University Painters

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I used this company for the same services, with the exception of the patio, approximately four years ago. I was satisfied then and contacted TC Papageorge again this time. His bid was in keeping with the previous work and we agreed that his team would do the work for me. I told TC I would contact him later after I finished sanding the deck. It is 25 years old and in good shape for its age but in need of some sanding. I pulled all the nails and replaced them with deck screws (the way it should have been built in the first place). I used a belt sander, disc sander, planes and chisels to restore a smooth edge to the boards and rented a floor sander to do the floor of the deck. I started this project a year ago and have worked on it a little at a time for several months. It took me longer than I had planned because it was such a hot summer but I finished a couple weeks ago and called TC. After a couple rain delays, his crew was able to do their work. TC was very easy to work with throughout the scheduling process. Alex a crew came around 2 in the afternoon and I think they were in a bit of a hurry because the cleaning of the house went awfully fast and was not as thorough as I would have liked. It was a cloudy day and I didn't notice it at the time. The patio and the deck were both ok. TC came out today and agreed that the house wasn't as clean as it should be and said they would come back this afternoon and make it right. I had already returned the furniture and flower pots to the deck and patio and said that I would just as soon accept it as is. He was more than willing to rewash the house but it's really not that bad and I just didn't feel llike messing with it any further. I started this project a year ago and was ready to be done with it. My only other comment is that the two crew members, minus Alex, returned a second day to apply the sealer and did not bring any drop clohs or plastic with them. I have some so I asked them to use mine. If the deck had been sealed without covering the patio, it would have been a mess as the sealer is very thin and bound to drip from the deck to the area below. TC agreed with that observation and I'm fairly certain it won't happen again. So all said, I have rated quality a "B" but my overall experience with TC and his team was good. TC agreed to adress my issues and it was my choice to accept the work as performed.

We were referred to this particular University Painters by a friend. TC Papageorge came out to give us the estimate. He was punctual, professional and friendly, took a look around the house and gave us an estimate that came out right in the middle of 3 estimates that we got. We chose University Painters because of the personal referral. On Tuesday, 2 painters showed up. They spent the first day patching holes, taping trim, putting plastic down on the carpets around the edges of the rooms, and buying paint. Wednesday, the first coat went up, then on thursday the second coat went up, and the trim was touched up. 3 days, and our house looks like a completely different house. There were a few places where paint was dripped on the carpet going up the stairs, and in the middle of the master bedroom where it wasn't covered by plastic, but the crew was very responsive about cleaning it up when we asked them about it. They did a great job. We are very happy with the quality of the work, and we would definitely hire this University Painters franchise again.

They did an excellent job. I couldn’t be happier, and because they did such a great job, I would use them again. They were on time, they did the job well, and they did an incredible job cleaning up afterwards. The price was really good. They did it specifically to the colors that I requested, as well as the semi-gloss for the trim and did a really good job of that.

I had some concerns with these people. He broke current rods and brackets in my bedroom and neglected to tell me. I even pointed it out and he he lied to my face. They broke the front door seal. I won't use them again.

The estimate is what made us choose them and give them an A for price. We were pleased with the job they did.

University Painters, who service Fairfax, Fairfax Station and Clifton, did a fantastic job painting my kitchen. They were reasonable, arrived on time, cleaned-up after each day and were pleasant to work with. When noticed a couple of spots that needed some rework several weeks later, they came back with no questions ask and made it right. I also used the same company (different painting group) for the painting of our exterior including siding, trim, power wash and deck sealer. They got the job done in 3 days and did beautiful work. I highly recommend them. TC, the the franchise owner for the Fairfax group, is super to work with and cares about the satisfaction of his customers.

Painter had questionable reviews on this site and after obtaining a few bids for the job, I met with representative and discussed each area of concern contained in the other reviews. I took a chance and it worked out. The crew and management exceeded expectations.

They were on time each day and finished the job on schedule. They were flexible when we decided to change colors halfway through. There were a couple of minor missteps--they chipped a couple of wallplates, paint on a couple of our towel racks and on the edge of a piece of furniture. Overall though, considering the scope of the work, they did a nice job.We asked for an estimate for carpentry to build in bookcases in our library. They took the measurements but never followed up with an estimate. I was surprised they were willing to blow off a good job.

