Either one of those remarks would have at least been HONEST.

But, when someone who doesn't know anything about what you do tells you that you've done a good job, it's slightly annoying. In an apartment block, what really matters is how long the renovation LASTS, not how good it LOOKS, although it should look acceptable too. They're presuming that GOOD LOOKS = GOOD QUALITY, and I know better. Every professional out there can set tiles or install a counter top that will LOOK better than mine, but mine will still look good after 20 years, whereas theirs are only designed to last the 12 months until their warranty expires.

Here's a good example:

Dozens of companies in every city will install a plastic laminate counter top for you. But, how many of them will paint the particle board that's exposed when they cut a hole for the sink or faucet with a waterproof paint to prevent that exposed particle board from absorbing water and swelling up? EVERY time you remove a cartridge from a faucet to replace the washer or service the faucet somehow, the water that's still in the spout will come pouring out of the faucet body. Unless you've filled the faucet body with plumber's putty or something else, that water will drain into the space below the faucet cover and slowly leak out the holes cut in the counter top where the faucet is mounted. Do that a few times and the particle board swells but the laminate doesn't, and the laminate breaks free of the particle board supporting it.

When I do that job, not only do I paint the exposed particle board on the side of the holes and the underside of the counter top around those holes with oil based paint or penetrating wood repair epoxy, whenever I service a kitchen faucet in my building, I remove the aerator on the end of the spout and use a short piece of vinyl tubing to siphon the water out of the faucet body before servicing the faucet. That way, no water leaks out.

It's the swelling of that wood that causes the laminate to separate from it, and as soon as the laminate isn't well supported by that wood, it's as thin and brittle as dried leaf and that's the beginning of the end of that counter top. By taking steps to prevent my plastic laminate from absorbing water, I'd eliminating the most common cause of plastic laminate tops from needing to be replaced. And, that's something that a prospective tenant doesn't see. So, when he tells me I've done a good job, he doesn't know the half of it. Each and every one of us in here finds it annoying when someone talks authoritatively about something they know nothing about, and I'm no different.