Benchmark Painting & Carpentry of Kensington, LLC

It was great. The workers were great, very polite, and helpful. They even helped me when I was gardening with weeds and went above and beyond for me. They got the job done over 2 days.

They are great and quite good. I really like them and I rely on them for whatever handymen jobs we need done. They are my go to people. All the workers are extremely professional. I have been a customer with them for about 5-6 years now.

One painter arrived within 15 minutes of the scheduled appointment time, verified what was to be painted, removed old paint, took a paint chip to match the paint color (and new storm door), primer and painted areas, and cleaned up. Smooth, no-fuss job! :-)

We've lived in our house for 19 years, so we've had three previous experiences with painters painting these support beams for comparison. And that said: there is no comparison -- this was by far the best experience. The Benchmark team did a careful job of prepping and and beautiful job of painting. We were particularly impressed that they managed to position their ladders and carefully work around all the shrubbery so after they left, the garden looked undisturbed -- not an easy feat! Furthermore, they actually left the hardscape in the patio area cleaner than was when they arrived. Wow, Benchmark!!! (Additional note: we have a 2nd home in South Florida and Benchmark Painting also has division there. I discovered Benchmark on Angie's List earlier this year when we needed some painting for the Florida house. The team in South FL is equally wonderful, and this is why we sought them out for our house in DC)

The estimator,Andres, was prompt and the workers and foreman, Fernando, were also. We had to reschedule the second day(Saturday) at the last minute and they came the following Monday to finish. They prepped and cleaned up thoroughly and were very friendly. Fernando gave us his cell phone number and encouraged us to call him if we had any problems. A very positive experience.

."I am not be the sharpest crayon in the box, but I am not stupid. I would never hire this firm nor ever recommend them.

quick and efficient. Clean and courteous. Terry Wilson gave us the estimate. She was professional and pleasant. She only recommended replacement of rotted wood. She didn't try to make us replace all of it like other contractors did. And it looks great.

The proposal of $6,500 to paint the interior of a 1,200 square foot was exorbitant.

After moving into a new rowhouse, we decided we needed to have everything repainted. We asked about six painting companies to come out for estimates. Benchmark took the most amount of time detailing the work they expected to do, and was most transparent about their process and what they thought did and didn't need work. The estimate for the interior was on the expensive end of what we received, but they ended up providing an estimate for the exterior at a discounted rate that ended up making the combined project more competitively priced. We nonetheless decided to go with Benchmark because we figured the quality would be worth the value. They delivered on our expectations, and we're pleased with the results. The walls look basically brand new. There were plenty of drywall anchors and other wall damage, as well as some preexisting wall colors that were quite bold and not our style. With only a few subtle exceptions, we can't tell that the walls ever looked any different from their fresh new look! The lines are clean and the quality is right. The painters were efficient, too: we were told to expect that the job would take between a week and two weeks, and they ended up finishing up everything in five days (plus one short return visit to address a few minor touch-ups).

Benchmark provided excellent service at a competitive price (compared to another estimate), from the initial estimate to completion of the work, all of which was done within the estimated timeframe. The field crew was professional and courteous and appears to have done a thorough job. The field crew foreman in particular deserves special recognition: he went out of his way to repair a small portion of previously-damaged siding (completely unrelated to their painting), and saved us considerable aggravation had we undertaken to have the siding removed and replaced (the damaged portion was right where the utilities enter the house, and removal and replacement of the siding likely would have required disconnecting at least some of the utilities). That kind of "extra step" goes a long way in cultivating good customer relations.

They had a crew of 4-5 people working who completed the work in six days. They did a very nice job and worked hard.

Great warranty, if anything changes they will come out. They came out and fixed a previous mistake from someone else with no charge on the door. They called back quickly. Very pleased with work better than expected.

In short, Benchmark did great work on what was, candidly, a challenging project due to the fact that the interior of the home is Poured Plaster Walls in a 80-year old City Townhome. Unlike today's drywall painting jobs, having a company that can do plaster wall work and make it look beautiful and ready for sale is no small feat. The work included wall repair, caulking, trim work, and new paint.

I was impressed with their professionalism. Jauques in the office was very helpful. The project manager, Ronaldo came out and gave us the estimate. He was very professional and thorough. The crew arrived early every morning and they were very neat. They cleaned up after themselves and did everything I would've wanted them to do! They were courteous and answered all of our questions. Ronaldo showed up a couple of times to make sure the job was on track. The carpentry was done first and that took a couple of days, then they began painting. They moved the furniture and replaced it at the end of the job. They were very careful with my belongings and VERY careful with the hardwood floors. The job took 5 days total.

