CertaPro Painters® of Des Plaines

They were great

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unknown

I've used CertaPro three times, once for exterior painting, once for interior painting of a large Living Room/Dinning Room ceiling, and the last time for removal of wallpaper, painting and applying new wallpaper. After the first time (exterior painting) there were drips on my stairwell and paint on my doorframes. I did not say anything to the company about this and just let it go; I could not get the paint drips out. After the second time (interior ceiling painting) the painter painted my attic door shut. In the process of finally getting it open, a piece of the framing broke off and had to be replaced. This time I did complain to the company who wanted to send the painter back. I told them no, I'd finish and do the repair myself. The third and last time (wallpaper/painting) was a disaster. The painter was supposed to removed wallpaper from all walls, paint the ceiling, and prep the walls for painting and new wallpaper to be applied (painting on the top, wallpaper on the bottom); I was installing a chair rail myself. The painter had been told where the chair rail would be installed so he could determine where to start and stop the wallpaper. What the painter didn't do is prep the walls properly (did not properly plaster, sand, and in some areas remove the glue from the old wallpaper that stuck to the wall). He painted over these areas where the glue was. There were water stains running down the wall from where a border was hung, and he also misjudged the length of the wallpaper at the bottom of the wall in some areas and in other areas over compensated it. All the baseboards and door frames had been removed previous to the start of the job to make the wallpaper installation easier for the painter . In some areas above the baseboards, you can see where the wallpaper was shorted. My biggest disappointment was that the job was finished on a Friday, the owner (who I contacted regarding my problems) was out of town until the following Monday, I couldn't finish putting this room back together until the owner came out to evaluate it, and after losing a weekend, the owner stated that for the most part, the job was done fine. I've worked with Dave before and was always happy with the way he represented his company and couldn't believe that he was saying this. He offered to fix the problems, which would entail I guess starting over again???? I did not have any addtional time off from work so that this could happen and just said, no, I'll just deal with it. Everyday I'm reminded of the errors that were done on this project and have considered redoing the room myself, but at this time, I don't have money to do this.

I was not happy with Certapro. The painting it self was fine. The workers worked hard and were very clean. They came the week prior to July 4th. I could tell by the team manager that he was pushing them to get it done by the holiday. I was promised 3 men at a time working in the house. I only had 3 men for maybe 15 minutes. The rest of the time I had one man doing the work alone and it was a big project. I felt he was being prodded to get it done instead of spending more time on the project. I thought the work was good but the follow up was not as promised. I was promised an inspection afterwards by the head of the team and that never happened. When I called the office they seemed surprised that I wanted someone to come back and finish some things that were missed. They seemed very surprised because she thought the job was done. I feel like they were just trying to complete the job and get on to the next one.l I felt hurried. The best thing about Certapro was along with the painting you got the free use of a decorator who came to the house and helped you pick colors. That was tremendous. That was something I wouldn't have afforded on my own. I would not have known who to call. She was wonderful. I think they contract out separately for that. Overall I was satisfied with the painters but I was not satisfied with the job. I would not call them back again. The price was right in there. I thought the workers did a good job.

Our Exterior of our house was painted. The men removed our awnings and shutters and power washed the house, taking off a lot of old paint. They then primed the house and painted it. They were especially polite men and worked long hours. The only thing I would recommend to them is to place plastic dropcloths around the house to catch all the old paint chips. I suggest plastic because cloth would be drenched and they would not be able to shake off the paint chips and plastic sheeting can be very inexpensive if they become torn. We have been cleaning up all the chips and that is a difficult job.

The project took much longer than we were told it would. Also they did not clean up very well. Lots of dust from sanding. They had to come back twice because of ares that were missed. The finished job looks very good and the colors they suggested turned out very nice.

Painter painted my Living Room/Dining Room ceiling; in the process, also painted my attic door shut that's in the ceiling; had to pry the door open and broke off part of the framing in the process; painter also forgot to put a second coat on this door; good thing!

They did a good job with the work overall. However, there were a few things that we thought they could have done a little bit better. We felt that their prices were very reasonable. They didn't really come when they said but they were still able to finish the work on time because they brought in more people.

Dave, the owner, of the location, came to our house on a Saturday to hear about the work we needed, measured all the rooms, and gave us an estimate that same meeting. His price was very competitive, and his references were great. One difference from his competition was that he charges for wallpaper removal by the hour. He explained this is because the time needed for this kind of job can vary greatly, but that can t be discovered until work actually begins. As it turned out, his crew worked so fast and efficiently that we saved money on the wallpaper removal, both compared to Dave s original estimates and the estimates from competitors. So paying hourly worked in our favor! Also, this was part of a major kitchen remodel, and Dave was terrific about working with our scheduling needs. He was able to split the job into two parts so it would not interfere with the floor, cabinets, etc. He was even able to send one of his crew on short notice when we needed some wall repair done before the cabinets could be installed. His crew did terrific work, far better than if I had painted it myself, were courteous and quiet, did a good job controlling dust and mess, and cleaned up after themselves each day unless I gave them permission to leave things set up overnight. I have already recommended him to family and friends, and will be calling him again when we need exterior paint in the Spring.

Met with Dave Nolte to obtain an estimate. He was right on time for the appointment and professional. He is a good salesman. He provided a printed estimate right on the spot. Dave provided an interior decorator to come to our home to help with the color selection. We told Dave that we a window to the job done the week of July 7. The CertaPro crew called to see if they could come sooner. I used previous painting contractors and it was always a hassle of getting a hold of them once you had contracted with them. They would not return phone calls. CertaPro was different. I could always get a hold of them on the phone or email. I also did not have to give them a deposit. The crew came on July 8th and finished the job in one day. They added an extra member to the job to get it done. What I thought was going to take 2 or 3 days actually was completed in 1 day. Our crew chief, Dennis, kept the team moving. They were very considerate. They did not bring in any radios. Dave Nolte asked us ahead of time if there was anything they needed to be sensitive when they came to our house. We appreciated that. We got 2 coats of coverage on our walls and ceiling. It looks great. We are very satisfied.