I am very pleased with this contractor's work, and I am a picky consumer. All work was done as requested, in the time frame expected (a week on-site for a crew of 8 men). The only glitch was that once they got up on the house, there were more bad siding boards than on the original inspection from the ground. We ended up deciding to replace the siding on an entire side of the house. Also, some of our porch columns were rotting, and while I had intitally asked to patch them , once I inspected them, I requested they be replaced (note: the workers did not come to me with this problem, I was just fortunate to be out checking on them at this time, so in this case, communication could have been better). They did a great job reusing the tops of the old columns so that the new columns would match the remaining old ones from an archetectural standpoint. Great job cleaning up every night, workers were nice and respectful of the property. Note: The owner uses several subcontracting crews and subs out the work. Ask which crew you will have and be sure to get references specific to that crew. Our crew leader was Delmer.

We received an estimate from the supervisor, who never returned after getting the job, despite reported problems. He promised that we would have one of his best crews, and it would take about a week. The crew didn't show up on time the first day. They did some prep work, but failed to prep the deck railings as promised and very little prep was done overall. The second day they had trouble fielding a crew and only 3 people showed. We pointed out the problem with the deck railings and were assured it would be fixed. They worked too fast and missed large portions of the house. The foreman didn't inspect the work, and we had to point out the portions of the house they missed. Again we were told the deck railings and the portions missed would be fixed. The third day 2 people showed and we were again told that the railings would be sanded and fixed. At the end of the day we had to show the foreman the large portions of the house that were missed and he finally painted them. They didn't paint the doors as written in the contract, didn't complete the second coat on the trim as promised and never fixed the railing as promised. I had to pull out the contract to show him what was in it, to get some of the work completed. In the end they said you can't sand paint and have it look good, even though the contract indicated they would sand and scrape the paint as needed. We never saw the same crew, or workers. The foreman couldn't remember what we had told him the day before, and what had been promised. The foreman never inspected the work, but waited for us to report any problems. He tried to correct everything we pointed out, but in the end they were not able to deliver what had been promised at the initial visit. The foreman should come with a clear understanding of what was in the contract. The foreman and the supervisor should inspect the work of the crew before the homeowner does, and anything that cannot be delivered as promised should be discussed with the homeowner prior to beginning the job.

They did a good job. I would have liked for them to have been more meticulous in the details of their work.

Owner does not respond to phone calls. I can live with that. He gave me a written estimate. I later saw an ad for his company with a discount. I called and left a message asking for 50 off. He did call back a few days later and left a message agreeing to the discount. I mailed owner 150 down. The worker was a sub who showed up and was very nice, and appeared to do a very nice job (took a couple of days, but worth it). The shocker came when I handed the sub the check for the remainder due factoring in the discount. He said he was told to collect 100 more than the contract price. I wound up giving him a check for the original contract price less the deposit. I only did this because he did appeard to replace more wood than what was expected. I also felt very bad because he said he might not get paid. Great workmanship/bad experience. Suggest owner collect money himself and promptly return calls. I (and my neighbors) are always needing painters and exterior work, and it does not take much to keep customers happy. And I am someone who can bring in more friends who are looking for great service.

They had to take off old stain off my deck by stripping and sanding it and then they prepped and restained it. They were timely and clean. They even picked up the materials for me. The communication between TC and Papageorge was phenomenal. He worked very well with me and anything I needed performed he would take care of. Also, the main reason I am writing this to Angie's List is because I am a single female and I was able to trust them with everything. I also recommend Corporate Behr. They were great to work with.

I was satisfied with them. They were knowledgeable and did a good job. Their price was a little high.

They could?ve just painted over it. Instead they resanded it, remudded it, let it dry and sanded it again to a point where it looked perfect. They were really good. They worked with us. We had some small issues in some of the rooms because we were using a newer kind of paint. Overall they did great work. They worked fast and cleaned up after themselves too.

It mostly went OK. The interior work looks excellent, and the exterior work is OK given the recent weather and the condition of the deck prior to painting. My biggest complaint is the care that was given to our property and items during the painting. We just discovered 3 days later that our outside garden hose was still turned on and running water into our back yard. Our deck furniture had been placed on already painted, but not dry parts of the deck, and pulled up paint chips as well as got paint on the furniture. The responsiveness of the owner leaves a bit to be desired - especially as I was trying to pay him for the exterior work. While the quality of the interior painting is excellent, we will never use them again.

