Thats fairly indicative of this level of contractors, a lot of them are just one man a cell phone and a pickup.
Trying to find them 6 months after the job is done is impossible,
Stay far far away from student painters,
the franchisee usually knows little about painting and the kids they hire (lots of times NOT students) off the street know less.
We hired them a few years ago…they came, power washed the house…and never came back! lol we never paid so it wasnt too big of a deal.
We’ve had a few bad student painters in rupert in the past, but dont rule them out completely - it changes every year and some of them do excellent work!
Very true, the problem is you can’t tell from one year to the next, which in my book makes them totally unreliable.
They painted my elderly neighbors house, if I had not inspected the work for her and demanded at least a minimum of quality work and proper preparation, my neighbor (80 year old female) would have been victimized.
The employees worked hard but they really did not know what they were doing, a two day training course does not make a house painter.
The trouble with roofers in town is that when we have bad weather usually in the fall/winter they can only temp fix the leaks etc. Then when the weather gets better they are busy busy fixing the roofs from the winter and not able to take a new job on right away.
How come??
There is another option as in my case I have been working with home owners on various jobs for years. Many time a home owner would like to do the job himself but lacks the no how. He might hire me or someone like me to lead the job and save himself money by being the obediant helper. I just tell the homeowner “If you just do what I tell you to do, we’ll get your job done.” It more often than not works out fine. The homeowner gets involved in the job and understands what’s going on, especially if it runs into complications which many houses in Rupert do.
How much per. hour do you charge for his service???to lead he job . Do you work with the home owner or just advise?
$40 ph and yes I will work with the home owner
40 ph?..do you hold any trades tickets?
trades tickets are good but some guys without tix are just as good. word of mouth is gold 
There is one guy in town who has have to hold the record for the most jobs started and very few finished,and in the 25+ years I ve known him he was never without a job ,so much for checking references and word of mouth
First off let me say that I allowed myself to fall into my situation. I did everything wrong. I did not check references (they always give you the cream to look at anyways). I paid cash without getting receipts in return. And the worst thing I could have done was allow him to talk me into making the final payment before the work was complete. That was my biggest f**kup.
I’m not going to say that he did this, or said that, because that would be hear-say and I would rather just stick to the facts.
The Facts
In August 2008 I hired him to demolish an old carport, install new windows and Hardi-plank siding.
On Friday November 07 2008 I made the final payment, and as mentioned above this was before the work was completed.(my bad)
On Monday the crew was gone and since that date they have showed up a total of 3 times to do work. They have not done anything since September 2009. That is when I took these photos. You be the judge.
If any of you would like to know more send me a PM I’ve got a lot more to say, just not in public.
That didn’t work too well, lets try it again.
you seem pretty patient for a 2 year job lol. but i feel your pain . ive been doing renos for just about a year try to do as much as i can .
but where i know my abilities are limited i hire someone by the hour to get stuff done. but yea i’d go to bbb if i were u on that job if hes registered anyway
Are you sure you did not take those photos while the contractor was still working on your house?
It looks like the siding was not yet completely finished/installed around the light fixture at your front door when the photo was taken or did the contractor leave the job in that uncompleted state?
I need to let you guys know that Eric paid me a visit not even an hour ago and apologized for this whole mess and wanted the opportunity to make things right. He said that it was never his intention to screw anybody and things started snowballing and got away from him and for the past year he couldn’t bring himself to look me in the eye.
My wife and I discussed with him, the issues that still needed to be addressed and decided to give him the chance to finish the job. He was not yet aware that I had posted these photos and I wished he had come to me sooner, however If he comes through for me I will definitely come back here and let the readership know. I do believe in second chances, without which we’d probably all be screwed.
Decker, the Better Business Bureau does NOTHING. They have no enforcement strategies other than listing and de-listing. And what’s their criteria for de-listing? More than one complaint, that’s for sure!! I had a beef with a BBB-listed company that sold me a specific product to be installed as per their specific instructions and it was the wrong part. When I returned it, they refused to take it back saying I had opened the packaging which voided the return policy. After I exploded on them, they eventually took it back but charged me a 20% restocking fee. Remember, this was after THEY told me which specific part I needed. When I complained to the BBB, they said they can’t do anything about stuff like that.
And word of mouth is GOLD??? Everybody’s somebody’s son or uncle or brother or ex (or all three) in this town…anybody can get a recommendation at the drop of a hat (or a sixer).
good to hear hes gonna finish it for you . to me word of mouth is good as long as its thru reputable whos advice you trust of course . hope it all works out for you.my renos have gone on with a few hiccups but nothing serious.
wish it worked that way for everyone
Amen, brutha.