What Should I Expect from the Painter?

I guess I should add, this gentleman worked for Sherman Williams for years. I should also mention that the paint he charged us for he tried to take with him but my husband caught that one and said absolutely not.

Updated

I guess I should add, this gentleman worked for Sherman Williams for years. I should also mention that the paint he charged us for he tried to take with him but my husband caught that one and said absolutely not.

Updated

I guess I should add, this gentleman worked for Sherman Williams for years. I should also mention that the paint he charged us for he tried to take with him but my husband caught that one and said absolutely not.

Updated

I guess I should add, this gentleman worked for Sherman Williams for years. I should also mention that the paint he charged us for he tried to take with him but my husband caught that one and said absolutely not.

Updated

I guess I should add, this gentleman worked for Sherman Williams for years. I should also mention that the paint he charged us for he tried to take with him but my husband caught that one and said absolutely not.

The painter I hired gave a detailed itemized quote in writing outlining everything from the job to do to the brand of paint that would be used. The project took two days. Surfaces were protected and he cleaned up after himself.

The man you hired is either not a professional painter at all, or he is an incompetent one. Allowing him keep coming back is not going to solve the problems. Let this guy go and hire a new painter to fix his mistakes and finish the job.

He either doesn't know what he's doing or he's lazy.

He might have worked for Sherwin Williams, but what was he doing? If he was just mixing paint and selling brushes in one of their stores, that doesn't mean he knows how to paint.

I would not wait for him one more Saturday. If you haven't paid him everything, stop. Write up your complaints in a business-like way - on a bulleted "punch list" and compare it, where possible, to the written estimate you received. This should include work he already bid on but specify clean up and preparation/protection of furniture and appliances. The spackling of nail holes is a reasonable task for you, because it lets it all dry, and you should discuss who is to sand the dried spackle. If he does it, you have to pay for his time, and the sanding dust has to be vacuumed up before he paints. Cleaning the dust afterwards is to be expected - it will be in your cabinets and closets - that's just how it goes! Some cheap $1.99 dropcloths will help protect from dust even if they aren't strong enough to withstand a lot of wet paint. So that's a reasonable investment of your time and money. But major clean-up of any wet paint is up to him and should be expected (but obviously you have to spell it out). Putting back fixtures and outlet covers would only happen after all the paint was really dry though - not sure if he screwed up on this or if he would have done it on a timely return trip.

Is he bonded, insured and a member of the BBB? Then I'd tell him he needs to cover any damage and/or you report him with a negative rating on BBB. Withhold final payment until he finishes to your satisfaction.

But I might cut my losses at this point, put the job back out there for bid (Thumbtack is one service you can use) and you're limited to 5 bids on there. People pay to bid though, so you have to be super specific on needs and square footage in your initial post, or you have (in my mind) the moral obligation to let them all come out and bid in person. Otherwise, ask friends and, as TF says, don't go with the lowest bid. Specify everything in writing and get a written estimate with any wiggle room for unexpected problems. If anyone wants to add or change something on the written page, cross out or add and initial it (both parties).

i was paid to paint someones basement rooms for them. it was a living space hallway and bathroom. when i was done the only thing changed was the paint. there were no drips, i patched a few fist size holes and when i was done the homeowner could not tell where the hole was at. i am not a pro. but this guy sounds like incompetent and lazy. find and hire someone else to fix his shoddy work.

For ANY work to be done at my home, I get a detailed quote in writing which details exactly what the person will do and what I expect to be done.

I typically get about 3 quotes and I NEVER go with the cheapest person. You get what you pay for.

I am sorry you are going through this and it is a hard lesson. Hiring people to do work is not fun and takes a lot of work on your part to properly vet them and their work.

Hopefully you can get things repaired so that you are happy with the end work. We have ended up redoing someone's work because it was not the quality job we expected.

This guys doesn't sound like a professional painter at all, just someone who does it on the side.
I always got quotes in writing, and it detailed what work would be done. If he was a pro then prep, small repairs and full clean up would have been included.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this, and not sure what you can do now without a contract (?)
Just keep trying to get him to come back, which will be hard if you already paid him.
And be sure to tell your friends what a crappy job he did so they don't refer him to someone else.

If Sherwin Williams gave you his name, I would definitely let them know everything you told us. He sounds just awful and they need to know. Maybe to protect their reputation, they might do something for you, or at least not recommend this guy anymore.

