Painters
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Oct 2007
Tony Cataldo has painted for me for years and is completely
reliable and reasonable and works very efficiently and quickly.
You can count on him to show up exactly when he says he will, and
finish on schedule. Very considerate, takes care to do all the
proper prep and clean-up with low impact to the rest of the
house. Works Oakland and Berkeley primarily, call 290-6095 cell
or 652-2836 home.
L Anderson
This is an unsolicited post for a great painter: Jose Abel
Beltran. We recently bought a large old house and had another
painter lined up to start work immediately after close of
escrow (we had only two weeks to get the job done as we were
moving out of a rental). Two days before work was due to start,
the other painter bailed and I found 5 alternatives on this
website. Of the 5, Abel was the lowest bid (and the nicest guy
and was able to start immediately.
He worked from 7 am to 8pm every day (and also worked weekends
to get it done which included all trim, ceilings and walls for
a 3000 sq ft house + painting the interior and exterior of my
wood kitchen cabinets. The downstairs has 100 year old oak
panelling to waist height throughout and that was carefully
protected. Abel also re-caulked all the edging between the wood
edges and walls which resulted in a great finish.
Abel has lots of experience with a large contractor and is
starting his own business which means he is hungry for work and
intent on building a great reputation. He can be reached on 415-
225-5624
KC
Recently Pacific Northwest Painters in Alameda (510-523-8108)
painted the outside of my house. Their carpenter also made a
window to replace a rotted window and replaced a cracked pane of
glass in another window. They were courteous and pleasant to
work with at all times. They cleaned up around my house after
the job was finished. I'm pleased with their work.
Camille
I almost hate to post this in case she gets too busy from
people calling her, but a wonderful painter is Patricia Dunne
of Dunne Painting. Several friends had reffered us to her and
we adore her. she has done inside and outside work for us, is
very fair in her prices and her crew is not only very nice but
very clean. i have given her name to two friends and they love
her too. i actually wish i had more work to give her she's that
great. Give her a call and tell her leigh sent you. 415-516-
8445.
leigh
Sept 2007
I want to add my recommendation for Phil Lawhun of Phil's
Painting. I found him through the BPN and he was one of three
companies I spoke with about painting my home. I chose him
after clients on his reference list spoke very highly of him.
He did a great job painting my house. Previous residents had
done shoddy paint jobs and Phil had to spend quite a bit of
time prepping the stucco to be painted properly. He and his
crew were punctual, pleasant and did keep the yard in good
shape.
If you need interior or exterior painting, consider calling
him. His phone number is (510) 317-1844
Mari
I am recommending a FANTASTIC PAINTER, ABEL ALFARO. Abel came into our lives
after a friend recommended him during a major remodel. He painted every room in
her house except for one. He has since come to our house to do 4 projects. At
least
5 of our other friends and neighbors have also used Abel based on our
recommendation and have had great experiences with him. Many have also hired
him back for multiple jobs. Abel is extremely detail oriented, does general
handyman work (electrical, drywall, etc), is honest, hard working, has amazing
work
ethic, is a family man and is sweet with our kids. Abel is always willing to do
what
we ask of him (and more), and says yes with a smile on his face. He comes when he
says he will be here and leaves the job site tidy. We used to be do-it-yourselfer
painters. We did a nice job, but ever since Abel started painting we realized his
work
is far superior and have not picked up a paintbrush since! Call Abel directly at
(510)
932-2383 cell or (510) 724-3545.
Anastasia
I want to highly recommend Terry Roedel, of TL Painting. Terry is
very professional , neat and tidy, quick and his rates are
incredibly reasonable. He'll do small jobs or large with the same
meticulous, organized and professional manner. I have referred
him to my clients with complete confidence and have also worked
with him personally. If you are considering any painting project,
indoors or out, give Terry a call at 652-7933.
Laura
Our house painter was Terry Richards of Transformations
Painting, 925-228-4879. He is a small business owner that takes
pride in his work. He did a great job at a fair price. Terry
will consult with you to determine the right colors for your
home. We were very pleased with his work.
Go Bears/Giants berkeley mom
July 2007
Terry Roedel is a great painter who is very neat and meticulous
and quite reasonably priced. He's willing to do small jobs as
well as large ones. I'm a designer/color consultant/faux
finisher, and have been highly recommending him to my own
clients. He's also very trustworthy and clean cut. Give Terry a
call at 652-7933.
