GALAXY PAINTING & DECORATING
About us
NO SUBCONTRACTORS. LICENSED IN MARYLAND (#31079) VIRGINIA (#2705034376) AND WASHINGTON, DC (39601168)
Business highlights
Services we offer
BUILD-OUTS, CAULKING, COLOR CONSULTATIONS, CUSTOM PAINTING & WALLPAPER INSTALLATION & REMOVAL, DECK CLEANING & REFINISH, DECORATIVE FINISHES, FLOORING. POWER WASHING, INTERIOR & EXTERIOR, MASONRY REPAIRS., PLASTER & DRYWALL. CARPENTRY- DOORS, SPECIAL FINISHES, STAINING & FINISHING, TRIM, WATER & SMOKE DAMAGE REPAIRS, WINDOWS
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
| Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
|---|---|---|
| 97% | ||
| 0% | ||
| 3% | ||
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| 0% |
I can't say enough about Pablo and Tony who did most of the work. They have a terrific work ethic. Pablo is an amazing carpenter. He takes great pride in his work and is polite, personable, and very sincere. My kitchen floors were extremely uneven, but Pablo put in shims and the base cabinets were perfectly level for the stone counters. The stone installers commented on this. He also built a new counter in my kitchen and it matched up perfectly with the one next to it. It is rock solid and beautiful.
Pablo also has top notch drywall and tiling skills. Everything he touches comes out beautifully. When I look at the kitchen and the new fireplace mantle, I just can't believe it. Tony was also terrific. He worked side by side with Pablo and has good drywall and painting skills of his own. And, you can't get him to stop working. When the counters were being installed, the minute the installers went outside, Tony was continuing his painting until they came back in again.
Pablo and Tony never rushed, but got a great deal accomplished each day. They would arrive around 7:30 or so to beat the traffic and always had a smile. Even on the days where a lot of mess was created, they left my house spotless. Tony even vacuumed up the dust behind the washing machine. They also took my allergies very seriously and followed excellent dust control procedures. Never had an allergy attack the entire time they were there which was a miracle. And, my furnace broke after the job was completed. The repair person checked the coils because he thought they would be dusty from the renovations, but he said they were perfectly clean.
The office staff are also great. Stephanie is one of those people who you feel like you have known your entire life, and Tammy is also extremely polite and always wants to help. I only had to call the office to pay the bill (I was charged in 3 installments) and to praise the work being completed in my house. But if there has been a problem, I know Stephanie would have handled it swiftly. She inspires confidence.
I added painting the den in the midst of the project. Pablo had to move on to another carpentry project and two new painters were sent over. They did excellent work as well. My house looks so beautiful. Galaxy will be doing outside painting for me this spring, and once all of this is paid off, I want to bring them back to paint upstairs and to re-tile bathrooms. They are my "go to" company from now on.
The crew members were excellent. Antonio Ramirez, the lead painter and his assistant Douglas Medrano were
pleasant and did a fine job. The carpenters who did a small job were neat and clean and did a fine job. When I noticed thaqt the ceiling fixture outside the front door was not properly attached, someone was out the next day to fix it.
When I made my appointment the woman I spoke to on the phone made it clear to me that if my job required additional
time I would be required to pay for it. At no time was I told there was a limit on the number of coats they would paint, that certain colors may require extra time, etc... I have never used professional grade paint (beyond what Home Depot sells) so I expected that with the newer materials perhaps the two coats and primer would do it. I readily agreed to pay any difference should the painters need additional time.
My painters arrived and were very pleasant. I will say that I had some concerns about the language barrier and while I have NO problem with this, that this may have contributed to the communication problems. Each area they were painting had an accent wall so two colors were required, two areas needed primer and others did not, I have deep inset windows, soffetting, and oddly shaped walls, so these were all items I was concerned about.
For the most part I am satisfied with the result, however when the painters left they had atleast an hour left. The paint was wet in three areas and they assured me it was and quot;doneand quot; and that the disparity in color I saw was a result of that.
