College Works Painting - Minnesota

We are very impressed and pleased with working with Drew and his crew from our first meeting to the last walk around with Drew. They listened to what we pictured in our minds then guided us through the process of selecting colors. Drew and his crew started by pressure washing our home. Then they came and rapidly and professionally prepped our home for painting. Next the came and painted our home with the three colors we picked for different areas of the exterior of our home. They are great young men who worked not stop, always cleaned up at the end of the day. The entire process took four days. We have Cedar siding, many wood framed windows and cement block lower all being painted with three different stain and paint colors. They were courteous and positive and seemed to enjoy the work they did so well. We are completely satisfied with their professionalism and beautiful job they did on our home. John Bigham. Mankato Mn

The contractors were very professional and did a good job. They left the job site very neat and were considerate of the shrubs around the deck. The timing was as scheduled and communications went well.

Had some issues with the flaking finish on my steel siding. Had paperwork from installation provindig it was PVC finish no lead EPA was being difficult. After that they jumped right in and got going. Heidi and her crew worked very hard in very hot conditions and stayed on task. Heidi worked very long hours she is a credit to your organization. Had a littlle touch up needed but was taken care of promptly. This work was done in Mankato Mn.

Very satisfied with the work. Painters were professional and hard working.

We were very pleased. The exterior painting of the siding and trim of the house was done well, on time, using the paint that we purchased. I think that was an important factor that we felt would assure the quality of the paint. Ally was very responsive to our questions, and the young men who did the painting did a really good job. There was an area of the porch that we had them wash for us and that was well done also.

We had our main floor, finished basement and bathrooms painted with the ceilings done as well. They initially estimated the work to take 2 days, but it was clear after the first day it would take longer. The first day, they were rather slow and sloppy: obvious missed spots, some paint on the trim, some on the floor, and they painted over a drywall anchor instead of removing and patching it, etc. When these were pointed out they were fixed, except the trim. The second day, they painted much more carefully, but slowly. The third day they brought in a third guy and the work was completed and the quality was more what I was expecting. There were still some spots to be touched up, but overall it was satisfactory. My biggest annoyance (other than being out of the house for an extra day with two small kids), was the sloppiness. They didn't drape properly when painting the ceilings so there are tiny white speckled on the railing, our stove, some of our furniture, some of my son's toys...its not permanent damage, but I expected better. I feel they did a slightly better job than we could have done and we are not a professional painters. Maybe he had a new assistant the first two days who needed a bit more training...but if we had it to do over, we'd very likely go with someone else.

Job completed in 4 days. Great work. Very Professional. Suggestion use duration paint from Sherwin Williams. Looks great.

Great communication throughout process.

They got the job done quickly and neatly. No mess left anywhere.

Jaxon and his crew did a great job. They got everything done quickly and thoroughly and were even on site for the job weeks ahead of their proposed schedule. I would definitely recommend them to anyone needing painting done.

Went very well and employees were polite and profectional.

Excellent, very nice job. Completely happy and very satisfied with final completion of project. Everything looks great!

It went great. Jackson and the guys were great to work with and did an excellent job. I would recommend them to anyone!

The painting of the house went well. Shawn and his team did great! They were very professional and courteous! Considering all the rain we had off and on over the days they were scheduled to paint they did remarkably well on time.

Things went well. Work was performed on time and was done well.

College works was a nightmare. As they had painted a house in our neighborhood, we had been in discussion with this group for a couple of years. We signed a contract and put down a significant deposit in late April to have our house prepped and painted with a detailed program agreed upon in writing by both sides. Our neighbors had cautioned us that unless it was explicitly stated there would be problems. As spring turned to summer we received excuse after excuse for not starting the project. Then they stopped calling all together and would not return our calls or emails. Finally, we contacted the corporate office which, after more hassle, just said they would not fulfill their commitment. We did in the end get our deposit back in August.

Manivanh and her workers were very prompt. They cleaned up after themselves and the house looked beautiful after. We definitely recommend to others!

My husband and I hired Alexis Junker to paint our house. We were extremely impressed with the professionalism and quality of work performed. We were so happy with the attention to detail. Our expectations were exceeded. The crew arrived every day on time and cleaned up after themselves every day. We would definitely recommend her and her company to anyone.

they were on time and effective. the entire project was marvelous

Everything turned out great, it looks awesome!

My husband and I hired Alexis Junker to paint our house. We were extremely impressed with the professionalism and quality of work performed. We were so happy with the attention to detail. Our expectations were exceeded. The crew arrived every day on time and cleaned up after themselves every day. We would definitely recommend her and her company to anyone.

