Exterior paint job headache. Need advice from experts. (Scottsdale: buy, contractor)

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by mrg2u

if you have patches falling off already it was not prepared right to begin with and when the monsoon comes you wont have any paint left there. Were they licensed ? No matter, make the call and get it started. dont feel bad for them. % k. Thats criminal.

mrg2u - Ah.. monsoon!!! Excellent point and thank you for bringing this up. We sprayed water on some of the surface areas and here're a few photos we that we took. They have until this coming Monday.

[observer53]

Originally Posted by mrg2u

5 K for exterior paint? I was a contractor for 23 years. Dont fool around. Get on the wb w/ the Arizona registrar of contractors and get the complaint investigation going...NOW, if you have patches falling off already it was not prepared right to begin with and when the monsoon comes you wont have any paint left there. Were they licensed ? No matter, make the call and get it started. dont feel bad for them. % k. Thats criminal.

I agree with all this, including the price. Did you shop around and that was a good price??? I got my exterior done a few years ago for less than half that. Got interior AND exterior done (2 different contractors) for less than that.

If they don't solve this QUICKLY, go to the ROC. I'm not an expert, but I'm also concerned with what they are going to have to do to "reprep" this area to paint it again and not have the same problem.

[sells500]

The problem is exactly correct adhesion to the existing covering. It must be prepped properly. I still believe this is a prep problem they should have waited a day or two after powerwashing and wire brushed/scraped the surface,patchedd and cracks etc. primed it and then applied 2 coats with dry time in between each coat. The thing I would be worried about is you usually have just 1 shot with the company to do it right, you must be well prepared with the correct way to fix this because if you are still not happy a second time it will be almost impossible to get them back and try to get them in court as they will state they came back a second time and it was fine when they left etc..Go to shermin Williams straight away with pics and see what they say, maybe call in another paint company for their advice on how they will fix it, between the two you should have a good idea when they come back on if what they want to do will work and last...key point here LAST the test of time/monsoon. Like everyone has said here don't trust them. They just want to get ride of you with the least cost to them. Play hardball, tell the owner you will remove the bad press when he comes back and does the job right. Good luck

[SpaceNeedle]

sells500 - I just sent you a PM.
observer53 - Yes, we shopped around and their quote was somewhere in the middle between the highest and the lowest quotes. The main driving decision for us was our trust in CostCo. We're not blaming CostCo for the problem we're having but they must be aware of it.

I don't want to post more details of our plans but... I promise to post back again some time next week.

[regalc]

I am a painter in the charlotte area. There are a couple of possibilities for this problem 1. The repair material was not cured before it was painted 2. The material used should have been primed before painting. 3. The paint used was faulty material. I worked for certa for 3 years. Keep after them, they will resolve this problem. They have a system of scoring for customer satisfaction and it means alot to the franchise owners to keep that high(incentives) You should have a 2 year warranty so even if this occurs again after being addressed you still have a warranty. Just make sure that if they just fix the spots, and touch up, that the spots dont stand out. Sometimes satin finish just doesnt touch up all that well.

[SpaceNeedle]

Originally Posted by regalc

I am a painter in the charlotte area. There are a couple of possibilities for this problem 1. The repair material was not cured before it was painted 2. The material used should have been primed before painting. 3. The paint used was faulty material.

Thank you . We purchased Super Paint from Sherwin Williams w/ 25 years warranty.

regalc - if this was your house, what would you request them to do to ensure a proper repair?

We used Certa Pro through CostCo. If it was our choice, we would not want these people to touch our house again. Do you know if there's a way to get CostCo to agree on a different contractor or a different Certa Pro?

Updates:
We had a rep from Sherwin Williams inspect the paint and the job. Here's what they reported back.

It appears like the stucco patch mix lacked hydration creating a powder effect thus
preventing paint adhesion to the wall.


We are disappointed that CostCo does not want to be actively involved. They keep telling us to deal with Certa Pro directly when the payment was made in full to CostCo, not to CertaPro.

Certa Pro's owner said he would try get a hold of the rep who sold the stucco repair materials to him. No ETA on this.

We have all the paper work ready for the next step.

[observer53]

I would trust Costco to sell me food and household items, not home repairs -- for just the reason you now know-- when there's a problem, they want out of the line of fire.

Hope it works out for you in the end.

[SpaceNeedle]

Updates

We contacted CostCo and requested them to be more actively involved after no response from CertaPro for our request for a written proposal of the repair work they planned to do.

Here's the reply from CostCo.

Thank you for your email to Costco Wholesale.

We apologize, however we are unfamiliar with "CertaPro". Is this something you may have purchased through your local Costco? If so, we suggest speaking with the management team at that location as they will be familiar with this. Sorry we couldn't be more help.



Thank you,

[Name of the sender]
Costco Wholesale Corporation


We do hope that anybody who's seriously considering using CostCo/Certa Pro to paint their houses see this post before they make their final decisions.

Certa Pro finally agreed on the description of the repair work we gathered from this site, Sherwin Williams reps, Dunn-Edwards reps, Casey from CJC Painting, and CTS Cement reps. They will start their repair work next week. We will be recording every step of the work they do.

The interesting is both Dunn-Edwards and CTS Cement reps did not think that the stucco patch materials used on our houses came from them as Certa Pro claimed/believed.

We are waiting for a lab report from CTS Cement to confirm whether it's actually their product.

[rockybird]

You need to file with the roc. I believe you can get the application from azroc.gov. You are the victim here and should not be getting the run-around. If you hadn't have kept up your end of the bargain and paid them in full, you better believe that they would have come after you. I filed with the ROC once for a "contractor" who was not licensed but misled me that he was. Then, when the work was halfway done, he disappeared. I had to move into a hotel as the house was unliveable at that stage. The ROC went after him and I got my money back. I just filed another complaint yeserday. I paid almost 9k for concrete counters, which are staining terribly, even from toothpaste, and have dark marks appearing everywhere. I hardly use them, and I cant imagine what these would look like in a house with a family.

Go after the co. with the ROC. If nothing else, the threat of the ROC will likely have the paint co. come fix the issues. I personally have no patience for people like these anymore.

[azdr0710]

Spaceneedle.....

I don't remember if you said you went and talked to the local Costco where you started at.....obviously, the response from Costco you just posted was not good, but it may've been a Seattle headquarters PR office that wasn't quite the right place to start....I still respect Costco and suggest a personal visit to the manager of the local Costco, as the response seems to suggest....or did you already do this??....