Home Renovation & Solutions

Our brick home was built in 1926 and has original windows. While it has been painted many times, it has never been done with this level of care and attention to detail. The trim and windows on the south side of the house were in particularly bad shape, but after Walter was finished, the difference was amazing. He took them down to the wood, primed, caulked, reglazed and applied two coats of paint. The amount of effort he put into prep work across the entire job went well beyond our expectations. Walter also revitalized our antique oak raised panel front door by taking it down to the wood and applying three coats of marine varnish. It is truly a centerpiece. Walter takes pride in his work and it shows. He made sure every detail was attended to. And it was refreshing to have a contractor that cleans up the worksite at the end of each day and protects the ground and greenery with drop cloths. We couldn't be happier with the results and will certainly use him again.

I called Walter after reading the reports on Angie's List. I am working overseas and explained to him I would not be meeting him in person. He went to the house and did a fairly extensive review of everything and scanned and emailed me his quote I explained to him that I had to have all the work finished before August 15th because, after being a loyal customer of Farmers Insurance for more than twenty years they had driven by the house and decided to drop my policy because of some chipping paint. They only gave me six weeks notice to get the house painted and some minor tree limbs removed. Needless to say I am looking for other insurance companies now. Walter assured me he could do the job on time and even brought in his carpenter to help with some repairs to the deck in the backyard. I told Walter that as an Architect I am very picky about the small details and there would be a final punch list at the end before I issued his final payment. He agreed that that was fine with him and got started. I called Walter from Saudi Arabia every two or three days and he always answered his phone, had a great demeanor and a good sense of humor, and in detail explained to me anything that needed to be repaired on the exterior of the house. He then sent a lot of photos of the progress during the painting so I could see how things were going. This is the best paint job this house has ever had and I have tried to paint it myself and know with the wide soffits and three different kinds of siding (original redwood from 1921, cedar siding repairs and hardy board in the back) how hard it is to make it look consistent. The house looks fanatastic and I know it was a lot of work. I think Walter spent the first 3 or 4 days just scrubbing the mildew off and then sanding off any loose paint. He then used 7 cases of 50 year caulk to seal every board and crevice all around the whole house. This will also help by reducing the air infiltration and make a more efficient house. . One final thing that is important to note, Walter assured me he uses only Benjamin Moore paint and does not believe in cutting paint with water. The last painters cut the paint (even though i had paid for the materials and had asked them not to) and the paint job lasted about four years before I had to go back and do it again myself. I am very happy with Walter's dedication and transparent communication with my project there and I am forwarding his contact information on to all of my friends. I have not seen the house in person but being in construction for 25 years and with high quality digital photos sent my Walter and a friend of mine i can say the house looks fantastic. Two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Walter did a fantastic job. The results look great, I was partiicularly impressed with the prep work, which took almost as long as the actual painting. He prepared all surfaces by hand scrubbing with a cleaner and caulking. I highly recommend Walter and will definitely use him in the future.

