GreenWay Painting
About us
I started painting in 1999 and worked for a German man who was as kind as can be, but that was masked behind the hardest worker I have ever seen. On the job site, he would appear to most to be a jerk because he worked so hard, fast and did not have time for small talk, but I knew the man behind the hard worker and he really was a great, family man. He would often tell stories about the hard worker of a man who trained him and as he described this man, I saw what made my boss into the man he was; he was a mirrored reflection of that man. As a young punk at the time, I learned first hand, by example, what it meant to have a good work ethic in a day and age where the younger are struggling to be independent from their parents’ success’. I learned how to provide for a family. I learned how to work long hours. I learned the most efficient way to provide a professional painting service for customers. Anyways, I worked for this German for seven years, primarily doing repaints and primarily working in Anderson Township, OH. I had hoped to make a career out of working for that company, but each year was slow in the winter and I needed something stable to provide for my family because my wife did not work. I found the perfect job in West Chester, OH where I was guaranteed winter work so I went to work there. In West Chester, we primarily worked in new construction, but more specifically in multi-million dollar homes for four years. So there is a wide range of experience of circumstances that I have worked under from repaints to new construction. As for my workers, two of them have worked with me since 2000 with my first painting employer. They even worked with me with this other company in the multi-million dollar homes for four years. The third employee I have I worked with for four years in the multi-million dollar homes. I am very fortunate to have the same work crew for this many years. I know them very, very well and am too excited they are now working for me. I hope I never have to hire anyone again! My faux finish painter has been an artist her whole life and when not working on the job site, she is designing and creating something at home on the walls. Her faux finishes, murals, and children’s themes are second to none. In closing, I’d like to list our points of experience for easy reading: Same work crew for ten years where camaraderie and friendship have been established Seven years of primary experience with repaints on occupied homes Four years of primary experience with new multi-million dollar homes where perfection was required Hard working example in the owner/boss for seven years prior to GreenWay’s beginning Eleven years of full-time painting; painting has been my only career Working for two professional painting contractors prior to GreenWay beginning, which reveals that we are in this for the long haul; we do not change jobs every three months, thus not having a high turnover rate with employees. Eleven years experience has proved that it only pays to use the best painting products on the market! So you can expect that we come to work on your project that we are using the very best products available. I hope this gives you a small picture about the experience that drives GreenWay Painting. We look forward to pleasing one customer at a time and hope you will be our next!
Business highlights
Services we offer
Free hand, Glazing, Interior and exterior painting, Masked stripes, Murals Fire and Smoke Restoration Drywall repairs Spray painting applications Replacing failing/rotting wood Gutter guards and cleaning, Ragging, Sponging, Textures, and driveways] Epoxy floors Parking lot line striping Faux finishes, patios, residential and commercial Interior wood staining Deck staining and refinishing Pressure washing [including roof washes
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Free Estimates
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 79% | ||
| 12% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 9% |
This was the only high rated painter to provide an estimate in August for exterior paint work on a 9 year old Drees home to be completed before winter. Moved the date once due to my own work schedule needs. Painters showed up the morning after I was contacted for a new start date. Looks like I was filling an unexpected gap in their schedule, but it worked out for us.
Gave Greenway the code for the paint color that the builder used originally, and they matched it if not perfectly then at least well enough that I cannot tell the difference on very close inspection. Very thorough and did a great job even on eaves that are nearly 30 feet above ground level. Gutters and downspouts were carefully painted to prevent new white paint getting on the brick.
Painters found mold and rotten OSB behind the fiberboard panels they were replacing with HardiBoard panels. They sent texts and photos to show the issues and the extent of damage/work when I could not be there.. Former home constructor on the job also fixed a j-mould that was not correctly installed above main windows and allowed rain to get behind trim panels. Also sent texts to let me know that single coat of paint over some of the door and window 'monument' trim was not fully covering. Greenway quickly provided an estimate to 2nd coat only the parts that did not meet their standard and we agreed on the new prices.
