And I thought I had problems before
Fri, 10 Dec 2010 68 Comments 
You have to laugh or you'd start crying. That is my lovely old floor after my painters started "painting". Not what I was expecting. It's a long and involved story that can be summed up simply ... they were cowboys. A supposedly reputable firm sends a cowboy crew to my home to "paint". First they didn't start in the room they said they would (the bedroom which we had stripped of furniture). They decided to start with the office and spray it (I was not informed this was how they were going to "paint"). I have seen rooms that have been professionally sprayed and they can turn out OK ... if the room is cleared of furniture, heavy drop cloths or plastic used, lots of masking and taping and covering up everything that isn't to be sprayed. This is what I found when I got home. I don't need to explain the carnage.
Painters had gone home for the day but quick as a flash I was on the phone. I remember threats and profanities were used by me and profuse apologies by the painter. "We'll fix it! I promise." I wanted to sack them then and there but they had the keys to my house and I was worried that they would take "payment" by way of computers or TVs when we weren't home. With trepidation I let them come back the next day to clean up. They were there when I got home. It was worse!
The floors that were covered in paint spots and a fine mist of white paint which they tried to wipe off turning it into a "whitewash" were now splotchy and discoloured. They had used methylated spirits, sponges and a scraper and preceded to ruin my floors even further if possible. "Don't worry we'll fix it with varnish." It was at that stage I screamed at them to get out :)
I have spent a day trying to fix the problem but I'm admitting defeat for the moment. My 150 year old cedar floors had been shellaced at some stage of their lives and the metho had removed the finish. Worse still it softened the finish and mixed it with the remains of the paint producing muddy white clouds of now reset shellac/paint all over my floor. The beautiful thick waxy finish is stripped away and well you can see the results. Wine helped last night and jam and cream donuts have made today's efforts a little more bearable but it's f*cked. Want to see what it was like before?
It was never perfect. There were some areas of slight discolouration, some scratches but there was also this lovely richness, a thick, smooth and silky finish underfoot darkened with age. Like a lovely old piece of furniture you have polished over and over. It was what I loved about these rooms. People have said sand it back, refinish it and most likely I will have to but what I will be losing is the history. The boards are cupped with age. You can see shallow trails worn into the timber over 150 years where people have walked the same path from door to door or door to bed. I love that. Now I'll have to rip its history away with a belt sander and have a "brand spanking new floor". I think I need another donut! Here's my before video. Goodbye floors. I miss you.
Reader Comments (68)
Oh, wow! Words don't even begin to do justice to this.
One method for cleaning shellac finishes, is to use steel wool and denatured alcohol to dissolve and reapply the existing shellac while removing dirt. The dirt stays in the steel wool, and the shellac is left behind. Don't know if this will work with paint mixed in, but it could be worth trying. You could avoid sanding the floors that way and at least keep the time-worn look of the wood itself. Lots of work, but worth it in the end. Especially if you can get this "reputable" firm to do it. It's possible also using this method you could just completely remove the shellac and switch to oil or wax finish for a warm finish over the worn wood.
Don't accept the easy (sander) solution. The ultimate goal here is for you to be a satisfied customer at the end of this ordeal.
The finish on all the woodwork in my home was crackled from improper shellac application, and I used this method to smooth it out to good effect. It was made easier by the application of many evening cocktails :-).
Good luck!
oh no, this is so sad...i'm sorry, jo. how incredibly frustrating. best wishes with your search for a solution, what a nightmare. :(
Jo, you should seriously sue the company for replacement/repair costs. I'm not kidding. It may take a bit longer to get things accomplished, but you shouldn't be out all of that money because of their errors!
don't know what to say! this is not the work of professional painters - college kids doing painting is much better. So sorry this has happened to you. Unless you find that magic solution that would wipe away the paint and retain the floor's color, i would have to go with some of the commenters' suggestion of having to paint the floor some other color instead.. and this time, don't hire those stupid painters again.. and yes, i would go and sue them apart from getting back all your money and more..
Good luck and lots of donuts to you!
Jo, my heart is breaking for you and all that lovely mistreated wood. I wish I had something practical to offer, but all I've got is my dismay and my hope that you don't really have to render it all smooth again to get rid of the staining. And some virtual doughnuts.
Try to find out if this was the first time they "painted". Maybe they've one damage previously.It looks like they did it on purpose. No one would think that that is okay. I wonder what they answered you when you yelled at them. "sorry but this happens all the time when we do our job" ???? This is really crazy to me. Don't let them get away with it!!
