(this review is about the Fox Valley North team, Kevin's team) I don't recommend Kevin's guys. I painted 80% of my house by myself and had them come do the high peaks. Their portion is sloppy. I had to paint over their edging. They dripped a lot on my deck, they dripped a lot on my skylight, they dripped on my roof. We had to have them come back to attempt to clean up. They didn't clean the skylight and now won't answer our calls. I'll be using a different painter for the future jobs. read more

My house is in St. Charles, just off Fox Chase Blvd. I contacted Susan and Kevin six years ago to paint the exterior of my house that I had then just purchased. It hadn't been painted since it was built, which at that time was 27-years. It was in very rough shape on the North/East side. When the job was complete, it looked GREAT! I contacted them again this fall due to pealing and checking of the original now 33-year old paint, again on the NE side of the house. Kevin gave me a very fair price and the work began. The crew worked very hard, did a lot of prep work, including re-caulking, and even used a special primer to aid in the prevention of checking and pealing. Once again, the house looks GREAT. Susan contacted me a week after the job was complete to ensure I was completely satisfied, and then sent me the bill. Think about that, they worked at-risk, knowing their quality and my perceived value would prevail. Of course, I paid in-full with a smile and will recommend them to my neighbors, friends, and family. Thank you Susan, Kevin, and your fantastic crew! read more

Excellent workmanship. Very friendly and professional staff. I had my entire house painted including kitchen cabinets and built ins. Beautiful job. Their caulking skills are also amazing. Highly recommend!!! read more

Working with both Kevin and Susan was such a positive experience. Susan is very knowledgeable in assessing your style, what you're looking for in envisioning your space and educating you on how to choose colors. We had all the rooms painted in our home and it's amazing how all the colors and rooms now flow. Their crew was very nice, professional and detailed doing an exceptional job which included drywall repair. I'd highly recommend them as you know who's behind the job. read more

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I needed my front porch painted on the inside, as well as areas on the outside. Honestly, I could've done a much better job. But I didn't have the time, so I am willing to settle for a mediocre job. The coverage was somewhat disappointing. I will most likely have to go over some areas. But the biggest disappointment is the damage from paint splatters on my house when they were cleaning the brushes, as well as on my screen. I have no idea how they got it on the screen! Also, my house number was damaged. The crew was polite, and I had no problem with Kevin or Susan . I just think that the crew could've done a much more professional job, especially considering how expensive it is to hire painters read more

I hired them to paint an extensive amount of work on the interior of our house and they were utterly HORRIBLE and Kevin lied about their prep process extensively. I explicitly indicated what brand of paint, what color and what finish (flat/eggshell/satin) and what formulation (latex/oil) for every single surface in the home. They acknowledged what was specified well ahead of time and they proceeded to use the wrong paint/finish/formulation all over the house!! Maddening! They also prepped nothing. ZERO caulking whatsoever!!! Liars! Then Susan comes into my home and tries to run roughshod over me, dismissing me as the husband and speaking only to my wife about color and trying to categorically dismiss me at every turn. I painted for years for the park district and became an expert, painting hundreds of facilities year after year, making daily runs to the paint store. When I saw them slapping on paint with zero caulk, using wrong materials/paints/sheens I stopped them and prepped ahead of them caulking it myself and straitening out the product use. They are HORRENDOUSLY ARROGANT and are non-responsive to all my calls/concerns. Kevin, trying to defend his horrible demeanor and painting quality says "we paint million dollar houses!" Telling me my $530,000 House is nothing. I didn't have time to do the work but ended up doing 1/2 the work they were contracted for. And for Susan to dismiss me?! Last fall I had two REAL designers and decorators ringing my doorbell to ask if they could pull colors that I chose inside and out....one asked if she could bring the client and I said yes. So Susan your taste is brutal and your customer service is God-awful and your painters and your word and contract are worth nothing. Don't EVER hire these people. All they are is the "middleman". When you're the middleman you better deliver EXQUISITE customer service. They are the worst middlemen I have ever seen in 50 years. They are what the pro painters call "Slingers" = horrible careless painters. Any rebuttal will be complete B.S. Stay away! read more

