Alkema Painting

Met with the Office Manager to obtain an estimate. She was punctual and professional. We received our estimate timely. Although Alkema was not the lowest estimate, we went with them based on our impression that they were a more professional company and would do good work. The work started on time with a two man team. I walked through our not yet moved in home with the Office Manager and explained in detail what fixtures we were keeping and which ones we were not. My spouse also completed a walk through and was told all mirrors and fixtures would come down to paint. The fixtures we wanted to put back up were placed in the work junk pile in the garage and piece

I wrestled with even writing a review because I am not one to give letter "F" grades. I have to tell you, I am SO disappointed and feel SO ripped off that I have finally worked up the courage to write a poor review. Here are the quick facts once the job was finished: 1. The body of my house had MANY areas that could be chipped just by taking a finger nail and flaking off paint. 2. There were obvious brush stokes on the trim. 3. ALL SIX OF MY DOORS STUCK SO BAD WE HAD TO PRY THEM OPEN. EVERY DOOR HAD HUGE CHUNKS OF PAINT PEEL OFF WITHIN DAYS. 4. I requested they not paint my new electric box, sprinkler timer, outlet box, and cables attached to one wall of the house. They painted EVERYTHING. Just sprayed on the paint and moved on. This cannot be reversed. 5. They removed NOTHING from the house like vents or down spouts, just painted around everything or painted over everything. 6. There was not attention to detail or pride in the work being done. My house was just another house to them. 7. The job was rushed. After the job was done, getting DeAnna back out to look at the house was difficult. We had an appointment and she was an hour late. She had many excuses for why things had become so unprofessional. She was very apologetic and ensured the damage would be repaired. She sent out ONE painter to fix the MOUNTAIN of problems about two weeks after she was notified of the issues. This painter was 2 hours late the two days he came out. It was clear to me that I had already paid and was no longer a priority. The doors were all repainted again on a 90 degree day. They had to be left open all day again. Within a week of being repainted, all the doors continued to stick and have peeling paint. My house still has many issues due to a poor quality paint job. DeAnna says our warranty will cover this. However, my husband and I don't trust Alkema and cannot allow them to continue just making things worse. We will most likely hire another company and spend another couple thousand to repair all of Alkema's careless mistakes.

Excellent. Deanna, the estimator and office manager, was great. Her top priority was making sure we were happy with the result. The painters were very pleasant. Would really recommend them. Alkema painted my daughters house as well, and were the low bid on that too.

They did exactly what I wanted; exactly when they said they would do it in a timely manner. They showed up on time. They are very considerate on keeping everything clean and nicely. They have a really good price.

The team at Alkema painting were great. They came out promptly for an estimate and I got the estimate the next day and two days later they were painting. They listened to what I wanted and made great suggestions that I would have never thought of. The rooms and hallways came out great. They were very meticulous in covering light fixtures, electrical outlets and base board and they moved furniture and put it back! Overall, a great experience and will have them do the rest of my rooms in the near future.

They did a great job. They were very quick and helpful.

From front end to finish, the work was carried out at the highest level and to our satisfaction. The entire staff beginning with owner Chris, the office administrator and estimator, Deanna, the painters Gerardo and Mike, they each delivered the best service and workmanship we expected from them. We had used Alkema for our kitchen last year and were so pleased we gave little thought to hiring anyone else for this work. Deanna was a new addition since last year and found her to be attentive, caring, helpful and complete in her role as project manager. She came often to look at the work and inquire as to issues we might have. No issues arose since Gerardo (called Jerry by co-workers) and Mike were completely professional and accomplished. Even Chris came to assure that the work was carried out to the highest degree of professionalism. Of course, much attention was at the front end by patching holes, masking, sanding, removal of drawers and cabinet doors, followed by the layers of priming. Care was taken to cover the floors of the hallway to reduce any dirt being tracked as work occured between rooms. Deanna helped us in our color selection by informing us of Sherwin Williams paint company's website to play with colors. When the job was done, the rooms looked spectacular. The colors were just right, although it is taking us a bit of time moving from all white living quarters for 15 years to color. Deanna came for a final inspection and even called over a week later to see if any new issues had arisen to assure us that any follow-up would occur if we wanted. We walked through the rooms and pointed out only a couple of spots needing attention and they were quickly addressed. Alkema's attention to our satisfaction seems to be thier highest priority. Again, as when they painted our kitchen, we are more than pleased with their work and their customer satisfaction aspect. Deanna is a wonderful addition to their team. As to price? I have no idea what others would have charged and maybe that is a failure on our part, but I feel I got my money's worth (or maybe even more value than for what I paid). Thanks to the entire crew for the pre-work, the painting and the clean up when completed. Does all this sound like a recommendation? it is.