We are in the process of having several projects done to our house including the floors. Since the furniture is all moved out of the house for the flooring, we thought this would be a great time to fix some drywall issues we were having. I called four of the providers on Angie's List with the most A reviews. One did not return my call. One called back to say they were a week and a half out on jobs and they would return my call (They still haven't called back). One set up an appointment for a bid, emailed to cancel it due to a prior commitment (but gave me an estimate based on what we had talked about at $1,400), I called to reschedule, he chose a new date and time and then didn't show up. He called later to tell me that he didn't write it down and had forgotten. The fourth contractor actually came out and gave me a bid of $1,350.00, but then didn't return my calls for four days to set up a start date. In the midst of this I looked at other reviews on Angie's List and came across Walter's page. I was interested in the fact that he works for himself and reports to himself. He doesn't run crews, but he does have one assistant (Major) work with him. His reviews were all amazing, so I called him. He answered the call. I explained what I needed done, and he told me that he was just leaving a job in Dallas and he was heading to his house. My house was in route, and he could stop by on his way to do the estimate. He showed up within the hour. My husband and I showed Walter the areas that we needed redone, and Walter pointed out some other areas that didn't look right due to seems showing through or bubbling. He stated all along that none of the work that we needed done was difficult or what he would consider a major project. At the end of our inspection he stated he could do it all in one day for $350. I was very surprised as the two contractors that gave me amounts stated that it would be three days worth of work and triple the price. Although I was a bit skeptical that he could get it done, he stated that he could start on Wednesday- this was a Monday. We are on a time crunch due to the flooring people needing to come back to scrape and stain, so we were excited for Walter to get started. Walter and Major showed up before nine o'clock on Wednesday morning and worked all day, taking a break for lunch. They stopped around 5:30 that day. Although they did not finish, they did do much more work than we had originally talked about. Everything was patched or replaced and all that needed to be done was the texturing. Walter asked that I just pay him $50 for the work he had done that day and to pay him the remainder when he finished the next day. I didn't think he'd make it back the next day as it was July 4, but he and Major showed up before lunch and were finished in an hour and a half. We walked through the house and inspected the work together. Everything looks amazing! The texture matches perfectly with the original wall. You can't tell at all where the work has been done. Even though Walter did more work that he anticipated, he didn't charge me extra. He did what the big companies claimed needed three days, in a day and an hour and a half, and he charged a fraction of the price. Walter was friendly, courteous, and easy to chat with. He and my husband talked quite a bit about the military; they are both veterans, and also about children. Walter is a family man, and you can tell. He is just an all around good guy. I will most certainly hire Walter again for painting and drywall projects.

They were good painters and the gutters were good, too.

Walter came up with a way to reach the chimney, quoted us a fair price for doing the work, and got the supplies to start the same day. When working on the chimney he discovered that more wood than we could tell from the ground needed to be replaced. We agreed on a fair price for the additional work and he took care of that as well. All of the damage wood was replaced, everything was sealed, primed, and then painted with a paint that perfectly matched the rest of the paint on the house. We had three neighbors ask Walter for a quote and he even started on the house across the street when he finished ours. He also painted our front door at no charge due to the amount of business he picked up from our neighbors. We will definitely use Walter again in the future.

Walter Barber gave me a bid but he was really busy and it dragged along too long so I read reviews and they said that he is very busy. I just couldn't wait so I had to go with someone else. His pricing was reasonable from other companies that I had looked at. The bathroom remodeling was done by someone else. Walter was on line for the work but he just kept getting busier. I like Walter and I would use him again if I had some kind of a job. I wanted to have the job done before Christmas, and I first spoke to him in September and he was going to do the job in October and then November and then I got someone else. He always called me back when I called him. He was very responsive. He was very professional. I should have been more insistent that he gives me a time.

We were offered a bid, to paint the house exterioir, that we couldn't refuse. Walter cleaned the entire exterior, ripped-down old nylon gutters, and discovered rotted wood on the eaves s well as the chimney. The wood was replaced and sealed, and corners were shielded, creating seamless joints. The entire house was caulked and painted with lifetime warranty paint. The color matching was flawless. Walter's work was interrupted at least twice by admiring neighbors requesting quotes. I cannot say enough about he and Major's skill, dedication, and professionalism. It was truly a pleasurable experience.

We just had our foundation repaired, and now needed wall and ceiling repair. The initial agreement was for the 3 rooms the insurance covered, plus 2 the insurance company did not cover, though the money did. We had already scheduled floors with somebody else, so the clock was ticking. The bid also included removing the 'popcorn' ceiling texture in all the rooms.. Walter BidThe work was so good, we immediately re-contracted 4 more rooms. All were done before the floor installation. Before finishing, he offered us a bid on painting the house exterior that was too good to pass on. Walter and his team are professional and dedicated. Foundation issues left us with cracks and joint damage. He and his team repaired all cracks, retaped joints, applied new texture where needed, and painted all rooms with the highest quality paint I've ever heard of. They were always on time and beat the schedule that we discussed at the onset. Furthermore, there were a few issues with the texture and paint, which Walter was quick to acknowledge and address. We are extremely happy with the quality of the work. My next door neighbor came in to see the work while Walter was painting, and asked Walter for a bid on his house. This was my first experience using Angie's List, and I could not be more pleased. I never would have found Walter without Angie.

