Benchmark Painting & Carpentry of Kensington, LLC

We LOVE Benchmark and cannot say enough good things about them. We brought them in for one fairly small project (building a closet) and kept hiring them to do more and more because they did such a great job with the work we gave them. In the end they ended up building a closet, doing a bunch of drywall work, replacing our brick hearth with slate, doing carpentry work throughout our house, painting the entire inside and part of the outside of our house, and doing a bunch of smaller handyman type projects. Everyone we dealt with was professional, responsive, timely, flexible, and attentive to detail - especially Terry, who is a joy to work with and who works hard to try to understand exactly what you want before her crew starts work. Everything they did for us turned out beautifully and they worked hard to address any questions or concerns we had along the way. We have used a lot of different types of contractors in renovating our house, and Benchmark is by far at the top of the list. We endorse them wholeheartedly, and already find ourselves looking for other projects they can do for us!

From the time of the estimate, Terry was professional, courteous, and prompt. No complaints.

They did very good work. I had to go around and check, and had them redo a couple spots.

No response. None. What a way to run a business. BTW, VA phone # listed here on company profile is disconnected.

After they rescheduled my appointment for an estimate twice, they asked if I was available at 7am on a Monday morning. I agreed. I waited from 6:50am until 7:45am, they never turned up, never emailed, never called. Totally unacceptable.

Benchmark was extremely responsive and easy to work with. The work was a very high quality. Andres was our main point of contact and he was fabulous - quickly understood what I needed on the job and delivered it without any fuss or distractions. I was also home alone at the time with a newborn and they were wonderful in accomodating that so as to cause me minimal disruption - I truly appreciated that extra level of customer service.

They never showed up and never called to explain why they didn't show. Very irritating to take time off work and wait for a contractor who doesn't show up. I certainly wouldn't rely on them to do any work for us in the future. UPDATE: The company called and apologized for failing to appear, which was appreciated. Though I have already chosen another company to do the work we wanted, I would no longer take them off my "do not call" list.

If we could award 6, we would. Benchmark's performance was beyond excellent. It was the single best experience we have ever had with any contracter, primarily due to Terry and the excellent crew she brought into to do our work. They were creative, careful and caring. They arranged their schedule to suit ours. We had some very definitive ideas about how we wanted the new foyer closet doors to look and operate, and whereas the first contractor only came up with problems, Terry came up with solutions and executed it exactly as we had envisioned. We have recently had a number of architects visit our house, in preparation for a possible extension, and each one has marveled at the beauty and craftsmanship of Benchmark's work.

They were wonderful. We had about 5 or 6 people to look at our house. They really took the time and energy on the walkthrough to get a good hand on the sculp. It was significantly more than I ever imagined and they were 100% correct. They provided us with different product in the wood. It was statistically more but it was nice and they did a great job. They were quick and they were professional. They did what they what they told they would do. I used them again to raise the floor in my house. They did a fantastic job. I had one item that I wasn't happy with but I didn't speak them. I honestly believe if I speak to benchmark they would have taken care of it. I'm fixing the issues myself and half a room weren't fixed yet. The project manager who I loved and did a fantastic job; he should have called me. I should have called them up immediately and they would have taken care. They were high on price. The painting quote was double and expensive.

Don't recommend because they are misleading in even in advertisement. What will happen during the actual work?

It was excellent. They did an excellent job but they broke one thing that they didn't tell about but they are going to replace it. They really seemed to know what they were doing. The woman came out really quickly. Their price was particularly fair in terms that another company told me that they would be too expensive to do the work. It was fairly difficult to find someone that could do the cleaning, staining and sealing of the cedar shakes. They got it all done at once. They were about the only ones that could do the work.

Tom Chervek was able to make an appointment soon after my call to come give an estimate. He answered many questions about the issues and various options, both in person and in email follow-up. The fellows who did the work were very neat and courteous and did a good job. The price seemed in-line with estimates from other companies.

They were very professional in every aspect from the bidding process through completing the work. The walls are beautiful and they took all my concerns into consideration. They used the recommended quality of paint, cleaned up perfectly, and protected all my belongings. The supervisor and workmen were very polite and respectful and they did a wonderful job.

