In mid-November, Elco Painting was hired to paint several exterior doors and to complete a rather significant interior, residential painting and staining project in the newly renovated part of our home.
After six days indoors, we stopped the work upon discovering the workmanship was so horrendous.
After our fears and concerns were qualified by professionals, knowledgeable in the painting and staining field, we requested Elco vacate the premises.
Some examples of the shoddy workmanship are, multiple stain application misses, mottled and mismatched stain on railings and adjacent woodwork, polyurethane and paint applied over surface debris, stain and polyurethane on all tops and bottoms of the metal balusters of three newly constructed, custom wooden railings, paint and stain on door hinges and adjacent woodwork, paint and stain applied over insufficiently sanded and cleaned wood surfaces, paint drips, orange peel textured painted surfaces, over debris, front door handle part found in the front yard, intact heating baseboards primed for paint, and paint and/or primer on cabinets, door handle/s, new light switches, floors, window glasses, weather stripping, fireplace stone, casings, etc.
Additionally, as a consequence of what has occurred here, there are multiple integrity issues with the stained, and debris covered polyurethane sealed, custom built railings and base bullnoses, as well as the garage entry door and stairs. Unfortunately, the list could go on. (Photos and videos are available.)
In actuality, none of the surfaces were prepared sufficiently, protected adequately, or painted and stained with care and precision.
It has been absolutely heartbreaking and extraordinarily stressful. Every surface needs to be redone.
Accordingly, we requested a meeting with the company owner/s. Steven Elliot, Jr., et.al, came to assess and inspect the completed work.
We were told, our concerns were valid, but they could/would be remediated, if given a chance. Elco's retort was, the job had not been completed.
That may be true of the painted surfaces, but stained surfaces are extremely different. How can the orange opaque faux stain, with sloppily applied polyurethane, on new, hand-picked, beautifully grained wood (which was to be completed with "real" stain) be fully removed and restored? It cannot be.
Consequently, the desired/requested woodgrain detail and color can no longer be achieved We did not contract for that, verbally, or in writing. The new wood was to have been stained to match the existing stained wood, throughout the rest of the house.
As for the custom railings and kitchen-garage entry door, it has been professionally advised; we replace them because it would be cost prohibitive and fruitless to try to sand to where you might be able to stain darker.
Hence, painting was advised, of course that is, if the iron balusters are not compromised when attempting to remove the stain and polyurethane from each of them.
If we are now required to paint everything, our total color palette must change. Once again, we will have to begin the arduous, timely and costly task of a redesign plan.
Elco has refused to reimburse any of our $8,500.00 downpayment, or pay for any of the remediation and cleaning costs.
We were informed by their foreman, Chris Anderson, we would be financially responsible for the remediation, if they returned. How egregious is that?
Additionally, the foreman added, "We can't satisfy you." You may want to go elsewhere (paraphrase).
Regardless, I requested a breakdown and an estimate from Elco for the remediation and job completion. We never heard back from them.
Is a company whose owners' renege on their offer to fix their own "workmanship issues", trustworthy?
It is my contention; we should never have had such low-quality workmanship, and disregard for the integrity of our home, from the outset. If the job hadn't been stopped after six days, I cannot imagine what we may have been left with.
We were so happy when we hired this company to complete our work. Now by contrast, when I think about having them return, I feel mentally distressed and physically ill. We have lost every bit of confidence and trust in their integrity and ability to do fine work.
Although the cost of contracting a new painting company is going to set us back a significant amount of retirement money (in the range of $23,000-$25,000 per actual contractor estimates for remediation and completion), we cannot continue to live this nightmare. We have to move on, in order to reclaim our long-disrupted lives.
We regret, we cannot recommend this company to others who are looking for quality workmanship. read more
