FIRST RATE PAINT & DESIGN

Bill Chacon responded very quickly to my call for help. The tenant moved out on Wednesday, March 27th. The new tenants wanted to start moving in on Saturday, March 30th. It was not a big job, but First Rate treated it as if it were the only job in the world. The team patched and painted on Friday, providing a safe area in the living room for temporary storage of furniture. On Sunday, everything was ready for the new tenants. In addition to the $325, Bill also charged me $50 for cleaning before painting, which the departing tenant was supposed to do. This $50 was reasonable and I deducted it from the tenant's security deposit. Back in February, First Rate patched and painted an entire apartment and garage for me for $1,600.00. The garage required creativity because it was just plywood that had never been painted. It was also very ugly because the departing tenants had removed a lot of shelves and then patched, so the walls looked like smeared-up plywood. Plywood soaks up paint, but Bill experimented and found a cheap way to paint, which saved a lot of money.

All work was performed as we contracted for. The initial contact and evaluation was with the owner and was great. He understood what we wanted and his suggestions were outstanding. The work was performed under the owners supervision was was done top quality. No mess was left behind.

Today, First Rate came back to do a little bit of warranty work because two windows wouldn't open. Bill Chacon, the owner, dropped what he was doing and drove in from the Valley to free up the windows. This is important to me because I rent apartments and I have to keep the renters happy.

Initially, I gave Bill a list of things to be painted. His estimate came to almost $1,200. With my property taxes coming up in Dec, we decided to break up the job into 3 parts--with him returning to do more when I call him. I truly appreciate his flexibility.

Poor experience overall. After more than three weeks (for work he estimated at less than 2 weeks) we had to ask William to stop work and leave our home. He asked to be paid for the profit he would have earned had he finished the job as originally contracted. His rationalization was that he had initially intended to hire other people - someone to wallpaper and a contractor - to do the other work, and they failed to show up, so he had to try to do the work himself. Since he was only trying to assist us, he felt he should be paid the profit he would have earned for all the work, including the work he didn't complete! We rejected that absurd suggestion.

Called the company on a Friday and was very much appreciative of the Bill's quick response to the phone call. Bill returned the phone call and he asked a few questions about the work that needs to be done via email. Our communication went on smoothly and he responded with the estimate that same night. However, we requested an onsite inspection to ensure that we agreed upon the work that needed to be completed. We are do-it-yourselfers and initiated majority of the work. But because we wanted to move in to our house more quickly we decided to leave the details to a professional and hire a painter who can professionally do the job with the quality we wanted. When Bill inspected our project on Saturday, his stance was that he knows all the things that needed to be completed --- prepping that needs to be done to ensure the quality of the paint outcome and cut work. He even pointed out areas that we didn't complete stating that he has a lot of experience and pretty much knows areas that needs work. We stated how particular we are. He was very assuring. Most of the paint job was already initiated so our request was mostly on the details of the job other than the kitchen which was not painted at all. We agreed on the initial quote. Bill and his crew came to work on the house on Sunday. He protected a lot of the areas and we were impressed. He called in the morning if somethings comes up and provides updates on a daily basis. When the job was finished on Wednesday, Bill gave a tour and everything looked fine and cleaned up and provided our final payment. That night we inspected the job further and noticed a few areas that were not painted. Our fault for not inspecting it thoroughly during the final tour of the job. Our ceiling looked like it was just primed in a lot of areas, there were some window trims/casings that were not painted, the touch ups that he pointed out was not even done and other areas where cut work was not done, there are areas with drips of different color on the wall, there were over spray on the new window glass, there was caulking on the wall that was not cleaned up and painted over etc. It looked like we have a lot of job ahead of us to correct these problems. Initially we just noticed the ceiling that was not completed so we emailed in to Bill to inform him of the problem that same night. We didnt receive an email back and decided to call in after a couple of days. He affirmed and said he will return to do a second coat (implying that he knew the problem). He indicated that he is currently working on a couple of jobs but will get back to me on his schedule the following day and will get back on the job in a couple of weeks. We decided to communicate via email. Sent a couple of emails but never received any response back ---- quite the opposite when we asked him to do the job initially which was a big disappointment. Although we badly wanted to move into the house, we do not believe in compromising quality. We have an old craftsman house but we did a lot of work to ensure that the craftsmanship is intact but we were quite disappointed with the paint job. We are very much appreciative that Bill and his crew came in to finish the job but we were not happy that quality was compromised in quite a few areas and the lack of communication after the problem was raised. We were hoping to hire him for the exterior work but because of our experience we will not hire him again.

