SFW Painting

I used SFW Painting to stain my fence. The whole experience was great from start to finish. I highly reccomend them.

Buyer be beware. They agreed to paint my house for one price, and charged eight (8) times more in time and materials to prep the house. Like most consumers, I was looking to have my house painted at a fair price. I received proposals from two painters to prep and paint the trim, windows and doors of the exterior of my house. No siding; they were going to pressure wash that. SFW estimated the job was going to be much less than the other proposal I received because it didn't include time and materials. Because of that, I understood there was going to be some additional prep charges given the other bid was around $4,000 more. That's where they took advantage of me. With 3 guys getting paid $68/hour, each day becomes expensive. It took them a week and a half to prep the house. After receiving an invoice showing that I was way over budget now, I told the supervisor that the job needed to stop. His reply was that the bid work had started and that I wasn't going to be charged time and material anymore. That was half untrue. They hadn't billed me for the last 3 days. At the end of the job, I received a detailed list of charges I was required to pay outside of their hourly rate including, trash bags, gloves, painting tape, masks, portable toilet and driving debris to the dump @ $68/hr. When you hire a painter, you'd think most of these items would be included in the bid. The only thing the bid included was the paint... and the ladders I guess. When I reached out to the manager to let him know these charges were unreasonable, he said he'd be putting a lien on my house and having his attorney contact me. Unfortunately I found out late, consumers have been duped by this company more than once after reading posts on this site and others. I thought I did my homework by receiving a second bid but that only confirmed I paid 3.5x more for the job.

Ultimately, our house did get painted and the job was adequate. However, we had multiple concerns along the way, and if SFW (or future customers) can learn from these concerns, then I feel right about voicing them. I recognize, too, how I need to better protect myself next time. 1. The written paint estimate was confusing. We went round and round, and the bid seemed to include things we did not want, while things we did want were crossed off the list. My concerns were brushed aside and SFW tried to appease me with assurances that this was merely a template. 2. After paying the initial 25% deposit on 5/16, we were invoiced for it again on 5/25. Furthermore, after we paid on 5/16, two weeks passed with no scheduled start date. Then, in what appeared to be a mad scramble, SFW announced the evening before that the job would start the following morning. When the crew arrived, they did not have the necessary materials to get started and sat for several hours in their vehicles before work could begin. To me, this indicates poor planning and organization. 3. While the crew was prepping the house for painting, they urged us to consider additional siding work. The need for this additional siding work was disappointing because SWF had already been out to do siding repairs for us earlier in the year. We assumed all areas of concern had been addressed. Clearly, they had missed some key areas of rot and this additional round of work came at a steep cost. The end result is this: The total project cost 60% more than we had originally discussed. My mistake is I should have insisted the bid clearly spell out exactly what work we wanted and put into place a budget cap, as well as clear protocol before any additional work was performed. Yes, our house got painted, but we were disappointed with the poor communication, inefficiency and price tag.

Workers were professional and thorough. All follow-up requested has been handled in a timely manner.

It was fine. I had a little bit of a problem but I worked it out with the manager and everything was fine. It took a little bit of time. It took a while to get them out here so the owner of the company discounted the work for me. I thought they were fine. I would use them again. I had to pay for the paint because the deal didn't come with paint. He was wonderful. He explained things to me. He took a hundred dollars off and I was happy. What happened wasn't their fault. I had to call several times before I got a hold of the owner. They were here right on time.

Everything was completed to my satisfaction. They did a very good job in some of the difficult areas. For example, painting around thick vines growing on porch columns and beam. Everything I pointed out in the inspection was taken care of promptly with no excuses. Communication was good with everyone involved. I would have no qualms about using company again or recommending to others. Following are a couple of minor issues we had. A few minor issues: We had 3 gallons of left over trim paint. That seemed like an error in estimating amount needed. On the other hand, there was only 1/2 gal. of main color left which is what I would expect for trim also. My hot tub was unplugged before they started because it was empty. The crew plugged it in when they finished without checking with me. It was several hours before I noticed it. I had to reset the heater unit but no damage was done.

Overall, the service was a little higher than quoted. I expected 3 guys to get more painted in 2.5 hours than they did. I also would have expected that the charges were more clear during the process. The guys were polite and seemed to know what they were doing and were very careful to cover up the floors. But, the service should have cost no more than $300 with the amount of work that was complete. 
Overall, they did decent work, besides a few spots on my ceiling and adjoining walls, they did do pretty well with the overall work. 

Bought a coupon through Angie's List - 4 hours of painting for approx. $260. I knew it would take longer to do the job, and SFW sent a crew of 4 to complete the job. They knocked it out in one day. While the cost was more than I anticipated, they did a good job.

excellent. They arrived on time and were very organized.

All except for the billing, but it was okay. They could itemize their bill better. They were a little slow.

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Steve Wade, the owner, immediately responded to my call for the roof to be replaced on my home. He reviewed the process with me in detail and drew up a concise and fair contract for the extensive area involved in my two-level home.  He had the dumpster delivered and the very next day the crew was on the job.  They were very careful to use all safety equipment and worked quickly to remove the old two layers of shingles.  They placed a liner over the bare roof to protect it from and moisture until the new shingles could be applied. The crew also covered shrubs to ensure that they would not be damaged by falling shingles.  One section of a back addition had lost some shingles two years ago and the wood was starting to rot underneath.  The crew replaced the entire section while making sure that I was aware of this addition to the project.  The shingles that I chose were then very quickly placed on the roof while the crew members were tied off to safety hooks since the roof has an extreme slant.  The project was completed in seven days which was wonderful considering how noisy it was (understandable for this type of project though).  Steve Wade came out the next day to review the work and note any punch list items that needed to be completed before final payment was made.  He was very responsive to get crew members out as soon as possible to complete these items.  This company is very professional, the workers are careful and listen to any concerns from the owner or guidance as to where to store tools during the project.  I have used this company in the past to paint my home and I was very pleased that I chose them for this major roofing project.  My home looks amazing now and Steve made sure it was done correctly and that I was satisfied with the results.  I will definitely continue to use this company for any future home projects that require remodeling, etc.  They are a fast working crew and everyone is professional and leaves a clean area at the end of each day.

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The job started strong and the paint job done immediately.  Any issues I experienced were followed up with and addressed quickly.

Took about three days for primer, taping off and final paint. The quality of service and paint excellent.

Steve was great to work with! He did an excellent job on my exterior painting project, showing up on time and putting in the extra effort needed to make my house look new again. He was a good communicator and reliable.