Wasn't planning to write a review; let bygones by bygones, but when I saw the paint can in the garage this morning, it sent me over the edge. The painting crew was great, proud of their work, and did a nice job. The CertaPro (CP) owners dropped the ball in client service and communication. 1) I specifically asked for Benjamin Moore exterior paint. Sent a screenshot of the color/formula to CP from an old paint can last paint job. Instead, got Sherwin Williams. No one told me. Irrelevant if the paints are comparable, or one's better. I'm the client, I'm paying the bill. I didn't get what I asked for. 2) No email texts to advise when the painters were arriving; they just showed up. Texts/calls are common courtesy; noticed the painters had cell phones. 3) Noted at the time of the estimate, living room window sill should be caulked. Had to call the painters back as they were leaving. Response, "no one told us." 4) Damage to property. Japanese Maple in the back could have been roped off, same as last paint job. Instead, painters cut branches w/o my knowledge or consent. Sent text and photo to CP, zero response. Painters told me, "Sue said to cut down anything in the way." Next day, painters finished -- and roped off the tree -- with no problems. Spoke to Kevin when he asked for payment and was compensated $200 for the damage but only because I stridently requested it. Was told, family emergency precluded communication. Understand emergencies, but I didn't know that at the time, so I can only judge my experience before and after. Communication is paramount in a service business, unfortunately, it was severely lacking. read more

I hired them to paint the exterior of my rental property. I walked around the property with Kevin and pointed out several things, including 2 areas where woodpeckers had made holes in the siding. We had put flashing on those areas temporarily until the wood could be repaired and the siding painted. Kevin noted on his estimate that the wood would be repaired. Upon supposed "completion" of the job, I went to inspect it and found that the flashing was never removed nor patched. They had actually painted right over the flashing!! Really??? The house, especially the south side, was peeling quite heavily, so I knew (even though I am not a professional painter) that when the siding was power washed and scraped, the majority of the cedar would be exposed. I was told that they take great care in cleanup and that they will tarp areas and be careful not to trample plants etc. Upon my initial inspection, I found paint chips everywhere! It was a disaster. Kevin argued with me about how many "bags of paint chips" his guys brought back with them. Well, that's fine and dandy but they left probably a full contractor bag of paint chips all over the yard, deck, front stoop, driveway and grass! There were many areas that obviously were not scraped at all where peeling paint still remained. I could pick paint chips off with my finger nail. I had them come back to remediate the above concerns. Kevin called this a "warranty call" which made no sense to me as in my opinion, this job had not been completed. Upon my 2nd inspection of the "completed" job, the many areas of the siding, eaves and overhangs that showed bare wood underneath had not been fixed. I emailed pictures of the areas to them on two separate occasions. You could stand at the curb and see the bare wood from the street!!! Kevin argued with me on the phone for several minutes about how professional their job was and that they have never had problems like this before. He sent a painter to the residence for a 3rd time again for a "warranty call" even though the job had not been completed to my satisfaction. I was lied to about the solid stain that they were to going to use. In the bid he quoted me a solid stain that sells for $65 a gallon. In reality, they used a stain that sells for only $43 a gallon. I had called a paint retailer in the area and asked the difference between the product I was quoted and the product that was used. When called on it, Kevin got angry and kept telling me I read the bid wrong and that they used what he quoted. Funny then, how the cheaper stain can was left at the property...??? Kevin and Susan were told multiple times that I needed to be contacted in advance in order for me to be able to let the renters know when to expect someone. They own a dog that can be aggressive to people she doesn't know and I needed to make sure that the dog did not have access to the backyard on the days the painters were going to be there. Kevin texted me at 10:46PM on a Sunday night telling me that a painter would be there the next morning. I did not get this text until 7am so was unable to make the renters aware to keep the dog in the house. The painter showed anyway, letting himself into the back yard without permission. Thankfully the dog remained inside the house while he was there. All in all the job was sub-par. I will never hire them again, nor would I recommend them to anyone! read more

This is the second time I've used Certa Pro of Batavia. Kevin and Susan are great to work with and their crew does outstanding, meticulous work! I used them on a previous home for full exterior work and on my current home for painted exterior trim, door stain, and interior office. I couldn't be happier with the quality and neatness. Place looks brand new! I'm so glad to have them as a resource and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend! read more

