I hired a contractor to redo a couple of rooms at a new house. I was
to be responsible for the painting. Except the contractor then said
painting meant painting and plastering. I got a painting guy to go in
and look at the place now that the contractor says it's ready to be
plastered and painted, and the painter is shaking his head at all the
drywalling. There has been no plastering
or taping done. the drywall is stuck up against the old walls,
against the ceiling, as is, with no kind of marking or taping or
plastering over the seams, over the holes, whatever.

The painter is telling me that that kind of thing is part of
drywalling. That he's almost never seen it not done by the drywaller.
He says if his guys have to do the taping and first plastering over
the drywalling it's going to cost a lot more because they really don't
have a lot of experience and it will take longer. In fact, he'd have
to subcontract to a drywaller. The second and third plaster coats are
fine, they do them all the time, he says. The contractor seems to be
saying that all taping and plastering is part of the plaster/painting
process. Does anyone have experience with drywalling? Is it normal for
the drywaller to just put up the drywall against the frame and do no
kind of plastering or taping to meld it against the walls and roof?

If there is an understanding that I'm responsible for painting and
plastering is the contractor being reasonable by doing nothing more
than he's already done?

I'm supposed to be moving in there in a week, and the painter is
telling me that there's no way he can finish in time if his guys have
to do the first plaster and taping, so this is really important.