Atherton Painting & Construction LLC

But I didn't ultimately hire them. The price was higher than some of the estimates I got. I met them to do the estimate but that was it.

The owner's workers were much more professional and respectful than the owner himself. Thowner was very punctual with arrival of and delivery of the estimate. Once hired, he was rude in our telephone conversations. We had originally wanted white for our ceilings and decided to go with a color to offset the walls once we picked the actual colors out at the store. I immediately let him know via email of the color selections. The estimate also included materials (485.00). The owner called me the day before the job and asked if I was going to pick up the paint and I told him no and he he indicated that the estimate did not include the paint. I told him that it did include the paint. He also indicated that I was being difficult as I changed my color selection for the ceiling knowing it may be an increase in cost as that is why I emailed him immediately and also asked about the finish of the paint that would be provided. It was no additional cost for the cashmere finish that I wanted versus the satin. He had not gotten the paint yet so it did not matter. He was rude and tcut me off and I did not appreciate that.

James assigned Al to remodel our bathroom. Al arrived to the job on time and worked continually throughout the day. He was quiet while working, and very respectful to me and my home. Al made it a priority to install the shower in timely manner, as he was made aware that it was the only one in our house. Al was the only person working on our project, he handled all of the plumbing, electrical, carpentry, and painting. He was great at addressing questions and concerns. We can't thank Al enough for our new bathroom. He is truly talented in his profession, and should be considered an asset to Atherton Painting and Renovations. Reasonable cost, quality service, pleasure to do business with. Thank you!

Excellent job with awesome clean up

You have found your contractor! No need to look any further. James was wonderful in making a plan to tackle all the things I needed to fix to sell my home. I have an old house with a slew of issues and James was extremely professional throughout the process to tackle everything. Mark was a gem! A true talent who was meticulous in his work. Everything he did was completed to perfection. His skills in carpentry, tile, plumbing, lighting, exterior doors, porch railings, porch roofing, ceiling repair and flooring are second to none. He is so wonderful to work with and can figure out absolutely every problem. Definitely hire them! You will be very, very impressed. I am!

It didnt. Called & emailed contractor. Sent photos of areas needing repair. Contractor did not call or email me back.

Best painting job we have ever hired out. Edges around the ceiling and window/door trim were excellent.

The work was done on time, very professionally. It went as planned, and allowed subsequent renovation phases to continue smoothly. Hired Atherton for additional work (bathroom renovation and hardwood floor refinishing as well).

I feel like I bought Charlie Brown's Christmas tree of a house and all it needed was a little TLC to make it a home. James Atherton's painter, Jason, provided the TLC, and now I can finish unpacking to make it a home. I hired Atherton Painting because of their quick and professional response to my online inquiry, and his main painter was available to start the following week. It's evident that Jason takes a lot of pride in his workmanship, and I appreciated his honesty and integrity to his commitment of making sure the job went well and I was pleased. My only disappointment was that I had hoped for a sizable painting crew to knock the job out quicker. Unfortunately good painters are hard to come by and I was much better off with a small crew that did the job right and professionally than to risk shoddy workmanship with a larger crew with perhaps not as much expertise. I rely on online reviews and I would highly recommend Atherton Painting.

Everything went great. The crew that Atherton provided were professionals (Mark and Tyler) and perfectionists. Because my house is about 60 years old, it was not completely square. However, Mark was able to make the necessary modifications to ensure everything turned out the way I wanted. They were able to make important recommendations and suggestions. They were always on time and continued each day on the job until it was completed. What I realty appreciated was there ability to adopt as the project progressed. The cost that I was quoted was fair, and we were able to stay on budget. I will be redoing my bathroom in the near future and will certainly use Atherton again. I am totally satisfied.