I became interested in Walter to paint my house based upon his description of his work experience. It stated that he would a complete exterior house paint job for 10k and that he had experience with northern style houses. I called him and asked him to come out and give me a quote which he did the very next day, or it might have been the same day, anyways it was very prompt. The price quote I received within an hour of his arrival was as expected and priced accordingly for the type and style of our house. Did I mention that Walter came out during a rain storm to estimate the job, he walked around the exterior of the house for close to an hour getting himself completely soaked. When he completed the quote in his van and presented it to me, he stated he was surprised to find a 100% cedar clad house with wood eaves and approx. 80 windows in Texas. I told him that is why I selected him from Angie's list because of his experience with northern style houses. For the next couple of months, Walter and his assistant did an unbelievably good job, his attention to detail and his compulsion to do things right resulted my house looking as good or better than it was after it was first built over 10 years ago. As I mentioned earlier, our house is cladded using 6 inch cedar siding all around. Because of the Texas heat, the siding was beginning to curl and deform especially were the sun had a chance to beat down on it for hours at a time. Walter replaced all of the bad siding, caulked under each and every board (new and existing), sanded every board (new and existing) and finally primed and painted (each and every board) of the house by hand using a brush.....no paint sprayers here!!!!! Remember those 80 windows, each window required the old stain to be sanded off by hand and then repainted. Walter and team spent a lot of time on ladders being extremely careful because most of the windows were huge picture windows and they were hard to work around. Let's not forget the deck. Walter completely disassembled the railing, sanded each board by hand and then reassembled it better than ever and then varnished It twice, he also sanded the deck floor and hand brushed it using a new deck sealer. It did take some time to do this job I have to admit, but time was what was needed to do it right and Walter was willing to spend the time. If you want a paint job done right and if you want a paint job to last and if you want a paint job to be proud of then hire Walter and his team, you will not go wrong.

This was a great experience! I've used Walter before to paint the exterior of my home, so I already knew that I could count on him to do everything just the way I wanted it; and just the way he would have done it on his own home! Walter does GREAT work! He won't take short-cuts. He'll do it right every time, even if that means the job takes longer. The week that Walter and Dustin painted this shed was a particularly busy week for me. I couldn't be around or available for much of the time they were there. Nevertheless, true to form, Walter arrived in a timely manner. He got to work, worked hard into the evening hours and got the job done in an exceptional manner! I love the way my shed looks! I love the colors. I love the pristine appearance. I love knowing that it is properly sealed, painted and that the finish on it will last a long, long time. Thank you again, Mr. Barber! (and Dustin, too!).

