When a Media Wall Goes Wrong
When the contractor runs out of skill, or interest, the client has already paid.
What We See When We Are Called In
Every few months we get a call from someone whose media wall was started by someone else. It usually starts fine, they say. The frame went up. The joinery arrived. It looked like it was going to be good. And then somewhere between 80% done and finished, something changed.
The problems are almost always the same. A soundbar recess cut 2cm narrower than the actual soundbar. MDF machined in the living room with no dust sheet, everything white for a week. A cupboard door that was never hung, or hung badly, or where the routing left the face proud of the frame. Plasterboard around the framework that went up in a hurry and shows it.
Sometimes it is the cabling. The cable that was supposed to disappear into the wall and emerge neatly behind the TV ends up surface-run at the end, because the route through the frame turned out to be harder than the contractor anticipated. A trunking strip gets screwed to the finished wall instead. The client notices it every time they sit down.
Then comes the snag list. The client writes down everything that still needs doing. The contractor agrees. And then goes quiet. One week, two weeks, a month. The message stays on read or gets a reply that says next week. Next week does not come.
What all of these jobs have in common is where they fall apart: the end. The beginning is usually fine. It is the final 10% that exposes whether the contractor has the skill and the interest to finish properly. By that point the client has paid enough that walking away costs the contractor very little. And so they walk.
We get called in to assess, and sometimes to put things right. Sometimes the issues can be corrected without reopening much of the build. Sometimes they cannot, and a section needs to come back out.
"The final 10% of a build is where everything becomes visible. Anyone can put up a frame and hang some board. Finishing well — the scribing, the reveals, the door gaps, the cable routes — that is the part that takes time and skill. It is also the part that gets skipped when a contractor is already thinking about the next job."
Daniel Brewster
Design Director, LV Carpentry & Tradesmen
We tie the final payment to a walkthrough on site. Every door, every shelf, all the lighting, the AV connections. If something is not right, it gets fixed before we leave, not promised after. The client does not sign off on a snag list. They sign off on a finished wall.
Our two-year workmanship guarantee covers the build: the cabinetry, the framing, the finishing and all fitted lighting. If anything moves, warps or fails to perform as installed, we return and put it right. The guarantee only means something if the team that built it is still contactable — and still cares.
The team that starts a project is the team that finishes it. We do not bring in subcontractors for the parts we find difficult. The price is fixed before we begin. The final payment is tied to the job being done.
Planning a Media Wall?
Complimentary consultation across London, Surrey & the Home Counties. Fixed price before we start.