Laura
lEsbin Aguilar runs a spectacular, unofficial paint company
with several of his relatives. They all work hard and very
carefully, and are extremely responsive to any issues that you
may raise with them. My house was completely transformed by his
work, instantly going from the worst appearing house on the
block to one of the best. Although he has a 925 phone number, a
lot of his work is in Berkeley and Oakland. Last Christmas day
(2006), my mother and I drove around Berkeley and Oakland to
compare his work with that of a formal, licensed company whose
bid was about 60% higher than Esbinms. I expected to find that
the official companyms work was better but the question I
expected to answer was whether they were better enough to
justify the higher price. In fact I found to my surprise that
Esbinms work was clearly better. Due to the rain I then waited
until the following June, six months later, to do the job and
he honored the original bid. He is from Guatemala and some of
his workers donmt speak that much English but he definitely
speaks well enough to do a job with him and his wife is fluent
in English and can translate for particularly complicated
requests, if need be (though I doubt it would be necessary).
Esbin operates informally, which is no problem for someone of
his caliber, but if you do want a formal signed contract you
will have to make sure it happens. He is happy to do it. He
also seems unaware of California law that all payments to
contractors (including painters and including supplies) happen
upon satisfactory completion of a job. I ended up compromising
on this point even though I probably didnmt have to. This is
not at all a criticism of him though and I would give him the
highest possible recommendation. You can reach Esbin at 925-382-
3440.
Steven
June 2007
My house is being painted right now by Raphael Silva. (415-680-5987 - ask for Raphael) Cynthia
We are very happy with the paint job just completed on our home
in El Cerrito by Todd of TLC painting. Phone is 510-703-4777. E-
mail address: tzboray[at]earthlink.net. Our house had had peeling
paint for many years. Toddms crew did a very thorough prep
job, including filling, priming then filling and priming a
second time prior to applying the paint. He had a crew of 3-5
people working hard for a week and a half, completed the job
and left the work site extremely clean and professional
looking. Todd included replacement of rotten wood on stairs
and handrails as part of his work and the result was a huge
improvement in the appearance of our home. He protected our
shrubs, pruning them but leaving them mostly intact. His price
was fair and he gave us the option of upgrades on paint quality
and other details. He and his workers took care of everything,
including repairing the stairs while we were out of town, to
minimize any inconvenience to us. He was able to do the job on
fairly short notice. Many of our neighbors have commented on
the high quality of his work. I would recommend his paint
company without reservation.
wenfitch
We recently needed to have the exterior of our home in Alameda
painted. Being first time home owners we didn't really know
what to expect regarding price. We consulted five different
companies and the five bids were all over the place. Olson's
Painting was the company we chose because of the integrity of
the owner, Myron Olson. Upon meeting him the day of the bid we
felt we would be hiring a quality company that would honestly do
great work. We were right!
The crew was timely, professional and easy to work with. A
thorough clean up was executed every night before they left.
They took their time to ensure all the prep work was completed
and it shows in the final product.
We couldn't be happier with the way our house looks! Myron was
a pleasure to work with. He pays attention to detail and makes
you feel like your home is him most important job. We highly
recommend Olson's Painting. Their phone number is (510)521-
3351.
Valerie
I would like to shout out a huge thank you to all the BPN'ers out
there who contacted Rafael Silva for painting work. I posted an
unsolicited review of his work last fall and he ended up getting
so much work that he came around to our house yesterday and
offered to paint our front porch for free!!
He's a really great guy, reliable and his prices and quality of
work are really great. He has done at least 6 houses now within
about a 4 block radius of our house and everyone has been pleased
with his work.
Contact: Rafael Silva, 415 680 5987
Feel free to contact me if you want to see the work he's done on
our house or others in our neighborhood.
cameron
I wanted to share my positive experience working with Ven
Crespo. We bought a fixer in the grandlake area and interviewed
several painters before we went forward. Ven was the crew
leader on our project and did a great job. Ven is now starting
his own business and I would recommend him for both interior
and exterior jobs. Because he is just starting up, he rates
are a bit lower than most. His phone is 925.382.3434
carolyn
May 2007
Bruce Dixon of Thousand Oaks Painting & his crew (849-9018, cell
410-6806) did an excellent job painting the interior of 2 stories
of my house, including lots of woodwork, small window panes, etc.