Mr. Barber was a dream-come-true painter. He is EXACTLY the kind of guy I was hoping to hire. I found Walter Barber here on Angie's List. I called him and requested an estimate. Needless to say, because of all of his excellent reviews, I had to wait about a week for him to come out and look at my job. For both of our conveniences, we left it that he would come out on his own time and look at my job -- whatever worked for him, with no need to coordinate. Then, he'd contact me with an estimate. I remember worrying a little bit and saying to him, over the phone, and quot;Okay. Don't forget about me, Walter!and quot; And he assured me, and quot;Oh, I won't forget about you!and quot; He didn't! About a week later, Walter came out, without coordinating with me (as we had discussed), left an estimate under the doormat, and then immediately called me to tell me it was there. I told him I'd love for him to do the work. He told me when he could be available. As I recall, I had to wait another week or so before he was done with the job he was currently on. No problem! He was worth the wait! The way I figure it, it's NOT a coincidence that Walter is so busy with other work. He's in demand because he's very good at what he does. I have a 3100 sq ft, one-story home. My estimate began at $3400 to remove and repair a sagging portion of the underside of a porch overhang, replace a few pieces of obviously split trim, and paint all siding around two chimneys and a back porch, the underside of a large porch roof, all exterior trim, two garage doors, front-door trim, and a back door with trim. With everyone's concurrence, I ended up paying Walter's subcontractor, Danny, directly for the repair work on the underside of the porch overhang, so my new price for all of Walter's work went down to $3200. But then Walter discovered that the siding around one of my chimneys was rotten. Walter immediately pointed out the damage to me, suggested I replace it, and gave me a cost -- $400 to replace all siding and trim on a ground-level-to-above-roof-level chimney. The moisture damage really was quite significant, and I had no idea it was there until Walter pointed it out. Walter's subcontractor, Danny, set about tearing off the old stuff and replacing it with new stuff. It looks fantastic! My new cost was up to $3600, and I gladly paid that amount plus a little tip. I wish every contractor I hired was exactly like Walter! He oozes integrity and possesses the kind of work ethic I greatly admire and trust. Walter is very passionate about his work and takes great pride in the results. Therefore, I don't think he could short-change you if he tried! He's simply not capable of doing less than stellar work, it seems to me. Walter's prices may be a little higher than most, but if you're someone who values a great work ethic, meticulous attention to detail, completely trustworthy values, and the best paint job in town, then Walter Barber is your man! He was worth every penny! I have since had numerous contractors in and around my home as I continue to remodel, and several of them have noted Walter's excellent paint job and asked me for his number. Thanks to Walter, I am really proud of the way my home looks. He made me very, very happy.

The primary reasons I chose to use Walter was 1) he performed the work himself instead of a subcontracted crew, 2) he used premium paints and caulks, 3) he paints the home by hand rather than spraying and 4) he emphasized how much time he spends on prep work versus painting. Quality: Walter used Benjamin Moore Moorguard paint, a mid to upper level quality paint, and 60 year Shermin Williams caulk. Walter used a homemade spray to wash and clean the surfaces on my home. It did a good job of removing dirt and old paint. What I was most impressed about was his methodical and meticulous approach to removing the crumbling caulk that my home was originally sealed with. Walter spent almost 10 out of 14 days doing nothing but prep work. He applied all paints with brushes which appeared to apply a thicker layer of paint than spraying does. Punctuality: This job could have been performed much quicker with a larger crew but Walter either works by himself or with a single helper. If you are wanting a speedy job then you may be disappointed but in my case it wasn't important. On two days, Walter was not able to work on my home. On both occasions he phoned the day before to inform me that he had conflicts. Price: I got several quotes of which Walter's was amongst the highest. I negotiated the price down. Additionally, Walter's carpenter found several structural members that needed to replaced and he charged my a very reasonable price outside of the original contract. Overall, I am very happy with the quality and outcome of the work performed and have asked Walter to quote other work on my parent's home.

I called Walter and scheduled the paint/drywall job. He came when expected on time and with all materials needed. He performed the work I originally scheduled and he was so good that I hired him to paint the exterior. I think his price was fair and his work was excellent. He is a pleasure to have around and I will be hiring him again.

Walter had done a smaller paint job for me a few years ago. His estimate was much lower than the other bid, and I had used him before, so I went ahead with him again. He did a great job. Prepped in one day and painted all the wood on the exterior of the house in two days. He arrived early, stays late, worked very long days, and always had a positive attitude. I'm on a very tight budget so his pricing was a plus for me. I feel like I got more than I paid for. I will definitely call him again when the need arises.

I was very pleased with the quality and attention to detail of Walter's work. I arranged the work through phone calls and emailing photos. Walter returned all phone calls promptly, making it easy to arrange schedules, estimates, etc. When he assessed the job in person after providing the initial estimate, he offered to include two addtional tasks that he felt would detract from the new paint if left unattended -- washing the walls of the front door alcove and painting the front-facing gutter over the garage doors. I purchased the paint for the front door and Walter purchased the trim paint, matching the existing. Having someone climb on the roof to paint the chimney cap and trim concerned me initially, but Walter's years of experience and confidence put me at ease. It was a very satisfactory experience.

Walter and Cathy were wonderful. They were on time, worked hard, and did beautiful work. Our rooms are gorgeous. We love them. Next time we need any kind of work they will be who we call first.