Clean-up was very thorough with only a few items found around the yard. Not so easy to find all the loose ends once the leaves start falling. No paint found on any of the patio furniture or surfaces they did not paint. Overall surprised with the attention to detail and very, VERY pleased. Job was completed in less than four days with only one item for a call-back that was fixed that day to our satisfaction.
Terms in his contract state that and quot;repainting a project at no cost will not be done, no matter what the reasonand quot;. He followed this part of his contract to the letter. However, he did not follow the wording of his contract regarding selection and approval of paint color. Apparently his and quot;no matter what the reasonand quot; language takes priority over everything else.
He has his contract to comfort him. He will not have future work from us, nor anyone we know that could use services his company provides.
I asked him to coordinate with the gutter folks (Everclean gutters, also on Angie's list) so that the painting could be completed while the gutters were off. He informed me that he would do so, and later informed me that the gutters would come off on 8/23 and his crews would be here on 8/26 or 8/27 to paint. The gutters would be installed on 8/28 or 8/29. In the end, my total costs would be in excess of $5,000 for all work, so we were very excited to get this work done.
The gutters were removed as scheduled, however Greenway did not arrive on 8/26. On 8/27, I contacted Carl to see if they would be coming, and he said that another job was being completed and they would be by that day.
At around 4 pm, his employee arrived at my home and began powerwashing. He had not introduced himself to my wife, and my young sons were quite surprised to look out the window to see a man and quot;shootingand quot; our house. Fortunately, all the windows were closed. However, the powerwashing job was incomplete (photos attached when he left approximately 45 minutes later, again without contacting anyone in the house. I had arrived home and waved at him, but when he left without any contact contacted Carl again to find out the timetable for completing the service. He informed me that the work would be completed on 8/28. I also informed him that I was concerned with who would be supervising the work, as (though I did not indicate it at the time) I was concerned the powerwashing was done so poorly (literally, dirt and debris on every face of the house, not a thorough job by any stretch of the imagination).
2 painters arrived at approximately 7:30am to begin work. They began setting up without introducing themselves, and only did so to request an electric outlet. I gave them access, and suggested to the powerwashing individual that he introduce himself before starting work, as he scared my son. All I got was a blank stare, no apology or explanation.
As they began work, I noted that they were moving very fast. When I went to ask how it was going, I noted that they were already painting. I expected extensive prep work to be done on one specific section of the home, and indeed our contract indicates that prep work would be done. However, they did very little prep and moved very quickly, painting and quot;as they prepped. When I noted this at the time, they indicated that the 2nd coat would take care of any imperfections.
Less than an hour later, they had completed what I considered to be the most difficult stretch, and were rounding the corner. I again asked about the flaws that I could see before, which were becoming more and more apparent as the paint dried. Again, a second coat would take care of the imperfections, I was informed.
I observed the workers for awhile now that they were in plain view of the table I was working at. They took numerous cell-phone calls and appeared to be working very inefficiently with almost no preparation of the surface. A short while later, I addressed the lack of prep work once again with them, and one painter showed me that he was scraping. I asked him to scrape against the old paint's direction, which he did, removing a great deal of paint in one motion which would not have been removed by scraping against the grain. I pointed out that in a section they had just painted, the paint was already separating from the trim, and was informed (once again) that the second coat would take care of it. I then pointed out that it was already flaking, and was again informed that a second coat would take care of it.
Shortly after, at approximately 10am, the painters went out to the truck to take a break. I decided to visit the local Porter Paint store (they were applying a Porter product with a lifetime warranty (which would have been invalid if improperly applied)) with pictures of the numerous flaws in the application. They were adamant that the paint was being misapplied and suggested that I contact the owner. I called the office as I was leaving Porter, and informed the administrator of these issues. She indicated that Carl was and quot;out paintingand quot; but that she would contact the owner and that they would be in touch.
