More photos;

Unfortunately it is not just trims. But he agreed the other issues. He thinks all trim and paint jobs are done.

"Is this normal for a contractor?" can be answered in a single word: Yes.

And now for the longer version. What is "normal" for one contractor can be very much out of the norm for another. A painter who shows up with a bunch of guys he just picked up loitering at a bus stop won't likely be capable of painting your custom home to a custom home quality standard. That contractor's rates shouldn't be in the same league as the high-end custom painter, either. As with every project, it's important to align client expectations and the contractor's capabilities. A written quality standard like Residential Construction Performance Guidelines for Professional Builders and Remodelers which is published by the National Association of Home Builders can be helpful.

It's just a poor-quality trim installation and finish work.

Nail holes need to be filled.

A smooth portion of the wall that was touched up over a textured wall finish can also be corrected by someone who knows what they doing to make a better match.

As for the trim work, if they used scarf joints instead of butt joints you wouldn't see any of the joints, but it seems they just slapped everything together just to get it done.

It might be normal for that contractor, but it isn't the norm for all contractors. I wouldn't be happy with that detailing. Depending on the price. If it was rock bottom pay I might not expect much more, but if I was paying average to good for the area I would expect better work.

No. If we were doing this work ourselves, I would expect all of these defects. But we are not professionals or in the trades. When they expect to get paid for their work, it should be much better quality than an amateur do it yourselfer.

Its not acceptable to me. I would want someone to retexture that wall, so it matches and then get it repainted. The trim is done very sloppy.

In this instance what would be the course of action of the homeowner? Can you not pay the contractor for a job that wasn’t done correctly to the standard and to the homeowners standard? I would like to know what other people would do in case like this and as a Pro what would be your suggestion?

Absent any written quality standard that was agreed to, there is still a standard of care which applies. Contractors need to perform work in a good and workmanlike manner. The problem is the lack of definition of quality defects like paint issues, what is an acceptable tolerance for plumb, level and square and so forth.

It could be a slow and painful process getting the current contractor to perform to that standard. If the contractor is unwilling to correct the work (and I doubt they are able to elevate it to a reasonable quality level,) it's probably best to simply move on and get another contractor to fix it.

Thank you all! I will share all comments with our contractor. We have now decided not to pay the full amount remaining and to work with someone different to fix all the flaws.

All this process was really painful for us.

I wish we had done more research before we started.