Benchmark Painting & Carpentry of Kensington, LLC

It went very well. The office staff at Benchmark and the project coordinator were very easy to reach and communicated well. We had just had the interior painting done by Benchmark and requested the same crew for the exterior work. Fernando and his crew arrived punctually every day and managed to finish the job a day early, probably in part because of good weather. The work was meticulous, the outside was cleaned up every day. The only thing left at the end of the job was a beautifully painted house.

They were patient, on time, friendly and got the job done. I got stuck in traffic and they were waiting on the doorstep to resume work the 2nd day. I would recommend them to every household. They were affordable and precise in answering questions with a couple of pointers in dos and don'ts.

The workmen arrived promptly and the project manage had assigned enough personnel to get the work done efficiently. On first glance I thought the workmen would be in each others work space, but that was not the case. The manager advised me of unexpected findings in the project as they developed and completely kept us in the information loop. The last minute decisions to be made for paint finish, potential clash with existing room colors, and associated carpentry needed to complete the job were identified and brought to our attention in a timely manner. We are very happy with the results.

Benchmark painting did a fantastic job. They even were able to move up the painting start date to have it completed by the time we had family in town. Morey was a pleasure to work with, as was the onsite foreman and the crew. They assisted with moving all our furniture around and also items to/from the closets. Painting took 4 days. Some touch up was needed, but Benchmark was very responsive and had someone out the next business days to do the touchup that we missed during the final inspection. Would recommend them.

They started in our basement doing messy prep work to the ceiling, then painted the ceiling and walls. They moved up to the living room but had to do more prep work due to water damage before they could paint. We asked them to paint our foyer for a few dollars more. The guys did not complain once, were very friendly, professional and punctual each day and they did an excellent painting job in each room!

The painters were excellent professionals at their craft who planned well and completed a highly satisfactory job within the anticipated time frame. Moreover, they worked quietly, efficiently and were very courteous and extremely neat and careful in their work.

We had several contractors give us estimates for this job, and Benchmark came in more than $1000 below the next lowest quote. While normally I'd be leary of a "too good to be true" quote like that, I saw their excellent reviews on Angie's list, and went ahead and hired them for the job. Boy are we happy that we did! Reynaldo and his crew showed up promptly each day, worked quickly, and were amazingly tidy. The quality of the work is fantastic. Because of the way the HVAC guys put the ducts in the bedroom, framing the soffits in the bedroom so that it wouldn't look strange was quite a challenge, but the carpenters from Benchmark made it work. The attic, always a somewhat strange space, looks better than it did before we had the AC installed, and we haven't even painted the new drywall yet. The work on the molding was outside of the original quote, and they were going to charge us hourly for the carpenter's time (this was explained before we hired them), but because they ran out of time to match the stain of the new pieces to the existing molding, Reynaldo decided to comp us the time spent fitting and attaching the molding, a $300 savings to us. They were pleasant to work with, affordable, and very good at their work--what more can you ask for? I will note that, consistent with the few negative reviews on the List, we had a little bit of trouble getting ahold of Benchmark to set up the job in the first place--after I made the initial contact, Reynaldo came out later in the week to do the estimate, but then I had to follow up when, after 2 weeks, we hadn't actually gotten a quote. Also had some difficulty getting some follow-up questions answered after they sent us the quote, although apparently this was due to a problem with their e-mail system. The delay with the quote may have been technical difficulties as well; with that one they didn't explain, just apologized and sent the quote promptly. So, if you're having trouble getting in contact with Benchmark, try calling; they seem to have occasional technical difficulties, but they are totally worth the effort to get on your job!

They were very accommodating as we had to break the work in two separate time frames. They did an excellent job with the work performed.

It was a pleasant experience from the very beginning. They were very professional and efficient - on time each day and communicated beautifully throughout the entire process. The bid was fair and appropriate for what we had completed. They were tidy and worked over 12 hour days to meet our deadlines. We will definitely be using them again.

Showed up on time, very professional, polite and did a fantastic job.

This is probably the best contracting experience we've had both in quality of the work and finishing on the promised schedule over more than 20 years in this house. Andres, the estimator and project manager for Benchmark, arrived right on time to do the estimate and worked with us over the weeks before the project began as the scope of the work increased. He advised on finishes appropriate for the walls of our 60 + year old house. When we had questions or concerns his response time was fast and the office contact was excellent. We had an interest in having the work done during a specific week in March, and Andres said that one of his crews could start on that Monday at 8 AM and that the work might take about 8 days. Andres supplied us with forms to fill out listing wall and trim paints to use in each room, suggesting that we buy paint samples from our local hardware store ahead of time to avoid indecision after the painters arrived. We applied samples ourselves, although Andres offered to come back and roll the wall paints on if we needed. At precisely 8AM on the appointed Monday morning and each morning thereafter for 5 days Fernando and his team of at least 4 painters arrived and began setting up. Each day, as needed, Fernando purchased the paints from our local hardware store, something we appreciated. We were impressed with how well Fernando's team worked together, their speed, and the amount of prep work they did, far more than previous painters we've used. They also repaired loose towel racks, sticking doors and a loose banister. Their work was very neat. They finished early! Instead of taking 8 days, the project was finished in 6 days! And house looks beautiful. There aren't any drips or cracks showing on the woodwork and hardware was left paint-free. This was a group of nearly perfectionist painters. We can't praise Benchmark, Andres, and Fernando and his team enough. This was a great experience.