I know you said you aren't litigious over there, but please, please sue for the damages. This is unacceptable incompetence and a flat-out willful disregard for your property and their destruction thereof. They should pay for that.
OMG! That looks like a scene out of "The Money Pit"... The only thing you're missing is Tom Hanks cradled in an antique rug - suspended thru a hole in the ceiling!!! Ugh. I'm sorry...
WOW! That is HORRIBLE!!! First I would call up this so called firm and rant! After that I would rent a professional sanding machine and sand the entire floor and then cover it with a nice varnish paint. And then, I would send the bill - for the rental of the sanding machine and cost of buying varnish - and send it to the painter firm.
Seriously, renting a sanding machine is a good idea, the ones that look like a big heavy vacuumm machine. That would do the job!
Natascha xoxo
I am speechless. Some people just have no idea/don't give a shit/don't have a brain. Seriously what the hell were they thinking? I am so sorry Jo, you do not deserve this. At all. Who does! I know they spray in new builds, but I would never have imagined they would do this in a heritage home. That is crazy. I showed my husband and much profanity followed.
I really don't know what to suggest with the floors, there are options of course - paint white, black japan, very lightly sand the floors and oil them so that you can create your own patina on the floors and perhaps retain some of the old knocks? I hope whatever you do that you will be happy with it in the end. Thank god they didn't get to the rest of the house. I would give you a big hug if I could. x
I hope you don't mind if I republish here my response that I made on the front page. There are two conversations going on but they are really the same one :)
Thanks everyone for your support and suggestions. The process here is a little different to the States if you are in dispute with your tradesman or any service provider for that matter. If conciliation/negotiation/compensation etc is not possible with the tradesman and all avenues of recompense are exhausted or unavailable eg professional associations and standards bodies then we go to the Department of Fair Trading where a government mediator is appointed to negotiate a settlement. If this is not to the consumer's liking it then goes to the Small Claims Tribunal whose purpose is to arbitrate a settlement. Only then if the tradesman is found to be at fault and does not pay/do what is dictated by the tribunal is a lawyer involved. It keeps costs down and also provides a government register of cowboy companies.
Don't worry. I have every intention of pursuing this company for compensation. I do not wish for them to continue to attempt to "fix" the floor themselves. I have not paid them a cent and will not be paying them. This is a master/servant situation so any damage caused by a crew sent by the umbrella parent company is the parent company's responsibility.
I intend to explore ways of restoring the floor to a finish similar to what was there before. I do not want to sand it back to bare wood and treat it like a new floor. I'm not keen on painting it either. I need to remove the damaged shellac finish and also hand remove gently the other paint stains that are still there. I like the idea of exploring restaining and resealing whether with shellac then polish or an oil to seal. Old floors and polyurethane finishes do not go well in my book.
This morning I woke up with a jam and cream donut hangover which has been helped by a great coffee from my new coffee hangout and then on to the farmer's market where I met a man who I worked for in one of my first waitressing jobs (putting myself through med school) about 30 years ago. He was the same wonderful, funny and food obsessed man I remember and he piled me high with the most wonderful artisan Italian produce. I have forgotten all about my floors for a few hours and I will try to do so for the rest of today (Sunday). My fight continues tomorrow when the Department of Fair Trade opens for business again. In the meantime we will take a break from painting. People have suggested that I DIY the painting. My problem is that I have 13 foot ceilings (higher in some areas), I'm 48 with a bad back and "catholic" knees and it is a little beyond me. I guess I could manage painting up to an 8 foot mark maybe :) We had a number of quotes from other painters originally and we will explore these in the new year. I have put off setting up home in my house because I wanted the walls perfect. I'm not putting it off any longer. I'm bringing everything out of the boxes and living my life with what I have now, mould, flaky paint, ruined floor and all. And I feel good about this :) So if you don't mind I'll step away from the computer for the rest of the day and enjoy the moment and maybe have another donut!
Oh, Jo. I add my commiserations to all those already posted. This is heartbreaking for you, your hubby, and your beautiful
old house.
I, too, showed your photos to my partner who is a renovator and restorer. He hung his head in his hands, cursed, and said "Disgraceful. I've never seen anything like this before."
On how to move forward, it looks as if the paint is water-based. If so, it might respond to much swabbing and mopping with warm soapy water. Try working in a small unobstrusive spot first--perhaps in a cupboard--that way any more mess is confined. If this doesn't work, I would contact the local architectural historical society and ask for their advice: they may be able to give you the names of local conservators and advise on products to help restore the shellac finish.
