Elite Renovation Systems

When Jason came to quote the job, he was professional and explained the process to paint a lot of original oak, including beams, windows and kitchen cabinets. I was very specific about the quality and look I needed and he answered all the questions well. After giving them the job, he allotted 10 business days to paint the interior including kitchen cabinets that required about 8 coats of various paint.  There was no way that they were going to be able to prep and paint our very architecturally detailed home in 10 days including kitchen. From Day 1, our paint project manager agreed. He gave it 20 business days which I thought was more accurate.
For the first 10 days the team only prepped. When there was a full team that is.  They committed 5-6 painters per day and we achieved that maybe 1-2 days. Otherwise we had 2-3 painters at most and there was even a day or two where they came, got called for another job and walked off!  By Day 10, they maybe had each room primed.  Maybe. The amount of smoke, food and general breaks was embarassing. I found beer cans in my garage where they set up a paint shop when I cleaned up afterwards. We found our liquor cabinet was equally decimated as well.  The paint shop they set up wasn't done well so now we have random paint marks all over our garage and things in our garage.
Because they prepped the house at once, our whole home was essentially unavailable, relegating my family to one bedroom. Instead of prepping and finishing the job within a normal period of time, they would prep and then leave it for 2 weeks before it got it's first round of paint, then another week later, give it the second round of paint so we constantly lived in a world of paper and plastic.
The carpentry was mediocre - 2 guys instead of 1 when it could have really been done by 1 competent carpenter.  Nonetheless - they did a descent job until only after they left did we find that the stovetop wasn't connected to the gas well and the grout in the backsplash tiling was dirty so the white grout had turned to yellow within hours.  They came back to fix and were prompt in feedback.  But they lied there too - I asked them to regrout the areas and instead they decided just to bleach the discolored parts - I found the bleach stick later that week.
Back to the painting - they painted our virgin oak ceilings and within a week of them being done (they were still there, just moved on to other rooms) the ceilings were turning yellow. They would not repair them until after we paid and claim warranty. So literally, while they were on the job, they would not guarantee their work but wanted to repair under warranty.  At this point, we were completely annoyed and just wanted them out of our house.
It gets better. The Friday before the job was finished (was supposed to be finished by following Tuesday), they fired the paint project manager! This was followed up by a call from a painter to my husband who was complaining that the company hadn't paid them and that we needed to pay them right away.  WHAT??? My husband thought it was a wrong number until he clarified who he was.  When he returned to the house he saw that 2 of the painters walked off the job and the PM was fired.  
The VP, Chuck, finally called my husband back the next day to say someone new would be there on Monday morning.  At this point (20 full business days down), 90% of the house was painted and kitchen installed.  Mon comes and Jay Martinez shows up - his very first day with Elite.  Jay was descent, relatively reasonable but it didn't him too long to become contractual.  Rather than provide quality work he just wanted out.  He even asked us to pay off the remaining balance so they could pay the guys before the job was completed.  When we said we would complete payment upon a final walk through and approval, he understood but started to push his guys to just finish the job.  Needless to say, the last week was terrible..  Painters rushed, got sloppy, spilled paint on our outdoor tiles, didn't clean up, left the garage in a mess and hardly finished our radiator covers. We then found out that Chuck told them that the original project manager and painting team were being swayed to do other work because we were bribing them with Dunkin Donuts and coffee.  Right.  We brought them DD and coffee because we're descent people and recognize people work hard.  NOT in exchange to paint more or better! How ridiculous!
In the end, we paid, they scheduled a paint crew a month later after we asked a dozen times to fix our yellowing ceiling which is now rectified. It took them about a month to return our key which was inexcusable, and generally had a horrible experience with both their inexperienced management and mediocre technical team. Jason was fired because he estimated the job sp wrong, the paint PM was fired bc he cared about quality over timeframes but in the end did only an ok job, 2 painters left, a brand new PM came in and rushed the job and the VP was an inexperienced commercial manager who was easily stressed instead of organized or took responsibility for the quality of his company's work.   I never write reviews but I did so today to try and keep others from making the same mistake we did.   We would never recommend this contractor to anyone.  
Our house is now painted and we enjoy it though there are some obvious walls where the painting was done poorly. The experience was such a cliche nightmare that I should have paid another firm a little more just to get the better experience.

They were prompt, courteous and the job went well. I would use them again in the future if I needed to.

