ESP Painting

I am very pleased with the results and had a favorable experience with ESP. My house is all wood, a 130 year old (small) Victorian three story. Some of the wood is original so this was not an easy job, and it was my first time to have a house painted so I was a little uneasy. Eric provided an estimate last summer. He was flexible with me when I needed to postpone the job until this summer - he didn't even change the price even though he could have.I was finally ready for him this year. His staff was very courteous and professional. I had to be at work during most of the job, and Eric kept in constant communication with me - responding quickly to all questions and instructions. I loved the way he used phone text message. But he responds quickly with phone if that is your preferred method of communication. He closely monitors phone messages, texts, and e-mails and responds - I found this to be unusual for a contractor and it was a big plus.I very much like the fact that his crew is employed by him and not subcontractors. That ensures accountability.The prep work ended up being more demanding than originally thought. There was a lot of scraping and caulking required in the upper levels. At no time did I have the sense that they were rushing the work to move on to another job. They were doing what was required and spent the time needed to do a quality job.There are other positive things to say - they were great with cleanup at the end of each day, and did not leave paint flakes on the ground. Houses are close together in my urban neighborhood, and they took care to keep things clean in my neighbors yard as well.I have received many compliments from neighbors on the final results.Overall I would have to say this contractor is outstanding with communication, flexibility, and quality of work.

Excellent. Was in a time restraint and they were able to fit me in. They arrived on time, were efficient, courteous, true professionals.

ESP had a crew of 6 people who arrived for the first day of work on time. The owner, Eric, introduced all 6 to my husband and me immediately. Eric, the crew, my husband and I walked through the house and reviewed the job. Each person was given their "assignment" and began working. The workers were polite, personable, hard working. In addition, they were very patient with our requests to change/modify/add jobs.

I was very happy with their work. This guy is a real professional. He is a third year generation painter. He is very passionate about what he does. I have had the work done before and no one has done it like he did it was wonderful. I will be using him again this spring.

In the past we used a painter recommended by a neighbor. It was a disaster. In a time when most home service is mediocre at best, we have been fortunate to have found top quality service from our home builder and others referred by him. In this case, however, he did not have a suggestion so we went with Angie. Eric and his team are fantastic. I told Eric that I would put he and his team in the company of my builder and look forward to a long term relationship. The quality of his work was exceptional. We changed (added) scope twice and they did not flinch. They were able to start our job earlier than planned so they know how to estimate their work ad not have to rush to meet a deadline for the next job. Eric checked on his team every day to make sure it was up to standard. Highly recommend them.

Ecellent overall experience.

Eric and his ESP crew did an outstanding job in every respect. During my initial contacts, Eric was very responsive and professional. He provided us with a prompt and detailed estimate for all of the work. Eric had many good suggestions that improved the finished product. Based on Eric's professionalism, his attention to detail and the competitive price for all of the work, we elected to use ESP for the job. It took the ESP crew about a week to complete all the painting and during that time all of the crew was very polite and considerate. More importantly, they did a fantastic job in all aspects. The paint on both the walls and trim looks beautiful. They also removed wallpaper and patched some drywall and it is impossible to tell where the patches are. Everything is beautiful! During the painting, Eric was in constant contact to ensure that the job was proceeding in accord with our expectations. Also, Eric carefully inspected all of the work to ensure that it was consistent with both our expectations and his own. We could not be more pleased with the job that ESP did on our house. We will definitely be using Eric's service again in the future. Eric and ESP Painting get our strongest possible recommendation.

