Freeland Painting

Do not trust this business!! You will be out a lot of money with nothing to show for it!!! They were hired to inspect and stain my deck, but the sealant used failed. They should have never touched my deck if they didn’t think staining it was appropriate. I contacted the company within months of sealant application, and after persistent back-and-forth with Amanda (the manager), the owner (Doug) eventually came out and assessed it and resealed the deck. However, the issue worsened a few months later. Amanda continued the back-and-forth, making me wait for months at times. They now claim the warranty is up, though initially, it was just a few months after application that I contacted them. If a sealant was inappropriate, they should've informed me during the inspection. Even the owner resealed it. If resealing wasn't a viable solution, why offer it? It seems they aimed to run out the warranty. This company is highly unprofessional and won't take responsibility for their work. I've asked for a refund multiple times. Their motto 'Relationships matter more than the brush or the ladder' is far from the truth. They don't care about their work and they definitely do not care about their customers. I don't usually write reviews, but people deserve to know how subpar this company is. I'm beyond disappointed, out $600 for staining that didn’t work and destroyed my deck, and now have to pay for a whole new deck. You better believe I will not be using this company to replace it. BEWARE!!!!

My experience with Freeland Painting and Construction has been highly disappointing. We signed a contract with them in October 2021 for a range of home improvement projects, including painting, siding, gutters, carpentry repairs, deck and porch work, window replacements, and door replacements. Unfortunately, the entire process has been riddled with issues, mismanagement, and expensive fixes. First and foremost, there were significant delays throughout the project. The crew frequently failed to show up as scheduled, causing unnecessary disruptions and inconveniences. Furthermore, there were numerous instances where the wrong materials were purchased and used, resulting in incorrect paint on the walls, wrong deck board sizes and stains, as well as incorrect door sizes and appearance. These mistakes clearly reflect a lack of attention to detail and proper planning. One particularly frustrating incident involved the construction of the deck without obtaining the necessary permit, only to have it torn down later. This negligence highlights a disregard for adhering to regulations and proper procedures. When we tried to address these ongoing issues, we requested to speak directly with the owner. However, the project managers insisted that they were our only points of contact and would handle all matters. It was only when the owner sought payment before the project was completed that he finally reached out to us. During our interactions, the owner repeatedly asked us to be reasonable and emphasized that "trust goes both ways." When we questioned our alleged unreasonableness or untrustworthiness, the owner provided vague responses, citing our supposed unwillingness to pay for the project. However, according to the contract, company website statements, and our in-person conversations, payment was due upon project completion with no requirement for a deposit or tiered payments. We did make payments in good faith for certain aspects of the project, but the project remains unfinished to this day. In response to further issues, the contractor attempted to deviate from the contract by claiming that certain items were not included, refused to address warranty claims on faulty product installation, and demanded additional payment for the front door despite no prior mention of extra charges. This inconsistency in their demands is unfair and unprofessional. Additionally, the contractor requested funds to be placed in an escrow account, threatening to place a lien on our property and involve their attorney if we failed to comply. Furthermore, it is important to note that although the business holds a General Contractor license with the City of Suwanee, I have been told they lack the required state licensure from the Georgia Secretary of State to legally operate under that title. Freeland Painting and Construction have worked illegally beyond the scope of their licensure and even made threats against our property. Along with the nearly $19,000 we have already paid to the company, we have had to make additional payments to other contractors for immediate and necessary repairs due to Freeland's damages, as well as attorney fees. Quotes from verified Georgia State licensed contractors suggest that it will cost us nearly $100,000 to repair and replace the damage caused by Freeland Painting and Construction. In summary, my experience with Freeland Painting and Construction over the past 20 months has been extremely frustrating and costly. I strongly advise against using their services and caution others to be aware of the potential risks involved.

Our horror story with Freeland Painting started in June of 2017, the job was finally ended by us on August 2017 due to poor workmanship and lack of communication. We contracted to have our house painted and our deck stained. Over the course of our project there was a lack of communication from Freeland and major mistakes made. We had 3 separate crews work on this project. Two were newly hired subcontractors, one left after the first few days of painting and one was fired before the end of our project by Freeland. The second crew had been taken off another Freeland project and put onto ours as their last chance. First mistake, they painted the roof of our enclosed deck area, this could not be removed and stained. Second mistake, we asked for semi transparent oil based stain, they applied a water based stain which looks nothing like the oil based. Third and the most egregious mistake was they applied 3-4 coats of the water based stain to the deck. The poor application of the first coat of stain led to multiple coats being applied to cover up the unevenness of the stain. This led to a deck that was pretty much solid in color, none of the wood grain on our 9 month old deck could be seen. When we complained, Doug told us the deck looked beautiful and what a great job had been done. Excuses about how the wood absorbs stain differently were made although they never did test patches beforehand to determine this. At the end we were very unhappy, the owner Doug refused to remove the stain and demanded payment. We refused, went to court and learned the hard way the law favors contractors. As long as the work had been completed we were obligated to pay and the risk to choose a dark stain was our fault somehow. Several offers from each side prior to court were made, each of Freeland’s offers came with a stipulation of a non–disparaging clause. Meaning we would not be able to post negative reviews about our experience. We refused and paid the price. Attached are pictures of our deck, this is a small sampling as we took over 30 during the project. One shows the handrail they missed and that’s after final inspection. One shows a picture of deck wood I stained by brushing to give a comparison of what we wanted vs what we got. This is the best visual example of the horrible quality we received. Again we wanted semi transparent deck stain. The other pictures show how horrible the first pass of deck stain was applied. As you apply more stain over existing stain it becomes darker and uneven. This is the quality of work Freeland does. The picture of the worker sleeping on the job at 3pm serves as a good example of their attention to detail. Aside from the deck the house painting was mediocre. No prep except for pressure washing was done. Areas that needed some sanding prior to paint were ignored. I’m not real sure the carpentry repairs were done correctly either. Hindsight is 20/20. Here are some interesting facts, Freeland has been in business for 15yrs according to Doug’s testimony in court. At the time of our contract there were only 5 google reviews, 15 or so reviews on yelp and about the same on kudzu. A majority of the reviews were from before 2015. Amazing that a business this mature only has a handful of reviews over the past two yrs, how many unsatisfied customers settled out of court or with Doug in return for no negative reviews. If you want a transparent or semi transparent stain on your deck, do not use Freeland. If you hire Freeland be aware major mistakes will not be resolved, Doug will tell you Freeland did the best job possible. Most contractors would try to resolve any issues to make the customer satisfied in order to prevent negative reviews. Doug and Freeland Painting did not care at the time about our level of satisfaction and would rather take us to court and attach a non-disparaging clause to any settlement. Is this the type of integrity you want in a contractor that you’re spending your hard earned money on?

Doug and his team has been very reliable in the many times I have used them. Work quality was excellent, price was charged fairly, and always in a punctual manner.

Doug was very responsive to any issues and/or questions. Work was done professionally and on time. As with any work of this type, things happen,but when it did, the problems were resolved promptly. I would highly recommend Doug and his company and will have them painting the interior of my home soon.

From the beginning of the project, starting with our consult - Doug and Freeland Painting were exceptional. Doug's consult and attention to our concerns regarding color, timing, etc., were handled with expertise and professionalism. Zach was an excellent project manager and Jose and Tony were true professionals on the job.
Everyone worked so hard and within our timeline helping us get back into our home and move forward with a final product we absolutely love. 
We cannot be more excited with the end results.

Very timely and professional from start to finish.

It turned out great. The overall speed and quality of the work was excellent. They also threw in a lot of extra work while they were here.