He was prompt, reasonable, did good work and pays attention to
detail, really wants the results to look nice and tries to go the
extra mile. He paints all types but especially enjoys working on
older houses. (In his free time, he's also very involved with
volunteer work and received an award usually given to charitable
organizations as ''Local Hero'' by the Newman's Own/Give Something
Back Business Products.)
Joan
April 2007
I highly recommend Gustavo Anaya for house painting. Gustavo preps carefully,
works neatly, and cleans up thoroughly. He is responsible, friendly, and
accommodating-- really delightful to work with. His rates are very reasonable,
and
hems prompt. I would happily hire him and his wonderful staff to paint the
inside or
outside of my house again.
Gustavo Anaya can be reached at 510.860.8718.
Feel free to email me for more info.
Deborah
April 2007
I strongly reccomend Bob Antonelli. He painted the inside and
outside of my house and did a terrific job for a great price.
He has an excellent work ethic and I was very happy with him
and his crew. They also do some carpentry and have a can-do
attitude that is refreshing. His number is 415-724-4301
Daniella
April 2007
We've been quite happy with our painter, Sue Higbee 523-2936. We
had new windows installed and she painted the interior woodwork
and trim for us, and she also has painted our bathroom. She only
does interiors. I don't think that she is licensed. We were
very happy with both the quality and price.
Dan H.
April 2007
Hi, I would like recommendations for a reasonably priced interior painter. Looking
for
someone who is available within the next month to paint two rooms and who can give
advice about removing or painting over wallpaper. Thanks!
john
I have recommended these people to so many of my friends and
clients in the East Bay and all of them have loved their work.
They are a family owned, local business, take great pride in
their work and they pay attention to all the important
details. It sounds like wallpaper and other cosmetic things
might need particular attention.
Anyhow, I've used them many times and have felt every penny was
extremely well spent. And to boot they are super nice peopleV
but they are good and well priced so sometimes they are booked
ahead for awhile. Tell them that Brandi referred you, they
will appreciate it.
Arana Residential and Commercial Painting 510-567-9559
http://www.arc-painting.com/
Good luck,
One Happy Customer!
This is basically a re-post of my unsolicited review from a few
months ago. Karma does interiors as well as exteriors, and can
provide references from folks he's done that for.
I recently had my house painted by Karma Painting Service, and
had probably the best experience I've had with anyone who's
worked on my house.
Karma spent an hour or more just looking over the house to
prepare the bid. The bid he gave us was complete, clear and easy
to read.
He did meticulous prep work. He took care that no debris was left
behind, and no dust got into the house. He went back over certain
areas multiple times to make sure the work was up to his standards.
He and his crew were an active pleasure to have around. They
befriended both my dog and my young daughter.
When the front porch turned out to need close to half replacing
rather than minor repairs, he found us a pleasant, competent
carpenter to do the work. He was more than willing to do small
side jobs as he went along, and took care of a number of
maintenance headaches we'd never been able to get to.
He was incredibly patient with our indecision over color, and put
up innummerable samples for us.
I would say the work speaks for itself because the finished
product is quite beautiful, but you'd have to have seen the
neglected ''before'' to appreciate they way he brought the
shingles back to life. If you want to see what his work looks
like email
me, and I'll send back our address.
He can be reached at karmatsewang[at]hotmail.com or 510 932-1298
Kirsten
March 2007
Hi,
I'm surprised at the negative reviews of Varsity Painting. I
used them this past summer to paint my two-story shingle house.
I got several bids - not only was theirs the least expensive,
they presented the bid and contract in a very professional
manner, with summaries of all expenses. The painters were
prompt and careful, cleaned up everything every day. They
repaired some shingles on the house and cheerfully added a paint
job for the garage. The house looks like new. I was very
satisfied with them.
Cris
March 2007
I'd like to recommend Susanne George (510-289-0713)as an
excellent painter and color advisor. She helped me decide what
to do about color after I had paid quite a bit to a
color ''specialist'' only to be made very confused. After the
color scheme was clarified, she went on to paint several rooms
quickly, efficiently, and very neatly. She is pleasant,
reliable and also had connections to other tradespeople which
enabled me to get some carpentry and electricity work done
without having to wait endlessly and pay too much. Her price
was was also very reasonable.
