CertaPro Painters® of Fox Valley North

This was my second time using CertaPro and again I was totally thrilled! They did a fabulous job! Clean, courteous, efficient, communicative, and the price was incredibly reasonable! Will definitely use again!

Excellent workmanship. Very friendly and professional staff. I had my entire house painted including kitchen cabinets and built ins. Beautiful job. Their caulking skills are also amazing. Highly recommend!!!

I recently had a bedroom with en suite bath painted by Certapro of Fox Valley, and I was very pleased with the results. The quote was easily obtained, the painters arrived on time, the work was completed on schedule, and everyone was polite.

very good!!

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I was very happy with the free color consultation. There was a lot of wallpaper to be removed, and I think the job turned out to be more than the crew had anticipated. The ceilings turned out great and the walls were fine, except that there was more dust and paint drips for us to clean up than I had expected. We had some minor followup work to do, and they sent a painter out within a couple of days to finish the work. Subsequently we have found a few more places that were somehow skipped on the paint, and we are still cleaning up from the prep work. All in all, they did a good job. Kevin and Susan were great to work with, and their crews were professional and polite.

Susan provide a color consultation prior to the job. It was very helpful in reducing the overwhelm in paint selection. I love the paint colors selected. Prefect. The painters were professional and very detailed. They answered all my questions and clean up very nicely. I could not be happier with the entire process. It was a pleasure to work with CertaPro Painters of Fox Valley North. 

It took 2 days and went smoothly but did require return visits to re-do some drywall seams and paint flaking.

I called CertaPro number and described the job. Susan called us shortly after to make appointment and Kevin come within couple of days. He assured it would be a beautiful paint job, quoted it for $2295 after discount. We had one reference from neighbor and we thought the price was very good and agreed. A couple of days later, I requested the trim color to be white, instead of dirty white/ivory. Kevin said it would take 2 coats of paint and $1000 extra to which I agreed.


The crew come a few days later to power wash, but more like to "wet" the house, come and went within 15 minutes. They did not remove the window screens before washing. I looked at the quote that evening and realized it stated it's home owner job to remove the screens! Since I was out of town for the day, I asked if the paint crew could remove the screen instead. Kevin said ok, and a couple of days later sent us a quote of $150 for remove and replace the screens. I was already home then, so just refused the service and removed the screens myself.


There were a couple of false starts. The first time the paint crew said they would start 7AM the next day. No show, no call. Call to Kevin/Susan went to voice mail, never knew what happened. Several days later, the crew paid us a surprise visit at 8AM, just to tell us they could not do it that day because it's going to rain. Several days later, the crew showed up without notice even though weather forecast was not good. We reluctantly let the job start.


The crew of three was very nice and friendly. We exchanged some pleasantry and the crew started. It started to rain around 2PM, then showering. By then they said they had completed the front windows. The crew left and promise to come the next day if the weather permitted. I  saw paint got on the glass panes here and there. But not really concern, I thought they would clean it up later. 


Several days later, the job resumed. They finished front and back windows and porch in one day. The paint job was not very neat, paint got to the glass panes every here and there. The crew said 2 coats have been done. Painting 101 says you must leave the first coat to dry before apply the second coat, but they just seemed to paint over 2 times! My wife concerns the color was not even on some parts, and was that told it was because of the wood and nothing can be done about it.


We felt deeply disappointed that evening and start to realize it won't be pretty paint job.


The next day the crew started on the garage door. We can see clearly they just do half the job of scraping the old peeling paint, no sanding and start applying stain and top coat at the same time. When asked if that was how they are going to do it, the foreman said "pretty much it" and went a head to explain it was because the old paint was damage and nothing they can do about it. Well, we knew better, and asked them to stop. The crew clean up and left.


I called and left a voicemail to Kevin/Susan and never get a call back. At that point I already get used to the fact calls to Kevin/Susan will hardly get any response. Four out of five calls would went to voice mail, Susan did not know what Kevin said or agreed, she did not check email, and had no idea what the crew did or did not do. 


