CertaPro Painters® of Annapolis

Extremely professional and couldn't be happier with the outcome.

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They were the best price at the time and could start when I needed them to. Not impressed with the painting of my basement door as it really should have had another coat applied. Trim looked good as did decking. House was empty at the time as my renters had moved out and I was getting ready to put it on the market. I had taken down some plastic-coated wire shelving and left it on the floor in the kitchen with the intent to clean it later. Without asking me they painted it white and left it in the dirt outside to dry. It was a mess because they had painted over the grime that was on it. I had to throw it out and replace it. There was no interior work requested for this contract. I did not complain about this because I was just looking to freshen up the house and sell it.

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We have used Certa Pro painters of Annapolis six times now since 2006. In every instance we have been completely satisfied. They listen to the customer and they aren't satisfied with the job unless you are satisfied. Having just had a new garage door instralled, we decided to freshen up the outside trim of the house. In addition, we had some oak stair treads installed recently resulting in the paint on the risers and baseboards being scrapped and a hole in the drywall at the bottom step. We were very particuliar and emphasized to Certa Pro that we wanted no paint on the new treads and the hole on the drywall would not be noticeablke after repair. All of our expectations and requests were exceeded. They did a superb job both inside and out! The staff is always resperctful of you and your property.

I originally contacted CertaPro because I had used their services in Bowie MD at my old house. I since have moved and needed to get my new house painted. I contacted CertaPro in Bowie, and they told me that they do not service my area. They gave me contact information for the franchise that would service my area. I set up an appoint on 10/04/2012 to have the owner come to the house to bid on the job. We agreed on a contract, thought it was a little high, we had used CertaPro in the past and were impressed. The original contract we agreed on was for $10,420. The work started the very next day. We were not here during the beginning process because we were still packing from our old home. We dropped in from time to time and thought that it was going a little slow. We were told that it would be complete for us to move in on 10/22/2012. When the day arrived for move in, they were not even close to being complete. Not one room was complete. We even told them that if they could just finish the upstairs bedroom, we could live there while they completed the job. We ended up having to stay in a hotel because they had not completed the job. We moved the furniture into the house because we did not want to store it. We came over everyday and tried to get the process going. We soon ran out of money to stay in the hotel and had to move in. We moved into the unfinished bedroom upstairs. We had to put in cloths under the door to protect us from the dirt and dust generated by the painters. The crew that worked on the house was totally unprofessional. We found bottles in the yard and tossed toilet paper rolls all over the bathroom floor. The place was totally a disaster, not livable at all. We caught the workers squirting water on our clothing boxes in the garage. I caught them trying to paint the walls without cleaning off the dirt and dust in the areas to be painted. We couldn't communicate with the crew because of the language barrier. On Nov 2nd, the owner came in with a new contract stating that the price had changed due to all the holes in the wall from the electrician. I told him that we did not discuss any costs for this service and that it would be illegal to alter the contract without both parties agreeing. He stormed out and we never spoke to him again. We found out that the first painter had run out of money and couldn't pay the workers and the house was not even half finished.  The painter was by himself and the walls were not complete. We contacted the corporate office numerous times(over 20) and then on 11/12/2012 Greg Chris showed up. The second owner that we never knew about (Greg) showed up the next day to finish the job. He was upset that we contacted the corporate office and said we got him in trouble. Approximately a week later he showed up with another crew and told the guys what they were supposed to do. The job resumed with the new painters confused as to what had been done and what needed to be done. We incurred more damages and on Thanksgiving Eve they left the house without finishing. They workers left the place a mess. We asked them when they were coming back, and the response was "we don't know." After several weeks of no communication with them I hired people to clean and I had to start cleaning up the house and now I am in the legal matters with this company. I asked the head painter, Frank what he was going to do about the couch that his crew damaged and he said, "the owners told me to not say anything and to keep my mouth shut." He had agreed to pay for the couch because he knew his guys were responsible for damaging it but the owners told him to keep his mouth shut. These two seperate paint crews left my house in such a mess that one could only believe that it was purposely done but why? To date I still have only one door to my coat closet in my foyer as well as one double door closet with one door missing and the other cut incorrectly. We have authorized them on two occasions to bring the door back but to date still no doors. There are light switch covers, registers, trim around washer