None of the edges on the bookcase or surfaces are properly sanded, they are all really rough.
The cabinet portion of the bookcase is the biggest disaster. The cabinets have gaps between them which Erik filled with joint compound, didn't sand down, and painted over before it was even fully dry. This like the previously mentioned trim piece was also a globby mess. There is also a thin wood of some kind laid down on this surface but it's not adhered properly and is popping up in spots. The cabinet doors have large gaps on all sides, and the front cabinet faces don't properly line up in spots and are rough. Erik didn't know how to properly make the doors and expressed his own frustration with this saying he wished he did it differently. I did research afterward and found out trim should have been placed around the cabinet fronts to allow room for the hinges and cover any gapping. This is how kitchen cabinets are typically designed. I informed Erik of this and he agreed it made sense, though he's not planning on fixing that for me!
He also hung the doors crooked and seemed frustrated with me when I pointed that out, saying "I really did my best with the doors" I didn't let up however and he put more work into them. This still didn't make much of a difference because of how bad the doors are done. The trim for them is sloppily cut. The lines are not straight (some are rounded, some just crooked) and some of the trim hangs over the edges of the door keeping them from closing properly.
He also cut into my baseboard molding to allow one of the doors to open, and it looks horrible with a big ugly gap there. A professional would have kept space between the cabinet and wall to allow the door to open. Erik also put the knobs in the wrong spot on the doors at first and then he filled in the holes to "fix" them. He didn't properly sand these down either and you can still see mounds where the joint compound he used was placed. He simply painted over them, and they look awful. The paint job on the doors is also fairly uneven, and there's also a large spot inside the cabinet that wasn't painted at all.
Erik told me he rushed this job because he was so excited and due to this I'm left with a badly done bookcase that looks horrible and isn't even functional.