Walter was hired after meeting with two other painters as his price was fair and he could start the project right away. We did select and pay for the paint and after he had completed painting the walls, we decided we did not like the color. Walter was more than happy to paint again using the new color we selected and this added an extra $250 which was included in the total payment of $1900. I gave him a "B" on punctuality as a couple of mornings he did not arrive when he said he would, but did call to say he would be delayed. He said he was delayed as he was bidding on other potential jobs which I would have rathered he do at the end of the day instead of arriving late. Overall, our kitchen is beautiful! Walter took his time and was extremely meticulous with his work.

The original quote was $1600 but we ended up doing more; I don't remember what the final price was. The final product was very good and the price was reasonable.

Walter does excellent work at reasonable rates.

I needed my house repainted on the outside. I called multiple contractors some of whom did not even return my call. Walter was busy but when he promised he will see me he did see me. He came late in the evening after working a 12 hr straight day on painting some other job. There is no middle men and Walter does the job himself so he had the best price. He also all things by hand no pressure wash and no spray painting. And once i talked to him there was no one else i could give this job to. Talking to him feels like you are talking to an honest person. he did a great job. Finished on time. If i ever need anything done again i will call him again.

Walter came the same day I called and gave me a written estimate. Walter and Major were very prompt and worked dilegently to complete the work in about a week. They were very courteous, neat and responsive to requests. Very conscientious about the quality of their work and I felt I got a good paint job for the money.

Walter and Major are truly masters of their craft. I interviewed two other companies before Walter came out to give us an estimate. I could not believe how excited I was getting as Walter walked around the house with me and pointed out every project that he and Major would be doing. His attention to detail was more than I could have asked for. His was the only company that I found that would roll and brush rather than spraying. I could tell in just the initial walk-around that Walter truly loves what he does. His passion as he explained the total transformation of the exterior of our house was intoxicating. I knew right then he was the man for the job. Walter and Major went over and above what was quoted. I doubt very highly that any company could surpass their quality of work. Not only did they completely transform the exterior color of our house by painting every square-inch of the brick, trim, windows, doors and gutters; but they also repaired wood work, completely refinished our rod-iron screen door (that was headed for the trash), as well as replaced all of the hard-ware on both entry doors. We could not be happier with the work done on the exterior of our home. Walter was contacted by several of our neighbors during the scope of his project requesting quotes for their homes as well. We have every intention of asking Walter and Major back to our home to paint the interior- these guys are amazing- you won't find a better company to work with!!!

I found Walter here on Angie's List and called to have him give me an estimate on painting the exterior of our new home we were buying at the end of January. He came out the next day to take a look. He was very thorough to look at everything and then gave me a very fair estimate. We had four estimates all together but I just felt best about Walter. We ended up not being able to close on our house for another two months but Walter still honored his estimate when we called to confirm that we were ready to get started on the work. He came out the next day to get our paint choices and to start on the prep work. He and Major spent a great deal of time on every little detail to prep the house for painting. They then did an amazing job on the painting itself. Walter really went the extra mile on everything to take care of any problems and to make everything look beautiful. He always showed up on time for every single thing and was very professional. I think Walter is absolutely the best painter around. Its been a long time since I have met somebody as devoted to their craft. He has so much experience under his belt and painting is something he truly enjoys doing. He takes a lot of pride in his work and wants every job to look the very best. He didn't miss a thing and did much more than I ever would have expected (or at least I think another contractor would have charged extra for). We feel so lucky that we chose Walter because we really could not have been treated any better. I also just think that Walter is a great person. He is honest and funny and great to have around. We will definitely be calling Walter for future jobs on the interior of our house as soon as we can. Walter Barber truly is the best.

Walter came out the same day I called, told me how much it would cost, took a deposit for supplies, and came back the next day and completed 90 percent of the work even though it was a stormy, nasty day. I wouldn't have blamed him a bit if he'd stayed home -- we had tornadoes! He came out the next morning and finished the last bit of painting he couldn't do in the rain. The porch ceiling looks great. We're happy with the quality of the work and the value.