Failing that, the floor would look great after sanding and oiling--but different!
Best of luck to you.
Oh my god! I have heard horror stories before, but was devastated myself when I saw this. I am so truly sorry for you, because, like you, I love the history and patina of items. Good luck. I will be thinking of you.
Not only should you sue, you should collect the costs of restoring your floor, to whatever extent that can be. No matter how distasteful and tedious the process, it's important to society that renegade tradesmen like this be made to pay ... think of their next victims!
We must hold bullies, thieves, cheats, criminals, etc responsible, or they will continue to ply their ways.
Seeing this makes me want to cry : ( All I can do is imagine your pain! I'm not even going to bother saying how horrible this is - you know that better than anyone at the moment!
My heart bleeds for you. We just had painters that made a little of a mess but I will gratefully shut up now. Secondly, I NEVER trust anybody in my house unsupervised. There is NO way these cowboys were professionals. Good luck with the Fair Trade dept. I hope you can get some compensation. You certainly have enough evidence.
Oh no!! I think your place is just around the corner from me. I have just discovered your blog and I love it! I too have an old house that we are restoring. I am so glad I found you!
Poor you! Anita mentioned your floors so I came over to have a look and sympathise - that is incredibly bad, and you must feel as though your house was utterly vandalised. Many good wishes to you as you sort it out.
We suffered dodgy paintwork 10 years ago and went to the Master Painters Asscociation. They'll send someone out to assess the work and you can take things from there. You'd think they'd have rolled the walls, not sprayed them. This is dreadful. I hope you'll get some resolution.
I´m sorry for posting again...but I can´t get your pictures out of my head, they make me very sad for you - and your house. I tried to fugure out a practical solution. Someone already sugested something simylar: is there any possibility to purchase products from "Le Tonkinois" in your country?
Dearest Jo I have been having a bit of a blog break I cant believe I have returned to find this. It is vandalism!! Have you thought about having a furni guy look at it to see if he can try to reactivate the finish AGAIN and restore. Sanding sounds so brutal. I am so so sad for you. I will be eating donuts in empathy. I keep bumping into my painter friend so maybe that is a sign tell k to call if u want number. I still can't believe just how much damage they did, it is unbelievable they could such damage to something so perfect, xx katherine
Wow... that is outrageous what they have done... and definitely worth contacting the BSA in regards to their license.
Please do not despair with your lovely floor as a good quality sand and a wax/oil finish will bring it back to it's lovely old look. If you do go for sanding and applying a new finish to your floor try a small patch in a corner that is hidden so that you can see if you would be happy with the end result. If you after a darker look there are some floor paint products out there. However older floors do come up darker with a wax/oil finish and the quality of the age of the timber is still retained.
Good luck with everything... Lisa
Oh Jo. That office is so incredibly beautiful. The fireplace, the veranda - it's heaven. I am absolutely sick about what the painters did to your floor. It's criminal. I want to cry. Pass the donuts.
Breathaking.
It's hard to believe that these fools did this. Did they even bother putting drop sheets down? It doesn't look that way.
I am still shaking my head wondering what, if anything was going through their minds when they did this. Really?!!
I'm so sorry. I do hope you find a terribly expensive restoration company who can restore your boards to their former glory and be paid for by these cowboys.
xMB
Thanks again everyone for your comments and suggestions. Everyone's advice has been so helpful! We started the ball rolling today with making these bastards pay and making sure they are on a list of shonky operators. It will take time and in the meantime Ellen on the other conversation stream reminded me of insurance and it appears we may be cover for some of the repairs. It will get us started with fixing these floors while we go after the cowboys for proper compensation. People have commented about the lack of drop sheets. There were drop sheets used but they are not shown in the pictures I took. The problem is they used very thin sheets and the paint has soaked through and stained the floors. They must have got the shock of their lives when they lifted them and found the mess below. Most of the sheets were piled around the edges of the room when I arrived and I quickly removed them from the floor because they were still full of wet paint.
Ada thank you for that link. I will try to find it here or email the manufacturer and see if they have a supplier here. I am very much leaning towards oiling the floor. At the moment it feels so harsh and dry underfoot because of how they stripped it with methylated spirits. Poor floor.
Katherine can't wait for you to come visit now. We can eat cake and cuss painters!
Hey neighbour Ani! Use the contact tab above and drop me a line. Maybe we can meet up for a coffee and compare reno stories.
Peggy it is still a beautiful room. A shitty floor can never take that away :)