anyone have any comments?
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Replies
Sounds like an oxymoron!!
Bear
what's the question?
I'll tell you all I know about the outfit in as few words as ewe have invested here-
no pros
Welcome to the
Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime.
where ...
Excellence is its own reward!
Just a name. Like Starving Student Moving Co., or Barely Makinit Paving, or Discount Plumbing. Means nothing, but some people buy into it.
Like "Dun Aready Home Improvements"...
LGardenStructure.com~Build for the Art of it!
If a bong were a paint application device, they'd be pros all right.
marybeth..
one of my nephews worked for them for two summers..
he was pretty intelligent ( still is ).
they sent him to a 3 day training course... then gave him a crew they had no idea of what they were doing..
you will get some willing people working like crazy on your house..
you will get paint put on your housebut why bother ?
nothing will be right.. no one will have any knowledge..the job will not last...on second thought that sort of describes a lot of people in the trades, doesn't it ?look.. if you want your house painted , hire a company that has been in business and has a reputation..
go to your nearest PAINT store (not HD or Lowes ) .. ask for some referralsMike Smith Rhode Island : Design / Build / Repair / Restore
Heard similar - one of my daughter's previous boyfriends (number three counting back from here, I think) was a summer painter for them. I asked how he got into that gig a their 'forman'. he said that it was because he had worked for them the previous summer too. All his crew were just getting to know which end of the Purdy to brush their hair with.Three or four kids, one house a week - exteriors
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
"Purdy"?? -- they trust these kids with Purdy brushes?? Last time I hired college kids to paint they ruined my Purdy brushes. Also, they left out my ladders, where they were stolen. To top things off, it turned out they were afraid of heights and never prepped the top third of the house. I ended up doing it all over myself.
I guess it all depends on "due diligence" on the purchaser of the service.
If memory serves me right, one of my clients called em and they came around to scope out the job. The boss-man was actually an instructor in painting from a local trades school. Hardly unqualified. His comments about work in progress demonstrated his trade knowledge.
But, is that the case always, probably not. Is it any indication that he hired comepetent students. Nope.
80% of paint work is prep work, the hardest thing to get a neophyte to do.
What I'm saying is that don't rule these folks out by their name alone. Even the most reputable painting co's sub out jobs, so it all boils down to who, ie the person, persons, you get.
Bottom line is that personal reputation is imperative to check out.
A company my have a sterling reputation, but send an idiot to yer place.
I've watched a "professional painter" with years of experience (god knows where) make a clean upscale reno look like a hack job because he liked to use a brush (even on large flat surfaces), another explain to me that he didn't have to use primer as his spray equipment laid down a thick layer of paint, another strip out all the new custom fit doors in a whole house reno and spray em, without marking them as to where they were from, another "pro" relate to me that he had never heard of finishing exterior doors on all surfaces, or comprehend my cautionary statement about why he should be conserned about other trades accidently tracking the actually fluid puddles of stain he left on the poly onto the traventine marble kitchen floor (It took him two hours before he figured that one out) .
And believe me, if you haven't heard the axiom of "never piss off the painter cause he makes yer work look good" I was fully aware of it.
In the 1800's it was he standard practice that the decorator was actually generally responsible for the final job, ie he commanded the subtrades involved, Now, you gotta be tuned in to what the heck is gonna happen to your work, and be prepared to ensure that it is treated with respect by these folks, and have the knowledge and experience to substantiate your beliefs..
The sad thing is that I am sure that painters have equally horrendous stories to tell about how the had to turn shoddy work into silk purses.
The distinction between top notch work and shoddy work is blurring substantially.
Bottom line is a fella simply cannot tell til you've done due diligence. Check references fer your particular crew.
Eric in Cowtown
"one of my clients called em and they came around to scope out the job. The boss-man was actually an instructor in painting from a local trades school."
If that's the case, my hat's off to the instructor for setting up a situation where his students get actual field experience in a real-world setting. Most classroom training is too removed from the trenches. I love a teacher who's passionate about his craft! As long as he's not lowballing, more power to him!
We have an old victorian style house and we are being quoted $18,000-$20,000 to paint. College Pro is new around here. I got a quote from them and they were the same as the highly recommended painters we got estimates from. It is quite overwhelming to make a decision when you are spending that kind of money.
RE: Victorian Paint Job, go with the other firm, not college pro. I've lost out on several jobs by College Pro. One I quoted $18,000 to paint a Victorian in 4 colors, College Pro's quote was $6000, and they pressure washed / scraped / painted the house in 2 weeks. On a side tangent, we have "Student Painters", "College Pro Painters", "University Painters", "Teachers That Paint", "Computer Geeks Who Paint", and the latest incarnation: "Cheerleaders who Paint", around here..Later!Renaissance RestorationsAntique & Victorian Home Restoration Serviceshttp://www.renaissancerestorations.com
"Cheerleaders Who Paint?"!! Do they wear the same uniform as everyone's favorite picture of Ms. Carpenter's Helper?
Mike
painted my parents house about 10 years ago ....
10 years later ... needs another paint job.
they're happy. Decent job.