Initial meeting with Riley was very positive. He assured me that they could do an excellent job even though I had an older home with some peeling issues and lead paint issues. Note that the house had been painted twice since the home was new There were some issues in the back with some wood rot but he said he had some carpenters that he could recommend if he could not fix it. He never followed through with that. There were a couple of areas in the addition at the back that had woodpecker damage that he indicated would be filled in and smoothed. My concerns were the peeling paint which Riley indicated they would smooth out and while there would be a few places where they could not get it perfectly smooth, they would be able to get most of the spots very smooth. The quoted price was considerably more than I had expected but Riley indicated that the price was high because of the prep work that needed to be done. When he came back to look at the house further, he advised that they could not power wash the house and could not sand but would scrape to the bare wood so we would have a smooth surface to paint. We again did an inspection and I pointed out the areas that I was concerned with due to aesthetics and he assured me that they would be taken care of. One area was the wall just above the garage. This had extensive peeling and flaking and looked terrible. The other area of concern was the addition at the back of the house. When the workers came and did the prep work, I was concerned because they did some scraping but certainly not down to the bare wood. Riley said that they would be applying a coating that would take care of this. When the primer was applied I again mentioned that I was not happy with the work so far. On June 25 I contacted the home office of College Works and also Marc Blumenthal who I understand runs the Minnesota operations. I asked that someone come out and look at the job before it was "completed". I did hear from a MN supervisor who came out and looked at the work and told me that it was in fact unsatisfactory and he had worked at the house himself four hours with Riley on 6/25 and while there was still more to do, the house looked a lot better and that he would be back. When the work was "completed", I was very unhappy and again contacted College Works and 'insisted' that the supervisor come out and look at the house with me again. He did come to the house (6/29), said there was nothing that could be done on the addition but that he and Riley could do some more scraping and make the front of the house and the area above the garage look better. He said they would do this the end of the week or the first of the following week. Needless to say, I have not seen nor heard from either of them since that visit and no one has come to do anything on the house. There are not a "FEW" places where the paint is not smooth-- there is not a spot more than a foot or two square where the paint IS smooth. You walk up to the front door and everywhere you look there are wavy lines where it is obvious that prep work was shoddy. Even from a distance, the wall above the garage looks horrible. In the back where they painted over the rotted wood there are air pockets and already one area has cracked open. I had assumed that since Riley had not suggested getting any of the wood replaced (he had indicated in our first meetings that he had contacts with contractors that could do the repair work if necessary), he was able to work with it. There are large areas where it looks like they threw some spackle on it and painted directly over the unsanded spackle. I pointed this out several times. I expect the paint to start coming off of the addition any time now. I have lots of pictures and have had neighbors as well as friends comment on the poor workmanship. I am disappointed that I have heard back from any one and the promise to come back was not kept. I mentioned that I had paid for the complete job (in fact actually overpaid) and assume that nothing mattered from then on as College Works had been paid and it didn't matter if I was satisfied. If this project was too much for College Works, I should have been told up front and I would have chosen to side the house rather than paint. I could not recommend College Works Painting to anyone and would be happy to show the work done at my home to anyone even thinking of hiring them.

The job started well. Reviews we'd read were mostly favaorable . Quote was provided. Samples were provided.. The crew personnel varied from day to day as well as start and end times. Our neighbors noted to us several days without progress. Coverage with a single coat was not fully guaranteed as our house had rough texture siding was a tough color to cover over but there were many areas that needed touch up before the end of the job. We've found many more areas since. Coverage should have been better with the spray equipment used. The terms of the contract were technically satisfied and they were paid. We have opted to do the 2nd coat ourselves rather than using the guarantee Our neighbors have now noted the favorable improvement in appearance. Their equipment was stowed nightly but the length of the job (3 + weeks after the start ) was long enough to kill the grass in the stow area. Some paint was spilled on the porch and patio that had dried. The did take safety seriously with thier use of harnesses. Down payment 18May2014 finished 26-Aug-2014.

I wanted to thank Nick Fritz and his crew at College Works Painting for the great paint job they did on my house. Nick and his team were professional, hard working, and the job was affordable. I would recommend them to anyone needing their house painted. Thanks again, and best wishes to Nick and his crew. Troy Pladson

Awful, I am still mad about the sloppy, unfinished, unprofessional job: Did not use drop cloths, got paint all over our patio, deck, sidewalks. Did not mask off areas and got paint on window screens, brick trim, painted windows shut. Could not get all the paint off the brick exterior either. Missed LOTS of areas, I am still discovering more of them a year later. We will have to spend hours touching up and painting. Paid for two coats of trim, most areas got only one -especially on the higher trim areas. Washed paint brushes and pans out IN OUR YARD. When we complained, they did in in the neighbors yard! Expensive Got no supervisory response when I called to complain, just got the kid supervisor to come back. He was very apologetic and tried but did not fix/finish all the problems. We spent lots of time pointing out mistakes and skipped areas with him. Although he tried to fix some of the mistakes made, he could not get paint off the brick by our front door and fix the over-painting on the windows, screens, doors and frames. Thought we'd help out college students, but the lack of training, attention to detail, inconsistent crew members and very crude painting skills resulted in a bad paint job.