Should I fire our house painters? Pics included...

10 years ago

I have a few questions-should paint be running in rivulets down the siding the day after painting, leaving long drip marks and uneven color? Is that normal (it seems to be due to condensation from the roof falling on wet paint...) It is only happening in 1 area and on the gutters. Is that just part of this process or is the company doing a bad job?

Also, should there be spots of the old paint where the ladders were leaned against the wall? Does that get covered as touch ups later? Should there be over spray on the trim which was not supposed to be painted? nail holes and original paint showing through on a part of the house they say is finished? Paint drips in the gutter divets?

We chose semigloss with their help. It turns out to be a 'glaring' mistake. Will the shine fade over time and how long will that take?

Thank you for your help.

Here are some photos of the areas I am concerned about. Is this normal? Do they fix these things on the last day?

Featured Answer

paintguy22

10 years ago

Well I am not going to say these are the worst painters in the world, because of course you are just showing us the pics of the work that they did that concerns you, but for sure all of your complaints are legit. You should try to address them with the contractor and have them all fixed before freaking out. Also, when we are painting outside this late in the season and especially when we have high humidity during the day and then at night the temps dip, it can be hard to get paint to dry properly. This may be one of the reasons there are drips and paint running off surfaces, especially on gutters since gutters are not porous at all the paint takes longer to dry there. Generally speaking, semi gloss is too shiny for any application except for maybe interior trim. Satin would have been enough sheen in my opinion. Your semi gloss will dull some over time, but not that much.

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Comments (7)

PRO
Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
10 years ago
yes, they are hacks. You need to find a reputable painter, not the bunch of guys standing around in front of Home Depot
green thanked Christopher Nelson Wallcovering and Painting
green
Original Author
10 years ago
Respectfully, this is a very reputable company with 4.5 on 85 great reviews on yelp. That is why I am so confused. What should I do?
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Linda
10 years ago
OMG, get rid of them now! A high school kid can do better than that! You should have no drip marks, they shouldnt even be putting the ladder on wet paint and if they are spraying, they usually tape off the areas NOT to be sprayed! I hope you didnt pay them anything yet. Print out these pictures, in case you have to go to court over this! WOW! Just WOW!
green thanked Linda
green
Original Author
10 years ago
I appreciate the information. I do not want to exaggerate or be impossibly hard to please, just to get a reasonable sense of what should be expected with a reputable paint company. I only posted a few pics but there are a lot more issues than just those posted. For example, gloppy paint on sides and behind downspouts because they were never removed before painting, bent nails exposed instead of snapped off before painting, areas of paint already flaking off, white paint tracked over our dark porch and overspray on our concrete patio, dry rot that was not only not fixed, but not painted and just left exposed to elements, etc-but to be fair there are also areas of the siding that seem fine.

I guess I list them all out, with pics included, and ask the owner to make sure they are addressed. Then the ball is in his court to fix it up. Hopefully it will all work out, and I REALLY appreciate the information about what is and is not part of a typical exterior paint job.
PRO
Lori A. Sawaya
10 years ago
Whatever you do - do not pay them. If you've given them a deposit, do not give them any more. Do not let them talk you into giving them more money to go buy more product or whatever.

Be very firm, not one more penny until EVERYTHING on your list is cleaned up and corrected. Give them a reasonable deadline to get it done and get out - like 5 or 10 working days.

They've put you in a very difficult position. You want to be a good client and play fair and now they're now forcing you to supervise their work, put your foot down, and make demands. You don't want to piss them off or be mean, but you are obligated to speak up for your investment in the paint job and your home. I always make a point of letting them know that I don't appreciate their putting me in the position to hold them accountable.

(been there done this more times than I care to count)
c t
10 years ago
" For example, gloppy paint on sides and behind downspouts because they were never removed before painting, bent nails exposed instead of snapped off before painting, areas of paint already flaking off, white paint tracked over our dark porch and overspray on our concrete patio, dry rot that was not only not fixed, but not painted and just left exposed to elements, etc-but to be fair there are also areas of the siding that seem fine.

I guess I list them all out, with pics included, and ask the owner to make sure they are addressed."

What does your contract say? Were the downspouts going to be removed, or painted in place? Were the employees supposed to remove bent nails and repair dry rot? Or was someone else supposed to do that before they arrived?

In my part of the country, it's way too cold to paint now. I've also seen paint run when it was put on so late in the day, it didn't dry before the dew set, and the result looked like your first picture.

The overspray and tracked paint can probably be cleaned up, but it sounds pretty bush league that they didn't mask things off in the first place.