CertaPro Painters® Of Alexandria

very well, on time, on budget

Very good, no problems.

unknown

unknown

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Overall t hey did a good job starting with the power washing and protecting other surfaces. On the whole it was professionally done but I did advise them to check with homeowners in advance about neighbor access. It wasn't something I thought about being necessary. They should also be more thorough in their clean-up. One neighbor refused access to their deck and yard to paint a small side section of my house (townhouse) and Certa Pro manager and painters handled that well as the neighbor was quite rude. That portion remains unpainted but is fortunately in the back and not easily visible. There were some small things overlooked which I had specifically requested and the painter had to come back the next day to complete. (caulking trim over a doorway, painting bases under outdoor lights) There was also some mis-communication between the manager and the crew about some carpentry work to be done on some trim. Consequently it wasn't done and I'll have to get someone else do do it next Spring. They did not clean up thoroughly which I had to do. (left tape, water bottles in yard; over spray on some surfaces was not cleaned off).

See comments above.

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Professional. Good work. Very satisfied.

|It went well. They started and finished on-time and I was able to have my home in order for Thanksgiving.

Overall they did an okay job. Nothing remarkable.

Pleased with the work. Painter was very polite. Cleaned up well before they left.

The company representative Sami, was always available for me whenever I had questions or concerns. Sami was honest from the estimate to the completion of the job.

We haven't made a decision to do our work yet, but we are very much leaning towards them. We had some issues that we can't move forward to work yet, but we will call them again. They are very professional. They are very prompt and very considerate. They asked really good questions, which gave me a lot of confidence. We got the references right away. The guy emailed me his license and insurance. He was so thorough. We called all his references and they are always ten times for him. From what we are getting from talking to people is that sometimes things are perfect, but he is always willing to jump on it. You don't have to worry; you will get what you want. It's not like you get a crappy kind of contractor who just leaves you hanging; he always follows up. If you don't like some things, he will fix it that's the biggest thing I have heard. He also gave me another guide to help me with some appliances stuff that was fantastic, but we are a little sketchy about it because he's making me get my oven before he decides how much it's going to cost to install it. He had also been very helpful in giving me other people. He was great to work with. The big deal is he doesn't do his work, he has his people do the work; but might be another issue.

Pros:Certa Pro Alexandria VA offered a very same initial $7900 bid as University Painters but they gave a 10 percent discount when I mentioned their WTOP ad. The Alexandria franchise owner and general manager Sami Salam was very good in his presentation and presented detailed information on the company and the work they were able to do.The work was done on schedule in a reasonable amount of time. Cons: I am rating Certa Pro only fair for the following reasons: I was very specific about concerns with spray painting the house and asked for brush and rolller only in my initial meeting with Sami Salam. The house was sprayed regardless and when I complained I was told by Sami and the foreman that they would roll a coat over the sprayed areas which neighbors have attested did not happen. ( I realized after they started that the contract did not specify roller and brush only which University Painters offered for the same price - my mistake). The house was to be painted with a satin finish (I have the painting crew foreman an old gallon of the Duron paint with the same color and finish) but they instead sprayed with two coats of flat paint. After giving a confused explanation about satin not being offered so they went with flat instead of semi gloss (one version from the foreman and a different story from Sami) they resprayed the whole house with two coats of semi-gloss. No ground cloths were put on the exposed lower roof areas when got a a mist of yellow paint as a result. The paint was removed or covered after the fact but the multitone architectural shingles do not look as fresh as other higher second story areas of the roof. Other outside areas of exposed brick and light fixtures also ended up with random bits of paint some of which they addressed and other small bits I took care of myself so I would not have to deal with them again. Communication and responsiveness was poor in general with the foreman. If I pointed out a concern, I got a confused response initially and would have to keep insisting that certain areas had to be fixed which did eventually happen. Foreman was not a native English speaker but spoke English well enough to converse - probllem seemed more just a matter of ability and professionalism. In the end, I received an adequate painting job of only "fair" quality on my home and was relieved to have the workers simply complete the job. I will be watching closely to see if any issues arise during the two year warranty period.

