Mal's Painting and Wallpapering

I have been working with him for the past 20 years. I have recommend him to many people. His work is amazing. He is very detailed and easy to work with. If there are any issues, he will make sure they are fixed until you are happy. He is fair price, reliable, and on time. He is a kind and thoughtful person. He uses top materials. He goes above and beyond what he needs to do.

I selected the following paint: a. Walls: Benjamin Moore China White - eggshell finish b. Trim: Benjamin Moore China White - Semi-gloss finish (China White is an off white shade) Issues: 1. Mr. Gabowitz used the wrong paint. Walls: He used Benjamin Moore China White Matte finish instead of eggshell finish Trim: He used a bright white semi-gloss finish instead of Benjamin Moore China White semi-gloss finish 2. He failed to do any preparation of the walls and trim although preparation is the usual, customary and minimum trade standard ( repair any cracks or holes in the walls; repair any divots in the the trim; sand walls and trim). 3. He failed to apply the paint in a way that is usual, customary and minimum trade standard. a. He use a roller without overlapping strokes leaving some areas without new paint coverage. b. He didn't tape, protect or otherwise separate the walls and the trim from the walls was on the trim and the paint from the walls was on the trim and paint from the trim on the walls c. In some areas the wall was not painted all the way to the baseboard so part of the wall again had no paint coverage. d. He only applied one coat of paint in the yellow bedroom. Again, because roller strokes didn't overlap, several yellow stripes were visible. e. He did not use drop cloths on the furniture. Because of this and sloppy application, there was paint on most of the furniture including an antique four poster bed, and a solid mahogany drop leaf table, an upholstered dining room chair, a vein of a fabric vertical blind in the dining f. He did not remove the window blinds, therefore the upper interior surface of the window casings did not get painted. In the yellow bedroom, that area remained yellow. g. The only ceiling he was asked to paint was the upstairs bathroom. Ceiling paint was dripped on the wallpapered walls, the floor and the back of the bathroom door, which was one of the unpainted wood doors. h. His use of bright white on the trim created a glaring white wall when he used them on the double closet doors in the large bedroom as they take up most of one wall. 4. He damaged personal property, failed to inform me, and discarded a damaged item without my knowledge. a. On further inspection, one of the apparent paint spots on the drop-leaf table turned out to be a gouge in the surface of the table top that was not present before he painted. b. Paint was spilled on a small area rug and the rug was thrown away without my being told. I noticed it was missing and asked where he had moved it, and was told what happened. c. A small glass object with religious significance that was on the door jam of the bedroom, was put on the floor . Three people were painting and walking in the area. 5. His conduct was unprofessional a. I engaged him to work Mon. Dec. 14, 2015 through Wed. Dec. 16. from 8:30am to 3:30pm. He knew I had to leave by 9am each morning he was here. We were supposed to talk about the work between 8:30 and 9 each morning. He arrived at 9:00. On Wed. he wasn't there when I left. I got home Tues at 12:30 and he had already left. He took an extra day to finish. This was the result of a poor work ethic and it interfered with preparations for the carpet installers who were coming the next day. b. When the painters did come Thursday, three of them shared one roller. Aftermath: I withheld final payment until I could do a "walk around" I called Mr Gabowitz back to finish the guest bedroom with China White Eggshell finish, and to paint the double closet doors in China White Semi-gloss. He was willing to come back. I told how displeased I was and said the only way to remedy the issues ( mentioned above) was to completely redo the work. I gave him the opportunity to do so. I told him to call me in a day or two. I never heard back from him. When I checked the remediation he did in the guest bedroom, he still hadn't taken the blinds down so the upper window casing was still yellow and only the face of the bi-fold closet doors in the other bedroom had been painted. The edges, visible when the doors are open, were not repainted. Consequences: I had to hire another painter to redo the entire job at an additional expense. I have pictures from each room showing samples of the poor work and damages.