Wall and ceiling plaster work...Is it normal ?!!

[Michael Frish]

Wall and ceiling plaster work...Is it normal? Hired a contractor (with a lots of good reviews via the "thumbtack" ). Paying

him on daily basis: $400 (labor only)

He's spent one week for ..one room (cleaned old painting and ... I don't know for what else. ) I'm paying for a labor only and buy all materials. Came to see his work after one week.. Is it normal?

How long does this work take? Should the ceiling and walls look like this? 5 bags of 50 lb. Structo-Lite Basecoat Plaster- how much material is needed for what he did? Is it worth continuing to work with this contractor (he says everything is fine) or is he a scammer? How much does this work cost (and how long does it take): prepare the ceiling and walls, cover them with plaster and paint them (one room)?

[Nathan Gesner]

I can't tell what I'm looking at here but this doesn't sound right. Is he plastering over wood? Old plaster? Sheetrock?

My guess (as an amateur with limited knowledge) is that a professional charging $50 an hour should be able to get the first base coat down on that entire room in one day. Structo-Lite goes on white so your pictures only show one white wall, which indicates he still has three walls and a ceiling to go! Your close-up picture shows lumps in it which indicates his mix was dirty or not mixed well. Long story short, it seems to me that a professional would have finished this entire job in five work days.