Another big "Thank You" to Angie's List for enabling us to locate these great painters. When doing our research on the list, we noticed ESP had many, many very favorable reports so we included them in the companies we would interview. We talked to four companies, and even though ESP's price was higher than the others, we chose to give the work to them for several reasons. One was the quick response we got when we first contacted them. Eric Piacenti returned our initial call within a day, asked a few questions over the phone, scheduled a time to meet with us within two days, arrived promptly at the time we had set, and acquired all the pertinent information in a very professional yet friendly manner. We were particularly impressed with his attention to the tiniest details as he walked around the house, looking at everything that had to be done. Another big factor in our decision was the manner in which he suggested we handle the two wallpapered rooms (dining room and kitchen). We, of course, had assumed the paper would have to be removed, a job we dreaded to have done. However Eric informed us that because the paper was so tight against the walls, our job would be a good candidate for painting OVER the paper. He explained the process in detail, how they would tear off any loose paper, patch, sand, and feather all the rough spots, apply a special oil-based primer, then continue with their regular manner of painting. Again, within two days, we received an emailed proposal outlining everything we had discussed in a very professional manner. We signed the proposal on April 8, but told him we did not want the work to be done until the very end of June or beginning of July. After the July 4th holiday we told him we were ready; they began the work the next week, July 12. A crew of 5 very dedicated, efficient painters spread out throughout the house, moved everything that needed moved, covered EVERYTHING, and began to work on their specific jobs. They worked for 5 days, throughout which time they were always quiet, courteous, polite, and respectful of not only our home and furnishings, but also of us. They went out of their way to ensure our lives were disrupted as little as possible under the circumstances. Each day, before they left, they cleaned up carefully and made sure we were able to get around the house and have access to the things we would need before the next day's work began. They did a wonderful job and we would most certainly engage their services again. The owner, Eric Piacenti, is very sincere in providing the best service and that attitconsceiensous and wants

They did a great job, neat, clean and very professional

Overall a very nice job. The prep work was thorough and the end result looks very good. The painters were pleasant to work with and cleaned up well after themselves. Eric Piacenti, the owner, did the estimate in a professional manner and was responsive via email. The price was a little better than the one other estimate we got from another highly rated company. I had some concerns about the temperature when they painted, which didn't fully meet the paint manufacturer's published standards. However, Eric reassured me that they had done this before and that it would turn out ok, which has indeed proved to be the case. Of course, the temperature would not have been in question had ESP been able to keep to their original target date range of late September, early October. But Eric was good about keeping me posted on their weather related delays and the work was completed quickly once they got started. The weather (and leaves) prevented ESP from finishing work on a flat roof on an extension at the back of our house. I appreciated Eric's willingness to accept the withholding from the full price that I suggested pending their return in the spring to finish that part of the job.

In one word I'd say it was very thorough. Starting with their estimate which was much more detailed and comprehensive, vs. other bidders who simply wrote down an overall figure after talking with me. When it came time to do the job they were very thorough and professional in their workmanship. No accidents or spills, and no paint on places where it shouldn't be. And no disagreements as to what should vs should not be done. The only drawbacks I can think of are that it took much longer to start the job than anticipated, and it also took a little longer to do the job. But I was not in a rush so I preferred that they take the extra time to get it done right. And of course a lot of their scheduling and working is subject to the weather and we do get a lot of rain here in Pittsburgh. So overall I am very satisfied with the service I received, and would definitely recommend them to anyone else who needs their house painted.

The job went very well and exceeded my expectations. Three people worked for three days (9 mandays) and did a very thorough job. They scraped, cleaned, primed and then painted. I had a few areas where the wood was rotting. They scraped out the bad areas and filled them in with a Bondo type material prior to painting. I even had an area where ants were feasting on the rotted wood. They killed all the ants and then sealed up the area prior to painting. It did take approximately four months from the time I signed the contract to the time the painting began. But Eric kept me in the loop continuously so I knew he didn't forget about me. I realize that weather reaks havoc on a painting company and I had no issues with the delays.

Our house excluding the basement is about 2200 sq ft. They painted the house including the basement and doors. They were very through and polite. The guy (I do not remember his name now, I should have written this review a year ago) was very responsible and managed his people very well. They gave us very good deal, competed the job on time. The guy walked us thorough the house at the end of the job to see whether there missing or unsatisfying parts of the job. According to our comments they worked on those parts again and we were very happy with them. I recommend them to everyone.

A fantastic experience! I was getting my house ready to go on the market unexpectedly due to relocation. I had roofers coming to repair where we had a leak in our bedroom and I needed to get a painter in right away after they were done. Eric returned my call the same day to discuss the quote. He was then able to come over and see what needed to be repaired when I had my next day off from work. He showed up on time and emailed me the quote within 2 days. He knew I was looking to get the work done quickly and was able to accommodate that. He kept in constant communication while I was out of town house hunting and worked with the realtor to be let in and out of the house. The work looks great! I am very pleased and would hire them again.

Overall, they did a very nice job, very professional and clean. I had a couple of minot issues with some hardware being put back in place (outlet plates, switch plates, etc.). The only thing that I would have preferred was to be more clear on the painting of the interior of closets. In my experience, when I say I need a room painted, I mean the entire room, including closets.

We discussed them painting while we were on vacation the week of July 4 and they were able to do that. We returned to a beautiful paint job with everything clean and in its proper place.

