What guarantee applies to finishing work after a renovation

What the guarantee actually covers

A guarantee on finishing work covers workmanship: the way the job was done, not the outcome you happen to end up with over time. If tiles were laid without the right adhesive coverage and one comes loose after two months, that is a workmanship issue. If paint was applied over a damp wall and it bubbles a few weeks later, that too is on the person who did the work.

At Abimeister, painting and decorating, tiling and flooring work all carry a 24-month guarantee from us. That period covers the work itself: if something fails because of how it was installed or applied, we come back and fix it. It does not extend the guarantee on materials the customer bought themselves, or promise that a surface will never need attention again.

The guarantee is tied to the person or company who did the work, not to the flat. If you bought a flat where the previous owner had tiling done, any guarantee sits with whoever they hired, and only if it is still within the period and documented on an invoice.

Workmanship fault versus material defect

These get mixed up constantly, and the difference decides who pays. A workmanship fault is something that traces back to how the job was done: wrong adhesive for underfloor heating, insufficient primer before painting, skirting fitted without expansion gaps near a radiator. These fall under the guarantee on the work.

A material defect is a fault in the product itself, not in how it was fitted. A batch of laminate with a warped tongue, tiles with an uneven glaze, paint that discolours because of a manufacturing fault: these are the responsibility of the manufacturer or the shop that sold the material, and the claim runs through them, using the receipt.

This is why it matters who bought the materials. If we bought them, on your behalf, with a 10 % handling fee added, we can help sort out a material claim because we hold the paperwork. If you supplied the materials yourself, the material claim is between you and the shop, while the guarantee on our labour still stands separately.

What falls outside the guarantee

Normal wear is not a defect. Grout in a shower will eventually need re-sealing, paint on a hallway wall that gets scraped by prams and shoes will dull faster than paint in a spare room, and flooring in a kitchen will show more traffic marks than flooring in a bedroom. None of that is a fault in the work.

Damage caused after the job was finished is also outside the guarantee: a dropped pan that chips a tile, a flooded washing machine that lifts laminate, furniture dragged across a floor without protectors. If the underlying structure moves, for instance a build-up settling in an older Tallinn wooden house, cracks that follow from that movement are a structural matter, not a finishing one.

Work someone else did afterwards can also void a guarantee on the original job. If another tradesperson drills into a tiled wall or refits skirting on top of new flooring and something fails nearby, it becomes difficult to separate whose work caused the problem, and the original guarantee may not apply.

What to do if a problem appears during the guarantee period

Contact whoever did the work as soon as you notice the problem, rather than waiting to see if it gets worse. Photograph the fault clearly, with something in the frame for scale, and keep the original invoice, since the guarantee is tied to that job and that date.

Describe what you see rather than diagnosing the cause yourself: a hairline crack along a tiled joint, paint peeling in a strip near a window, a gap opening between two flooring boards. A tradesperson can usually tell from a photo or a short visit whether it is workmanship, material, or wear, and quote accordingly if it turns out to be outside the guarantee.

If the flat belongs to an apartment association and the fault involves shared systems, such as damp coming through from a neighbouring flat or a pipe behind a tiled wall, that is worth raising with the korteriühistu board as well, since the cause may not be the finishing work at all.

• Note the date the fault appeared and how it has changed since
• Take clear photographs before doing anything to the surface yourself
• Find the original invoice with the job description and date
• Contact the tradesperson who did the work, not a different company
• Avoid covering or patching the area yourself before it has been looked at

How to avoid guarantee disputes in the first place

Most disputes come down to unclear expectations rather than bad work. Before the job starts, agree in writing, even by email, what surfaces are being treated, what preparation is included, and who is supplying materials. A fixed quote covering the full scope avoids arguments later about what was meant to be included.

Ask what preparation the wall or floor needs before painting, tiling or laying flooring begins, since skipping preparation is one of the most common causes of early failure. A damp wall painted too soon, or a subfloor that was not levelled before flooring went down, will cause problems regardless of how carefully the surface work itself was done.

Keep the invoice and any photos from before and after the job somewhere you can find them for the next two years. If you are commissioning painting and decorating, tiling, or flooring, having that paperwork ready is what makes a guarantee claim, if you ever need one, quick rather than argued over.