A couple days later, I received an invoice via email with $400 deduction for the front door and the garage door "as requested"! And  Susan would call next morning to see if I would pay by credit card over the phone. Not a single word about how the paint job went nor why we terminated the job. None. No, really I am not kidding, none. I knew I would just waste even more time and frustration talking to her and just paid.

I solicited 7 quotes for the work. CertaPro was very competitive especially with their incentive coupons. Kevin, the principle contact was very personable and thorough in providing the quote. He asked several questions and spent a considerable amount of time looking at the house. I received a voicemail from them asking if I wanted to pursue. I responded with an email to them and never received a response. I finally had to call and Kevin's wife would not meet with me to sign the contract at her home office, as she stated that it would be "inappropriate" and that she would have to call Kevin to schedule an appointment at my home to do that. We did that. So, I guess deal with Kevin even though his wife owns the business, but she seems to want to stay at arms length from the operation. In preparing the house, several areas needed to be scraped down to bare wood. The painters applied a primer but after the final coat was put on you could see where the bare spots had been. It didn't look good at all. I complained and talked with Kevin via phone and he arranged for the painters to come back and apply a "thicker" paint to the parts of the house that needed it, however, that cost me another $500. A 15% increase over the original estimate. I'm not sure, had I not complained, if they would have left the house looking as bad as it did. Bottom line, the house looks very good now and I hope it lasts. I would recommend them but please make sure that you have Kevin come out and inspect before letting the painters go.

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I can't be sure what's going on here, but it's one of three things: either there is *terrible* communication between owners Susan and Kevin (so the business is in a state of constant confusion), they knowingly lie to obtain and keep business, or something is truly wrong with them (memory / processing issues). Either way, this has been a deeply frustrating, nearly indescribable experience.

We received (4) estimates for the exterior of our home and awarded Kevin the contract. We were promised that the job would be completed within a month of the receipt of the contract which is why we chose him: important, because we shared that we needed to get our home on the market quickly. Kevin said it was just he and his wife: "She does the office stuff, I do all the work," he joked. This proved false, and they hire a team of contractors to do the work and are not onsite. Once the contract was accepted, I never saw Kevin again.

Kevin explained during his sales pitch that he was lead certified and that *he* would safely scrape and prep the existing cracked and peeling surfaces so that minimal dust was created, catching the chips as they go. He also stated that his wife is a designer, and she would be happy to come by to help me find the color choice I wanted. We walked around the home together discussing areas that were in bad shape.

I submitted our contract on Jun 12th, along with a photo of a home exterior I liked to begin the discussion about color choice. I then reached out a week later having received no confirmation or response. I received an email confirmation, but no discussion of color. I responded asking about this, and Susan responded (three days later) that she'd call me. She didn't.

It's been a particularly rainy summer, so I wasn't surprised when July 12th came and went with no work started on the exterior. A week after the original deadline I still hadn't heard anything, and contacted Kevin and Susan by phone and email expressing understanding about this due to weather, and inquiring when work would begin. Susan responded in a voicemail that, ironically, our project would begin the next day. I called back and upon identifying myself, stating that she'd *just* left me a message, explaining where my house was and that our project was next -- everything she'd just said -- she had NO idea who I was. On and on I explained, and she remained clueless for quite some time. Very bizarre.

Finally, she confirmed that her team was currently "putting finishing touches on a home, and planned to power wash ours the next day", Tuesday. I shared that I was leaving Tuesday morning, returning Thursday eve, for a business trip, and she said that she would need our colors before Thursday eve, as they'd be painting by Thursday morning. She asked if I wanted another short project put in front of ours to give me time, bumping back ours to the following Monday, and I told her, "No, it's so important that this gets completed. I'm willing to rush around." She said to send her my list of colors via email, and they'd see us the next day -- no problem.