I had made an appointment with this vendor to get an estimate for removal of wallpaper and to install new wallpaper in a bathroom. I confirmed the appointment by email. The vendor never showed up, nor did I get a telephone call why they didnot keep the appointment.

First day started well. Team of 8 guys showed up. Then the rest of the job was 2-3 at most. Had to request company to remove bathroom towel racks/toilet paper holders multiple times. Company repainted one room the wrong color. Company volunteered to repaint it the right color, but after about 2 weeks in my house, I had to just live with wrong color to have the job finished and get my house back.

We called Certapro for an estimate for interior painting. They arrived on time for the appointment and the representative was able to give us a detailed estimate on-site with his laptop. He was very professional, but the price was too high.

I called several companies for an estimate. Sami came over as scheduled and provided an estimate. I narrowed my decision down to two companies and I am glad I went with Certa Pro. We scheduled the start date and the team arrived as scheduled. I was amazed when I got home the first day and saw the work that had been completed. It took 3 days and the job was completed. A day or two after the job was completed, I noticed several nail pops that had not been fixed. I called Sami back and he immediately sent someone over to fix the problem. Customer service was great. I like my painted rooms and I will use the company again.

Showed up on time for estimate with all business documentation and examples of previous work. Painters were very professional. They were neat and took only a break for lunch. The owner/manager showed up during and after the job to inspect. Overall, the job was very well done

CertaPro sent a qualified person to remove the old wallpaper and prime the walls. They then sent Yama Aziz to hang the paper. Yama was personable, professional and did an A+++++ job of handing the wallpaper in a small room with lots of angles. I am extremely pleased with the job that Yama did! If you ever contract with CertaPro in Alexandria to have wall paper installed, be sure to ask for Yama.

The company showed up on time but the condo management office delayed their entrance onto the condo grounds until my wife vouched for them. The proceeded to expertly paint our entire condo.

The painting that they did for the most part was very good. Unfortunately, they did not leave me spare paint for all of my rooms, only some of the rooms. I can't match the paint because they took a lot of the paint with them. That was a major frustration. I have a custom painted wall in my kitchen and I had a mark in the wall from where a picture had been hung and I wanted to see if they could patch the hole and match the custom paint as much as possible. The guy who tried it didn't know how to do it. He kept trying unsuccessfully. I ended up with a large blotch on my wall. They ended up painting the wall white in my kitchen that did not match the rest. This was inexcusable. I was upset that they put someone on this job that really didn't know what they were doing.

Although CertaPros prices were not the lowest, I was impressed with the professionalism of the proposal and the credentials of the principal. They began the job within a day or two of the projected start date. They were presented with some interesting challenges such as painting the siding of the house without damaging a large wisteria vine that grows along the side of the house. The vine is an impressive feature of the houses street scape. I must say I was a little surprised when they took the vine down to paint the siding. They got it back up but secured it with ropes when I had steel cables and U-bolts securing the vine to the house. I pointed out that I want the steel cables and U-bolt arrangement restored which they did. Some of the final adjustments to the vine I had a to and wanted to perform myself. I think all is well with the vine and will know next Spring.

The estimate forms I was given were not correct, and were never fixed. For example, my garage door and soffit were not to be painted, but they were listed on the estimate. I was never able to get a satisfactory answer as to whether this affected the price. The painters did not show up at the appointed time on two different occasions, including one occasion on which I had taken off work in order to meet their schedule. My maroon front door was partially painted a deep burnt orange before the painters called my attention to the color difference. They planned to fix it the next day until I insisted it be fixed that day. One of my windows still has paint smudges on it, which they at first tried to claim were old, then half-heartedly cleaned. Actual painting was OK in quality, but not spectacular.