Our project was a remodel of our master bathroom. We purchased the $5000 Angie?s List deal from Atherton Construction, and James met with us within a few days, scheduling our project to start the next Monday. We didn?t expect it to begin so soon, and were still buying materials when as the work started. Mark was assigned to implement our project, and he was great to work with. He showed up on time, worked hard while he was here, cleaned up before he left each day. He did everything in the bath: carpentry, tiling, plumbing, electrical, and painting; and he did everything well. In fact, he caught the fact that we had purchased bullnose tiles in the wrong pattern that didn?t match the rest. Mark is very customer-oriented; he regularly checked in with us at various stages of the job to ensure he knew exactly what we wanted done and suggested better ways to accomplish some of what we planned. It was obvious that he takes pride in doing what the customer wants and doing it very well. The job came in close to budget (we paid extra because our bathroom was larger, we needed to replace wallboard on one wall, and we asked for a different pattern of tile on the floor). All in all we feel that we got a great job for the price and heartily recommend Mark?s work.

James from Atherton promptly scheduled the kitchen design appointment. James and kitchen designer from Curtis Lumber, Clinton, met with me. They were very accommodating to my requests. Clinton sent a design within a day. I requested changes and these were also done promptly. Quotes were sent to me in a timely manner. The pricing was fair. Communication was excellent - good follow-up. James also looked at some basement foundation concerns and sent me a quote. I decided on doing the basement first. The job included sistering be beams, replacing sill and window and fixing stairs. They also redid insulation. Mark and Justin from Atherton were at the job on time, communicated what was done each day and cleaned all debris. Very pleased with work.