I will NEVER......EVER hire these guys again. The owner is arrogant, rude and he doesn't respond to multiple phone calls. One day, FOUR painters showed up to my job site...the next day, ONE GUY. No wonder it took four days. And, they didn't do a very good job. The owner said they'd power wash the outside, prior to staining, using a cleaner. All they did was use a power washer with plain water. There's plenty of painting contractors out there. Never use this one again. read more

We awarded our exterior house painting contract to Kevin because he said all the right things. He described a thorough prep process that he, himself, would do because he's lead certified. Guaranteed the job would be done within a month of signing contract. Gave a good price. Once the contract was accepted, I never saw Kevin again. He also stated that his wife is a designer, and she would be happy to come by to help me find the color choice I wanted. Multiple inquiries: she doesn't respond. I submitted our contract on Jun 12th, along with a photo of a home exterior I liked to begin the discussion about color choice. It's been a particularly rainy summer, so I wasn't surprised when the month came and went with no work started on the exterior. A week after the original deadline I still hadn't heard anything, and contacted Kevin and Susan expressing understanding about weather -- inquiring when work would begin. Susan responded in a voicemail that, ironically, our project would begin the next day. I called back right away and upon identifying myself, stating that she'd literally *just* left me a message, explaining where my house was and that our project was next -- everything she'd just said -- she had NO idea who I was. On and on I explained, and she remained clueless for quite some time. Very bizarre. Finally, she confirmed that her team was currently "putting finishing touches on a home, and planned to power wash ours the next day", Tuesday. I shared that I was leaving that morning, returning Thursday eve, for a business trip, and she said that she would need our colors before Thursday eve, as they'd be painting by Thursday morning. She asked if I wanted another short project put in front of ours to give me time, bumping back ours to the following Monday, and I told her, "No, it's so important that this gets completed. I'm willing to rush around." She said to send her my list of colors via email, and they'd see us the next day -- no problem. I finally discussed color advice with her during this call (she said she hadn't responded to my emails about color -- our contract attached -- because, again, she "didn't know who I was"?!). I asked for tips on the sage green I'd sent in a photo. When I reached the store, I found she'd given me a bunch of greys. So I chose the color on my own, rushing back and forth Monday night and Tuesday morning so our project could begin as stated. i heard nothing as the week progressed, so assumed all was proceeding as planned. I arrived home Thursday night expecting an at least partially painted house. Instead, NOTHING had been done. Not even the washing, despite the fact weather had been perfect. I reached out an asked what was happening, expressing frustration that we were now two weeks behind "worst case scenario date" and that I rushed around to get colors for no reason. i emphasized, again, that we had a very important deadline of August 5th that needed to be met. This pattern continued four times: they'd give arrival dates, then act like they'd never given arrival dates -- condescendingly denying that these conversations with them ever took place. Contractors, not Kevin, finally showed up. They barely washed the house, then sprayed paint all over chipped / peeling trim without prep -- literally painting dirt and cobwebs into the white. I called Kevin and Susan again, and Kevin responded the next day saying that they don't prep wood surfaces: even though this is what he described to me in person as we walked around the house looking at bad areas during the quote, it's written in the contract and it's in their brochure. Just mind-numbing and ever so frustrating. We terminated the contract. read more

CertaPro Painters of Fox Valley - Supposed "finished" trim work: painted over existing peeling paint without prep. Already cracking off. - Painters Near Me - Batavia, Illinois

The owner is rude and arrogant... Thankful we didn't hire him especially after reading the previous reviews.. It seems this is the trend with this guy. Keep looking ..there are professionals out there that actually care about their business and their customer. read more

Kevin provided a quote which I thought was reasonable. When he left I discovered a large oil stain from his car in my driveway. I am still trying to clean it up. I reached out to both Kevin and Susan over a week ago and have not heard back. Unprofessional! I reached out to them to save some work, not create more! read more