I finally discussed her color advice with her during this call (she said she hadn't responded to my emails about color, all signed with my maiden and married name -- our contract attached -- because, again, she "didn't know who I was"?!). I asked for tips on the sage green I'd sent in a photo. When I reached the store, I found she'd given me a bunch of greys. So I chose the color on my own, rushing back and forth Monday night and Tuesday morning so our project could begin as stated. i heard nothing as the week progressed, so assumed all was proceeding as planned.
 
I arrived home Thursday night expecting an at least partially painted house. Instead, NOTHING had been done. Not even the washing, despite the fact weather had been perfect. I reached out an asked what was happening, expressing frustration that we were now two weeks behind "worst case scenario date" and that I rushed around to get colors for no reason. i emphasized, again, that we had a very important deadline of August 5th that needed to be met.

Susan called, argumentatively saying that I "most certainly didn't rush around -- I had had two months to pick colors and any rushing was my fault," (despite the fact that inquiries about color were ignored multiple times, and she was the one who put off color choices until the last minute). She also said that they never give exact dates they are arriving, and acted like I was completely making up the conversation I had had with her -- she supposedly had no recollection of it. Truly bizarre and so frustrating. She then said that they'd added "multiple buildings" to the project ahead of ours, which accounted for the delay. If "weather was good Friday and Saturday, they'd arrive at our house on Monday". They needed to give "good service to their current customer, and our good service would begin when they arrived at our home and we became a customer." (?)

Weather, again, was perfect. But Monday came and went. I called, and Kevin responded this time, telling me that again i was making up my conversation with Susan -- she would have never told me when they actually were coming: completely unapologetic and condescending. I can't capture the oddity of these conversations -- both genuinely act like they have no recollection of conversations had before. He reassured me that with the current schedule they would be done "well before August 5th", and they'd be to our home mid-week to ensure this. They were working on yet another house, and we were next. Again.

I contacted them Wednesday evening. Kevin called Thursday with another round of acting surprised i expected them. He said that, finally, they'd begin power washing that day. I posed concern that the project could be done on time at this point, especially since rain was almost guaranteed for two days, and he ensured he'd have a "large team" with him to prep and paint and, with so many men, would be done in two days.
 
One guy arrived to power wash. He had no ladder and was "done" with the whole place in just over an hour (including a consulation with me): cobwebs and dirt were still prominent. He inquired about specifics painting trim, etc., and I asked it I could tell him when he arrived the next day, wanting to get my husband's opinion. He said, "Tomorrow? We're not coming back until next week." August 3rd: Thunderstorms predicted.

I call and email. Again. Kevin returns the call, AGAIN acting like all previous conversations never happened, and saying condescendingly that " he is really frustrated with me -- I'm not happy with anything they do." He behaved confused, asking what I want from them. I explained, defeated, that I just want them to fulfill their contract. We're now nearly three weeks past the "worst case scenario" date from contract -- no work has begun. I chose them because they promised completion in one month. I simply want them to prep and paint the house like they've said so many times they will. And I'm stuck because we can't start over with another contractor, due to the minimum two month wait for our turn with them.

The conversation broke down. Kevin said they couldn't return the next day, because the power washing wouldn't be dry. He went on to explain that they, in fact, would have to finish up AFTER the deadline he'd previously ensured they'd be done "well before", and I told him this was truly unacceptable -- we'd have to cancel altogether. Kevin admitted that they'd put yet another "regular customer" ahead of me -- said he'd call the guy and bump his project back to next week. They would, in fact, arrive the next day. "You just said it can't be worked on tomorrow because it's wet f

SEE ABOVE         This has been a nightmare   I will never use them again.  If I could give them lower than an "F" I would.  This whole thing makes me want to cry

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They were great and I liked working with them. They did a fabulous job. The cleanup was perfect. They got the job done over one month. The owner was very professional and accommodating. The painters did their job quietly and they were very courteous. The painters were kind and professional and understanding of my changes on paint colors. They are very easy to work with.

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They did an EXCELLENT JOB!  They accommodated our schedule, assisted with paint colors, and the staff were clean, punctual and completed on time.  I highly recommend this company.  They are fantastic!

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