On closer examination I found the following:
- The baseboard line in several areas is not perfectly straight. Maybe this is nitpicking but I feel that these professionals performed at the same level I could have, I guess I expected the lines to be more precise.
That's a very minor gripe.
- There are small dots of dark paint in the window-sill in my bedroom (not sure why this wasn't taped or covered)There
are bubbles on spots on several of the walls, many disappeared as it dried but not sure what caused this. If it's because
additional time was needed between coats I wish someone would have communicated that.
- After a year there are still several bubbles of paint that never flattened. I also found drips and dots on numerous places on my floor. I have wood floors but if I'd had carpet this would have been a very big deal.
In the end, two areas needed atleast one additional coat of paint. I called and left a message explaining the situation, AND expressing my willingness to pay for the time required to do this.
When I spoke to the manager (Fernando) the day after my painters left I was very disappointed with the conversation
we had. He was rude, impatient and so busy interrupting me that I was furious when I finally got off the phone.
At no time did I claim that I had been promised it would be completed, and I repeatedly expressed that I had been willing to pay for the extra time were that needed. In my opinion there were MANY options that were not exercised that could have averted this. I left my condo and provided the painter (Manuel) with my phone number, I was less than 15 minutes away up the street working in a cafe. He called me once to ask about the window boxes so clearly he understood he could reach me. AT NO point did he call to indicate that they might not be able to finish. I also stopped by several hours before they finished, at which point he could have ALSO indicated that they would need more time, or an additional day. I would have GLADLY payed for extra time or been willing to accept that because of the colors I selected an additional time (hours, another day...) may be needed.
When they left I was assured that the job was done. It was NOT complete but I had no way of knowing since I was told that what I saw was a result of the wet paint.
While it's been a year since this experience I am still baffled that a customer service manager would interrupt me while I was speaking, attempt to inform me that it was MY fault because I assumed it could be done when it could not, tell me that
the painters put two coats of paint on the walls and that was all that was required (when the deal I purchased was clearly based on the amount of TIME not the number of coats of paint) and then tell me and quot;maybe you shouldn't have selected dark colorsand quot;. This type of attitude displayed a complete lack of customer service. At no time did he apologize or wait to hear me out.
I'm sure that, sadly, in fear of a bad review they called me back and offered to return the painters to complete an additional coat of paint on the areas that I needed completed.
It seems ridiculous to me even now that they ate the cost of a service I would have GLADLY paid for, had they shown me the tiniest amount of respect when I called with concerns.
The entire situation could have been avoided if at ANY time yesterday the painters had indicated they may need more time. Prior to the painters arriving any of the numerous people I spoke to on the phone could have also inquired about the paint color and scheduled me additional time or warned me that it may take longer. I am NOT a professional painter and have no idea how long is needed between coats or what colors take the most amount, etc... While I was relieved it was finished I sincerely wish that they could have offered this option to me before I had the unfortunate experience of a very tense and unpleasant phone call.
I recommend this business with hesitation, and the strong suggestion that you have a very specific conversation about the amount of work you want done, the colors of paint, and the level of effort required so that you have painters that are not rushed and are given adequate time to do a good job.
Carpet was against two of the bathrooms and a wood floor was against the other. The sloppiness of the threshold made me want to get new bathroom floors.
One contractor who was supposed to fix it, ended up not having the proper skills. Another contractor that gave me an estimate arrived without a tape measure, and his plan was to move the marble threshold, but keep the grout filled diamonds in place.
The third time was a charm with Galaxy. I called Neal, the owner of Galaxy, based on the recommendation of a friend. He returned my call that day, and within a day or two Leo Ambriz, the estimator, came to my home. He inspired confidence as he carefully measured everything and took the time to understand what I wanted done.
Leo emailed me an estimate the next day. He also brought the tile person to my home to review the job in advance. Again, they both measured all of the thresholds, knocked on the floor to make sure it was sound, and reviewed the details of the plan with me. A few days later the tile person and another young man came back to do the work. They were real craftsman.
They did an amazing job. My thresholds are perfect now. I don’t hate my floors anymore. I will definitely use them again for other projects.
The crew was polite and professional.
Licensing
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