Just a word of caution. CertaPro of Fox Valley painted our house in late fall 2019. The basic painting was fine and the owners gave the impression of being very professional but in the end were not. To over simplify a complicated situation copper gutters that were installed just weeks before CertaPro painted the house were damaged. The damage could have been caused by a contractor recommended by CertPro (CertPro provided a bid on behalf of the contractor...I never met him) who installed some new fascia on a shed dormer but it is more likely someone from the painter's crew caused the damage. Nobody would admit responsibility and CertaPro, even thought they visited and were to have some discussion and get back to me chose to ignore the situation and hope it would go away. I shouldn't have paid them for their services (or withheld part of the billed amount) but that isn't how I live my life. As a result, I paid $1,200 to have the damaged 3l foot section replaced. On top of that, they painted shutters that were to be stained with a special formula (developed by an architect) that we had used for 25 years after I had tracked down the needed supplies and driven to Wisconsin to purchase them (formula for paint and paint thinner that is available is different in WI than IL). The painters showed up unannounced on a Monday morning and were able to get the shutter stain components from someone who just happened to be in our home cleaning at the time. They did not call for clarification on how to mix the 3 components, as instructed, and just went ahead and painted. The owners never even apologized for this or a few other mistakes I mentioned. I would have been more focused on the shutter issue if the gutter damage had not been so gut wrenching. So, they will do an ok job paining based on my experience but mange them carefully and don't be swayed by the impression they try to make - professional and honorable. read more

Great service! Great Quality! Painters were neat & professional. All work done on time and price was very reasonable! Will definitely use again! read more

I just had to fire this company half way through a job. Similar other reviews I was told how meticulous the painters would be and that all prep work would be included. There was ZERO prep work done. I hired them to do one ceiling and all the trim in my house. They did not buff or prime, they painted over chips and the paint is already bubbling less than 24 hours later. I was totally taken aback by the absolute lack of concern from Kevin, the owner. He told me that my expectations were too high!!!!!!!! I then was totally over charged for the work that was done. I now have to pay to have it redone. I am so disappointed and feel very take advantage of. I would NEVER recommend these people to anyone. read more

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Very pleased with workmanship! They were very professional and knowledgeable...very impressed that they arrived, not only on time, but early and finished job in one day! I am also glad I trusted Susan with color selection ....she was right..colors work great together! read more

Very resonably priced. Great communication through out the job and delivered a clean great looking external paint application. I would use their services again. read more

We had our house painted 2 months ago and were not satisfied with the work. The patch work and seams were not a good quality and still have ridges. We contacted Susan at the company and she scheduled someone to come out and look at it. After the painter no-showed, we got in touch and she said the painter got sick and she emailed us, but it was at the wrong address. We rescheduled an no one showed up for the second appointment. There was no contact made by the company. We have tried several times since to get in touch with Susan and there has been no response. It is disappointing that they have not responded or made an effort to correct their sub-par workmanship. read more

I could not have been happier with the painting job they did on the outside of our house. I tend to be very picky when hiring someone to work at my house but I had no complaints. More surprisingly they knocked the job out in 2 days (3700 sqft house). Hector and his crew are great! read more

Unfortunately their work is completely inconsistent (specifically: CertaPro of Batavia) while very expensive/overpriced. This second time around was a disaster and the painter who did part of the work was just not good. The lines were all croaked and it looked messy overall. The franchise owner, Kevin, is not much on professional protocol and comes off as arrogant and patronizing, talking over you. He refused to correct the work when given the chance to do so and wrote me a padded email but I could read between the lines. I would not EVER EVER EVER hire them again for THE FOLLOWING reasons: A: The final product was poor and they refused to fix it B: the franchise main owner is not accommodating but rather a bit rude. C: When I stated that customer service contacted me he (Kevin Holmberg)lied and stated that he hired them as if to dismiss any concern. In fact the customer service is a company hired by the corporate office of CertaPro to monitor the quality of work by the various franchise owners. read more

