The Painters

Every Once in about three thousands jobs. Every thing on a job goes better than planned.. I'm a painter at heart but when work slowed when I first got in this business. I had a friend that was a Plumber, and, I would sub contract putting all the finish fixtures in baths and kitchens. So it comes in handy sometimes. This bath she gave me allot of freedom in for choice and direction. It really did turn out beautifulType your response to this review.

Wow I've waited months to respond. But think my customers need to here the other side. I only took the job because he said my work he had seen was so impeccable and my customers were always as happy as I could make them. He lived a couple blocks from me and said his house wasn't going on the market till fall and I could do it on the side. Working a evening a week if I wanted. I reluctantly agreed. The house needing so much in repair. The soffit on the garage had rotted and fell to the ground the second story Deck had fallen of the home years ago and there was a door to a 25 foot drop off the front deck skirting was never completed . The back deck off the back porch was rooted. There were corners missing off the siding and 5 different kinds of white siding on the house. Whom ever did it did it over the period of twenty years, some was steel, some plastic, some aluminum, some vinyl, and some wood. The whole house had never been cleaned on the outside and was dirt covered and half moss covered On the weaker old siding I used a sponge and a garden hose. He had lived there 25 years and said it had never been painted. I then climbed three stories with the lowest power electric green machine washer strapped to my back and hand scrubbed three stories of 25 year old moss and dirt off his white home . I was able to use my gas powered on the back to clean off all the moss that was under where the deck was. And had the vinyl siding. I replaced all the missing corners that nobody had ever done. And painted. Where the oldest siding that had never been painted as long as he lived there matched up with white vinal. there was always a color difference. He watched me crawl all over this three story house add when it came to the decisions to earthier leave the moss on or blast it off he said wash it off because the whole house looked so much better. I also washed all the twenty year old wood privacy fence and re nailed all boards and repaired where the deck falling took it out. There were probably 4-5 spots where there was a inch or so of bare siding. But it was so nice that they have never touched it up and you would only see it if you new where to look. He said blast the moss off. The other two sides I did with a sponge. Now any of my customer's will tell you. I get 300 to wash a house. I get three hundred when I wash Bamigies every month and I do that in 4 hours. His took a week and my electric washer burnt up due to me carrying it three stories on its side for a week gently washing his home. I re secured all decking on the front then got under his porch and chased out the critters that were under there. I skirted the front of the deck and stairs that some other contractor was paid to do. Now the back deck. Railing off and although it was only about two feet off the ground the back door locked because it was rotted and stepped through. I tore that all out and rebuilt trusses. Then replaced threshold at back door and put all new decking down and secured railing back up. Looks brand new. Just like the front deck someone else got paid for . I was told I had all summer to do this on the side by myself. Now he wants the house on the market because it looks great and its summer. The soffit on the garage had leaked so bad it was gone. the roofing crew he had roofed it re sheeted this garage to the 24 inch over hang and started nailing there sheeting about a foot up because all the rafters ends were rotted off. So I go buy all the materials to sister every joice then run a string and a square working upside down and cut all the new sister joices. Nail down there plywood then build all the soffit and new facer board saw tooth cedar the whole soffit all new sister joice ends . 58 feet Then 1by8 fascia and a 1 by 2 saw tooth cedar edge trim lift the shingles and put the metal drip edge all around the garage and re secure the shingles that a roofing contractor got paid for. Then I power washed the garage. Go look at it it looks beautiful. I had two men working with me one 12$ a hr one at 10$ a hr this all took a couple weeks on deck fence garage house siding corners. Now there bill is piling kind of up. I did ask to get the rest of the money in cash. I didn't think I could afford all the taxes, insurance, tools, trucks, labor materials . The list is endless . Now I start talking about the 300 in Materials receipts that he agreed to buy all materials plus 100$ worth if Pittsburg paints best outside white paint and all the stuff extra he had us do that we both wrote down. Now he called me and said one of my men stole a bag of aluminum nails and gutter caps with all the little aluminum pieces and gutter downs. I went there the next day packed all my tools and showed him on both our receipts that the 15 year old kid working at Menards there never sold him them when he put all the parts together . In over thirty five years no person has ever accused anybody on my team of taking anything. I was done the gutters were there and I have paid out over 1500 in labor have a hundred in paint., over three hundred I paid out of pocket for the materials, Lumber you cant see, new thresholds, soffit, trim boards, and I have hundreds of hours in . I proved beyond any shadow of a doubt nobody took a thing. So I said lets settle up I will have a guy come up today roll out one piece gutters and was going to do it for a hundred bucks and I would like paid for at least the materials I spent out of my pocket. And showed him how much I paid out in labor. He said he worked for Rockwell and made a whole lot more than I did and could afford a much better lawyer than I could laughing at all the money I had spent. and Yes, that is the only way us contractors can protect ourselves. I told him ask his high dollar lawyer if his house would ever sell if I slap a lien on it. That shut him up . I said he needed to leave me alone or I would lien his house. well after his house that myself and crew fixed all up sold. look what he wrote about me. all I ever got was 800 for all that work and materials. I did everything I could to make him happy and if someone wants I have the emails he sent me singing my praises. I'm still at my whit's end at all the money my book keeper told me I gave him and he new how hard three of us worked so he could get it on the market. When it was a job I was going to do for a neighbor cheep and do myself over the summer. Like I said I Got 800 just like he said. and now he says I didn't do a great job I'm going to place his emails up along with the other lady that wrote me a bad check. Then They say I didn't do a good job. Even after this I won Top Contractor in Cedar Rapids award from Thumbtack in 2016 and am a four star rated contractor. One of the highest in Thumbtack. go look at my work on these homes. I take great pride and even as those upset for some crazy reason say I'm a great guy, nice, honest, wont stop till its perfect. But This time I had to. Just go look at theses houses for the money I received. I did all I could and I'm sad that they were unhappy. But please look at the contractor I am and, the Quality of work I produce. I will post any house I work on up my web sight to show the true quality of work. As for my name ????? I've had the same name my whole life Please feel free to see my birth certificate, Drivers License, passport , Registration to my truck. why would someone who got so much for so little go out of there way to hurt others. Thumbtack makes sure we are who we say we are. They have Copy's of our Liability policies. I am very proud of my help and the Quality of work we produce. I have never understood some people and the depts. they will reach. But when I walk away Its beautiful . Just go look at any home I have worked on. I'm truly upset that they were unhappy. And if there is something they wanted different just please bring it to my attention and I will go to any length to make my customers happy