The Magic Painting Co

I've used Magic Painting for severals years now, so I was confident that the work would be performed to my expectations, and finished on time. The pricing for the project was competitive and all the work was completed professionally.

The owner, John, and his painters were professional and did a great job. On time, thorough, cleaned up after themselves, waited a week between power wash and start of staining to ensure that the wood was dry, etc. John helped with the color selection; now the garage color better matches the brick house. At my request, he used a stain from Home Depot, not his usual Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams products, but with a shorter warranty. His job bidding method seems to be to offer a price on a minimal job scope, with flexible pricing for add-ons. I changed the scope of the job to two coats in some places on the garage after signing the contract and as a customer, this is not a smart thing to do. But, in the end, the job price was fair, and I am satisfied with the work.

I was surprised he required a payment of $35 to give me a bid on the job. I was no longer interested at that point.

John was definitely our top choice, we had 3 bids and his price was competitive, but what was important to us was experience with older homes, budget management, and attention to detail. John's bid was a challenge as we had part of the siding covered and did not know the extent of the repair or prep work. He was professional and honest, walked through the budget with me several times throughout the project and discussed all decisions with us. He was always responsive and on top of scheduling and dealing with weather. The team even took our old siding to the recyclers and got us about $200 back! They were professional, friendly, tolerant of my 3 yr old and his constant questions. John was also willing to test paint color decisions and work out check-ins on it. To help us with budget we decided to do one side at a time over multiple years, since this was our first and the most complex, it was important. The house looks fabulous and all the neighbors stop by and gawk at it. We are very pleased with the results and it will be amazing when it is completed. Our only blip in the project was a miscommunication with the handy man but we resolved it and moved on. If you are particular and value being a part of the process with honest answers, I would recommend working with John.

Excellent in every way. In conclusion, you'll make a good choice if you choose Magic Painting. I'll definitely use them again. I asked 5 painters to bid the job, all highly rated here at Angie's List. Magic Painting was several hundred dollars less than the next lowest bid and about half of the highest bidder. Cost alone, however, is not the reason to choose Magic Painting. Their work is really, really good. Although not necessarily a negative, be aware that John bid our job with some variability of the price built into the job, resulting in an extra $200 above the original estimate. I have no complaints, but people should be aware of this because all the other bids were firm prices. On the other hand, I'm sure one reason their bids were so much higher is because they built in plenty for contingencies, while John provided a reasonable estimate, then billed the actual expense. Magic Painting did my siding without the usual masking tape, which surprised me, but I liked. Anybody who's ever tried to handle a paint brush knows it's tough to "cut in" without tape. They were flawless. And very tidy. The job got done in 2 days. I consider that fast. A lot of my siding is hardie shake, which is tougher to paint than most siding types. Magic paid attention to detail, though, and, as a result, my siding has a very uniform finish. Less skilled painters can be recognized by too heavy and too thin in the same job. Mine was perfect. John is also a very competent color consultant. He charges for his service, but it was well worth it. The reason we painted the house was because didn't like the color we had. John asked very good questions, listened carefully and recommend just the right colors. We're very happy with our color choice, thanks to John.

John was punctual and courteous. We looked at my house, which has a particularly troublesome kind of asbestos shingling that was hastily painted in the past, then repainted by another professional 3 years ago. The paint is peeling once again. Rather than try to take more of my money, John suggested that the situation was an ongoing maintenance problem that I would do better to handle myself, as he could not guarantee a better result with an all-over paint application, given the shoddy job that had been done before I bought my house. Ultimately, I decided to follow John's advice and do the work myself rather than investing in a costly do-over that might leave me with the same result. I appreciated John's casual, gentle style and his candor.

I was first drawn to Magic's Web site. I liked the vibe. John called me back promptly after my initial call to him to get a quote on painting the interior of our suburban home. And, true to the vibe of the Web site, he took a very relaxed, yet extremely professional, approach to helping us pick colors for the various rooms. His color consulting was quite non-directive, which worked for us. But he also suggested a couple of bolder moves that worked out beautifully. It was especially helpful that he would have small samples of the colors we wanted to sample mixed and then apply them to patches on various walls of the house. That larger sample sample size made deciding on colors easier. The actual production went much more smoothly than I would have imagined for a job that involved painting every interior wall of our home. The quality of the work was impeccable. John was personally on site for most of the job. His employees were very professional and courteous. They showed up on time each day. John was extremely communicative, soliciting our feedback at every step, reviewing the plan for each day and checking in at the end of each production day. Magic was very meticulous when moving, covering and replacing furniture, etc. When they were done with a room, you could hardly tell they had been there. At the end of each day, any equipment left overnight was neatly stacked and covered with a tarp. I would highly recommend Magic Painting for the most discriminating (picky!) homeowners.

