Gary Hanson

Masking Issues: The contractor masked off SOME parts of the house, but didn't mask off others, including some antique, unpainted wood fixtures that were to remain unpainted. They had been notified of which parts were to be painted and which parts not painted. Since they weren't masked, those elements got paint on them as a result of overspray when the contractor sprayed the body of the house, and had to be sanded by the homeowner. The trim was masked very poorly in places, and the contractor had to re-prime and paint the trim white after painting the body of the house in a dark color. Lead Paint mishandling: This contractor was selected in part (over a less-expensive bid) because they were licensed to dispose of lead paint. The contractor seemed unaware and initially denied that lead paint was present on the house, even though the homeowner had an independent consultant test for lead paint who found some evident, and the painters had been notified of such. The homeowner notified the contractor that there were 5 places on the house where lead paint was present. The contractor revealed at that time that they had only tested ONE window frame at the front and the body of the house for lead, despite that many of the door and window frames were obviously painted at different times in the home's age. The independent consultant tested EVERY window and door, because they were all painted at different times. For the safety of Hanson's crew, the homeowner asked if they were taking lead paint bearing doors, window frames, and shutters off the house and painting them at a separate location, or painting onsite and collecting lead paint chips. Hanson Co. then claimed there WAS no lead paint present, which was patently false. Even after being notified of the presence of lead paint on a pair of shutters, Hanson failed to scrape and collect the shutters, and only painted the front sides, not even bothering to CLEAN the back sides. They then asked the homeowner to remount the shutters themselves. Paint flakes: The painters left many paint flakes on the ground, which precipitated a home loan appraiser having to make a return trip after paint flakes were cleaned up. Improper cleanup: The painters took off house numbers, shutters, and other miscellaneous decor from the exterior of the house which they never offered to put back up. The area where they staged work materials was left disorganized and dirty. When they were finally "finished," the homeowner spent many hours cleaning up after them, because many items that were removed from or moved away from the house were not put back as they were found. Breakage: Some yard decorations were broken by the painters. While this is a minor problem, they didn't notify home owner of breakage, offer to replace or repair, or even give a simple apology. Contract details: Although painters' contract included the house and all trim, many pieces, such as decorative porch railings, a heat-pump cover, and the back of shutters were never painted. Homeowner had to paint these pieces herself. Security: When painting, on several occasions the painters propped doors/windows open to allow frames and doors/window sashes to dry, worked from 7 am to 1 pm, and then left without notifying homeowner or real estate agent that house was unlocked and open.