Brush Masters Painting & Roof

I'd hired Scott at Brush Masters over a decade ago to paint the exterior of my home and thought I could depend on him to do a good job on exterior and interior painting this year (2017). He came to my home on April 7 to give me an estimate. At the end of his tour around the areas to be painted he said he would mail his estimate. I gave him my mailing address, which is not the same as my street address, and I waited to hear from him. After several weeks, I left him a v-mail message reminding him to send estimate. After a few rounds of phone tag and text messages, I learned that he had finally sent the paperwork. Again, I waited. Again, I sent him a reminder. Then he replied that he'd sent the estimate but that it had been returned to him as "non-deliverable." I reminded him that my mailing address is different from the property address. The estimate finally arrived in May. I sent him a check for $1,000 down payment. On July 3 he came with one other painter and pressure washed the exterior. On July 26, he returned to paint the exterior. I had discussed with him the possibility of scheduling the interior painting to begin in late August, but he decided to begin that work on July 27, because, as Scott pointed out, the drywaller Scott had recommended had already masked one bathroom and bedroom to carry out drywall repairs (which, in the end, failed in under two weeks' time!) I, therefor, had to scramble to clear living room, master bedroom, kitchen, and dining area in one night. I stayed up almost all night removing items from those rooms and was up at 4:00 AM on July 27, hustling to complete the task. The morning of July 27, Scott and his fellow painter arrived at 8:00 AM. I had moved all but the heaviest pieces of furniture from master bedroom, living room and dining room. A small glass topped table, 2 chairs, a microwave oven, a kitchen cart, some houseplants, and a bookcase I use as a pantry remained in the kitchen. Except for the bookcase, these items, as well as my leather recliner, and my mother's antique dresser, were set outside on the patio as well as onto damp grass. I grabbed a new tarp from the garage and moved items from the grass to the tarp myself, except for the recliner, which I needed help to lift. At one point the helper-painter laid a large carton containing a portable air conditioner right on top of my mother's dresser. When I realized what he'd done, I asked him to remove the carton, as that particular piece of furniture was never designed to hold that much weight and is now nearly 75 years old! Interior painting of living room, kitchen, dining room, hallway, and master bedroom and bathroom were completed on July 28. Around 5:00 or 5:30 that evening, Scott's helper-painter was anxious to call it day; however, Scott insisted that he stay to help move furniture back into place. The helper was so incensed that he went into the backyard, kicked at the ground, hands on hips, muttering under his breath. At that, I pulled Scott aside and said it was fine for them to return on Monday, that I did not want the helper's frustration to be taken out on my furnishings. I had already noted an 8-inch long scrape in back of my leather recliner, which had been damaged when the painters forced it through the patio door opening. At Scott's insistance he and the helper continued pushing furniture into place, pressing an armoire against fresh paint on a decorative column in the living and leaving a nick in the column as well as a dent in the previously pristine armoire. Later that evening, I sent Scott pictures of both the armoire and the recliner. His reply was to use water on the armoire and that he knew nothing about the damage to the recliner. The cost of painting the exterior and the above mentioned rooms had ballooned from Scott's estimate of $3200 for the exterior and $2000 for the interior spaces, plus cost of paint, to a whopping total of over $6,800. This for a 1,200 sq. ft. house, of which only 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom were painted! According to his contract he would complete the other 2 bedrooms, another bathroom and the pass-through where the washer and dryer are located for an additional $600, and he said he already had enough paint to finish those rooms when he returned. On August 1, I sent Scott a text asking him to return the week of August 28 to finish interior painting. On August 8, I sent him another text inquiring as to whether he had put my job on his schedule for week of August 28. On August 10, he responded saying that he would "pencil [me] in." On August 24, I sent him a text message to confirm his availability for the week of August 28. On August 26, he sent me a text saying that it would be late September or October before he could finish the interior painting. That same day, I sent him a text asking that he please call me. Scott was aware that I had ordered new flooring for the entire house, and flooring was expected to arrive week of September 11. On September 1, I texted Scott asking him to provide me with a time frame for his return so that I could notify carpet installers to be ready as soon as painting was completed. A week later, after I still had not heard from him, I left him a v-mail message asking him to call me. Today is September 20, and he has made no effort to contact me. Every interior wall that Scott and his helper painted has a 6 to 8 inch swath of darker paint at the top and bottom of the wall than the paint in the mid section of the wall, and will need to be re-painted to blend paint that was brushed on with paint that was rolled on. In addition, dent in decorative column and a large scrape on another living room wall, apparently caused when a bookcase was pushed into place, will need repair. I am in the process of hiring another painter to repaint and repair.

Scott was the person who did the work. He gave me the details on what needed to be done and he suggested alternatives. He suggested not painting the places where it did not need any painting. H lowered the price. He was the lowest bidder. He did a great job.