The interior of the house was not painted for many years- there was a lot of prep work and wallpaper to remove. Benchmark Painting has an excellent staff that truly manages the project for the customer from start to finish. The office manager sent out a customer prep sheet that was helpful.He answered all of my questions and sent the advance team project manger out to assess the job. I was advised on several aspects of what they would need to do for preparation, and the project manager explained how and where to buy good quality paint. I was prepared when the painters started work on 18 February. The painters were truly master craftsmen. There were preparation repairs that I didn't think would turn out so well, and their attention to detail resulted in a like new apperance of the entire interior. The job ran 18-21Feb with an amazing results! Benchmark Painting certainly lives up to it's name .This is the company to hire!!!!!

We thought they did a very good job installing the railings, but the price ended up being high. Painting was fine.

Reynaldo and team are outstanding. Their work ethic is superb and they do beautiful work at a fair process. Benchmark is my go - to company for all my painting (and related carpentry) needs! A+++!

It went well and we were pleased with the results.

Shortly after purchasing the big deal we were sent a short document explaining how Benchmark performed their work, along with some estimates on how much paint we would need, how much time it typically took to paint common items, and some suggestions on how to prepare and help make the job go smoothly. We sat on our deal for a few months and actually received a reminder email to use the hours which was nice. We were able to schedule it pretty quickly and Benchmark put additional staff on the job since it was bigger than the typical 40 hour big deal amount of work. I felt that their hourly rate on top of what we already purchased was reasonable. The crew arrived on time each day. They did a lot of prep work up front, which initially feels like it's costing extra money with no paint going on the walls, but in the end makes the job look really nice and professional. By prep work I mean finding every hole and imperfection then sanding, spackling, and priming. We've had other painters over the years not do this extra step and you can really tell the difference. The amount of time seemed reasonable and they did a really good job. They were careful not to get paint on anything - lots of protective covering was put down and taped everywhere. The lines are clean and defined. The trim work came out really well. We plan on using them again for the remainder of the upstairs as soon as we can agree on paint colors.

There was a washing machine that leaked into my bedroom ceiling and wall side. Benchmark smooth out ceiling because they didn't want to prime an uneven ceiling. They then primed and painted. I was coming from an extreme dark painted room to an extreme light color choice. Seamless and beautiful. I was so impressed with this company, I am having them returned to do my kitchen and bathroom.

The work went very well and looks great. Before I actually had painting done I sent a few questions via email regarding types of paints and a few other questions. The company provided great feedback allowing me to select the paint properly. I had estimated they would only be able to do the hallways but when they arrived, they stated they would be able to do the kitchen for a few extra hours. They provided a quote that was spot on. Since I hadn't planned on the kitchen, nothing had been prepped and they helped me move everything in order to get to work. They were always on time and the quality of work is great. We have old plaster walls that had dents, holes or other irregularities. Those were all corrected and then painted.

I thought they were very professional and good but we got a much better deal from somebody else so we went with them.

The project manager and the crew were very pleasant so I didn't want to give a poor review. They completed the work but had to come back and redo everything because it was not satisfactory the first time. Wall cracks were still showing, ceiling needed another coat of paint, and lamp didn't hang straight. Later, I also discovered that there was a thin layer of plaster dust over everything in the rooms they had painted. I also needed doors to be rehung. The carpenter came to survey the work and said he would get back to us within the week, but two weeks later he still hadn't called back with an estimate. I was reassured repeatedly that he is very reliable, but since I couldn't even rely on him to get an estimate I told them I'm not going to use him.

Workers showed up on time and did an efficient and thorough job. Scraped and painted inside and ceiling of a large screened porch, dental molding across the front of the house, and the front door and side panels. The porch and front of house painting looks amazing. We will have this company back to paint the outside of the porch as soon as Spring arrives!

From booking the job with Jaques to finishing the job with Louie, this was a wonderful experience. They were professional, punctual, easy to work with, handled changes well and the workmanship was excellent. I would recommend Benchmark to everyone.

Benchmark did an amazing amount of work in a short period of time. We even added 2 extra rooms once they got here, and they still got all of the work done. The team of 2 showed up on time every morning, and everything came out great. A couple days after they completed the work, we screwed up our ceiling removing a chandelier medallion. We called Benchmark, and they came out the very next day to repair and repaint the ceiling. The guys were very friendly, and they did amazing work. We highly recommend them!

We wanted a different color on the walls in our music room, and also needed to have a couple coats of Kilz oil-based primer applied to the cement floor in that room, as part of a pet-odor removal project. In addition, we needed some touch-up in a couple other rooms. The project could not have gone better. Andres showed up on time (as always) to assess the project, and I received an estimate by email from him later that day. We scheduled the work within a couple of weeks (after the holidays). I called Benchmark's office with my chosen paint colors. Jose, the painter, showed up on time and did an excellent job. He and his assistant were efficient, and very careful to keep everything clean. Jose called my cell phone to let me know when he was finished. I've used Benchmark before, and will continue to use them for interior and exterior painting, as well as power washing.

The time to respond with an estimate was short. The communication was professional and straight forward. They require a minimum carpentry cost of just shy of $800 so were very pricey. I contacted them for a minor wood repair for a garage door, and for a couple of hundred more dollars I could simply replace the door. Aside from the price, though, the experience was good and I did appreciate their upfront honestly about minimum cost.