Shauna
Feb 2007
I chose Varsity Painting after reading the negative and positive
reviews. I also read positive reviews on Bay Area Checkbook
website. I got several bids. Varsity's bid was in the middle.
I told the estimator that I was picky...He said that I would be
happy with the work. They sent out Frank Robles and I believe
Sebastian worked with him. They were a great team. They get
along great together and so the work environment was very
friendly and easy to be around. I don't care how much I could
have paid for the work, I could not have gotten any better
quality of work. Frank Robles is extremely skilled. He mixed
the colors since Benjamin Moore seemed unable to do it. On the
exterior I wanted a layer of sealer then 2 coats of stain. For
the interior, I used several colors. And although Frank was
feeling that he needed to complete the job within the time
estimated by the company as reasonable for the job, when time
ran over he still made every effort to be patient with me, do a
great job and get the job done quickly. After the work was done
I called Varsity to complain about some small damage done to a
piece of antique wood furniture. I wanted them to pay for
refinishing the drawer. Then, I decided that they had done such
a great job for me and had done everything I had asked for (and
I asked for a lot), that I didn't want to ask them to repair the
drawer and that I could pay for it. But, they said for me to be
sure to call them back if I changed my mind and I wanted them to
pay for the repair. So, I have to say the esimator said that I
would be happy with the work and I was very happy with the work
that Frank and Sebastian did for us. Every exchange that I had
with the company was positive.
JJ
Feb 2007
Hello, I've been using a very good woman painter in the East
Bay: Susan George 510-289-0713. She is reliable, has given
me great color advice, works carefully and cleanly. Her price
is competative as well.
Hann
Feb 2007
I want to highly recommend our house painter, Armando. He is an
amazingly skilled and professional painter. I know he has taken many
classes on painting and takes pride in his work and professionalism. He
can do exterior, interior, faux finishes, wood touch-up, etc. He is clean,
organized, responsible, and even great with my young boys (on his own
time, he taught one of them how to paint faux wood). He has all his own
equiptment and his rates are very reasonable.
Jennifer C
Feb 2007
I wanted to reaffirm the earlier positive reviews of Ted Reiner,
a truly service-oriented plumber. Ted has done several jobs
for me, including installing a new hot water heater.
Unfortunately, we had a run of bad luck in obtaining a new one
that worked (would you believe that two band new hot water
heaters could be defective?). The first service rep was not
helpful. Ted spent countless hours at no charge, working on the
heater and dealing with the supplier until we had hot water
again. He's someone that you can count on, which means a lot
nowadays. His office number is (510) 525-5335; cell is (510)
375-7690.
Ann
Jan 2007
I want to recommend a fantastic painter and designer, Laura
Cusack. She just finished my son's ceiling, and now it has
literally hundreds of little glowing stars just like the real
nighttime sky. She even included a comet and my sonms favorite
constellation. I've never seen anything like it. My son & I
can't take our eyes off it at bedtime. Itms celestial magic!
And this isn't all that Laura does. I've seen her faux
finishes in a friendms house, and they're absolutely gorgeous.
All this, and shems incredibly nice to deal with. She'll help
you figure out what you want and she makes the process fun.
She has the most wonderful energy. Shems very reasonable too.
I can't say enough good things about her. Her number is 655-
0678.
Natalie
Jan 2007
We would once again like to recommend a great painting company:
COLOR TOUCH painting and decorating, run by Todd Worsfold. We
used them a couple of years back and recently had the pleasure of
working with Todd and his crew again. They have done both
interior and exterior work for us and have always been thorough,
exacting and professional. We have recommended them to friends
with stellar results! They have a web-site:
www.colortouchpainting.com The office number recently changed to
415 469 7261.