Very well. We interviewed 3 different paitners and recieved a wide range of bids. John was squarely in the middle price-wise, but he was by far the most clear as far as exactly what he would do, what would be covered, how the process would work from beginning to end, and how much it would cost. His explanation was clear, his actual bid was clearer and the process was very smooth. He did what he said he would do, was willing to come back and do a little extra clean-up work and overall was very timely, clear and professional. Excatly what you want. I have recommended John several times since he completed his project for us.

John is great to work with. He also did our exterior painting, so we knew that he was a hard worker and extremely honest and responsive. This was a very small job and in literally a very small space. Our bathroom went from looking like a wreck to a nice, little space.

The job went very well. John and his crew did a fine job prepping ceiling and living room. The areas where peeling paint and split wood were sanded/filled blend perfectly with the rest of the room. The painting was consistent throughout and complete. The cleanup was thorough

We called the Magic Painting Company- immediately we received a call back. A timely estimate was scheduled and performed. Luckily we had called early in the season and the spring weather was good- so our project was started and completed immediately. However, this company is worth a wait. Initially we had just scheduled the outside garage but they did a fantastic job and several other odds and ends that we needed we added to the job. The work was performed professionally. The areas that they worked in were cleaned. The owner and workers were very respectful. We will definitely schedule other painting jobs with the Magic Painter.

Magic Painting first painted our home in 2004. The painting was very well done and has held up very well. Unfortunately a couple woodpeckers became interested in our siding and did quite a bit of damage to it. Because we were getting ready to put our house on the market we needed a prompt response. John worked us into his busy schedule and his staff did a wonderful job of repairing the damage. John has always been very prompt in responding to calls, has done an excellent job of keeping us apprised of when we can expect the work to begin and end, and has always stood behind his work. I highly recommend Magic Painting.

As usual, John and his team showed up right on time and did the job perfectly. The window and door trims were painted neatly and thoroughly, and turned out great. John listens to the customer carefully, and asks great clarifying questions beforehand to ensure all expectations are met or exceeded. He is also good about advising of options, whenever you have questions or trickier (house/wall) situations to deal with. We will definitely use The Magic Painting Company again for future paint work, particularly when it's a highly visible area!

John and his team did an amazing job of transforming the tired exterior our beloved 1908 foursquare into a fresh and stunning showstopper. This was not an easy task. Not only does our home have five colors of paint, but the siding was in dire need of repair. Weather, age, dozens of layers of paint and DIY work by previous owners had all left their mark, and we knew that we needed painters with serious skills and solid experience working with homes of this age. Angie's List reviews narrowed the options very quickly to MAGIC. We knew from the initial visit with John Armstrong that he had the experience and sensibilities to take this project in hand and deliver a beautiful result. His team's work was meticulous. It was as if I were looking over their shoulders all day and saying, "You missed a spot right there....catch that drip...fill in that chip in the wood." The crew was so friendly and polite, not only with us but also with the neighbors (even the little kids) who stopped by throughout the day to watch the work, ask questions or give advice. They even become good buddies with our very shy cat! Multiple neighbors have told us that they loved watching John and his team work, were amazed at their skill and patience with scraping and repairing this old wood, and were so impressed with how well they cleaned up at the end of each day. The MAGIC crew had no idea that they were on stage and were providing diversion to the work-from-home neighbors across the street. To this day they don't know that neighbors were calling me at work to tell me that Dale was doing a beautiful job "as we speak" painting the corbels (4 colors) or painting a tiny thin line of red on the trim piece just below the roof line, or telling me that they just finished the red finial and it looks fabulous. One longtime neighbor asked me when we added all that trim to the house...he was stunned to hear that it had been there since 1908! In addition to his own team, John skillfully managed crews of carpenters and other contractors who worked on elements of this complicated project. John was in constant contact with us, and immediately alerted us when questions related to the carpentry or painting work arose, or new problems were found and what the possible solutions were. As a result we came home each day to no unpleasant surprises (only nice ones!). I would like to give special commendation to John for patiently managing the financial aspect of this project. This job was a significant investment for us, and he worked very hard with us to make sure that their work was executed beautifully but still within the original budget estimate. He made sure that we understood the cost associated with each change or decision, and helped us figure out a way to make it all work in the face of mounting carpentry costs. In short, this is a team of talented men who can be trusted to work on your most valuable asset, deliver exactly what was promised for the price quoted, and do all of their work with minimal disruption to your private life. They’ll be patient while you're trying to figure out if this trim piece should be medium gray or dark gray, or if this part of the column needs to be a contrasting color, and they’ll patiently fix it when you choose wrong. They’ll even be nice to your cat. Great work guys!