This company was really excellent. (Our postal person even commented on the good work while their crew was painting.) The house looks beautiful. Benchmark matched the existing paint perfectly. Andres was very pleasant and professional with his estimation. The painting crew headed by Tito and Alex was on-time, focused, courteous, skillful and thorough. They prepared surfaces well - better than painters I had used before. Andres said they would do this and it was a major reason why I chose this company. The paint surfaces looked great when they were finished. Alex responded very well to a few requests, for example to give the hand rail of a wrought iron railing a second coat. The crew was well organized. They maintained a clean job site. And they cleaned up thoroughly before they left, including removing small spots where paint from wood trim had fallen on adjacent brick. Overall, this job ranks among my most pleasant contracting experiences.

In the initial walk-about conversation of the work we needed done, Tom (their estimator) suggested we consider a time-and-materials arrangement after I told him we needed their estimate broken up in parts. After getting their estimate for the whole house/job, we did agree to do the two worst sides now and the others in the spring. So that made it affordable. We got updates of the running cost from Tom by e-mail during the work as well as had daily conversations with Luis who was the foreman of the workers. So we were able to add several smaller but prominent areas for prepping and painting on the last day. We are looking forward to the passing of the winter season so we'll be able to resume in the spring.

We were unsatisfied with Benchmark.

I was satisfied with their work. They were prompt. Since then some of the paint has started to peal. I need to have them back to check it out.

I had no problems. They performed the service described. They answered a call back for touch ups. I thought that they did an excellent job.

They were excellent! They were punctual, professional, courteous, and certainly seemed knowledgeable about what they needed to do. I thought they were really good.

The folks at ServiceFirst did a great job. They were punctual, professional and efficient. I would definitely hire them again!

Andres came to perform the estimate and once he found out what work we do as a service provider for the homeless he said they would likely be able to give us a good deal on the price. When he provided the estimate a few hours later, he informed us they would do the work for free as a donation. The estimated price provided was in line with other estimates we received for the job. They were very good at scheduling and getting us in as quickly as possible, within 2 days of the estimate being completed. The painter was very professional and was caught in traffic the morning of the large rainstorm so he called to inform us he was going to be late. He completed the workquickly and efficiently and came back to finish up something because there had been a misunderstanding on the closets being painted so he ran out of paint. This was as much our blame since he was going off the original estimate sheet and I had discussed the closets with Andres after the original estimate had been received but forgot to clarify with the painter before he went to get the paint. We are very grateful for not only the great job of painting, but also for the generous support of Benchmark Painting.

The estimate was done quickly and efficiently. A couple of minor post-estimate changes were added without extra charge. Prepping, painting, and clean-up were done very professionally. My only complaint with the project was that it took much longer than predicted. An anticipated 3-4 day job took nearly three weeks. This seems to have been a result of having a very small crew and sometimes only one painter working at a time. The result was excellent and worth the extra time, but the minor disruption of having painting equipment and workers on the property went on longer than anticipated.

We selected Benchmark based on their strong long term record at Angie's List and were not disappointed. We were moving into our first home and wanted the colors of the walls in 3 rooms repainted as well as two spots on the walls repaired. We contacted them over email first and they were great about getting back to us promptly. A day or so later we scheduled a walk through and free estimate. They arrived on time and when I explained what we wanted they were great at communicating options for the project (i.e. that low VOC paints were possible, etc) and the process and time line they could complete it in. They didn't just take notes and leave, they were great about answering questions. They had an estimate to us via email within 24 hours. We needed the project done in a very short turn around time. They were very flexible with accommodating our needs while making sure it would not be rushed. On the day the job was completed a team of three painters arrived (on time). They covered up all areas (including the rug) that potential paint might get on. They were professional and efficient and completed the job in a timely manner. The rooms were left clean with precise paint jobs. They even were able to change a color at the last minute. Overall we were very please and will use them again for our next painting job.

The head of the carpentry made an appointment and arrived on time. She examined the rotted boards and molding that needed replacing. She e-mailed a proposal the next day, with one price for cutting back and replacing the rotted front part of the boards and another for complete replacement of the boards. When the carpenters came to start the work, they could not find boards of the proper width to match the old boards (90 years old). The head of carpentry offered to replace the whole boards and charge only half of the original difference. The carpenters and then the painters did the work quickly and well. The result looks great. They were very neat and took away all the old lumber and debris

See above info, we did not use this company