The estimate was detailed. Eric's painters did an excellent job. When a question came up about painting an exterior door which had been included in the estimate, Eric didn't hesitate to remove it from the total cost. Over the winter, there was one trouble spot where the paint began to peel. I sent an email with pictures to Eric. It was fixed right away in the spring, and Eric provided a new can of paint to fix the spot. I would definitely recommend this company to anyone who wanted to have their home painted.

We chose to go with another service that was less expensive. The person who came out was very nice.

ESP was very good about scheduling and the painting went quickly as a good crew of people were here each day.

I liked the fact that the owner was very professional. He responded immediately. I had some holidays after the job was completed. They responded to it immediately and took care of it. They were prompt and very professional. Overall they did an excellent job.

It went very well, and the team was great to work with. Hope to have them back soon for some more painting.

I was very pleased with his crew and the work they did. The quotation he gave me was about $2000 less than another painter who had done work in the neighborhood. A board had sprung loose at the top of one gable, not visible from the ground, and the crew told me about it and fixed it for no charge. They also pointed out and changed a broken spot-light under the eves. The crew was professional, neat, and friendly. A very positive experience for me. ESP uses a good quality Sherwin-Williams paint. A minor issue was that they had to delay the start of the work so that it wasn't done until the fall, but the timing was not important for us, and Eric kept me informed all along. Everything looks really good this spring.

Eric and his crew did a great job painting the exterior of our house. He recommended areas to scrape/paint and was on site with his crew each day. They scraped and painted two sides of the house and performed repair/touch up on two other sides of the house including soffit/fascia and a cupola. He made good recommendations about the approach and was able to understand what we were trying to accomplish with this project and did not need constant instruction about how to address each section of the house. He definitely took the ball and ran with it in a timely fashion. He returns your calls promptly and does his best to meet your requirements. I would hire again.

I set up a meeting with Eric for an estimate and he was able to come out to my home in person within a few days. Eric was extremely professional and knowledgeable when he came to my home and answered all of my questions. The ESP estimate was the most expensive out of the four I received, but I decided to go with ESP because of how comprehensive and professional Eric was when talking with him about the job (relative to the other estimates) - I wanted my garage done right and I wanted it to look the best it could! Eric and few other gentleman came out to the house and completed the job on time (within a few days) and did a good job of cleaning up afterward. Although I expected a high quality job from ESP, I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw the end result!!! ESP did an outstanding job on my garage!!! I will definitely use ESP again in the future and will recommend to my family and friends!!! Thanks Eric!!!