I received a direct mail flyer in the mail with a coupon. I called Sara and she was very responsive, gave me an accurate estimate and we worked out a date that was good for both of us--three days before Christmas! Her crew showed up on time, did a great job of moving the furniture, covering it with drop cloths and got to work...before I even left my house. I came home from work that evening and my walls were beautiful, my furniture back in place and I was ready for my company.

They were on time and did a good job.

The crew showed up to paint the house on a day that I was going to be out of town. They said they shouldn't need me for anything and would complete the job that day and I could send in the payment next week. Rainshowers prevented them from completing the job that day. I returned home to find that the wood that had been identified to be replaced had been patched and was being painted over rather that being replaced. Had the crew been able to complete the job I never would have known that the wood wasn't replaced until months later when the rot would have reemerged and the whole job would have to be redone. I called Mr. Papageorge on his cell phone and left a message telling him about the problem and saying that I did not want the work crew to continue working on my house until he could see what had been done. I did not receive a return call from Mr. Papageorge and the work crew returned the next morning and began setting up to work. I told them not to work on the house and that I was waiting for Mr. Papageorge to call me. About an hour later I was leaving for work and a painter approached me and said that he had called Papageorge and that "TC said it was okay to finish the job". I told him that it was not okay to finish the job and that I needed to speak with Mr. Papageorge before any work was done. I returned home that evening to find that they had completed the job contrary to my explicit instructions. The work that was done was astonishingly bad. There was still rotten wood on the ground level that was not replaced but was painted over (I have no ladder so can not tell if the same is true for the upper level wood). There were areas that were not painted at all. There was paint spilled on the concrete and deck. There was paint all over the siding, it looked like someone was in a hurry or it was their first time painting. I phoned Mr. Papgeorge the next day and he said that he was going to charge me an additional $400 for the job. I had him come out to actually look at the work and he agreed that it was sloppy and that work that was supposed to have been done was not. He said he would have someone come out to fix the job. I felt as though he understood the problem and that this would be resolved. I was wrong. He sent the SAME crew out and the head of that crew asked me what the problem was. I asked if he had spoken to Mr. Papageorge and he said "Yes, TC said you had some problems so I should come see what they were". I phoned Mr. Papageorge and described the situation. He said that I should just work it out with the contractor that was at my house. I told him that I had hired him not the sub contractor. I am having reputable companies that I find on this site come out to repair the damage and complete the original work. Do not hire this company, read the other reviews here, no one is ever satisfied. T.C. Papageorge will seem very professional and knowlegable but you will be sorry if you enter into business with him. I wish I had found this web site before I had him do the work, I would have saved myself a lot of money and anguish.

I set up an estimate via the website and received an email confirmation of my time, contact information, etc. The person never showed up for the estimate. I called the contact number of the person directly and left a voice mail, never received a call back. I also called and left a voice mail with the "customer service representative" and never received a call back. No attempt to reschedule, and no apology. They will never receive my business.

The guy who came out and did the quote then subcontracted the work out to another company. The crew barely spoke English. They did a mediocre job. They were very quick. They were using a new kind of paint so it might have been that.

Poorly. As I said to Steve -- his crew are NOT interior painters. They don't tape, they don't trim -- they just do the main wall painting - and expect it to look alright? -- The bathroom painting couldn't have been easier - in an off white - and I can still see the poor job on the edging. DO NOT USE these fellows for a finished interior look. They do not clean after themselves either -- each room was left with the all the dust from the job... Steven and his crew were very nice, professional, -- but they really are not painters.

Horrible. They were very sloppy and there is still paint splatters everywhere. They never got the caulking right and the deck had to be re-done. Instead of staining the deck, they painted it a with thick brown paint and it looks terrible! I would never use this company again nor recommend them. The only good thing that came out of this was not paying for the entire job. I refused to pay 100%

The job was generally adequate, but there were several problems. The crew tried to charge us additional fees for the paint, claiming it was not included in the contract. That was resolved with a phone call to the franchise owner. We paid the balance of the bill, but requested that the owner come out to inspect, because we felt there were some quality issues and wanted to discuss some things (difficult to do with non English speaking crew). The owner (TC Papageorge, head coach of the varsity basketball team) did come out the next day, agreed that the work was sub-par in certain areas--they made a mess, certain caulking was not done, missed a few small spots, etc. And the area near the dormer that the homeowner association had questioned really didn't look much better. He shook my hand, promised to send a crew out to remedy, but never did, and wouldn't return phone calls. No crew has ever returned. It appears that Papageorge is now with a different franchise.