Tom
Dec 2006
I would like to recommend Dave Davis, of Dave Davis Designs, for
interior painting and color consulting. I initially hired him for
painting only. But I soon realized that I also needed his
guidance in choosing paint colors in several rooms. He helped me
settle on colors that complemented each other and worked well
under different lighting conditions. He has an eye for detail and
does a meticulous job of painting. On top of that, he was fun to
have around and I feel like I made a friend in this process. I
would use him again, without hesitation. To reach Dave, call
510-684-0132 (cell) or 510-452-2591 (land line). Please feel free
to contact me by email for a reference
barbara
We recently used Esbin Aguilar to paint the exterior of our house and were pleased
with the results. He is very hard-working and has a great attitude and work ethic. His
english is not great, but it was not a problem, as his wife Karen speaks english well.
His cell is 925-382-3440
anon
This past summer I hired Vaughn Painting to paint the outside
of my house, and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.
My house is a small stucco two-story, with modest amounts of
stucco detail. Steve Vaughn helped me enormously through his
advice about selecting a color palette that brought out these
details without ''shouting'' color or pattern. His crew are
extremely polite, hard-working, and careful. They also did a
terrific job in the prep work, and cleaned up thoroughly when
the job was done. I was also appreciative of Steve's
willingness to send one of his crew back (more than once) to
fix a stuck window, or whatever I requested. I had three sets
of workmen at my house this summer (roof, bathroom remodel, and
exterior painting), and Vaughn Painting clearly were the most
professional of the bunch. I would recommend Vaugh Painting
without hesitation for either interior or exterior painting.
Peggy
Dec 2006
I would like recommendations for a good inside house painter.
Someone who is reasonable, very neat, non-smoker, reliable,
timely and conscientious. Anyone have a great experience,
please let us know,
Thanks!
I wanted to enthusiastically recommend a WONDERFUL painter to
you. Abel Beltran was recommended to me by a fantastic local
cabinet maker who said his work was outstanding (I needed my
cabinets painted). I hired him to paint my cabinets and we ended
up also having him paint our kitchen and the exterior of our
house. He is exceptional at what he does, takes great pride in
his work, is affordable, and equally important, he is a TRUE
gentleman, very honest, very reliable, clean, friendly, and a joy
to work with. He worked for many years for a large painting
contractor and he's recently started his own painting business. I
will hire him again for ANY painting projects that I have.
I know you'll be happy with him. He's a gem!
His cell: 415-225-5624.
Julie
I would like to recommend an exceptional painter--Richard
Smith Painting-- Richard Smith and Nancy Brown are trustworthy,
thorough,detailed, talented and enjoyable. I have worked with
with them on several occasions and have been incredibly
impressed. Richard Smith 510-232-2362
Karen
Nov 2006
I previously listed a great painter, Jeff Sibley. He specializes
in interiors, and takes great care to do the proper prep work.
He buys most of his supplies from Elmwood Hardware, a wonderful
family run business. He is also experienced in the use of
environmentally friendly/less smelly paints. Unfortunately I
listed the wrong number! He can be easily reached at 772-2753
mbrian
Nov 2006
Amazing Painter
Hi, I have to rave about our painter. They are called Arana
Residential and Commercial Painting 510-567-9559. Ernesto is
the owner and his wife Catherine does the business management
inside. Right from the start Ernesto was friendly and
personable and super professional. His pricing was very
reasonable and when I called his references they glowed about
the attention to detail he gave and how thorough he was.
I decided to try him and several jobs later I am so happy I did.
Ernesto has painted several jobs (big and small, inside & out)
for us. His work is impeccable, he is extremely thorough, super
hard working and his prices were terrific. I referred him to
some friends who have businesses and they have used him for
several of their office buildings and they couldn't say enough
about how much they loved their paint job. I especially like
that I'm working with a husband/wife team in a family
business. They really care about their customers and are so
friendly to work with. They are the best painters I've ever
used and though they are based in Oakland they have done jobs
for us in SF and Marin too!
Brandi
Nov 2006
How much does interior painting cost? What should the labor
be? We have high ceilings (18 feet) in the living room and
entry, and 8 foot elsewhere...no priming needed, very little
prep (new construction.) We need the ceilings, doors, walls
and trim work (not much moulding if at all...) Do painters
charge by the square foot of surface area? Or home's square
footage? Please educate us.
home needs paint!
Alonzo's Painting do very detailed interior and exterior paint
jobs. They are located here in Berkeley, and do a wonderful
job. If you call them they can easily give you a quote on what
you need. Their number is 510 204-9108, ask for Alfonso Alonzo.