SUMMARY: - Quality of workmanship is good. - Atherton Painting and Construction would rather work on time and material projects. - Time Estimates need to be more accurate (+/- 10% would be good). - Specific tasks need to be clearly identified. - Supervision needs to be increased to better understand the challenges each project faces. This, in turn, will help with scheduling. GENERAL: We were generally satisfied with the overall results. Because of the fixed-price nature of our project, there was a tendency for Atherton Painting to have an excuse for every hiccup in the project plan and, along the same lines, there was also a tendency to want to shift responsibility for errors. Estimates of time were substantially wrong. One task was identified as needing no more than ten hours, ao a change order was written with a not-to-exceed price allowing for sixteen hours. The task actually took over 20 hours. Another 8 hour task took 21 hours. The overall project was delayed on our side for a couple of months. Once the project began in earnest, it was scheduled to run from the middle of November to the holidays (11/17 - 12/22), a total of 35 elapsed days. The actual work on the fixed price contract was completed 1/20, for a total of 64 elapsed days. The actual change order work was completed 2/4, for a total of 72 elapsed days. Even allowing for a week of non-productivity between Christmas and New Years Day, the fixed price contract was 22 elapsed days over estimate (a little more than 60% over). PLANNING: We have experience in project management, construction, and property management fields. Our initial estimates (based on information from homewyze.com) put this project in the tens of thousands of dollars. We never bid a job out this big on a time and material basis; costs get out of hand much too quickly. Also, with time and materials, we would find ourselves in the role of General Contractor (GC), which means we would have to provide day-to-day supervision to be sure the hours were being properly used. We could not be on-site everyday, so we had no desire to be the GC. We also thought the specific tasks to be performed were straightforward and would lend themselves to a fixed-price quote. Our experience with other contractors is, they would come in, determine what we were trying to do, take some measurements, go away to think about the project, and come back with, "we think you need to do these things, and it will cost you this amount of money." The Chief Carpenter (Mike) performed the initial planning visit from Atherton Painting. He took minimal notes and took minimal measurements. The owner (James) returned for a second planning visit. He also took minimal notes and took minimal measurements. Our impression was Atherton Painting were relying on experience to guide the proposal ("it should take somebody x hours to paint this room...") We had identified a few hundred tasks to be performed in our work breakdown schedule. Since Atherton Painting had no formal contract, we wrote our own, detailing the work that had to be performed. The contract contained the tasks by room, the payment schedule, and a provision for change orders, should anything arise that was not covered by the initial contract. Both sides agreed to the terms and conditions of the contract. Typically we put 10% down on contract signing, 15% upon work initiation, 25% when the project is half-way done, 25% when the work is done, and 25% upon satisfactory completion. Atherton wanted well over half before starting. But, this is understandable, given the time and material orientation of the company; materials must be purchased and the client must pay for the materials. DOING: Generally, the workmanship was good. The work covered by the fixed-price contract was performed well. The painters (Chad and Mike), did very good prep work and applied the paint in a workmanlike manner. The floors were sanded well. So well, in fact, that we decided to go with the natural color and forego staining the floors, applying only polyurethane coat. All other work was done via change orders. The description of the work would be written down, a price would be given, and once everything was agreed to, work would commence. The only surprise was that payment for the change orders was expected on a weekly basis. The carpenters would do the work, and expect to be paid by Atherton Painting that day for their work. One one day, we made a scheduled payment of several thousand dollars, only to be told we needed to write another check for another two thousand dollars. While we expected to pay for the carpenters' work, we did not know we had to pay-as-you-go; we thought that was going to be settled up at the end. Again, time and materials is Atherton Painting's preferred method of payment. Also, due to some issues with other projects, Atherton Painting stopped accepting credit cards for payment which complicated our cash flow. The hourly rate charged by Atherton Painting is toward the high side. Also, part of the materials that are required to be purchased are tools. We had to buy a few saw blades, and some drill bits. That was a surprise to us. It would seem with the high hourly rate, Atherton Painting would have supplied their own tools. We also had a lot of material left over (the workers purchased the material on our behalf using a gift card we set up). Several items had been modified enough, or the packaging was damaged enough, so that it could not be returned. It isn't a big deal, though, amounting to, probably. less than $100 worth. On the positive side, though, one of the carpenters (Mark) came up with some good ideas as to how to handle some bannister repairs. Another carpenter (Raymond) came up with some good ideas as to how to handle some other repairs. CHECKING: As with any project of this size, there were some bumps in the road. First, there was no general supervision of the workers; they were free to do what they thought best. Generally, empowering workers is a good thing. In this case, however, it was a source of frustration. All of the workers were certainly interested in customer satisfaction and doing a good job. They were unsure of their boundaries, though -- how far could they go to make us happy. Also, because of the lack of supervision, there were internal scheduling problems that were causing us some problems. Atherton Painting would have the workers moving on to other jobs, unaware that a problem had arisen at our site and the workers were scrambling to mitigate our problem. At one point, we had workers arriving at out site at 4am. They were expected to do work here and be done by 11am. They were then to drive to another site to perform work there. This created some very tired workers and that caused some misses and sloppy work which caused a bit of re-work to be done. Second, and most frustrating to us, was, the interiors of the closets were not painted. We discovered this upon a site visit when the painters were getting ready to declare themselves done. The reason, we were told, is, in order to save money, very few people paint the interiors of their closets. Our response was that we said the walls, ceilings and trim of each room had to be painted, and no where did it say to exclude the closets. The response was, no where in the contract does it say to paint the closets. The owner said we had never discussed the closets, but we can remember standing in one of the walk-in closets discussing the work. We were facing some deadlines and the closets had to be painted. We paid an extra amount of money ($1,000+) via a change order to get the interiors of the closets painted. Third, the stair treads had some holes from prior ballisters that needed to be plugged. The stairs are white oak. The plugs that were put in (from dowels) were red-oak. It did not look right. We asked that they be re-plugged with white-oak plugs. First, we were told the stairs looked better than the did before. Next we were told that it wasn't clear if the carpenter could get back there to correct the error. We would have to pay for the red oak dowels to be removed (even though they were clearly a mistake) and for the new plugs to be put in. We discovered some white oak "buttons" that required only a small amount be removed from the red-oak plugs. Those were installed and, while not optimal, looked OK. Fourth, there is a resistance to taking anything apart and putting it back together. I was told that I could not expect Atherton Painting to take responsibility for anything that broke while they were disassembling it. Two instances of this. First, all doors were removed (using the hinge pins) and painted. Three of the doors were re-installed and would not shut. Atherton Painting informed me that was my problem because the doors were old. We had to adjust and re-set the striker plates; that solved that issue. Second, the inside frame of a sliding glass door was not painted because the sliding part would not allow a paint brush to get at certain parts of the stationary frame. Someone clearly tried to get at the inside frame (some brush strokes could be seen), but when partially opened, the un-painted stationary frame looked terrible. Again, Atherton Painting informed us they did not take doors apart and I could not expect them to do that. ACTING Eventually, Atherton Painting took care of the issues we found (painting re-work, painting closets, fixing stair plugs, re-fitting doors, painting inside door frame, etc.). Our project eventually had eleven change orders. Some, we felt should have been part of the original contract. The workers did their best to keep a clean work-site, which was appreciated. But with any sanding project, there will be a lot of dust. We had a cleaning company come through afterward for general cleaning. They said we now hold the record for the most dust.

