I am a disabled, unemployed, female Army Veteran diagnosed with PTSD. My goal with having my house…read morepainted was to create a fresh space that I could comfortably live in while I continued to work on healing from my PTSD. Unfortunately, my experience with Cole Painting became disastrous. Instead of the professional, experienced, and reputable painting company that I was expecting, I discovered I was working with a hodge-podge group of amateur painters that had no knowledge, experience, direction, or supervision.
Pros:
-Team started quickly
-Team was polite and friendly
-Tim Cole (owner) offered to paint two additional closets and one cabinet interior at no additional cost
Cons (Team/Process Quality):
-No supervisor or foreman
-No accountability
-No determined workflow which led to a "musical chairs" style of work - moving from project to project throughout multiple rooms
-Team members changed throughout the process
-Floors and personal property inconsistently covered
The result of the above is that no team member truly knew who was working on what, who had completed what, or what needed to be done next, which led to areas being partially done, poorly done, or not done at all. Also, due to the lack of supervision, I felt I needed to remain at home at all times, but due to their chaotic workflow and a lack of consideration for my ability to function in my home, I ended up being sequestered to a single room throughout the entire seven days that they were there.
Prior to the completion of the job, I marked the errors and inconsistencies that I found and wanted fixed by placing painters' tape to indicate areas in need of attention: paint on the floor, cabinets incorrectly attached, poor and wavy lines in corners, paint splatter, paint drips, areas without caulk, nails painted over, holes that weren't filled, paint on fixtures and hardware, streaks, areas that were missed entirely, such as the baseboards in the bedroom, and the list goes on. They then attempted to "fix" these issues.
After the job was finished, I noticed some of the same and additional issues:
Cons (Work Quality - see photos):
-Paint splatter on floor
-Hardware improperly re-installed
-Cabinet handles with the wrong screws resulting in handles protruding from drawer/door face
-Doors no longer closing properly
-Paint on cabinet handles, hardware, face plates and personal property
-Flat paint used indiscriminately in inappropriate areas, i.e.: Kitchen cabinets painted half flat and half semi gloss; window trim half flat and half semi-gloss; chair rail half flat and half semi gloss; door frame half flat and half semi-gloss; and more
-Not enough paint or no paint in some areas/too much paint in others
-Poor paint work: lines not crisp, wavy lines, overlapping paint, streaks, visible brush strokes -- amateur quality work
On the last day, Tim returned for payment. He brought receipts for paint and materials, but NO FINAL INVOICE. Tim told me three different amounts, on three different occasions, owed from these receipts. I refused payment because it was never stated in the agreement that paint and materials would be an extra cost. I assumed the agreement was all-inclusive.
I paid him the agreed amount ($8,700) plus $300 to cover two closets, two cabinets and the front and back entry doors, totaling $9000.00. He did not ask for the extra payment; I decided to pay him more because I requested the extra work. Tim became agitated and argumentative because I declined payment of the receipts. Fortunately, I was not alone and had a support person with me, which kept the confrontation from escalating. He took the check and left.
I DO NOT RECOMMEND COLE PAINTING!
*BEWARE of the quote app, Invoice Simple, that he uses. He will text you a single link and that link will remain the same, but the quote that you'll be directed to can be adjusted at will without a paper trail or date change. Print/Save the quote as soon as you gain access to it so you have a copy of the original for comparison.