The Magic Painting Company rocks! From the start to the finish of this project, John Armstrong and his talented crew did a superb job. I couldn't have asked for more. John himself tirelessly assisted me in selecting the right combination of colors for the house. His willingness to test out different color combinations was instrumental in achieving the look I wanted. ...and his patience was infinite. John and his crew planned the entire project, incorporating the stringent new federal requirements for removing lead paint. Their organizatioon helped the project succeed with a minimum of disruption for both my household and those of my neightbors. John and his crew were invariably friendly, polite and well-mannered (to my family and the neighbors). I trusted them completely and gave them full access to the house. They had an astonishing work ethic, even in the most challenging weather. The quality of Magic Painting Company's work was excellent. They paid meticulous attention to detail. I am very particular and found no fault with their work. In fact, John had more entries on his punchlist than I did. In particular, we were impressed by the faux painting techniques of Dale. He painted a faux stone foundation in our backyard that is simply amazing. In summary, I would wholeheartedly recommend using The Magic Painting Company for a painting project. Excellent work and a great bunch of guys.

Great to do business with them, from beginning to end.

Company wanted to charge us $35.00 just to come out and do an estimate which would not be applied to the final bill. Thought that should be noted here on Angie's List. We did not proceed with an estimate because of this and instead got estimates from numerous other highly rated providers that don't charge for them.

The project went well from the start. John is an excellent communicator. He kept me informed of the status of the project and solicited feedback every day. He quickly addressed any questions I had. John and his crew arrived promptly everyday at 8 and put in full days. They were professional and business like in their approach. Since I just retired, I was there a lot of the time. They were focused on the job yet pleasant and polite. I am very pleased with the work that was done. The kitchen cabinets were dry and faded. John suggested using oil on the cabitets instead of varnish to retore the wood. It worked. The cabinets look brand new and have a beautiful luster. John also researched the varnish he used on the woodwork and doors to make sure that it would last and provide the look I wanted. Once again, it was the right product for the job. The wood work, doors, and bathroom vanities have a uniform shine. It's nice not to see paint spots or nicks on them. The painting job was also first rate. John and his crew spent the time required to prep each room. They showed attention to detain. It's obvious that they take pride in their work. I was happy with the fact that John uses environmentally friendly products. I have a senstive respiratory system, and I had no problem staying in the house the entire time. Lastly, I was happy that John recommended that he come back in the spring to complete a small part of the project because of the sub-zero weather that we experienced when work was being done on my house. This shows that he wants the job down right.

The entire process went well. John is very customer focused and wanted to make sure I was happy. He didn't rush my decisions and was willing to bring different tints just to insure that I was confident that I made the right selections. John is very professional and easy to work with. I'm really glad that I went through the design process. It resulted in chosing the right colors for every room of my house.

They did an excellent job. John is very thorough and a perfectionist, which we were very pleased about. The carpenter, Evan, is a miracle worker. He replaced some rotten wood around our garage door, chipping out cement, exactly fitting in new pieces of wood and repairing the cement. It looks a million times better than it once did. Their crews worked hard and were careful to not be invasive to the family. They were extremely considerate. The work is first rate. They worked well with a crew from another company we had replacing windows at the same time. John went above and beyond to match the color of the exterior paint with the existing color and worked with the window guys to match the trim to the paint. My one "complaint" is that the cost of the project ballooned as they scraped and found wood rot on the siding. We were aware that the cost was going up, but we had a little sticker shock when we saw the final bill. However, I would recommend John and Magic Painting to anyone. They are wonderful craftsman and very nice to work with.

John and his crew (Dale & Evan) did an outstanding job! I chose John over two other contractors based on his level of service, his passion for the work and his desire to use eco-friendly materials (the price was right, as well!). From the initial color consulting to the final cleanup and wall shelf installs, no detail was overlooked. Communication was excellent throughout the job and the crew was truly fun to have around! (They were great with our curious pets, as well.) I would hire them again -- in a blink!

We thought John and his team did a phenomenal job. His attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship were evident at every turn. This is clearly a company which values HIGH QUALITY above all else. While he is not the lowest cost provider, he is definitely still competitively priced, and in our opinion, Magic Painting Co delivers the highest overall VALUE for the money, since the work product / end result is so exceptional. Our lower level now looks "like new", and many people think we did a complete remodel when in reality, it was mostly just the paint! We frequently recommend him to friends and neighbors and will definitely use him again.

This is the completion to our painting project that we started last year. The crew from Magic Painting painted our entire interior last December, but could not paint our doors as they are metal. We decided to have all of our outside work completed at once. We had always planned to use Magic Painting as they did such a great job on our interior painting. John came and gave us a bid and Evan completed the work. The results of this project were equivalent to our results last December. They always show up at the time they say they will and will keep working until you are satisfied. This project took approximately three days and they clean everything up at the end of each day. We already had the paint for the doors, but they were able to match the other outdoor colors exactly and with no problems.

John and his crew were able to come up with great ideas for some of the strange things in the room... this was not a standard paint job and with all the woodwork in different states we couldn't imagine how to make the room look good. John and his crew were geniuses at coming up with solutions and doing a great job! We have used them before and would again!

John & his crew showed up promptly at the schedule time, & the entire job was completed by 4:00 PM that afternoon. The work was performed exactly as he had quoted, and his crew left the site immaculte. John has a long tenured crew that is committed customer satisfaction, and doing excellent work.