Very professional, courteous, efficient. He and his brother did a great job.

Bill (with the help of his brother on one of the days) did a great job and took care of everything we asked for. He reported right when he said he would each day, and we're very happy with the results. I wasn't exactly sure of how far along he was at any point in the job, so I ended up asking him about things that he hadn't missed, but he simply hadn't done yet. I would have liked to have a little better idea of the time the whole project would take, so I would know not to be concerned that he wasn't going to get to certain parts. In the end, he took care of everything, and all was well.

I choose Mr. Chacon for this job based on his excellent Angie's List reviews. His bid came in between 2 others we received so he was neither the most or least expensive, but he wanted to do the job immediately, and we wanted to get the work done. Unfortunately, it was not a satisfactory experience. We had two issues: the first I was willing to overlook because I wasn't certain if it was his fault, but the second showed a lack of quality and professionalism. First, about 2 weeks after Mr. Chacon finished the job, I noticed that the light fixture in our bathroom was cracked. I had not noticed this during my walk-though when he finished the job, but I do know for certain that it was not broken the week before the job because I had changed the lightbulb. Mr. Chacon had removed this fixture to paint and I believe what happend was that when he replaced it, he may have tighted the piece that holds the glass too much, causing a slight fracture that grew over the next few weeks. I contacted him, he firmly denied having caused the damage and his only response was that in the future he would have a checklist for damages before starting a job. I decided to let it go, because I could not be certain if he was responsible or not. But....a week after that, the paint on our bathroom ceiling began to bubble off. This is a well-venilated room with a high-efficiency fan, a window and a skylight. There is absolutely no reason a one-month old paint job should start peeling. I emailed Mr. Chacon to ask him how he wanted to handle the situation - and never heard a word back. NOTHING. The room will have to be repainted, and when I asked at my local paint store what they thought might have gone wrong, they suggested that in areas where he had patched some cracks, he failed to prime before painting. As I look closely at the ceiling, I think that might be the case because I can definitely see the patches - they are a different texture and not sanded smooth. So I do think there was a quality issue here, and because of our bad experience, we have decided to have someone else fix the problem rather than continue to try to find Mr. Chacon.

Everything went smoothly and painlessly. Bill used plenty of tape, plastic, and tarps to protect the windows, floors, and carpets. I selected First Rate because Bill gave the lowest estimate. However, I also understood that there would be minor differences in quality when compared to the high-cost painters (other estimates were $1,200 and $2,000 higher). But that was a trade off I had to make because this is a rental unit. I also found Bill to be a reasonable fellow and easy to work with, and he kept in touch through both cell phone and e-mail.

William came to my home the very same day that I requested a quote. He was prepared with samples to show me. He listened carefully to my needs and provided plenty of advice after I had asked for his opinion. He came 3 successive days and was even able to squeeze in a change of paint color (my bad choice, not his) because his work had been quicker than he anticipated. He was professional, courteous and trustworthy from start to finish. I highly recommend First Rate and William.

Bill Chacon came over and assessed the type of work I wanted, including colors and how careful he needed to be in protecting built in furniture. We went over possible colors and he brought back chip samples and small cans of real paint to test. He is very patient and has an excellent eye for color and what I wanted to accomplish in each room. For example, I needed some rooms to "pop" without being outlandish in color choices and he informed me how this could be accomplished with subtle tones and well chosen colors. He is smart and considerate of the house and the hours I was available. He is also neat and tidy and gives important feedback on what he thinks will make the project successful. And he was right!

It went great! William is very punctual and he does a great job. He arrived each day on time, and completed the work on schedule for the amount he estimated. He came back after the job was done to look everything over and to touch up where necessary.

Everything went perfectly. Bill responded to our phone call the same day and came over to give us an estimate within two days. That was a Friday and he completed the job on the next Monday and Tuesday. At all times, Bill was extremely nice and professional. He was punctual in arriving each day and did an excellent job. He paid close attention to detail and was very careful with the sockets, door frames, floor boards, etc. He was also exceptionally neat in cleaning up -- it's like you wouldn't have known he was here except for the beautifully painted room.