Chris was great! He and his crew were always on time, very respectful and did outstanding work. They were efficient and clean. Chris immediately responded to all inquiries and communications. He was extremely knowledgeable and accommodating. We would definitely recommend Alkema Painting and will certainly use them when the time comes to re-paint our interior.

I can't recommend Alkema highly enough. I have struggled to find a reliably quality painter in the past and when I found Alkema I knew I would never have to look again. Deanna, the Office Manager and Estimator, is very responsive and professional. She was able to schedule my rush project with little notice. the painter they sent out to perform the work was prompt, courteous and was very professional. They might not come in as your lowest estimate but they are well worth the money. I have another much larger project already scheduled, painting the interior of our home.

I would not recommend this company. The texture does not match. Cracks that were supposed to be filled were "mysteriously re-opened my moment of the house" while they were painting. The cracks were ignored and the painters moved on. They missed two doors on the paint job. The trim is several colors of white. When I asked the owner Chris about this he contacted his workers and they stated they may have accidentally mixed two different whites together. I am still peeling tape and scraping overspray off my interior windows. Much of the door hardware was not taped properly and I am still removing paint from hinges and door knobs. The remaining paint had the wrong tops placed on the cans. I called the owner to discuss and he stated he would send the workers back out. I asked for him to personally come out to look and he said that he personally trained his workers and they could take care of the issues for me. I had a specific target move in date that had to be met so coming back out to paint the house a second time was not an option. Quality work is done the first time not several times through. Worst painting experience I have ever had. Don't hire these guys. I have since found another paint contractor on Angie?s list and they were great. So long Alkema

They were great. My husband really liked them and I would definitely have them back. Their prices were not the lowest or the highest. They were very attentive as he was always on-time, never left a mess and did a really nice job. They also provided the paint. My husband had picked out the color at Sherwin Williams.

The quality of the paintingwas fairly good. There were some difficult issues with scheduling. Communication was pretty good. They completed the work in the timeframe they indicated they would. Their prices were better than other companies that I had received estimates from.