Friend of a Friend
Sept 2006
I am looking for recent recommendations for exterior house
painters for an older stucco house. Our house has not had a
decent paint job in many years, and it probably needs substantial
prep. We are also concerned that we get someone who can spot
cracks and do a good waterproofing job. On the other hand, this
is a 70 year old house, and we do not expect it to look brand
new. We have had two estimates already (from Bridge Painting and
Steve Vaughn, who is recommended on this network). There was
quite a spread in the estimates. We would like to get two more
estimates from more recent recommendations, and would also
appreciate comments regarding Bridge and Vaughn. Thanks!
Kim
Our 2 neighbors have just had their houses painted by GLM
Painters and they have been very
pleased with the jobs they have done. Both houses are similar to
yours - stucco, built in the 1910s-1920s, hadn't been painted in
many years. They did excellent work re-glazing windows, filling
cracks in the stucco and their attention to detail was amazing.
So amazing in fact that I hired them to do our living room and 2
bedrooms. And best of all, their rates were unbelievably
reasonable. email me if you'd like to come by and see their work
- we're in Oakland, Rockridge area.
Cameron
GONZALO LOPEZ
GLM PAINTING
License # 801635
229 Theresa St.
San Francisco, CA 94112
Phone: (415) 608-7152
Office: (415) 401-0798
We had our 80 year old stucco house painted this summer. We
had extensive cracks that needed to be repaired and we wanted
waterproofing as well since we had leaks last winter. We got
several estimates and decided to go with Olson's Painting. The
owner is Myron Olson and was recommended on BPN. His number is
521-3351. He's really down to earth, easy to work with and it
was a pleasure to have his crew at our house for a week. They
were thorough and did a terrific paint job. You would never
know we had all those cracks. He also pays particular
attention to lead containment which is important with children
in our home. And on top of it all, he gave us one of the
lowest estimates and was very flexible with the scheduling
since we were waiting for other contractors to finish their
work first. When we need more painting, we will definitely
call Myron.
Kathy
Sept 2006
GOOD PAINTER
We have an old mission style home in the hills that badly needed
a serious paint job. After a fair amount of research and several
bids we settled on Todd Zboray of TLC Painting -- it turned out
to be a very lucky choice. He was immediately responsive, and
although not as charismatic a salesman as some of the other
folks -- including one obviously very good painter who keeps
showing up on the BPN list -- very straight ahead, easy to work
with and totally honest. He was ready to paint right away, bid
the job at a very competitive price and said he would be done
within a week, despite the enormous amount of prep and finish
our old home needed. Todd and his hard-working crew did a superb
job on both the prep and the paint and finished on time,
bringing in a lots of great help when the crunch came. I'm
fairly fussy about thoroughness and detail and I was quite
satisfied with both. He was pleasant and totally professional
throughout the job, took on some added work that I didn't expect
but was so glad to learn about and always showed up on time.
What's more, I felt very good and safe about leaving the house
with my family inside as the painters worked outside and inside,
as I did when no one was home. Cleanup was adequate, but I may
be too rigorous about that. I hired him again to paint some
interior spaces and was once again very pleased. I've worked
with a lot of interior and exterior painters over many years and
Todd is the man. You can reach him at 510 703 4777 or
tzboray[at]earthlink.net
Roland
Nice Painter
I would like to recommend Esbin Aguillar he painted my other
house, his price was the lowest of 5 I received, he is a great
painter, please consider Esbin, he has painted for my friends
too, he was very flexible also did a good cleanup once the job
was finished. He also changed my old windows. We are very
happy with the results. He can be reached at 925-382 34 40 or
925 753 4838
konie
Great Housepainter
Davis Painting 558-3129
I heartily recommend Lou Davis's company for painting interiors
and especially exteriors. We've hired his firm to do both and
have been thoroughly delighted with his service, the price, and
the result. Lou first painted several of our interior rooms, and
assisted in the selection of paint types to be used. His
recommendations were spot-on. Based on this job, we hired him
for a complete repainting of the exterior - a very involved job
on a near 100-year old house. His crew was professional and very
courteous. Attentive to detail, they were very patient as we
tested several paint combinations. We are delighted with the result.
