Quality Treat

Quality Treat fully insured specialists in a wide range of damp proofing systems and all aspects of plastering work

A few recent ceilings from patch repairs, artex cover ups, overboards and reskims. There is a right way and a wrong way ...
17/12/2025

A few recent ceilings from patch repairs, artex cover ups, overboards and reskims. There is a right way and a wrong way for all scenarios. It comes down to experience in identifying the best works depending on fault, age, condition and previous materials used. Once you've done that it's vital you advise and explain to your customer and then stick to your guns. Too many plasterers know this and then get talked into carrying out a reskim because they want to get the job and then are held accountable when there is an issue. We've all been there when a customer says iv been told it just needs a quick reskim and makes you feel like a fraud but the customer is only repeating what they have been told by a chancer who probably wouldn't even know where to start on a ceiling overboard and would have no clue how to batton out and board. Jobs and money come and go but a reputation takes years to build and only a matter of hours to lose.

Ceiling repair after a leak, lovely blend on this one. A bit of a speciality of ours because of the constant blending on...
17/12/2025

Ceiling repair after a leak, lovely blend on this one. A bit of a speciality of ours because of the constant blending on the 1 metre damp proof systems.

The first job I did for the customer that's just used my services again. The type I like, give you a key and keep away u...
15/12/2025

The first job I did for the customer that's just used my services again. The type I like, give you a key and keep away until the job is done. This again was a make good and reskim. Your at the walls mercy with reskim work as you can't do much about the shape but one thing you can control is how neat you get around the fixtures and how clean you keep your work. Its not the walls that stand out when your sat at home looking at your house it's those cracks in the corners or that bad joint in your coving or the paint on your socket. When the novelty of a big job wares off its the small details that make a difference.

A hall, stairs and landing for a returning customer. The experience from the last time there was very helpful with this....
15/12/2025

A hall, stairs and landing for a returning customer. The experience from the last time there was very helpful with this. The girl has recently bought the property and is doing almost everything from top to bottom and iv already done the kitchen and had noticed the previous owner must have been a heavy smoker and ni****ne was clinging to the surfaces and being dragged out by the pva and combining to make a congealed mess so I knew to wipe all the surfaces down this time. These overskims on older properties can be frustrating this time of year because the years of different paints on different walls can cause different setting times with the shortest of which already being quite long because of the cold temperatures ( at least in summer it all sets fast so you just start on which is going off fastest ) this was meaning up to 3 1/2 hours per gage which means more looking at and playing about with it which I usually go mad at people for doing. Anyway it turned out well and the nice clean corners and sharp edges from the new beads has made a real difference. I will hold my hands up though and say there will be a little return visit as the customer has noticed a bit of scrim tape grinning through that I used on a fracture above a doorway. It may be nothing and be perfectly OK for painting but it was enough to concern the customer and I would rather go and see that it's nothing to worry about than dismiss it and get a picture next week of it grinning through the paint

It's crazy how requesting a deposit to confirm a start date for someone's project can turn a job sour before it's even s...
03/12/2025

It's crazy how requesting a deposit to confirm a start date for someone's project can turn a job sour before it's even started. Tradesmen don't come around to your house and demand you have work done, we are there because you called us. If you are having work done you've probably saved so if materials are £200 you should have that it isn't up to the tradesman to front that payment. I understand trust can come into it but I'm sure it must be easier to earn £1000 by doing the job rather than taking a £200 deposit and having to go into hiding but on the other hand if you don't trust us enough to pay a deposit why should we trust you can afford to pay materials and labour after squirming at paying a deposit.
Our deposits aren't just to cover materials and they certainly aren't rewarding enough to be a consolation if work is cancelled. They are a gentleman's agreement to acknowledge that our time on those dates is as valuable to yourself as it is to us. The time to start date is irrelevant, if you commit to a price and date you commit to the deposit. How and when that deposit is spent is also no concern of the customer. If a builder gets a 20% discount on materials that is his discount as a return customer and you haven't been had off because that discount wouldn't exist if you went direct in fact you'd likely pay more than the original price because he did pass on his trade discount. It is also your responsibility to pay your tradesman as soon as works are completed and inspected. It doesn't matter if its £100 or £10,000 as often in our industry the £100 may be the sum with the most personal value as it is that last bit of rent or that family meal you didn't know if you'd be able to attend. As a tradesman I can speak for most when I say this, we would walk away from a £50,000 job over the late payment of £100. You have to speculate to accumulate in this game so nothing is more important than being paid up at the end of a job. There is no other industry that you'd ask for a service or product without a deposit and none that you'd not face interest or legal action for late payment. If you want a professional service respect the professional service providers.

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