We hired D.K. Painting largely because of their excellent reviews and Dan's written proposal. His…read more$8,750 quote included protecting surfaces, wall repairs and texture matching as needed, caulking trim and cracks, stain blocking and priming where needed, repainting all painted surfaces, flat ceilings, eggshell walls, final touch ups and thorough cleanup. It also stated that payment was not due until the work was completed to our satisfaction.
The job initially seemed fine, although I started noticing concerns. They were painting the HVAC vents in place without cleaning them first, so I removed them myself rather than having dirt painted over.
Thursday was supposed to be the final walkthrough and payment. They were presenting the job as completed and ready for us to write the check. Once we looked closely, however, we found missed areas, poor lines, paint scratched off by hoses, areas needing more paint and numerous touch ups. Most significantly, the two daughters' bedrooms had been painted the wrong colors, essentially reversed.
Bill maintained that he painted the rooms according to what he had been told. The problem is that the intended colors were literally sampled on the walls beforehand. In one room there were three large pink paint swatches, about 12 inches square, on three separate walls.
Because of the condition of the house, we asked Dan to come out and walk the job with us. Once we showed him the problems, he said he would take care of them. What concerned me was that they arrived expecting payment because the job was supposedly finished, yet they then spent Thursday and Friday continuing to work on the house. They repainted the bedrooms, fixed paint lines, filled missed areas, repaired damaged paint, completed more touch ups and continued cleaning. After presenting the job as complete, they needed two more days correcting their own work.
Friday afternoon Dan texted me that everything was good to go. Over the weekend, both daughters separately complained about the quality of the paintwork, so we met Dan again Monday.
The bedrooms were finally the correct colors, but the work still did not look professionally finished. One room was blotchy, there was a noticeable difference between the rolled portion and the area painted by hand near the ceiling, and the cut lines were not clean. I also questioned whether the wall was actually eggshell because it looked and felt much shinier. Dan felt the wall and questioned Bill. I cannot say with certainty what they determined, but shortly afterward Bill checked the paint, left to get more paint, returned, and they repainted the room again. After that, the wall finally had the eggshell appearance we expected.
There were still other workmanship issues, including darker wall paint that had traveled beyond the protected area and onto the white ceiling. I was not asking for extra work. I simply expected the professional quality described in Dan's proposal.
What really changed my opinion happened during Monday's walkthrough. I said, "I'm not trying to be nitpicky." Dan and Bill both immediately and audibly laughed directly in my face. They vocally laughed at me while I was trying to discuss legitimate problems with their work. Considering they were again correcting a job already presented as finished more than once, I found that incredibly disrespectful and unprofessional.
I never asked for a discount. I paid Dan the full amount he requested. After everything that happened, there was no meaningful apology or acknowledgment of how poorly the experience had gone. Dan accepted the check and left.
Mistakes happen, but this was not one isolated mistake. It was the accumulation of workmanship problems, lack of quality control, repeatedly presenting the job as finished when it clearly was not, and the attitude we received when legitimate concerns were raised. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend D.K. Painting.