As noted above, the brothers did a wonderful job on repairing,cleaning, sanding, & putting on two coats of high-quality paint (They provided me with stain & paint choices & made sure I got
what I wanted)  They worked hard & did what needed to be done & had me inspect it all before they left. They were so nice, fun, professional & wanted to be sure I was happy. Thank you guys &
Elite Renovations Systems! Again, ☆☆☆☆☆

Elite Renovation Systems, Schaumburg Il, (formerly MSI), Ruined our Cedar sided house. Never hire them to stain or paint your house. Run away as fast as you can. What should have taken 4 to 5 days took almost 3 months, and they caused so much damage. Work is terrible. Was supposed to be natural cedar transparent stain. After multiple power washes and caulking with silicone that stain can't cover, it showed through (can not be stained). Then more power wash and chemical strip to the whole house. Stripper stained all the window trim and door white trim and caused down spouts to peel! Power washing caused siding to crack when dried out and is as thin as card board in areas now. Was 8 year old cedar, first staining since it came from the factory stained new.

They then attempted to replace the siding and took one section off. Then the VP, Chuck, on one of the few calls he would take, said send him an email stating we would not sue and he will send the crew to finish. I never sent the email and they stopped replacing the cedar. Then their only offer or recourse was to paint or solid stain the cedar to cover it all up! They did and it still shows through. Terrible work. They never caulked the seams where the limited siding was replaced and left gaps around the window. I ended up caulking. They refused to come back, but demanded payment. The only recourse we had was to sue. Turns out it would cost more then we could recover, after legal fees, the damages still have to be covered and we could only sue for damages, not legal fees.

They were then filling a lien on us! We took what little credit we could get for all the damages and ended the nightmare with them. I did the right thing and paid as promised to get rid of the lien.

I have over 100 photos of the damages! The damages are, Siding, Rock walls knocked over, dripped stain everywhere windows, doors, drive way, steps, New AC unit. Killed front bushes with power washer exhaust, killed grass cleaning equipment, shutters, hose reel, hose bib, GFI receptacle power washed and shorted, caused a fire in the wall, I have the video. Stains and damages every where. Photos available.



I would like a refund or have then replace the siding they ruined. I want every one else to know how poorly they will be treated and warned. The refund will never cover the cost. But at least I can hire some one to come back and do it right. Pictures available any time. I am open to your calls or theirs. I have nothing to hide. We only paid to avoid a lien and did the right thing. Can you help us.



Update 8/22/2014:

Elite Renovation Systems LLC ( MSI bought by Elite Renovation Systems) Ruined our cedar sided house.

So we took them to binding arbitration they had agreed to, their preferred method to resolve disputes. They lost, and now have not paid.

We had done the right thing, we paid them, less minimum damages deducted to end 3 months of getting no where. So we do the right thing and now have to take them to court. ( in the laws eyes 2 wrongs don't make a right,) You must pay them, then take them to court.

Run as far as you can from this company. They ruined our cedar siding and said they would make it right, 3 months later with multiple damages, the job was still not finished or cleaned up.it was to be 4 to 5 days. This was supposed to semi transparent natural cedar stain, to see the beauty of the cedar. It ended up solid body like paint ! They used the wrong caulk, so the house had to be redone, since silicone bath caulk can not be stained. The house was ruined at that point. Then they used a chemical stripper for the first finish and caulk removal that killed the gardens and parts of the lawn. Chemical stripper from redoing the entire house has stained window frames, door frames and still runs from the siding when it rains. Retaining rock wall knocked down, plantings killed. New AC unit that was just installed had chemical and wood sludge, from power wash that shut it down, in it and on it, since it was not covered. Stain drips on garage door, windows, new front steps, drive way, rock walls, down spouts, light fixtures, nothing was covered ! These are just some of the issues. The President Randy Sevcik and VP Chuck Blatt, Since have been offered to see the property, not a reply. At the hearing, the VP said he was never to the property and says they did nothing wrong, but never visited or saw it first hand. But he did receive the 100 plus photos and emails as soon as the project started going wrong, pointing out the damage.

So we took them to binding arbitration Elite Renovations Systems LLC preferred way to handle any disputes ( in writing in their own litrature piece). All evidence was presented, and they lost.

According to the arbitrator "Yet simply awarding the consumer a refund of any monies he paid fails to take into consideration the full Panoply of damage that business caused during the time it worked on consumers property" . Also, "Business failed to preform the work it promised in its proposal" also it states" consumer should not have to pay for a project that failed twice". It also go's on to say "almost a year after the proposal took effect, consumer is in a worse position, then when the project got underway: siding on his house is irregular , having been replaced in only limited sections, the solid body stain appears in photographs to have been unevenly absorbed by the cedar siding, causing excessive product to pool and leave drip marks, especially after rain, caulked seams and dark spots on the siding are noticeable in photographs, excess stain marks on the surface of customers window frames, trim and patio surfaces, light fixtures and landscape features, and stain is peeling off the deck in sheets". The decision go's on to award future repair and full refund of what was paid, plus collateral damage. And Elite Renovation system's LLC, after the hearing, and getting the arbitration they wanted, has not paid. Run from this company and MSI, who they bought. They will ruin your house too. Look up MSI, many many complaint's like this. This is who elite renovation systems llc bought, to do painting. Run as fast and far as you can.

