Affordable Painting Services
Serving Juda, WI and surrounding areas
In business since 2003
Free estimates
Emergency services offered
"First of all I want to say that the general paint job was very good and that I was 90 % happy with affordable painting. Any problems were, in the scheme of things, very minor. I'm going to tell this story because it's something that I wish I would have known and may save a future consumer some headaches.
We needed the inside of our house painted to get ready to sell. Alan came out to give us a bid and I really liked him. He had great attention to detail, noticed imperfections in the drywall and told me that they would fix those. He told me that they would do their best to fix sloppy painting from the past (paint that had gotten on trim for example), and that they would be willing to hang new light fixtures for us after painting. He explained how he wanted to paint after the new carpet and they would leave the house in show condition. A friend was over and heard this as well. His was the most expensive estimate I had by $300 but I could see that he had a good eye and took pride in his company, and I thought it was worth the extra money for a truly professional job, since I was not going to be in town to fix any issues. Problem . . . he wasn't the one who did the work. Wish I would have known that.
I had moved by the time these guys did their work, but I had friends watching the house and helping me. Two of my friends said that the paint job looked great, but that the workers had not been informed about hanging light fixtures and were somewhat gruff about it (this required me to call Alan so he could inform his crew). The workers cleaned up the paint, but didn't clean up the boxes from the light fixtures etc. A friend spent 2 hours after they left cleaning up. Hardly move in condition. Also, a neighbor saw one of the workers smoking in our garage (and another found a cigarette butt there). Another friend, who knows more about paint, gave a more thorough report, and said that there were drips, blue spots (?) on 2 walls and unfilled nail holes, as well as a sloppy patch job in one place and an unfixed "ding". I subsequently called Alan, who was very friendly with me, agreed that the workers should have cleaned up (offered to adjust the price because of it), and agreed to go to the house to check it out. I sent him a list of things to look for. When he got there he told me that those drips were from previous paint jobs (I don't doubt that, but had been under the impression they were going to fix this type of imperfection), and told me that the paint job was fine. I deferred to that, since I was relying on friends' reports, but upon inspection later we found out the he didn't even fix the blue spots on the walls. I found that bothersome, as those were obvious mistakes on their part. Also, a closet door that was working well before the painters came was broken (I had fixed it the day before), and Alan refused to take any responsibility for that. Not the end of the world, but frustrating.
Overall, the paint job was very good, and those who have seen it say that it would look wonderful to the casual observer. Most of what they said they would do was done, although it required some prompting, as it wasn't communicated to the crew on the front end of things and required attention from me, and clarification later from Alan.
At one point one of the painters tried to get me to authorize more money for a second coat, when the bid had been for 2 coats. So there was another time when I had to spend my time communicating with Alan to clear up a misunderstanding. Alan was cooperative as could be, but it took my attention to make sure things were done right, and I was hoping not to have to do that.
This will fulfill it's purpose; a new paint job to sell the home. The attention to detail wasn't quite as advertised though. I was happy that Alan was willing to come out and look at it (though I would think he would check the work his crew does as a matter of course), but the refusal to fix even the blatant errors (e.g. blue spots) bothered me (of course this all occurred after I had made the final payment, which may have had something to do with the fact that he wasn't as willing to work with me). Prior to that, Alan worked with me well and wanted to make sure I was happy; and I was about 90% happy. If it hadn't been so expensive, I wouldn't have been so picky, but for the price, and because of promises he made when he bid the job, I expected more. I wish I would have taken the bid from the man who was going to be doing his own work. I think that makes a difference.
The other thing that bothered me was that the office called wanting final payment on Wednesday when the job was not going to be completed until Thursday at noon. Of course I didn't authorize that, and I'm glad I didn't because as it turned out, there were issues, and an adjustment to the price.
Like I said, my satisfaction level is 90%, but the reason I paid a premium for a professional to do the job was because I wanted it to be completely professional. I wanted to be 100% satisfied. I chose the most expensive bid from the most professional-seeming man. Alan's bid process left me feeling that they were discerning and thorough and that I could move out confident that it would be done well and that I wouldn't have to impose on friends to deal with problems. He stressed the high quality of their work, and the fact that they fix minor imperfections and leave the place in pristine condition. I didn't find this to be the case, at least not completely. I worried that I had misunderstood him, but a friend who was with me at the time, heard the same promises I did.
I think overall these guys are good, but be aware that the man who gives the bid (Alan) is not the one who does the painting, communication doesn't always go through, the crew is not as good-natured or as detail-oriented as Alan, and he does not, as a rule, check the work of his crew, which means you have to do that. The overall work is high quality, but there may be problems with details. My advice would be to get very concrete details for the bid as far as what will and won't be done, and if he says it, have him write it down. Also, don't pay them before the job is complete and inspected, because there may be some issues. I was very surprised they asked for this. I didn't haggle on the price because I wanted them to do their best work; I wish I would have. These things left a bad taste in my mouth, but in the scheme of things are minor. I would recommend them (to a non-perfectionist friend) with the reservations I've mentioned.
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Recommended by96%of homeowners