There are all kinds of problems but I will focus this review on the most serious issues. My hardwood floors were scratched by the painters, nothing can be done to fix them except to refinish the entire floor. The paint on the woodwork throughout my house has been peeling since Alkema finished painting on August 7. The paint peels and rolls up when I wipe the baseboards, comes off on my clothing when I take items out of the closets, and peels off in large sheets when I wipe the kitchen cabinets. I am continuously finding loose pieces of paint throughout the house, on the floors, in my drawers, on my countertops, and on my clothing. After the painters left on August 7, I spent over 6 hours cleaning up paint spray. In the process, I noticed several things that needed to be corrected including several long scratches on my hardwood floors and peeling paint on the woodwork. I contacted Alkema the following day and was told to stop cleaning, not to worry that I was a priority to them, and that they would take care of everything. I was told that the owner, Chris, would come back on the 12th with a buffer to fix the floors and would determine what corrections needed to be taken care of by the painters. It has been almost 6 months and Alkema has not corrected the problems. Chris did not show up on the 12th though he did come back a week later without a buffer. When I showed him the scratches on my floors he said, "When you allowed the painters to move your furniture you should have expected them to scratch your floors." He grudgingly agreed to have a painter come back to work on the other problems that I pointed out. The painters did not correct all of the problems, several recurred, and I continue to find new areas of peeling paint on the woodwork throughout the house. I have called Alkema numerous times attempting to get them to come back to correct these problems but they have not done so. After months of trying to get Alkema Painting to deal with these problems and repainting some of the wood work myself, I researched the problem, went to paint stores for advice and had several painters come out to get estimates on correcting the main problem - peeling paint. I got the same answer from all the sources I contacted - Alkema had painted over oil based paint with latex paint without the proper preparation. The latex paint that Alkema applied over the oil based paint on the woodwork throughout the house needs to be removed, then an oil based primer applied before new paint is reapplied. The last time I was able to contact Alkema on November 26th, the office manager said that I had refused to allow anyone from Alkema to come out to work on anything in my home. I explained that I had not said this but had said that I wanted to know the procedure they would use before allowing them to do further work at my home. Alkema was to call me back the following day, November 27, today is January 23 and they have not called me back. After almost 6 months of attempting to resolve these problems with Alkema, I have begun seeking assistance from the appropriate agencies. I am currently waiting to hear back from thhe Contractors State License Board which is reviewing my complaint. Rebuttal to Alkema Response. Alkema's response to my review has numerous intentional falsehoods. 1. Alkema never said anything to me about the need for a primer. 2. I did not mention the problem with the walls in my review because the peeling paint on the woodwork and the scratched floors are more serious problems. I told the office manager that the wall paint comes off when lightly wiped with a damp cloth. For example, the paint on the walls wipes off when the rag used to wipe the baseboards rubs against it. So the rag ends up with pieces of rolled up paint from the baseboards and chalky paint from the walls in addition to the dust that I am trying to clean. The office manager said that this happens because the wall paint is flat and cannot be wiped with a damp cloth. The paint for these walls is not flat it is satin, though I wouldn't think this should happen with either. 3. I did not yell at anyone from Alkema Painting, I did use the 4 letter "S" word one time to refer to the peeling paint. The office manager was offended and I apologized. I assume this is Alkema's attempt to discredit me and/or their excuse for not responding to my numerous requests for them to correct the problems with the original paint job. After my review on Angie's list, Alkema finally agreed to make, only some, of the necessary corrections. I cannot accept their offer to repaint only my kitchen cabinets. They are responsible for all of the problems with their paint job completed August 7, 2013, but I only asked, in this complaint, that they correct the peeling paint on the woodwork. I am also asking that they compensate me for damages to my hardwood floors. These scratches go under the feet of the furniture making it impossible to have been done by a dog as suggested by Alkema. Estimates show that it would still cost me thousands of dollars to correct the peeling paint in the remainder of my house, and over a thousand dollars to repair my floors. How did this company win a Super Service Award with Angie's List? I don't know? Maybe they were in a hurry and can't admit their mistakes, or maybe they assumed a little old disabled lady wouldn't know the difference or wouldn't have the energy to pursue the problem for over 7 months? BE CAREFUL! If I were to compromise and accept Alkema's offer to correct only a portion of the problems with their faulty workmanship, my review would not be visible for you to see, and would probably not count toward the points needed for the Super Service Award. I wonder how many times this has happened with Alkema? I will continue to pursue this matter through the Contractor's State License Board and if necessary, with any other avenue available to me. I hope that I am allowed to share the results with you on Angie's List. UPDATE November 2014 Alkema Painting AKA Chrisden Inc. has been cited by the Contractors State License Board as the result of their investigation of my complaint.

Alkema did a great job - our house looks beautiful with the new paint job! The company was very responsive from the start. They came out to our house on time and provided a detailed written estimate within a week of our initial call. The paint job was scheduled shortly thereafter. The painting crew was professional, polite, efficient, and did good work. Alkema kept us informed of the progress of the work every step of the way. The entire project required a lot of detail work and it was successfully completed within about 2 weeks. We have received numerous compliments on our house's appearance and we would definitely recommend this company.

Viking Painted delivered on all its commitments. Rob (the owner) was always on time and personally managed the spray and inspection. The prework was done with care and they pretreated all the cracks with a special precoat called elistimeer at no extra cost. The house looks great and we are ready for winter. The crew was professional, the shining star being the foreman Gabe. He took the time to listen to my concerns (smell on the interior) and helped me address it. On time - well done - on budget. Viking was on the low end of the three quotes I received and honored the $150 off for an Angies List customer. Really, zero complaints and I usually can find at least a few.