I decided to go with Elite because the gentleman who came out, Mike, was very professional, fair and knowledgable. We have an old garage that needed quite a bit of repairing before painting could commence. Mike submitted a quote on a very timely manner and outlined the carpentry work that would be required. On the day of the job, the carpenders came out and assessed the work. I spoke with them on site and gave them the okay to do a little over and above what the quote outlined. I have to say that the carpenters were excellent. They really did a fabulous job of reframing our garage windows, installing a new entry door and replaced the soffits and gutters. I have no complaints about the quality of their work as it was top notch. I cannot say the same about the painting portion of the job. While the painters were friendly, their work was less than satisfactory. I was originally told it would be a two day paint job. At the end of the first day, the painter called me out to do a walk through. I noticed that the overhead garage door was not repaired before applying the paint and there were large holes that they just painted over. They also painted over our stick on address numbers (as we have an alley, Chicago style, as opposed to a driveway). I felt they were very rushed and didn't do the necessary repairing or preparing of the overhead garage door service before painting. The painter at that point called Mike and was advised he would have to come back out and fix it. The painter said he wasn't told he needed to putty in the holes before painting. I found this to be an unacceptable excuse, as even I know when you paint, you have to prepare/spackle the holes first. Overall the paint job is amateur at best. They did not use any tape when painting and it is very noticable where the siding meets the trim. It's just very sloppy. I was hoping to be able to use them to do some of the exterior work on the front of my Victorian home, but given the sloppiness of the garage, I can't trust them with something like my actual house. Mike followed up, and I did tell him about my satisfaction with the carpentry elements of the job but also told him about my displeasure with the quality (or lack thereof) of the painting portion. He apologized and said he was happy to get the feedback and would be coming out to take some photos and inspect the work. I never did hear back after that or was offerred any type of discount. I ended up paying extra for some of the carpentry which was not a problem; however, I think there should have been something knocked off the amateur paint job, especially the edging. I could have hired a bunch of college kids if I didn't want straight edges/lines. In the end, I think that Elite would be better served if they ensured their contract painters were of a higher caliber, something they clearly do for their carpenters. This was a clear case of the Elite rep not matching up with the Elite workers.

This was supposed to be a one day project but turned into a three day project. The painter that they used were anywhere from half an hour to 2.5 hours late every day and they complained that they had to come back to do the painting since they didn't leave enough time to have the painting done after the drywall patch was installed. They ended up painting a single coat of paint on one wall and the ceiling, when they were supposed to do two. They didn't clean up after themselves. I had to beg someone to call be back to do the work after I gave them the 25% deposit. I feel that I was overcharged. I would never use this company again or recommend them to anyone.

Smooth

We had them do one of the flats and the stairway and it worked out. The cost was fine. They were very conscientious in everything that when we had them come back to do the other two apartments. They were very very good. The person who was in charge was very informative. They came on time. They did the work even faster than they said they would. They were clean and considerate.

Jason, my first contact, came to the house to give me estimate. He asked about painting the walls, trim, and around the windows. He was very helpful in deciding what things needed to be painted and which didn't. He was prompt in answering my questions days later when I e-mailed for some further clarification after receiving the estimate.
They were able to come out earlier than I had anticipated because of the rain. The three painters who showed up were on time and professional. They covered the floors and all the other furniture. They completed the painting within a day and cleaned up thoroughly afterwards.
They even offered suggestions for a personal paint job that I was working on.
This was a great experience and I would use them again.

The project went exceptionally well starting with Matt, the contact/sales rep. I had contacted and met with him soon after purchase. He advised me to complete all other projects first. I was mostly impressed with what he advised that I did not have to do. For example, there was no need to paint the ceilings or the interiors of the closets. This saved a considerable amount of money. He met with me several months later and we reviewed the details of my project again. I was contacted in advance of the workers showing up. On the day the project was scheduled to begin the three workers showed up early, contacted me according to the special instructions that I had left for them, and were totally prepared for every detail. The crew was great. Very professional as well as personable. They worked well together. Experienced and well equipped. I requested three custom colors which were matched perfectly. One of the owners/boss showed up every day to check the progress of the work. It took 3 days to complete and there was a final walk-through with the Boss before the workers left. He saw touch-up areas that I had missed and every spot was eventually covered perfectly. Before the workers left they did a fine clean-up job. Swept up after themselves and left the place very clean. No painting job is perfect, however, I have found virtually no major spots, splash-ups, or spills. This is a professional painting contractor and you get what you pay for. I was extremely pleased with their work.

