Hello.
We recently moved from Mississauga to London and we wanted to focus on the move instead of the painting. So I hired Certa Pro Painters to remove the popcorn from the ceiling paint all bedrooms/closets, hallway, doors and trim on the second floor.
The quote was par with other companies and the information I provided was the same for each company and was sourced from the MLS listing (floor plans with measurements and photos). I made sure that I provided full disclosure of the condition of the ceiling, walls and trim as I wanted no surprises.
I didn't want to hire a company that had seasonal staff or contracted there work out and I was told that the staff had been working for years with CertaPro and are well versed with popcorn ceiling removal and painting.
I provided a schedule and I confirmed the timelines were reasonable and was told 'NO PROBLEM and if they fell behind they would make sure they would quickly pick up slack to stick with the schedule. They seemed reasonable. So we hired them.
Day one of the job started terribly and went downhill from there. They came to work without the proper equipment. On the evening of the first day, they increased the price of the job by $1500 and I asked them to justify the cost increase as I was fully transparent. They complained about the popcorn ceilings and how they need to rent equipment and they held off coming to the job site as we negotiated. At this point, I felt that they tried to take advantage of our situation and they had me over a barrel and when we finally came to a reasonable price they started to come back to the job site but for a few hours, a day and they never followed the schedule.
When on the Jobsite they complained "DAILY/Hourly" about the work and that I underpaid for the job. There complaining was so bad that I ask the operation manager to bring someone else and was told that he was the only person they had on staff that could do the job. I even forwarded the text to the operation manager from the staff explaining that this is unprofessional and if the staff had problems with the price I paid to take it up with management.
Suddenly defects such as nail pops and problems they created ( areas they plastered and painted over without sandings, paint runs) became extra expenses to repair. Their staff was comprised of paint contractors which worked with them for weeks. It was rare to have them come to the Jobsite for a full day of work. I couldn't even walk through my home and be in the same room as the painters as that would upset them.
2 days before moving the operation manager showed up and I pointed out the defects. I showed him problems in a lot of areas. He assured that it would get fixed and he would work on it himself.. (I called the moving company and was able to push the moving date by one day). Giving the painters more time to paint. The painters did finish but left a lot of defects.
I paid them but held back $500 and they were supposed to come in and fix the defects. I was more concerned about the stress they would cause me and my family so my wife and I decided to fix the defects ourselves.
I have had a lot of experience at home Renos. I usually paint myself as my father was a painter and he had taught me how to paint over years. This was the first time I ever hired someone to paint and it will be my last.
I do not recommend CertaPro Painters London as my experience with them was by far the worst I had.