We had wanted to repaint the exterior of our house for some time now. The color had faded and the paint was peeling in quite a few places. We had also recently rebuilt the porch and needed to stain it as well. I have to say Jerry is fantastic! He arrived early during our designated time frame and quickly went to work after discussing a few final details. He power washed the exterior of the house, then scraped the old, peeling paint that remained. After that, he began the patch work that needed to be done. Our house is a 74 years old and stucco. Jerry did an exceptional job on the patching which is not easy to repair in spots. The exterior painting and deck stain went quickly on the third day. I was very impressed with the attention to detail, efficiency and the speed with which the job was completed. The house and porch look wonderful and we have received many compliments from our neighbors.

He did a good job. However, at the end there was extra charges that I wasn't expecting. The tech was very professional when he came over, and very punctual as well. I appreciated that - he said he'd be here at a certain time and he was.

If I had to do it all over again, would NOT hire this guy. He and his office is a complete mess. He completely destroyed our blinds by not properly prepping them. WATCH OUT, HE WILL LIE, HIS CONTRACT is WORTHLESS, he does not follow it. He says in the contract one thing and will take shortcuts. The contract said he will sand and prime the doors, he never sanded them and never primed them. He cannot estimate paint. Worst of all Chris yells at customers, when he is called on his lies. The office people send bills for things that are not approved. Amazing this guy is still in business. Then he comes before the job is complete to be paid so he can make payroll for the week. DO NOT USE him, there are many other painters that can treat their customers better and not scream at them for calling him out on his lies. The ONLY B rating is since his guys actually showed up on time. He could not show up to appointments to walk the job (an appointment his office set) and he would say he would show up, nothing.

So far so good. The quote of about $6000 looks good. We're talking about timelines and things like that at this point. They're on time and seem professional. They seem quality oriented. We're in a hurry so we didn't look around a lot. They had good reviews. In talking with them, they seemed good to work with and had good communication.

I arranged to meet a company representative at my house at 3 pm to get a bid to paint the exterior of my house. I work in the Bay Area and explained when making the arrangements that a weekend date would be better, but could do it on Friday afternoon. I left work early to meet the estimator and in mid route received a call that the estimator had to cancel and that they could not accommodate me until the following Tuesday, nothwithstanding that I told them I was not available during the week. They made no attempt to adjust their schedule even though their website indicates they are open oin Saturdays. I have called another painter who will be here tomorrow morning.

Very professional. Showed up when they said they would. protected furniture and floors with coverings. They were very enjoyable to be around. Seemed to like their work, and did it quickly and efficiently. I would definitely use them again.

On August 23, 2013, I called Alkema Painting to schedule an appointment to get a bid to paint the exterior of my home. I called during normal business hours and their voicemail box was full, so I could not leave a message. I found it disconcerting that the voicemail box for a business would be full, especially during normal business hours. They must have caller ID, however, since someone from Alkema called me back in about 5 minutes even though I had not left a voicemail with my phone number. I went ahead and scheduled an appointment for August 30th to get a bid. On August 29th, Rachel from Alkema called me to confirm my appointment for August 30th. In closing the call, she said to be sure to call their office if I had any questions or if I needed to change the appointment. She was about to remind me of the phone number to reach their office but had to ask someone in the background what that phone number was. I found it to be odd that she didn't readily know the company's phone number or didn't make the effort to have that number in front of her before calling me. My appointment was for 9:30 a.m. on August 30th. Deanna, Alkema's Office Manager, didn't arrive for the appointment until nearly 10:00 a.m. Even though she was late, she sat in her vehicle for almost 10 minutes on a phone call. When she finally came to my door, she apologized for being late and said she was trying to locate some paint for one of their painters. After Deanna and I walked around the exterior of my house to discuss the proposed paint job, she said she would likely be able to provide a bid by the following day and she would also send me a brochure of paint color options by US mail. I didn't receive a bid the next day nor did I receive the brochure of paint colors. In fact, I never received a bid at all from Alkema. On September 16th, I received a follow-up call from Deanna. I told her that I never received a bid. She then verified my email address and discovered she had my email address written down incorrectly. I gave her my correct email address and she said she would send me the bid shortly. I still have not received the bid.