I returned home and informed the workers of the issue, and suggested that they stop until hearing from Carl. At that point, they packed up and left. In the process of packing up, they destroyed my grill and left it in a pile in the yard. They removed the sign from the front yard advertising the service at that point, without me asking.
Because there are no gutters on the home, I tried to contact Carl numerous times to resolve the issue, both by email and phone. Carl was aware from our very first discussion that gutters would be removed to facilitate his work, but returned no emails or voicemail. Sometime in the afternoon, his office manager indicated by email that she had been in touch with Carl and apologized and said they'd be in touch shortly. Had I gotten word that GreenWay would not be out to complete the work immediately, I could have scheduled the gutters to be put up today and not had to wait until next week (over the long holiday weekend when we expect rain every day.) I heard nothing from Carl yesterday, even after multiple attempts to resolve the timetable which had been designed and repeatedly modified to facilitate his work.
During the day, after the painters left and while waiting for Carl's response, I went back to the Porter store to ask for direction. They recommended that I contact painters that they typically recommend to have a look. I contacted two and they visited the house, each confirming that the prep work was not at all professional, and that the paint job would not last as the peeling paint had not been removed.
This morning, nearly a day after the painters had left, I visited an address listed on the website as the local mailing address. There are other address, including in Kentucky and in Florida, but the local one (for Cincinnati) was closest so I went there. It turns out this address is actually one of the painter's mother-in-law's address and a little old lady answered. I explained that I was looking for GreenWay painting and that this was the address on the website, and she told me that her son worked for GreenWay. I apologized, again explained that I'd come to an address listed on the website, and asked if she could get me in contact with Carl. She wasn't sure but said her son may be able to reach Carl. I asked for her son's phone number, which she gave me, and I apologized again and left. This conversation was very cordial. I left a message at the number the lady provided, and went home.
After returning home, after awhile I was finally able to get through to the administrator, who informed me that the lady was a relative. I apologized again and informed them that the address was on the website; she told me that it should no longer be listed as they had moved to their present location a year ago. She also informed me that Carl was out of town and would not be able to resolve the situation until, at earliest, and quot;Tuesday or Wednesdayand quot; of next week. We ended this conversation cordially, as well. After finding out that Carl would not be in contact until next week, I called and scheduled the gutter folks to come out ASAP, but they won't be here until next Tuesday.
A short time later, Carl informed me via email that, under the advise of his attorney, he has contacted the police because I went to the address listed on his webpage as a business mailing address, suppose
"Dear [member name removed], We are so sorry to hear that you are upset. We seek in all we do to maintain a professional and proficient jobsite. We also seek 100% satisfaction in all the hundreds of jobs we perform each year. At the very start of the job [less than 25% complete], you fired two seasoned painters [one has been with me two years and was a veteran of the US military, the other has been with me for about fourteen or so years]. We tried numerous times to explain to you why we were painting the expert way we were all to no avail. We asked you to let us finish your job in a timely manner as we are very accustomed to professionally painting homes just like yours and you still removed us from your property. We even offer a phenomenal warranty against peeling paint to ensure that our paint projects are completed with utmost care and concern so that you are not dealing with issues down the road. We truly do care about longevity and durability; that’s why we chose two coats of Porter Paints top-of-the-line Permanizer Satin paint. We deemed it necessary for the safety of our painters and staff and their families to consult the Boone County Police as well as Cincinnati Police after you showed up at our secretary’s home and frightened her aged mother-in-law even though you knew I was out-of-town; albeit had I been in town I would have been at my home or shop. Because we had been in good communication with you our secretary and painters told you I was out of town for a week and so naturally when you came “looking” for me at my employees’ home[s] we all were very alarmed and scared. Police intervention was the best option; and they are well aware of the situation. Our deposit is a non-refundable deposit as it states on our estimate, not to mention we started the work at your home as well as had paint costs invested in the Permanizer Satin paint. We humbly ask that you stop defaming our GreenWay name online as many painters’ families are fed through the money they earn here at our company. The well-being of many men, women and children depend upon it."
Licensing
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