I used to paint walls as part of my small interior design business. Never would I have left such a mess and if patching a wall was beyond my scope, I wouldn't do it. I always tried to leave a room looking better than when I came, so unless the homeowner insisted they were going to do it, I always replaced the outlet covers, etc. I always swept the floors and walked around to see if I left any drips. One time I subcontracted another painter for a client and he dripped on the carpeting. I followed up and made sure his liability insurance took care of it.

And yes, trim work definitely needs to be mentioned before writing the bid. It actually sounds like you dodged a bullet by him not doing it. Trim work takes a perfectionist. He was NOT a perfectionist.

sounds like a bad painter.

you can either cut your losses or take him to small claims court.
khairete
S.

If you have already paid you should consider stoping payment on the check. IMO this is grounds for him being fired and not paid. Do you have a contract with him? Is there a clause for if you are unhappy with his work?

We have plaster walls throughout our 1907 home, so you can imagine how much of a mess it is every time we have to repair it. The man we hire covers everything, and cleans up 99% of the mess, what's left is me just touching up after he leaves. We had our restaurant professionally painted, I barely lifted a finger in the process except for sections I painted myself. The guy you hired isn't competent and you should not let him do any more damage to your home. Follow the advice below.

Do it yourself.So much cheaper he sounds like a huge idiot.

Tell him to fix things up, or he will not get paid.

Honestly, gather up your paperwork from the transactions with this man. Itemized lists of materials paid for. Any written agreements. Take pictures of the work performed. And if possible, before and after photos. I would certainly take him to small claims court and ask for all fees incurred for filing your claim. If he made an agreement to return and correct or finish work and he never returned, it would be considered theft of services and you should be repaid for any services which he didn't complete or the money it cost you to hire someone else to repair the items he damaged.

It doesn't sound like this painter has been doing this very long.
Painting well takes a lot of prep.
Lots of taping off and using drop cloths to cover things.
You tape newspaper or brown paper to cover large surfaces - like counter tops, appliance tops - cover fan blades by wrapping with paper, etc.
I've known people (who do their own painting) who spend several days taping rooms off - the actual painting and drying takes less time.
And although you can run a fan (like a small stand alone fan) to help keep air moving to help speed up drying - you don't take a blow dryer to anything.
You wait till paint is completely dry before applying next coat.

Painting well is time consuming - takes patience - and you want the time to be taken so the job is done right.
This guy did none of that.
I'd say you have to chalk this up as having a not so good painter this go round.
Trade off with your husband which one of you stays home watching the painter - I think your husbands turn is next.

Additional:
Yeah - this guy doesn't seem right.
Taking the paint you paid for - is just strange.
Complete your last session for him - make sure you've well recorded that you've paid him in full - so he doesn't put a lien against your house for services unpaid for - and don't use him again.
Next time - besides word of mouth - check out for complaints on Better Business Bureau before you hire anyone.
Or use the Yellow Pages and hire a painting company (always check their ratings in BBB).
This handy man - is turning out to not be so handy.

D.

We learned the hard way about contractors coming into our home to perform work. Since that costly mistake? We do NOT allow anyone to work on or in our home without a signed contract.

That contract states the following:
Business name and address
Business insurance and business license for our state/county.
Details of the job: for painting, rooms were measured out and details were provided.
1. which room was to be painted.
2. the size of the room.
3. WHAT was to be painted - walls, ceiling, trim, molding, etc. and the walls are measured and the amount of trim needed, etc.
4. WHAT COLOR the room(s) were to be painted.
5. WHO is to provide the paint.
6. How many people would be working the job.
7. If there is ANY damage to the walls, floors, trim, etc. PRIOR to painting - it would be fixed.
8. WHAT the job entailed, furniture being moved (who would move it), what they took down, they would put back up.
9. Clean up and preparation.

If you have signed a contract and signed a completion form? You're screwed. Sorry. But you signed the job was done.

If you have paid him already? You may stop payment on the check and/or credit card used.

If you paid cash? You're screwed. Sorry. To be blunt. I doubt very seriously that any court would accept your case if you don't have a contract, don't have proof of payment or if you signed the job was completed.

What would I do?
1. I'd hire another painter.
2. Ensure a contract is CLEARLY spelled out and signed.
3. Leave feedback on the other guys website, Better Business Bureau, or Nextdoor.com. Be specific. Don't be rude or mean. Stick to the facts. If you have pictures of before and after and the all the paint drops? Include them.

Good luck!