During the summer of 2017 we chose to undergo a much needed complete exterior paining project for our house. I selected Student Works after getting quotes from three similar painting services. I chose Student Works because the young man who did the quote was very professional and communicative. Although his quote was a little bit higher than the others, I was confident that I would be getting a quality job. That is where the positive aspects of the service and experience ended.
The crew that showed up was almost completely inexperienced and had to be shown basic painting techniques. The first task was to power wash the house in preparation for painting. The power washing was improperly done. Dirt was sprayed onto the front door and on to the walls. Only the front of the house and some of the side and back were washed. The upper part of the house was left untouched.
Painting began on the following day. Unfortunately the power sprayer was not working and I was informed that it would need to be fixed before spraying could start. The crew began cutting in on the windows, doors, and other areas. There was no spot priming, scraping, or removal of flaking paint. They simply painted over what was already there, dirt and all.
Once the sprayer was working, the crew began spraying the house. Windows were not properly covered resulting in overspray on glass and window screens. There were also drips of paint on several windows. In the garage I specifically asked the crew to avoid spraying the hard top of my Jeep which was hoisted up against the ceiling. The crew did not cover or protect the Jeep top with blankets or paper and as a result, the top now has paint spray all over it.
I was initially told that the job would take 3-5 days. In the end, the project took a total of 9 days. The sprayer had to be repaired twice during the project and the crew had to power my personal tools and ladder. On the last day of the project I did a walk around with the crew leader. I identified over 50 deficiencies which I documented for him. They included things like:
- overspray on windows and other surfaces
- paint drips on trim, surfaces, and the decking
- splotchy spray on areas of the house
- railings improperly painted
- poor quality cut ins on trim and corners
- areas missing paint
It took an additional day for the deficiencies to be resolved. For most, I simply agreed to the resolution rather than extending the work any further. In hindsight I should have been more insistent that the work be completed to my satisfaction.
In addition to the sub-standard paint job, which I am confident will require remediation in the next year, the crew scratched and dented gutters by placing ladders against them, damaged fruit bushes by dumping paint water in our garden, ruined the lawn by leaving tarps and other supplies directly on the grass, left garbage in our yard, damaged a hose and sprayer, left tools which I kindly lent to them covered in paint, and left paint drips all over our new deck and arbor.
When providing the invoice, the crew leader explained that a tip was customary and that he would appreciate a testimonial. Before paying the invoice in full (over $6000 including taxes), I explained to the crew leader how disappointed with the service I was and that neither a tip nor a testimonial would be forthcoming.
In summary, even though I paid for a professional quality service, I received neither. What I did receive was the most painful service experience I have ever had with a trade. I will not use Student Works again and I have actively discouraged others from using them as well, based on my experience.
