CertaPro Painters of Merrick, NY — Local services in Town of Hempstead

2 years ago my wife and I fell in love with a house that had original wood shiplap siding, we purchased the house knowng someday it would have to be painted and preserved. This spring we decided to look into a painter that would be able to keep the rustic look, and a fresh coat of paint... easier said than done when the main focus of the house is that classicness of original wood. We called CertoPro on a blind call just to get an idea of what we’d be in for, and met with Ralph our local CertaPro painter/owner. We hadn’t planned on jumping right in with the first estimate, but Ralph really seemed to understand what we wanted, and exactly how to achieve that classic look. No price was discussed until, he gave us all the information, colors and options, never once being pushy... he came across as genuine and sincerely interested in our desire to bring this old house back to life. After we sat down, we were eager to hear what, this all would cost us, and to our surprise Ralph was very close to our budget, even including resealing/caulking gaps, seams and areas needing attention. We were ecstatic that our very specific needs could be met at such a fair price. Needless to say we went ahead and hired Ralph to do the job and he did not fail in his task... the painters were clean, neat and professional, which also translated to the finished product. Attention to detail was every bit as perfect as we could hope for and Ralph ensured us that he would follow up in a few days to see how we liked the the finished job after drying. As promised Ralph called in a few days to check in and make sure we were pleased with the work... this review may seem detailed and lengthy, but I felt it necessary to credit where credit is due, especially in today’s world of fly by night contractors... Ralph and his crew at CertaPro are straight professionals and I would/will highly recommend them to anyone...

Long post including update:

They had to come back and fix sloppy work.

Several places were missing paint, an outlet was caved in, etc. I question their professionalism. A whole wall went unpainted despite it being on paper in the proposal.

I used 3rd party financing to pay. However, when my work was “completed”, but not to my satisfaction, the owner tried to strong arm me into signing documents authorizing payment. The documents said in more than one place, even in red letters, not to sign unless work was completed to my satisfaction.

The owner further tried to tell me I didn’t need to read the contract, and that it meant something other than what it said. What?

At one point, they tell me they did more work than was agreed upon and asked me to pay for it after the fact; they made no attempts to contact me before unilaterally doing the additional work.

They still never attempted to fully clean, leaving me with lots of paint dust and stains to clean up everywhere. Furniture, floors, bathroom wall tiles, etc had paint and/or plaster stains on them. Everything had sanding dust, including furniture and all the dishes on the counter.

Between their 2nd day at my house and the day after I released the loan documents, my mail was nowhere to be found. It never arrived.

I have informed delivery from USPS which shows me photos daily of every envelope to be delivered.

Among things I never received in the mail are a check, a paystub, and other financial documents.

Update: paint is peeling and cracking...

Ralph and the guys were great. Always showed up on time, cleaned up well, there were a couple of spots that could have been a little better in clean up but not enough to remove a star. Especially when I ever had an issue Ralph was quick to get back to me. If it wasn't that day it was the next day. The guys were polite and I felt comfortable with them in my home. They sprayed our Florida room/sun room to repaint the whole thing and it was done SO fast. The only thing I'd say is have your paint colors in mind as Ralph can help narrow your choices down but didn't necessarily like giving one based off you saying "I want a blue". And I don't blame him. He did end up suggesting a white to us and it was one I was familiar with and I agreed, and it was perfect. The finished product looks great and we are very happy. Got a buyer before even listing. Just wish we could have done this sooner to enjoy it ourselves longer. I was going to send them to my parents but they are in Queens and out of the service area. So I do...