The quote from ESP Painting was very detailed, but it did not provide an itemized description with cost by specific work to be performed. We were only provided with a lump sum of $16,500. We understood the magnitude of our project, but also have had extensive experience working with painters on our previous homes in Indiana (state), Venetia, PA and our second home in the Outer Banks, NC. If this was our first home to be remodeled we may have agreed to this proposal without question. However it was not! Our concerns were confirmed when we we contacted other professional painters and their quotes were half of what ESP quoted. Not only were they less they provided us a detailed proposal with itemized cost for each room. Therefore, we are not questioning ESP Paintings ability to do a quality paint job, but the amount we were quoted. When we contacted our concierge service to let them know about our dissatisfaction with Mr. Piacenti's responded by belittling our home as well as our intelligence. The following is the email that we sent to our concierge as well as Mr. Piacenti's email. In all the experience we have had with contractors we have never come across someone so unprofessional. We found Mr. Piacenti calling our $360,000 3200 square foot home in Franklin Park an entry level tract home insulting. Our email: ESP Painting - Eric on the other hand did not listen to our needs. We specifically stated that we did not need the house to be put back into brand new condition. We only wanted to repair any issues that were easily seen after paint ie. cracks, nail holes, but not minor imperfections in the drywall. However, due to his lack of listening to our needs his quote was far higher than we expected. We have done extensive work on our house in Indiana as well as had a house painted in Venetia, PA in 2003. So we had a price point that we were expecting. In fact, after our meeting we expected Eric's quote to high, but did not expect it be double what other painters quoted us. In addition, we expected when we contacted you for referral that we would not only be provided with a list of excellent craftsmen, but also pricing within reason. When we received his quote (attached) it was not itemized by area. Therefore, we have no idea exactly what we were being charged for. For 16 areas including trim and ceilings ESP quoted us $16,500. This is double what the painter we hired is going to charge us. We strongly feel that ESP was trying to take advantage of their relationship with Coldwell Banker Realty and our confidence in the referral by quoting us such a ridiculous amount. Eric Piacenti's response to our email: Hi Mr/Mrs O'Neil. and Penny I have you're reading this too. I'll try to be objective as I can, however I'm highly insulted at the tone of this email and the questioning of my services and my company. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY WHAT I HAVE TO SAY BELOW. IN ADDITION, PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AS TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY BELOW WHICH IS IN LARGE, BOLD TYPE, AS RESPONSES IN THE ORIGINAL EMAIL SENT TO PENNY. PLEASE READ IT TWICE TO UNDERSTAND FULLY. First of all, I've been in business for 17 years, the last 6 as a valuable member of the Coldwell Banker Concierge and have completed hundreds of projects in very high end, custom homes. And also basic entry level, tract home such as yours. Your project, Dave and Julie, is what we do day in/day out. You have a 14 room house. NOT COUNTING IN THE ROOM TOTAL A LARGE ENTRY FOYER/STAIRWELL/UPPER HALL. You have an unfinished garage. You want all surfaces of these rooms/areas painted. All interior rooms are dirty, dusty, nails/screws/holes everywhere. You want all surfaces repaired/patched/caulked, sanded, primed, and and painted. Including closets. Two coats. And want to change colors on all surfaces. I can give you myriad of projects that have the same scope, and larger, of the amount of work that needs done, and have same/similar costs. And higher costs. You asked me to provide an estimate on everything but ceilings, after I did my walkthru and saw every ceiling is diry/dusty/marked up, with grease on the kitchen ceiling by the stove, and advised you that all they needed done. You did not recognize that they needed done prior without me pointing this out. I pointed out that the fireplace trim had gaps where it meets the brick and wall, and that it all needed caulked. I even recommended that clear caulk would look the best as it would not smear onto the brick like a white caulking. I even pointed out on the paint from the prior painting, and said we would clean it. Again, things you did not notice. You are having new shoe mold installed, which adds even more to the prep work. as in puttying all of the recessed nail holes, and caulking everywhere it meets the baseboard. You are also having all new hardwood flooring and carpet installed prior to the painting. You want all of the painting done by June 6th. WE HAVE A FULL SCHEDULE OF WORK AT ALL TIMES, AND I WAS WILLING TO DELAY OTHER CUSTOMERS IN ORDER TO ACCOMMODATE YOUR NEEDS. I can go on as to the level of detail that I incorporate into all of my proposals and thus into the actual work performed. I'M SO INCREDULOUS AS THE ADVERSARIAL NATURE OF THIS TRANSACTION THAT I CAN BARELY TYPE. I'VE NEVER, EVER HAD MY PROFESSIONALISM IMPUGNED. With all due respect, I honestly believe that you aren't' comprehending the magnitude of the project. This project has no relation to a project you had in Indiana, or in Venetia back in 2003. I'm not going to defend myself anymore. I shouldn't have had to in the first place. Penny, you know our track record, not to mention the high-end homes we've painted for Concierge customers and also Relo. We would treat this project no different. I can provide many testimonials from CB agents, as well the dept. head of Relo as to the successful completion of projects of this size, and much nicer, custom homes, with same/similar costs. AS YOU CAN SEE FROM WHAT I'VE SAID ABOVE, AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE THAT I'VE SAID BELOW, I KNOW WHAT I'M SPEAKING ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO IMPECCABLE WORK AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. I LIVE HER IN THE SAME COMMUNITY, AM MARRIED WITH TWO CHILDREN, AND PROVIDE A STABLE EMPLOYMENT FOR 7 MEN. I DIDN'T GET TO THIS POINT BY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF MY RELATIONSHIP WITH COLDWELL BANKER AND PRECIOUS CUSTOMER BASE THEY PROVIDE TO ME, AS I'VE BEEN UNINTELLIGENTLY ACCUSED BELOW. Thank you, and please see original email below, and please read the large, bold type, which are my rebuttals to inaccurate and obvious non-comprehension of the details of the project Respectfully, Eric Piacenti ESP Painting Owner The above emails were retyped word for word including typos from the email Mr. Piacenti sent to us as well as our Concierge representative. Therefore, any rebuttal Mr. Piacenti will not undue the harsh tone of this email and lack of professionalism. Unfortunately, he has not learned that you should never put anything in email that you do not want to be shown to potential customers.