Chris, the owner, was great. He met with me to give me an estimate the day after I called to schedule the appointment and even made a special evening appointment for me becuase of my work schedule. I had the quote within 15 minutes of him leaving my house that same day. When we were deciding on which company to go with, I e-mailed Chris and got a response within an hour or so and he was out of town at the time. I was very impressed with his responsiveness throughout the process. Once the painting began, his crew came out to our house and began the prep work. They were there for a total of 4 days. They replaced all of the dry-rot on our house and when the painting was done, they cleaned up around the house nicely and even left my back patio cleaner than when they started. Throughout the process, the office manager would call just to check in with me to make sure things were going good and to see if we had any questions or concerns. Overall, I would highly reccomend Alkema Painting and would use them again in the future.

I am not one to write reviews, but Alkema deserves it! From the first time I called, Deanna was responsive and warm. Her and Denise came out to do an estimate. Being a new homeowner, I knew some of what I wanted, but there were lots of things I didn't take into consideration, which they brought up, something I was very appreciative of. When they came in and after we spoke about the scope of the job, they began taking some pictures so that they had a solid idea of the job, something which assured that their estimate would be accurate. While other estimates came in at a slightly lower price, I am pretty sure that there would have been additional charges by the end of the job because they only took 15 minutes in the house. Denise and Deanna were there longer to make sure that we were on the same page. They also gave me separate estimates for areas I wasn't sure about whether we could afford to paint. When the painters came in, they were professional and very friendly. What surprised me most was that they did the entire job using rollers rather than use a sprayer, which showed in the precision of their work. I am the first to admit that I am not an easy person to work for, as I have high standards, so much so that on the last day, I went around and pointed out every drip, which they promptly fixed with a smile. When they left, they forgot a few of the curtain rods they had taken down and left them and the brackets on the floor. I called Deanna and she was very responsive. I told her that it was not a big deal and that I could pick them up, and that I was mainly calling because they left their boom box. Deanna told me that I shouldn't pick it up and that she would send them back. She stressed that I, as a customer, was important and that I should let them clean it up because that was part of the excellent service that Alkema provides. I was a little worried about how the employee would be when he came back, but he was still professional and did his job with courtesy, professionalism, and a smile. Alkema addressed every one of my concerns and exceeded not only my expectations, but provided an excellence in service, product, and work which I didn't think was possible. I didn't think that painting with rollers and paint brushes could be so perfect, and that employees could work so hard to do everything I asked. I can be a bit obsessive, and the fact that they addressed every little thing was shocking. I didn't think people provided service like that anymore. While there were some bids that came under, the quality of the work and product when you go with Alkema makes it one of the best deals there is out there.

I was very impressed with everyone from Alkema Painting from the beginning. They were very prompt on returning phone calls in order to set up the estimate. Chris was prompt for the estimate meeting. I did feel as if Chris was in a hurry when he looked over my home to complete the estimate but in the end it didn't matter. Chris returned an estimate to me that day. It was in line with another estimate we had received and a lot cheaper than one company! We felt it was an extremely fair price. I was very happy that they were able to set up the work within a few days of the estimate. We put down a $400 down payment and paid the rest after the work was completed. Chris and 2 painters showed up on day 1 exactly on time. The main painter Jerry was very professional, nice and good at his job. It took them 3 days to complete all of the work which I was very happy with because I thought it would take longer. They were on the job on time everyday from 8:00 to 4:30 with an hour lunch break. I stayed home almost the entire time to be with my dogs. The painters did a wonderful job with understanding my needs of having to move my dogs to different rooms throughout the time they were there. When Jerry had completed the work on the 3rd day he asked me to inspect his work. I found a few places that needed to be touched up. He didn't complain at all about having to repaint these areas. He agreed and did the work correctly. Both Chris and Deanna checked with me throughout the job to make sure I was happy with the work that was being completed. It was obvious that the customer's satisfaction was important to them. I was extremely happy with the outcome of the work. My house looks beautiful. I will be definitely considering them when I paint the exterior of my home. I would highly recommend them to anyone that needs their home painted. It was a very pleasant experience all the way through.