Service and execution was excellent. All the little extras like wall sanding, spackling and corner repair were taken care of. The paint job looks terrific and we get compliments on it consistently. A great value for the quality of the work we received.

They were professional, courteous, on time and on budget. They cleaned up which is my favorite thing! I would hire them again.

I cannot speak more highly of the work that MSI painting has done for me over the years. At the time that my condo was being painted, I was a single woman living in the city. I was very nervous about hiring a contractor to come in and do work - partly because I was afraid of being taken advantage of, and partly because I knew I would be letting people into my home that I didn't really know. From the start, I felt that the President/Owner Randy Sevcik listened to my needs, didn't try to hard sell me things I didn't need/want, and was someone I could trust. He gave me a very fair and competitive bid. The team he put together was reliable, on time, meticulous about cleaning up, and finished the job ahead of schedule. And, the results were fantastic! What a difference a paint color can make! Considering I had to take time off of work to allow them to come into my place - it was very important to me that they were able to complete the job on time, and with a high degree of quality. They made a very stressful project (for me) a complete breeze - and I enjoyed many hours of entertaining in my newly painted condo! It was a no-brainer for me to choose MSI Painting when my husband and I were looking for a painting contractor to paint our single family home. Since it was new construction, all the walls upstairs and downstairs were bright white! We also have a 2-story entryway and family room, which is a challenge! I called Randy again and asked him for a quote all the rooms downstairs and the upstairs bedrooms. Again, the quote was very reasonable, and I already knew that this company was trustworthy. The best part - as you can imagine with any new home - was that they were able to complete the job on time! I couldn't wait to have this house truly become "my home" - and the MSI crew that came out to do the job, made that possible in a very short time. Again, they started work on time, worked very hard each day, did a fantastic job, had a supervisor come out to inspect the work, and ensured before they left that my husband and I were satisfied with their work. I should also add that we have white carpeting in most of the upstairs bedrooms and hallways, and there was not a SPOT of paint anywhere. These guys were so careful about cleaning up - you honestly would never have known anyone was even there! We were incredibly pleased with the entire experience, and I would recommend them to anyone who is looking for a reputable and high quality painting company. This year, my husband and I are looking to paint an exterior cottage in Wisconsin, and already plan to call MSI painting to ask for a quote! I'll let you know how that turns out later this Spring!

We thought MSI did an excellent job overall. We honestly didn't have any hiccup throughout the whole process from the bid to the point where the guys left after the job. They were also thoughtful and an example of that was Matt suggesting to us a paint type that is great for kids (i.e. crayons come off pretty easily). Also, the attention-to-detail factor was impressive; our daughter's room is two-toned separated by a chair rail - they made it look awesome! The painters themselves were very professional, worked very efficiently, and very easy to work with. They didn't skimp on dropcloths so thankfully the recently refinished hardwood floors didn't take a beating either. I'm happy to recommend MSI for those of you that are thinking about a rennovation or addition.

I had just finished a minor remodel and realized that I needed to re-paint my entire home. The contractor I used for the remodel recommended MSI. I was not very optimistic about having more to spend more money and have strangers in my house for another week or two. However, the people at MSI were so helpful and professional. They walked me through the color selection process and clearly detailed a scope of work and timeline. The painters were punctual and cleaned up each day so as to minimize the disruption to my daily life. They stuck to the schedule, and after the final walk through came by at my convenience to finish up the few punch list items that remained. Overall, my experience was very, very positive.

I feel the work done by MSI was very good. The staff was punctual, clean and kept me informed of their progress throughout the project. When complete, the crew came back to touch-up any areas I felt were not “up to par”. Additionally, because of the work done on my home, I have consulted with MSI when dealing with a construction project where I work.

Painter knocked out job quickly, but after paint dried it was apparent that they did not sand down uneven patch spots, and just painted right over. Result is an unprofessional looking job. Gave them an opportunity to correct, and they sent a guy out for a second time,but did not fix the problems to satisfaction, despite marking each area with a post-flag. I could have done a better job myself. Was not worth $1200.

The crew did a fantastic job on multiple projects for my home and my building. They were always on time and were courteous and respectful of my furniture and hardwood floors. They even cleaned up every night! The paint job itself looks great - I had some pretty dark colors and the lines look so sharp and straight. I guess I was most impressed with the way they set up detailed expectations and then delivered on them. They really made me feel comfortable from start to finish. They weren't the cheapest bid I received, but not the most expensive either. I definitely recommend them to my friends and family.