Working with MDF indoors

[steveoelliott]

Hi,

 

I am just looking to canvas opinion here... The result of which will be that I either need to realign my expectations or be more assertive moving forward.

 

I had a carpenter come out yesterday to fit some oak veneered MDF shelves and box in some pipework in a cupboard off our hallway. First things first, he's made a nice job it. However, I was a little disgruntled by him planing the MDF in our hallway and using a jigsaw for scribing, all of which generated a fair amount of MDF dust. Whilst the planer did have a bag on, apparently this came adrift at some point. I did highlight before he took on the job that I wanted the cutting done outside on the drive and not internally.

 

MDF dust is awful stuff and after he left it took sometime to clean down everything in the hallway, requiring clearing my vacuum filters twice.  I have a large hallway with a hard floor and even though he did put dust sheets down, it went all over the place.

 

Am I being unreasonable? I just figure it wouldn't have taken much effort to take a few steps outside to plain / scribe rather than doing it in my hallway.

 

Thanks in advance and if I am being unreasonable, I've got broad shoulders

Edited February 8 by steveoelliott

[joe90]

Yes MDF dust gets everywhere and yes he should have done it outside so give him a bollocking but at least he has done a good job, if it were the other way around it would be more annoying (work done outside but shite workmanship) 🤷‍♂️

[steveoelliott]

5 minutes ago, joe90 said:

Yes MDF dust gets everywhere and yes he should have done it outside so give him a bollocking but at least he has done a good job, if it were the other way around it would be more annoying (work done outside but shite workmanship) 🤷‍♂️

Yes, and I have learnt a lesson for next time... Everything, cutting, sanding planing is all done outside. It might take a little bit more time and be more irritating but I see it that it can be factored into the price or of course they don't take the job on.

[ToughButterCup]

1 hour ago, steveoelliott said:

...

Am I being unreasonable? 

...

 

No.

But you are shouting into the cavernous mouth of a massive deaf volcano.  On-the-job tidiness is for others - the site cleaner, the apprentice, the owner, the wife (yes I know - but it's true). MDF has a carcinogenic edge to it, the greater the urgency therefore.

 

Have a look at Peter Millard's YT channel. He works (used to? )  with MDF a good deal. Tidy to a fault, excellent carpenter, but suffers from some sort of bronchial problem. Hence his attention to dust reduction. One of his videos is about how on-the-job tidiness gets him a good deal of repeat business. 'Nuff said.