My rating is really no stars ****BE AWARE*** they use subcontractors who may not be professionals***** THIS HAS BEEN AN AWFUL, AWFUL EXPERIENCE 4/2015: They were very responsive and helpful until after they painted my house (exterior). First of all, it was painted the wrong color. They came out quickly and did paint my house the correct color. Then I made the BIG mistake of paying them even though I was suspicious of how all this work could be done in a matter of hours. I wasn't able to take a close look at the work until the weekend. I feel they really rushed this repainting. There were paint "slobbers" on my gutters, downspouts and eaves. There is an area above the garage that wasn't given a second coat, they didn't cut-in on the siding, there were areas that weren't painted all. The owner came out to look at the "warranty work" that needed to be done and said they would be out shortly. I have called and left messages. I've been patient. They don't return my calls anymore. I am very frustrated at this point. I used to come home everyday hoping I'll see that the "warranty work" has been done. Its been months and I've given up hope. I've had college kids do a neater job and more thorough than these professionals. | |Oh, and if you use them, don't expect a receipt unless you keep pestering them for one. |ADDENDUM 7/31/15: Still no CertaPro. So I started to call other painters that I have used in the past come out to give me an estimate to "finish" the work. The first thing they said was "why did they paint your house with paint and not stain, why were the shutters painted in a flat?" I hadn't realized my house had latex paint on my cedar siding. I ordered stain. Since I wasn't left the extra paint ( that I bought and should be mine) I didn't know. My plastic shutters were painted with stain. The other painters found many more things wrong with the paint job. Some they can fix (an extra cost to me) and some they can't. Can't do anything about the wrong kind of paint on the cedar siding. I deserve a full refund for an awful paint job and awful service OR pay a competent painter to fix it. If you decide to use CertaPro, supervise them closely, make them leave all paint cans, demand an invoice for the paint and a written proposal and lastly, most importantly, DO NOT PAY THEM until you are completely satisfied. ADDENDUM 2: 8/2016: Certapro Fox Valley had the audacity to send my account to a collections attorney. I asked for verification that my siding was painted with stain and my shutters with latex, two coats of STAIN were applied, scraping/priming/caulking done per the contract. No answer. I went to IL Attorney General's Ofc Consumer Protection Bureau and they didn't respond to them either. I sent a letter to the CEO of CertaPro Corporate and again no answer. As of 1/2017, no answer from any of them. Oh, and the cost to fix this disaster is estimated at $10,000+ I'm left with this nightmare read more

Excellent customer service and workmanship. Worked with us to get us in quickly as we were listing our house for sale, and very pleased with quality of work, courteous employees and even clean up. Would definitely recommend! read more

DO NOT hire this company, at least not for indoor painting. The premise of their sale is that a)they are more expensive but they're worth it, b)indoor painting is different than exterior painting, and c)once they start a job, they finish it (they don't pull people off for other jobs). Our experience was much different. They must have gotten behind on other jobs before they started, and put two exterior painting people on our house, painting interior trim. They did such a horrific job, to fix it, we would have to have it all re-sanded and start over (no thanks). People kept getting pulled in and out of the job, and it took four weeks to finish correcting some (not all) of the screw ups in which time we had a full screened in porch built on the house. We are having the entire exterior of our home repainted next year and we will NOT be using CertaPro Painters!!! read more

I would never recommend Certapro to anyone! The workman they subcontracted to do the outside of my house and deck did a very very poor job and I could have probably done a better job myself. You can see the old stain in between the boards of my deck, they didn't prep it right at all, and it is already starting to chip! There is also a strip of caulk on the side of my house that they forgot to stain and they did a poor job doing my garage doors. They also didn't clean up very well at all, they didn't put stuff that was in my yard back to where it originally was, and left the light that was attached to my shed on the roof and never put it back on! I have called and e-mailed the owner and his wife and neither one has responded to me. Not a good way to do business at all and I am very very disappointed. Do yourself a favor and never use Certapro or trust Kevin or Susan!! read more

Out of the top 10 reasons to use CertaPro Painters they did meet 1)Quaility, 2) Experience 8) Security 9) Safety . The ones they didn't meet are 5) color that was recommended by the owner is horrible, 6) Details - no communication (showed up while I was on vacation with no notice). 7) No Surprises - Painted trim that wasn't to be painted. No details of the project start and no communication with the supervisor. 4) Flexibility - told me that the project wouldn't start until the carpentry was completed. Carpentry was completed after the painting. 3 Value The main reason I selected CertaPro besides all their promises was for help selecting a color. I will need to have my house repainted now and not them. Painters applied 2 coats of paint and completely missed spots in the same place and when I pointed out the you could see through the two coats his reply was it was raining the day they painted. I was on 3 days of vacation in California and didn't even know it rained. read more