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But now the painter has requested that I buy a new roller and drop cloths (we will have new floors down) so he can finish touch ups and repaint one of the rooms. What?! Does this sound completely off-base to anyone else?
I'm at the point where I would prefer to do the work myself.
Unfortunately, this speaks volumes of the legitimacy of the painter. Did he ask to be paid in cash? Most likely has no real business and even more importantly, he probably has no insurance... so you would be liable if something happened to him while at your place.
At this point, unless the painter is willing to do the work for free, I would just do it myself.
No, I paid him by check. And he does have insurance (he sent me the document).
Quote:
Originally Posted by caspian65
Unfortunately, this speaks volumes of the legitimacy of the painter. Did he ask to be paid in cash? Most likely has no real business and even more importantly, he probably has no insurance... so you would be liable if something happened to him while at your place.
At this point, unless the painter is willing to do the work for free, I would just do it myself.
Okay, so Sherwin Williams has agreed to give me more paint to correct the patchy and discolored walls. And they will give me some touch up paint for the ceilings. Awesome customer service!
But now the painter has requested that I buy a new roller and drop cloths (we will have new floors down) so he can finish touch ups and repaint one of the rooms. What?! Does this sound completely off-base to anyone else?
I'm at the point where I would prefer to do the work myself.
Seriously? He wants you to buy him tools and equipment?
That is crazy, seriously. And yes, way off-base and completely, utterly unprofessional. Drops and roller covers and so on are most certainly not the client's responsibility. Unless that was in your original agreement somehow.
That's sort of like...having your car worked on, the shop makes a mistake and then says they will only fix it if you buy them a new impact driver or set of Snap-On screwdrivers, or something.
Because this thread can be read by anyone: IMHO a major red flag is asking the client to provide materials. On the very rare occasions this happens (since I don't know if the client is going to go get some WalMart crap paint or something that will need four coats to hide) I will put in writing that I will not warranty my work and that additional coats of paint will be x dollars. I'm the professional, I know what is good paint/varnish/stain and what is crap and what will work for the client's needs, so I prefer to supply it so the job comes out right.
I hope you haven't paid him fully for the job! If you weren't about three days drive away, I'd come fix it for ya.
It is good that he has liability insurance; maybe he is just inexperienced and starting out. (Insurance isn't expensive; I pay about $500 a year.) Maybe his heart is in the right place but he just doesn't have the hang of the whole thing yet. Maybe he doesn't have enough work and can't afford new drops and roller covers, not that they're that expensive. Or maybe I am just making excuses for a yahoo....
BTW, with my insurance agency - Farm Bureau - a painter can start an insurance policy for a little over $40 if they go in with a monthly plan. And then drop the insurance but carry the certificate around. Not that anyone has asked me in over a decade, but if someone were to request a certificate of insurance, my agent would mail them a cert directly. I think it includes the coverage limits and what period of time it's good for, which I assume is whenever I am paid up until.
I think at this point you need to suck it up and cut this painter loose. Based on what you have posted, I sure as heck wouldn't be confident that he could make the job right.
PS, I figured SW would comp the paint. They do have very good customer service.
Yeah, too late. I paid him in full when I did the walk through. I thought that was standard procedure. Oh well. You're right. It's time to cut him loose.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chiroptera
Seriously? He wants you to buy him tools and equipment?
That is crazy, seriously. And yes, way off-base and completely, utterly unprofessional. Drops and roller covers and so on are most certainly not the client's responsibility. Unless that was in your original agreement somehow.
That's sort of like...having your car worked on, the shop makes a mistake and then says they will only fix it if you buy them a new impact driver or set of Snap-On screwdrivers, or something.
Because this thread can be read by anyone: IMHO a major red flag is asking the client to provide materials. On the very rare occasions this happens (since I don't know if the client is going to go get some WalMart crap paint or something that will need four coats to hide) I will put in writing that I will not warranty my work and that additional coats of paint will be x dollars. I'm the professional, I know what is good paint/varnish/stain and what is crap and what will work for the client's needs, so I prefer to supply it so the job comes out right.
I hope you haven't paid him fully for the job! If you weren't about three days drive away, I'd come fix it for ya.
It is good that he has liability insurance; maybe he is just inexperienced and starting out. (Insurance isn't expensive; I pay about $500 a year.) Maybe his heart is in the right place but he just doesn't have the hang of the whole thing yet. Maybe he doesn't have enough work and can't afford new drops and roller covers, not that they're that expensive. Or maybe I am just making excuses for a yahoo....