I'm sure each crew is different. Unless U are looking to get a house painted in Swissvale 10 years ago .... this advice is worthless?
Jeff
Buck Construction
Artistry in Carpentry
Pgh, PA
It is more than just the crew.It is a franchise operation.So it depends on the particular franchise operator. And then it depends on who they hire to run the actual crews.
Thank you for your reply. I am in New York. They just came up on the radar around here (Staten Island) this year.
If you want to find out more aout them, ask to see some of their work. If this is the same College Pro painters with the yellow signs, the only experience I/my family has had with them isn't good, although it could have just been that particular crew. They briefly did some painting at my folk's house and my dad booted them after about 2 hours. The work they did(that's being nice about it) was pathetic. Watching them was worse. Nothing like watching kids prep and paint when it's obvious that they don't want to get their hands dirty.
Again, I can only hope this was an isolated incident, but some other houses in my neighborhood were done by them and they don't look great, even from the street.
I see them around here.
If you get a decent crew, you will get a fresh coat of paint and that's about it.
Eric
I Love A Hand That Meets My Own,
With A Hold That Causes Some Sensation.
yourcontractor@aol.com
QUESTION- why do they college/paint ie. anything with college in the company name, get to PUT THEIR JOB SIGNS WERE EVER THEY FEEL LIKE? What would you pay to have your signs placed in the same locations as them? I was thinking about calling my Town Hall to ask them why are they allowed to do it in the first place.
Oh Yeah I think they give a 2 year guarantee! on all work done. WOW
All Things Wood!
Stephen Prunier Carpentry
that is all that is done by everybody here... good - bad, biased - nonbiased or indifferent...
and they all seem to be the same..
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just Roar!
Edited 3/27/2005 2:44 am ET by IMERC
They've been around forever in two places I've lived. Book them for late summer, so they have experience. {G}
Actually, we did get one bad job from them ~23 years ago with lots of spillage. But, some painting I did as a kid, with NO clue, held up for 20 years, so it might depend on the condition of the surfaces and prep required. Supervisor too could make all the difference.
Now, I'd prefer to hire someone with a personal reputation. But, I've been unable to find (or afford) someone who'll take some jobs that require a lot of scraping of old paint, etc.
Edited 4/4/2005 12:26 am ET by hacknhope
aaahhhh...no comment.
There's an outift called College Works Painting around here. It's a corporation that pimps out college kids as painting contractors. They claim to teach the kids both how to paint and how to run a contracting company in a few hours, then send them out to sell jobs.
I worked on a house where the woman had hired one of the kids to paint the house. The name "college" sounds so wholesome, doesn't it? As it turned out, the kid who did her job hired a couple of jailbirds to paint the house, and he didn't supervise them. Not the worst paint job I've ever seen, but undoubtedly in the top three.
Why not "College" plumbing, or carpentry, or electrical? Anybody can do this stuff, right?
A universal lesson: Being a cheapskate is its own punishment.
There's another painting company around here called "Holy Rollers". I think the business model is identical to Colledge Pro, but the crew are seminary students!
Holy Rollers! That's very witty. But can they paint, for god's sake?
That brings back memories. When I first moved here, I was sent to work on a house for one of the new money millionaries. Old house he had just picked up. He sent up a crew of 'painters' from his old alma-mater. Then he asked me how they were doing. I had to ask him first if he wanted to hear the truth. He then explained that he had worked his way thru college by painting - in part - and that he was now passing one the opportunity to others. I figured he was too cheap to hire local pros, because he had complained earlier about the prices they charged.those guys were partying hearty every night, and staying in his house while he was awaythe housekeeper quit because of the condoms stuck to the walls, bottles all over the house, and porno under the bedsthe roofer quit because they took his ladder, used it, and threw it on the ground, bending it all to H***I came close to punching one of them out for his slimy attitudeThe paint that made it as far as the trim, stayed on for five or six years. The spots that got missed, stayed missed.I got a good look at the young fellows who were studying law, accounting, and politics at a prestigious school. I still quake with fear to think that this is the quality of people who often end up in positions of power
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
Local, very good painting company-slogan is
"Knowledge Beyond College"
I worked for a similar company in FFLD county, CT, when I was in college, running a 4 man crew. It was good money and I learned a lot that summer about painting; the most valuable lesson being not to pay college kids to do any manual labor for you. Trust me.
There may be some good crews around, but I'd prefer to hire out pros if it were my money.
6milessouth
In Fairfield County you were lucky to find anybody that will do manual labor. I used to manage some movie theatres down there 20+ years ago. We could place ads in three papers and get less than three responses for help. The kids would drive to work in jags and bmw's.
Hire a real painter with experience and a local rep. Probably take the bid that spells out the most prep work, as everyone here will say (it's a mantra) the job is 90% prep. Painting is the easy part, and that's all college pro does.
I have a number of friends who used to work college pro in the summers, they would just knock houses off like mow and blow "landscapers". The "crew chief" usually is just a kid who painted last year and was responsible enough to show up again for a second summer. You will never see these kids again, they have no long-term investment in what they are doing, unlike a real pro painter.
If the prices you have been getting are the same for local professionals and the college pro, there's just no comparison.