James came over and gave me an estimate of the job-- money, time, what would be involved etc. He and his crew promptly came to start the job. He pointed out previous flaws I had in the bathroom and proceeded to fix them. The work was finished the job right on time and it was very professionally done. I am very happy with his service and plan on keep on using his company.

Original price turned into more than doubled due to inherent issues with the bathroom structure. The worker (one) worked his tail off, but some of the work needed to be redone due to some inexperience. The final job is fine though.

The Provider completed the flooring installation contract in a timely and efficient manner. The installers arrived punctually at the work site each day, worked in an efficient manner, did not waste any time, were polite and friendly, answered questions clearly, kept the work site tidy during the job, and cleaned up the installation areas and work area (garage) thoroughly at the end of the job. I would have no hesitation using this Provider again, and recommend him highly. One caution for anyone having wood flooring installed is to review the job schedule carefully at the start of the contract, including the time it takes to order all materials, have them delivered to the work site, allowing time for the wood flooring to be acclimatized (about 3 days) in the installation areas, and scheduling the time needed for a dumpster or other method to handle all debris removal. In summary, I was completely satisfied with this Provider's contract execution and the work of his installers.

The provider arrived promptly on time during each day of the contract, and worked quickly and efficiently during each work session. The provider did not waste any time. The provider was very knowledgeable about what needed to be done for the job and proceeded in an efficient manner to do the installation. The provider was very neat and tidy during each work session and cleaned up the job site very well before leaving for the day on each day of the job. The kitchen cabinet installation was completed very satisfactorily by the provider within budget, and on time according to the terms of the contract I was very satisfied with the quality of the workmanship and the end result and have nothing negative to say about the provider's overall performance. I was impressed enough with the kitchen cabinet installation job that I am contracting with the provider to do a second job for me, the removal of old carpeting and installation of new wood flooring in three rooms totaling about 300 square feet. I would recommend this provider very highly.

It?s been four months since the bathroom renovation by Atherton Construction was completed. It has been an experience both in how contractor?s work and the intricacies in home improvement. I contacted the contractor after seeing a bathroom renovation as a ?big deal? promotion. There was no doubt work needed to be done in the bathroom. The house has been purchased 50+ years prior by my parents and the bathroom was one of the ?modern? areas of the 200 year old house. Aside from the usual updates in fittings, there was also a major dip in the floor that needed to be addressed. I contacted the contactor after I had already booked a 4-hour exterior woodworking job with the same firm with the idea while the carpenter was here for that job, he could look the bathroom over and help let me know what needed to be done ? and that process would be part of the fee. That was after discussing the bathroom job and agreeing to pay the labor fee and purchases all the materials myself. I had 2 items on my ?wish list?; rather than a fixed shower head I wanted a shower bar where the spray unit is movable and replace the full tub space with a shower with glass shower doors. The contractor didn?t seem to know what I meant by a shower bar and his only comment about the glass doors was ?they?re really expensive.? After three scheduled start dates, a carpenter and a helper arrived to start the job. To make a long story short, there was absolutely no pre-planning regarding the installation of the materials I had purchased. With the room reduced to the studs, a partition wall removed and the floor opened up to the crawl space below, I was forced to endure: The rebuilding of the partition wall because the shower base would not fit, The purchase of a second pedestal sink because the rough plumbing had already been done before the carpenter realized the sink was not designed for that ? from the wall behind the sink, rather than straight up through the floor, The installation of the shower doors ? there was not adequate space for the doors to fit, plus had they fit, there was not enough structural support (in the wall that had been installed twice,) to support the doors. After enduring 10 days of construction and what seemed like a crisis every day, I ended it before the bathroom was painted. I was given $200 off the bill for this. Total cost - $6,900 less $200 for renovation labor, $2,640 for floor repair labor, $3,707 for bathroom materials, $1,093 for floor repair materials. Grand total = just over $14,000. The work that was done I?m satisfied with, but the lack of preplanning, forethought and just general concern that all the parts would fit was totally lacking. Had the contractor or even the carpenter reviewed all of the work that had to be done and what requirements were needed before work was completed piecemeal, much of the aggravation could have been reduced.

