UNIVERSITY PAINTERS

The job took about 2 ½ days to complete and finishing late on a Friday evening when it was dark. At that time, we paid the foremen (“Tony” Roberto Vasquez) the entire amount of the job, (plus a generous tip for the two of them). Upon inspection the next morning I noticed a number of flaws and some areas that needed to be re-worked. For example, replacement pieces did not fit cleanly or were not flush revealing distinct edges or gaps when it should be smooth. It appeared the painting or caulking was applied so heavily and quickly that it obscured the trim pattern and just looked goopy. There were numerous nail depressions and gobs of caulking or dirt particles that were simply left on the surface and painted over. (See the attached photos). In addition, the two workmen broke off one of the bricks on my front porch, (which by itself is no big deal, since I figured that they would just repair it). I sent an email with a few photos to Matt Wingate, (Sales and Production Manager who provided me the estimate). I said, “The painters finished late Friday when it was getting dark. I had a chance to look at the work Saturday morning when we were leaving town for the week-end. I think there are some areas that need some touching up or re-worked. I've sent a few photos some as examples, but I think it might be best for you to come by and inspect the work yourself. There is also some damage to one of the bricks on the front porch. Matt’s reply, “I did swing by earlier today. This is one of those cases where the photos looked a lot worse than in person……When the builders construct these 2 story entryways, they are never completely "True". When we replace some pieces, especially with a PVC (which doesn't flex like wood), they don't always match up with the wood areas that have "settled, bowed, and slightly moved out of place". I met with Matt and his foreman, “Tony” Roberto Vasquez, a few days later. Matt claimed again that it wasn’t possible to make pieces match because the original construction was not “True” and things had settled. He continued to make excuses and defend the job as quality work and said my expectations were unreasonable. He finally stated this was a “repair job, NOT a restoration”. I said I expect that the replacement of the wood in the areas that were rotted should look like it was restored to the original condition. I’m repeatedly stated I’m not looking for perfection but professional/craftsman work quality. The work was rushed and amateurish. I could have done it myself, but I’m not a craftsman or professional. That’s why I hired him. He insisted the work done was “professional” and was not willing to perform any additional work. At the end of our meeting he asked Tony about the damaged brick and Tony denied he or his co-worker were responsible. I said there was no damage before the work started and I noted it after until Tony and his co-worker cleaned up and removed their ladders. I received four estimates for the work and chose University Painters because they were the lowest. Matt assured me that they had the skills and experience to do a professional job. He even provided me a reference for a previous job in my neighborhood. The reference checked out. Matt never intended to correct any deficiencies and never even acknowledged my concerns. Instead, he became defensive and claimed I was unreasonable. He even refused to repair the brick, denying all responsibility. I’ll re-contact the contractors who provided higher estimates and have one of them correct the deficiencies left by University Painters. I’ve never encountered a more unprofessional contractor.

They respected the time constraint I was under [HOA Guidelines] and were very responsive for a very small job. Other painters I contacted never replied, or were reluctant because of the size of the job.

Fair. Honestly, the end result is barely acceptable. The workers are sloppy and let the wall paint drip onto the baseboards. When alerted to the specific issue, they alleviated the problem, but several places didn't get resolved. There is paint on the bottom edge of the kitchen cabinets. Just sloppy workmanship. The estimator requested far more paint than required for the job. There is at least 6 gallons of tinted paint left that cannot be returned at some $35/gallon. Additionally the workers opened all the cans of white trim paint which again prevents the extra from being returnable even though more than a gallon remains. Once the work was done, we have not heard from the company representative as to our satisfaction with the job. We can't in good conscience recommend these folks. We have some deck and outside painting yet to be done and that work will go elsewhere.

All work is done by subcontractors and we now have experience with two different ones. Both teams, the interior painters and the exterior painters, were punctual, professional, and did excellent work. Lines that should be straight are straight. Colors that should match do. Work was cleaned up each day. Exterior painters worked long hard hours despite the heat and humidity. We are very pleased with the outcome.

They were horrible. I would not recommend them to anybody. They came to my house and me an estimate and the guy walked out during the middle of the estimate. It was absolutely horrible. He started measuring for the estimate and he left. He didn’t finish. He said he didn't feel comfortable and I didn’t give any reason not to be comfortable in our home. I opened my home to someone who would do an estimate on painting and you're going to go half way through my home and say you're uncomfortable and walk-out, where I had a time off from work to wait for you to come to my house. They were absolutely horrible. I would not recommend their services, don’t call them at all. They are not reliable. They are not dependable.

I was not happy with them at all. When they replaced the wood siding it was not done correctly so I had to have them come back out. Now, six months later some of it is sliding down and has shrunk; insulation is showing. It was not good quality and the paint is not holding up the way it should after a six month period. To call them back is a hassle; I am not getting much response back from the company to come back and fix it under the warranty. I still have issues with them right now. Their price was reasonable.

Great!

Good experience with University Painters. Their webpage has a simple system for scheduling estimates, although they usually have to be scheduled out at least a week or more it seems. Matt showed up on time for the estimate, and after we decided to go with the company a few days later, got us on the schedule to complete the job. The job was originally planned for two days, but they stayed late and got it done in a day. 4 man crew, 5 with the foreman, probably on site painting about 12 hours in all. We have since called them back for estimates on other painting jobs.

Arrived on time, very professional, presented quote promptly. Estimate very competitive. I chose another provider simply because I had seen their work. This would have been my next choice.

This has got to be one of the BEST experiences I have ever had with residential contracted services! From the very beginning Matt was extremely quick to respond to my estimate request. He was prompt in coming to my home and did a very thorough job looking over and clarifying what work needed to be done. I received a very detailed written estimate outlining our agreement and Matt made sure I understood what it included and that I didn't have any questions. Matt followed up with me appropriately to check as to whether or not I had made a decision. I chose University Painters for several reasons; their price was extremely reasonable, and I truly felt like they were professional and had my best interest at heart (and was willing to work within my budget). We agreed to a start date and the crew arrived promptly on the day expected (I even received a reminder call the day before they arrived to insure the date would still work). The crew was EXTREMELY friendly and were very efficient. They got to work immediately power washing, scraping and caulking and worked very hard. They worked consecutive days until the work was completed, this included working on Saturday and SUNDAY! We encountered some problems with my siding (being that it is 100 years old) which made the paint look uneven and "splotchy" after the agreed-upon one coat of paint. They were quick to offer up some options and felt confident they could get it resolved and they did! They ended up putting another two coats of paint on almost the entire house and didn't charge me a dime more than the estimate!!! The house looked fantastic! The color matched beautifully and it was VERY professional looking. Matt followed up with me and came back out to the house to insure that I was satisfied with the job that was done. This was just a great experience from start to finish! Our house has been the envy of the neighborhood and I have been recommending them to everyone I know! Thank you guys so much for such a great job!!!!!!!

A crew of about five or six painters completed the work within four days, working from sunrise to sunset. They were very detail oriented and did a good job on the trim and around the windows. They cleaned up well after themselves.

I was very pleased with the job and the quality of work. The house looks great! The crew was very professional and did a super cleanup. The color that they used was exactly what I wanted and turned out perfect. Both my husband and I love the job they did.