The project manager/estimator showed up on time and was courteous and made sure he understood all aspects of the job. They were knowledgeable about the carpentry and paint and finishes and types of approaches. On one part of the carpentry (replacement of a fascia board) they conducted research and found and recommended better material than we had originally discussed. And on my window sills that were being replaced they had not been sure they would be able to get the sill material in the style that fit my house. But once they found it, they called to discuss the find with me and get my OK to use it. Once work began they always arrived promptly. They were very careful to cover surfaces and not spill drip or spatter paint on surfaces that weren't being painted (like lamps and external hardware as well as plantings around the house). My neighbors complimented their diligence. My communication with the job foreman was always easy although I did have to repeat some of the instructions I had given to the estimator at the start of the job again to the job estimator. I was confident that the job foreman understood what I was asking for and he was always able to answer my questions. I was satisfied that they did a good job not only painting the surfaces, but prepping them (e.g. sanding, caulking etc.) well. I ended up asking them to look at and redo just one window sill from the entire job and they did, no problem. Their crew seemed to care about doing a good job and they were careful - which are the qualities you want in any contractor. After the job was complete, I was impressed that they made sure I was satisfied. When I had a question about something a week or two after they were done, they dropped by and addressed it. The painting and carpentry jobs look absolutely great. I am very satisfied and would definitely use them again.

Horrible. I imagine this company is not used to having the customer want to be so detail oriented. I have never had a company abandon me arbitrarily the way that this one did.

Very please, would definitely use again.

The estimator came out to review the job request with me on the morning of May 15th and indicated that I should have the estimate in hand by the end of the day. I waited a week and reached out to Benchmark to find out status and was told that I would receive a status of the estimate by the end of the day. I never received the status. I called their offices again and emailed them via their website. To my surprise, I received a letter response 2+ weeks afterwards informing me that they were too busy to accommodate the job request. The lack of professionalism/communication shown by this firm was disappointing to say the least given the positive reviews that I have read on Angie's List.

Provider arrived and listened to my needs. He took measurements and then indicated he would complete a drawing and send an estimate. I never heard from him again.

I was very pleased. They were easy to reach by phone. The two man crew arrived on time and accomplished quite a bit in one day. They were courteous and pleasant. The estimator gave a lower verbal quote than the written quote later provided. When I pointed this out, they honored the verbal quote. As it turns out, they did fine monetarily, since they were offering a special of $1000 per day for a two man crew, and I ended up paying over a $1000 for a two man crew for a day. I wasn't fussy about the job, since I was selling the house. I didn't expect them to remove doorknobs or anything fancy. When the sanding/prep work on an outside door wasn't adequate, I pointed this out to them and they cheerfully redid it. I would definitely use them again and have already suggested a family member call them.

I found them on Angie's List, called for a guy to come scope out several small interior jobs (doors that needed rehanging, etc.). The guy showed up an hour late without calling to let me know -- bad sign. Then he didn't deliver the estimate for ten days, and then only after I'd sent them multiple emails asking wth was going on. He apologized saying he had an allergy and so couldn't write up the estimate. Two days later I sent an email back to them accepting the estimate, but nada. I haven't heard a word back from them. Either they're really really bad at customer service, or don't have enough employees to do a professional job. Either way, I can't imagine actually letting them near my house with a hammer and paintbrush. Worst part is that I wasted three weeks waiting on these clowns. The job would have been done by now if I'd started with someone else.

The paint job itself was a high quality job and the painters were punctual and professional. However, despite my house being small and working for several days, they were not all that fast. Even though they knew I was coming back from a five day vacation, I showed up late in the afternoon on the suppose to be half day, to find the house a mess and only one painter. In my opinion if you knew you were behind, then even if you have only minor trim left, you should have more than one painter. I suspect on some of the work days, not all three painters were present, causing the lenghth of time. While very little paint if any was found, furniture and all kinds of house hold items were scattered everywhere. My house looked like I was just moving in. I also discovered light switch covers missing and my dryer glass door cracked (they agreed to pay me back for damage). Not a bad company but for a large outfit, I had hoped to avoid the subcontracting issues which I feel I experienced. Also, they were unwilling to price match to an equally competitor.

We love them. They are fabulous. We have had them here three times and each time I would give them an A+. They do very high quality work.

Andres was great at the estimate and the work done was even better. It turned out beautiful, and helped my condo move fast!

Their work included a lot of detail work on trim, and they did a beautiful job. They protected areas not painted as well as they could, and cleaned up well at the end of the job. They were extremely responsive to all of my requests. They were a pleasure to work with. I would definitely call them again and recommend them to others.