BTW, with my insurance agency - Farm Bureau - a painter can start an insurance policy for a little over $40 if they go in with a monthly plan. And then drop the insurance but carry the certificate around. Not that anyone has asked me in over a decade, but if someone were to request a certificate of insurance, my agent would mail them a cert directly. I think it includes the coverage limits and what period of time it's good for, which I assume is whenever I am paid up until.
I think at this point you need to suck it up and cut this painter loose. Based on what you have posted, I sure as heck wouldn't be confident that he could make the job right.
PS, I figured SW would comp the paint. They do have very good customer service.
The painters' fault in that they should have been aware that there can be differences in batches...they should have reserved some of the first batch for touch up on those walls painted with it, and used the additional paint for a separate wall or walls. Boxing (mixing the paint together, or doing what I just said) is painting 101. Ninety-nine percent of the time, colors will match up perfectly from batch to batch but best to take precautions in case the one percent scenario!
Also, how did they do the touch ups - I'm assuming you mean they had to go back and re-do missed spots? If the rolled the first coat or coats, did they touch up with a brush, or with a roller? Because swiping a loaded brush over a rolled wall will usually look different; it should be rolled or at least dabbed with a brush, even for little spots.
Also I wonder how professional these painters were having the homeowner get the paint. I pay about 60 percent of retail at SW or Benjamin Moore here, figure out how much paint I need for the job, and get it myself. I don't like for the client to provide paint, generally.
I've been a painting contractor since 1979 and if this happened with me (and it or similar things have) I would do a full repaint on the affected walls if they couldn't be fixed, on my dime. No way do I want to leave a client unhappy with a job I did! Are these painters refusing to fix this issue?
I know I'm going against popular opinion here, but I'm putting all the blame on the painters, if they claim to be professionals.
Also as a side note, over five gallons for a living room (walls only?) is really a lot. I do lots of McMansion - type big vaulted spaces and always do two coats and 4-5 gallons suffices for a very big space. Unless maybe they sprayed it, which seems unlikely?
I agree. I think it's the painters' fault too. When you hire a contractor for a speciality (tile, carpentry, painting, landscaping), they should be very knowledgeable and make the effort to inform the customer of these things. I get tired of hiring contractors and then having to do lots of my own research just to make sure things are done correctly. Paint contractors should know about the paint blending and not assume that the customer is a 'paint expert.'
Yeah, too late. I paid him in full when I did the walk through. I thought that was standard procedure. Oh well. You're right. It's time to cut him loose.
Sucks.
My boilerplate contract is "final payment in full upon satisfactory completion of all work." You are correct, I think that is pretty standard.
I do always leave by saying "if you see anything I missed or you're not happy with, please let me know!" I'd absolutely rather be given the chance to fix something than have people say "she missed this and didn't clean up that" or whatever. Since the backbone of any independent contractor is referrals and recommendations, personally I hate the idea of an unhappy client. Since happy clients and repeat clients are what keep me going.
Everyone can screw up. The measure of how worthy that person or business is, is how willing they are to fix their screw-ups.
I painted my living room and foyer sherwin-williams diverse beige and it is grey violet. In different parts of the room and lighting it looks like 2 differ ent colors. It almost looks violet in some areas , especially in natural lighting and it's darker and greyer than the swatch! I might have to repaint! I will Never buy their paint again!
I can't say I've had these problems in the past with either a painter or their paint in general. But, I have been painting all winter long in our house and have been using their super paint. Recently I have switched over to Home Depot Marquis paint instead, for the simple fact that it doesn't smell like urine. We've been painting bedrooms, and even today, several weeks later, the rooms still have that paint odor from the SW paint. I've done a couple rooms with the Home Depot paint (office, playroom, dining room) and none of them smell nearly as strong, nor smell for nearly as long.
OP -in the future, just make sure they're using microfiber rollers (assuming a flat/semi-smooth surface like drywall). During this winter's projects, I learned a lesson that the microfiber rollers go a long long way. What used to take two gallons to get done with a double coat with the other roller types, is only taking me one, and the results are prefect (no roller marks).
IF Pulte uses the same product nation wide, they used Sherwin William Builders Solution line of paints. I have issues with the product for most residential uses. The paint is 47% water so for every 4 mils of paint applied, you net a 1.3 mil paint film. The biggest issue is the talc used in the paint is a known carcinogen. So if the ceiling is painted, I'd get another coat of some brand of paint that is talc free. Here, Pulte does not paint the ceilings. They spray the ceilings with acoustic. The fluffy stuff that likes to fall off. They do not paint the ceilings at all, just leave it the natural grey white color. FWIW, in most cases, you can touch up small areas using spray Kilz. The Kilz in a quart or gallon can is not the same color as the spray. So use the spray only and in very light coats.
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Diverse beige is a weird color