and dryer missing and a smoke detector was damaged by the first paint crew and Ernesto was the lead. We went to the police department on two occasions to try to force them to bring back our doors and the other things missing from the house only to be told there was nothing they could do, that it was civil matter. We have given this company several chances to rectify the damage done but all we get in the mail are bills for things that were not done and price changes. Areas that they did paint are peeling and caulking is falling from the ceiling. I have hundreds of pictures, witnesses and a lawyer to justify our claim. Also, have estimates to repair damages done to the home. Per their lawyer's request I compiled a list of the estimates to complete the repairs for the damages done to my home and to date have not heard from their lawyer regarding the letter listing the cost to make the repairs. We lived a nightmare and are still living the nightmare everyday we look at our home. We spoke with a lawyer in reference to get them to communicate because they would not communicate with us, causing us additional expenses in the amount of $1200 for the lawyer to communicate with them. I would not recommend this company at all. The worst thing that we could not believe happened and it proved, that these were a bunch of illegals who were not qualified carpenters, and they attempted to install a tray ceiling in the master bedroom and covered up the heating and a/c vent. We have been heating/cooling a dead space in the ceiling for more than six months. If they did not know how to extend the vent why didn't they ask the owners? We have received an estimate that it will cost over $1000 to fix that vent. We have incurred unneccesary expenses of over $15000.  To add salt to the wounds we have endured, they got a Sherwin Williams representative, Brian, to give them an estimate as to how much it would cost to complete the job and I contacted Sherwin Williams district manager who states that they are not qualified to perform that type of work, therefore, they falsified a document stating Sherwin Williams quoted that price. The contract stated no monies until the job was completed and a final walk thru was done but on 10/29/2012 Mr. Dower begged for money. I quoted him his contract but he said he needed money to complete the job because his bills were piling up and whatever we could give him would help to get the job done. We ended up giving him $5000 hoping this would enable them to complete the job but still did not motivate them to get the job done. He took our money and we got worse service. We also found out from Ernesto that he was working a part time job, he came to our house in the morning and had to leave by 4 to get to his part time job. They only worked 4-6 hours. They never complied to anything in the contract. I could go on and on but all the evidence I have supports our claim of this nightmare we've lived. Even if we don't recover monetarily from this nightmare lived we do not want others mainly senior citizens like us to encounter this type of situation. We are serious and there are no lies in our horror story as we stated we have evidence to support what we stated. Please be aware of this company! I don't think we will ever get over what we've experienced with this CertaPro Painters of Annapolis or their headquarters out of Oaks, PA, district manager Bill Mcdevitt who promised he would come out and look at the job in November but never showed and we never heard from him. We contacted him regarding his failure to show and he said he was busy flying all over and we asked him when he could come and he said wouldn't be able to. He asked me to send him pictures so we mailed him pictures and never received a response and haven't heard from him.

To start with Gerard with CertaPro came to my house when we scheduled to review what I wanted done.  I had bought a deal for 8 hours of painting and wasn't really sure how much I could get done in that time frame.  We just purchased the house and the entire interior needed paint along with wall repair throughout but we had a tight budget to stay in.  So I showed Gerard the items I needed painted by him and then asked for an estimate on the entire house, room by room.  The estimate came 2 days later and it was high but not higher than any other company had provided.  I decided to stay within the deal and get our stairway and master bedroom painted because of the vaulted ceilings.  Gerard came back with a date that was the same week as my due date and I we were really trying to have the house painted before our baby arrives.  Knowing my situation, he got his crew to come out on a Sunday, just 2 days from the day he sent the estimate.  There was a little confusion with the crew on what they were suppose to paint, and to be fair, it was completely my fault as I wasn't clear over the phone with Gerard when we were coming to our agreement.  They quickly got Gerard on the phone and we worked it out in 5 minutes.  No big deal.  The work was completed within the 8 hours but the crew had 4-5 people in so I am assuming that's why I paid the extra.  The room and hallway look amazing!! The job was better than I expected and I am so happy with the work.  I will definitely use CertaPro in the future if I need something painted. 
Only not so positive feedback I have is I felt a little misled by the Living Social deal.  It was for "8 hours" for $250 and I realize now that's pretty vague for a painting job.  As I mentioned above, the crew worked for a little less than 8 hours and i paid an extra $400 but I am pretty sure that's because of the size of the crew they sent, which was well worth it.  I just wish I knew exactly what I got with Living Social - I don't think that's a CertaPro problem, just something for future deal shoppers to be aware of.

