Calling all plastering and building pros and people with eyes, I need your help assessing whether this plastering job needs to be re-done.

There were three parts to the project:

1. A kitchen mantle, over the oven that was built with smooth plasterboard, and needed beading and skimming
2. Cutting out a piece of the ceiling plaster board and replacing (holes were created by electrician), and feathering out
3. A small section of wall above a new bench and cabinet (made in MDF) that had a flat plasterboard and needed a skim

It is very hard to see in the photos how uneven the plastering is, because it isn’t painted yet. It is undulating, seams are in high relief and visible, and there is some cracking. On the ceiling, it very clearly was not feathered at all, and will be a very bumpy result. Our builder did not want to be too negative but I could tell he was surprised and he said he did not understand the ‘approach.’

We had another plasterer take a look, and he also avoided being too negative, but basically did not believe a professional finish was achieved.

My partner thinks it was due to the fact that he put a very rough coat of plaster on one part of the project and then left it to apply a rough coat on another part, and when he returned it had dried quite a bit, and he couldn’t smooth it. That is his assessment.

I have asked the original plasterer (this is someone we had to find short notice but had good reviews) whether he might partially refund us so we can have it fixed. We understand the only real way to fix it is to remove the board and start again, which will cost a lot more than the original job. I’m just not sure what is fair, given the results.

Any thoughts - has this job been done to an acceptable standard?

We might have a go at heavily sanding it and seeing if we can live with it. But if after all that, we take it down, that will also just add more time and effort to the cost of all of this.

I need some honest assessments, and if there are any good ideas for addressing this, they are very welcome.