Excellent. He was very neat and very careful. He arrived when he said he would each day, and worked diligently to complete the job. On the final day we inspected the job together, at which time I paid him the balance owed. He left me with the unused stain and concrete sealer.

It was a very positive experience particularly in comparison to the last time my house was painted. Preparation was very extensive and time was spent getting the color right but I am so happy with the finished product. Bill Chacon kept my informed with progress; we really didn't see each other for the two weeks he was there, but he left me phone message explaining what was done and what he would be doing the next day. He didn't even complain about my dogs who I expect barked endlessly. He said he would check back with me next week in case I have any concerns. I would definitely hire him again and have told many people about him and Angie's List.

SPLENDIDLY is how I anticipate it will go when I do get to hire Bill and First Rate Painting. The only reason I did not contract him to perform the work is because my husband had other ideas about how to complete the job. I'm keeping Bills number on hand for damage control and other projects as they arise.

I didn't go forward at this time with the bid through no fault of the vendor. Bill Chacon replied to my initial inquiry within an hour, made an appointment and showed up on time. He gave a thoughtful appraisal of the work I had in mind, and described the kind of care he and his team would give my home to ensure my satisfaction. He gave me the option as to whether or not I would move out or stay in residence with my pets during the painting process, and how he would accommodate either scenario. He discussed honestly how my choice would impact the progress of the job. He assured me his crew would move and replace everything--from window dressings to artwork on the wall. He talked about his preferred paint brand, and provided brochures and color chips. He is pet friendly. I was impressed by Mr. Chacon and plan to hire him in the future.

Nice family business. Bill came over to see the place and emailed me a detailed estimate later that day. Once I decided to go with him he and his wife came over with the paperwork, and they were able to start the next day. I actually had to have this done while I was out of town. I was a little nervous about the idea, but the daily communication was great, and Bill took several photos and emailed them to me each day with a progress report. He always answered the phone when I called. When I got back home the place looked great and everything was safe and back where it belonged. I spotted a couple of details that he took care of immediately. I'm very happy with the work done.

Bill and Charles Chacon did an excellent job from every standpoint. They are very professional and take great pride in their work which is reflected in the high quality of their work. They took great care to prepare all surfaces before they were painted, and made sure that the job was to our satisfaction before leaving. They always showed up when promised and were very efficient in performing the work. The cost of their services was very reasonable, particularly considering the high quality of their work. Additionally, Bill and Charles are very personable. We would definitely use them again.

Bill and Charles are excellent painters. They offer good value for high quality work. They are punctual and deliver as promised.

We couldn't be more satisfied. The walls look great; Bill did two full coats which really bring out the richness and depth of the color we selected. The trim looks equally excellent, all the repairs were completely successful; what used to be chipped and flaking wood is now smooth bright white paint. The edges he was able to create between the colors, especially in the archway, are consistently crisp and well-defined, which makes the colors really pop. One thing prospective FRP clients should understand is the Bill Chacon is there EVERYDAY painting and overseeing his crew. When he says he will take care of something, he means that HE will take care of it, personally. He is extremely detail-oriented and notices small imperfections that we didn't (and trust me, we were looking) and then, of course, fixes them beautifully. We've worked with several painters over the years and Bill and First Rate are head and shoulders above the rest. They are currently doing our exterior.

They were not generous with the application of paint. I found two clay roof tiles from my roof lying on the ground and a window guard fell off. I was told by both William and Bridget that they underbid their cost to paint the unit. William told me he was using their own money to purchase more paint. During the final walk through, I was verbally attacked by Bridget. She claims I was treating her husband like a criminal because I was showing them what was not acceptable to me and what needed correcting to my satisfaction before I make a final payment to them. In spite of all of this I paid the final payment. They promised, both verbally and in writing to return and do some touch up work after my window guard was reinstalled. They have since declined to do so.

Bill came out and gave a very fair estimate. He was concerned that I might be spending too much money on that house that I would not recoup when I sold. It was refreshing to talk to someone who was not just after a buck. Also, he does the painting (not a crew that you don't get to meet first).

Bill was painting the exterior of our house when we had a two rain days, which was great for us as we got to bring Bill inside and paint lots of odds and ends that were driving us crazy, plus fully paint a bathroom and sand our butcher block countertops- which were in really bad shape. As usual, Bill and his co-worker were meticulous and we are delighted with the professional job. Especially the butcher block, wow I hadn't realized what dreadful shape they were in until Bill revealed their former glory.