We did not like them. They came unprepared. It was a rip off for the work that they did.

I found James through Angie's List and saw all the positive reviews. I spoke with the owner, James Atherton, over the phone in March and we agreed on a price. We set the date and the work started. The bathroom was old and needed a complete makeover, and, I decided to add a shower. James walked me through the entire process and showed me a number of options. The work started on the agreed date and it went very well. His worker was very professional and it was clear he was very experienced. He showed up on time every day and put in a full day?s work. He removed all the old fixtures, the old toilet and the old sink. He scraped an old "popcorn" ceiling and smoothed it over. He cut a hole into the closet of the adjoining room and converted the space into a brand new shower. He installed brand new plumbing, including the drain, hot and cold water, and shower head. After the shower was installed, he put down all new tiles, a new lighting fixture and painted the entire room. The job was performed well and the final product was beautiful. I have received many compliments from family and friends. James was very responsive, which is a big deal for me personally. I am very busy with work and my time is limited. He always answered my call promptly, and fully answered all questions. He made me aware that there could be an occasional need for additional materials as the work progressed, and that he would make me aware before he purchased the items. He itemized each additional product-(There were not many) - and explained in detail why it was needed to complete the job. I felt entirely confident in his character and his workmanship. He is a very nice family man who takes pride in his work. I strongly recommend James and his company for any work you may consider in your home.

Worker did a good job. He ended up only able to do one complete room due to condition of walls.

We are pleased with how the work turned out. Bill, the contractor who did the majority of the work, was nice to work with, conscientious of our cat and was very detail focused. Our 100+ year old house presented some challenges, but those were addressed as best they could be within the scope of this project. James Atherton was always reachable and treated us very fairly. We are happy with our new bathroom and would consider working with Atherton Painting again in the future.

James and his crew, especially Mike and Mike, were amazing. My house was built in 1903, and I think the kitchen started out as a porch. The floors sloped, the ceiling sloped and none of the walls are even. There was no insulation, and my pipes kept freezing, in both the kitchen and bathroom. They came in, and gutted everything back to the studs, found a way to level all the floors, rebuild window frames, and basically start from scratch. The end result is amazing. It doesn't even look like the same house. They used the same basic footprint of the floorplan, but it works SO much better now. I would highly recommend this contractor. If you can go to my facebook page, at Greta Daigle from Schenectady, you will see pictures. i give them an A+

James and Chad at Atherton Painting and Construction are a great people and a wonderful company to work with. Chad did an amazing job repairing the walls in my home. I don't know if he has magic in his paint brush but when he was done it looked like the walls were brand new, and my house is 80+years old! Chad knows what he is doing and has a lot of confidence in his work. He works well with the customer and listens and responds well to any feedback. He was very respectful and courteous while he was completing the work in my home. He cleaned up the work area completely and there was not a drop of paint left on the floor when he was done. Any previous review that was negative is completely unwarranted. Anyone considering work to be done in their home should not hesitate to contact James at Atherton Painting and Construction. I look forward to working with them again soon

Old houses are great - until they get old. Then it's lots of maintenance to keep things up. Had an old rotting exterior window sill that needed help. A "4 hour wood work restoration" seemed like it might work do the trick.Bbought the big deal back in March while there was still snow on the ground with a spring project in mind. A date was set, then moved back a week due to an injury with the worker. Rescheduled for the following Saturday, Mike the carpenter showed up right on time, assessed the job, went to buy the supplies, returned and did the work. After I booked this work, I also wanted a quote on a bathroom redo - when I realized it was the same firm, I suggested Mike could check out the bathroom job while he was here and I'd feel a lot better with someone seeing with their own eyes what was needed, rather than e-mails and pics back in forth. That was also accomplished, many of my questions were answered and now waiting for the "big" job to start next month.