Great job, tech was focused and fast completed in (1) one day !

See above.

Somewhat disappointed.  Overall the wall preparation and painting was quite good, but some of the details were not what I would expect.  E.g.:  excess paint on hardware, shade knocked down and not replaced, etc.  Biggest issue was the balcony ... which they forgot and then slapped paint on as they were heading out the door.  I had to spend time correcting drips, sanding, and now repainting.  If I use again, I will insist on closer supervision.

Terrible!!!!!!!!!

As indicated in my earlier statement, the job went very well from start to finish.

It went okay.  There was nothing really that I liked or disliked about them.  I’ve dealt with other painters in other states that I’ve lived in and it was pretty standard.  We were limited on the budget because this isn’t my home and I live in a rental property.  I would have spent more if it had been my own house.  So the quality would have probably been a bit better.  I had to go on a very tight budget and it was good work for the amount spent.  We were dealing with constrictions that were not their fault and not mine as well.  It was just circumstances and we had to work on a very tight budget.  It’s a little hard to judge because I’ve had painters in my own home and so the experience was slightly different, and also I was paying for it.  So we weren’t constrained by budget.  Even though we were stuck with the budget, I think they did a decent job.  I will use their services again in the future.

I am very happy with their work. I decided to go with them based on their price and the recommendations for them on Angie's List and the fact that they were willing to do the floor as well as the painting. That is not one of the things they advertise but it is one of the things I needed and they did it for me. They had sent somebody today to touch up something that they had overlooked. It was very minor and I wouldn't want to criticize them on it. I take it as a positive thing since they were willing to come back and touch up on little things that had been neglected even after the whole job was done. What stood out about them was their hard work and willingness to be adaptable to do things that needed doing even though it was not part of their technical profile. I just asked them and they did it. I liked them a lot and can't think of anything negative. They were friendly and professional and left things clean.

I contacted the company via e-mail in July, and was able to do 95% of my business with them via e-mail, which I really appreciate. The office manager, Delores, arranged for a sales representative, John, to come to my home on a Saturday for an estimate. The estimate took about 30 minutes and involved a full inspection of the exterior. He recommended a carpenter for repairs, and said CertaPro would be ready to begin work when the carpentry was completed. And they were. I was very specific about the days available for this work, and two painters arrived as promised and completed the work in 2.5 days. This was a little longer than originally quoted, but the original quote didn't include drywall repair, which added time to the job. Overall, I was completely satisfied with the painting and have used them since for a small job.

This was my second experience with CertaPro. I e-mailed the office manager, but instead heard back from the owner, Joel Bell, who came to my home at my convenience for to give me an estimate. The estimate took about 15 minutes, and he promised to call me within a couple of days to schedule the job. He responded as promised, and scheduled the job in the timetable I requested. He thought the job would take about 8-10 hours. On the designated day, the painter, Eduardo, arrived on time and finished the job in about 6 hours. My experience was 100% positive and I will definitely use them again.

Overall they did it in less time than they promised and charged the same amount. I have no complaints. I was surprised that a company backed by National Advertising could do such a great job at such reasonable price. I also painted our row house at the same time in DC and that made me appreciate the professionals that much more, particularly around the ceilings and fixtures, etc.

A terrific painting job! House looks beautiful. Cleaned up perfectly, no mess, no over spray, very neat. Crew was friendly and professional. Very helpful, answered all questions. Salesperson was professional and knowledgeable, not pushy, very patient. We are going to have CertaPro paint some of our interior. We will definitely recommend their service to our friends.