I just saw a hotel lobby in Atlanta with the worst drywall finish I've ever laid eyes on

Stayed at a place off Peachtree Street last weekend, and the lobby's feature wall looked like a beginner did it after three beers. The butt joints were so proud you could trip on them, and the corner bead wasn't even embedded properly. I could see a full quarter inch gap from across the room. The worst part was the texture, they tried a skip trowel but it was so thin you could still see every single seam underneath. It's a brand new build too, opened maybe six months ago. How does a job like that pass any kind of inspection, especially in a high traffic area where everyone sees it? Makes our whole trade look bad. What's the most shocking finish you've seen in a public building?

2 comments

2 Comments

olivias882mo ago

Oh man, that's brutal. I saw a government office where they just painted right over the mesh tape without mudding it first. You could see every single grid pattern shining through the paint. It's like they gave up halfway through and just hoped the paint would fill it. Some people have no pride in their work at all.

betty1262mo ago

Maybe the crew was rushing to meet an opening date and the general contractor wouldn't pay for a proper fix. Sometimes the people doing the work know it's bad, but they get told to just get it done. I've seen good finishers forced to leave a mess because the schedule was more important than the finish. The hotel probably just wanted the doors open.