I am so very glad I hired Lou. Working with him, I found him to
be a man of tremendous professionalism and fairness. I regret I
have no more painting work, but I hope to see someone else share
the same experience I had working with Davis Painting.
Jeff
Sept 2006
We have some small painting jobs -- a patch of redone stucco and
a couple of window frames, a deck, a cement floor and walls of a
basement workshop that need doing in early September. We'd love
to find a painter we can call on again and again over the years
as we need more painting done.
Hedy
Hello, Hedy.
I recommend you call Soumil Amin of CertaPro Painters. Office
510.981.0321. Cell 925.787.1843. I know several people who've
hired him and everyone was very pleased.
Best wishes,
Ann
I would like to recommend Beth Edwards for interior painting and wall paper.
She is
fast, clean and efficient, and very reasonable priced.
She painted and wallpapered a friend's living room and he is very happy with
her
work. Her # is 415/668-3346
Stephani
Sept 2006
Hello - I'm seeking feedback from anyone that may have used
Varsity to paint the interior of their home. We are considering
them for a fairly large project (smooth-wall + paint). Feedback
is much appreciated -- quality, timeliness, professionalism,
cost, etc
Lisa
Regarding Varsity Painting, I would not recommend them based on
my experience. I hired one of their foreman to paint the
exterior of my house and for someone who's supposed to be in
charge - he and his crew not only left a total mess outside my
house, but they spilled and splattered paint all over my walkway
and driveway it needed to be repainted. Buyer beware!
Anon
I agree with another posting that I would not recommend Varsity
Painting. We used them for a small bedroom and it was a
disaster! The guy ''in charge'' never prepped the wood, so it
was still bumpy and gross from layers of old paint. He didn't
remove any screws, and just painted over ancient window
fixtures. For a project that could have been completed in a
couple of days, it took weeks. He didn't show up when he was
supposed to, did not work for days on end, and he left our
house a mess. There was paint all over the new hardwood
floors, and whatever he used to clean it up took off the
finish. We ended up complaining, big time, and they gave us a
huge discount. But, aside from the walls and ceiling in that
room eventually being the colors we wanted, the whole project
was a bust
Regretting that decision in Alameda
August 2006
Our nanny's husband is a great painter in the East Bay. I got
him a job painting two neighbor's houses and he was fast, gave
a very competitive quote, clean and showed up. Him and his
wife are loyal and hardworking and would appreciate the
opportunity to get your business. His name is Esbin Aguilar
and he can be reached at 925-382-3440
jm
Gustavo Anaya provides clean, quality painting of interiors and exteriors, homes and offices. He
is very reasonably priced, honest, and thorough in his work. I highly recommend him.
Jerry
I would like to recommend Esbin Aguilar who painted the exterior of our house, he did a terrific job. He is
efficient,reasonably priced and a skilled carpenter.
Konnie
If you're looking for a great painters, VARSITY PAINTING (1-888-
VARSITY) should be your first stop. We got 3 estimates to get
the exterior of our house painted, & they were by far the most
professional, reliable, etc. To our surprise, they were the
cheapest quote as well & we couldn't be more pleased with the
service! They were efficient, pleasant, & truly did great work
on our house. After a year, we had a small area with some
peeling paint, & they held true to their 5 yr. warranty & came
immediately & happily back to repaint the area. Thanks
VARSITY!
bengl
January - June 2006
I wanted to take the time to recommend Tony Menjivar for any of your
house
painting needs, both interior and exterior. He is very thorough, hard
working
and
conscientious and, of course, does an excellent job prepping, painting
and
cleaning
up. He is also a very nice man, easy to have around and whom I
trusted
explicitly
and would leave in my house alone all day. Plus, he has two young
kids so he
was
both considerate of my two, particularly during naptime, and conscious
of trying
to
air the place out and paint in such an order as to minimize fumes for
them.
Please
feel free to contact me with any questions or if you have any
difficulty
reaching
Tony. Tony can be reached at H) 510-724-1523 or on his cell at
510-672-4084.
Thanks!
Susie (6/20/06)
Soumil Amin of CertaPro Painters is very professional and does a
great job. After he and his crew leave, you can't tell that they
have even been there! Other than the beautiful paint job. They
respect your time and your space. 925-787-1843
Julie (5/30/06)
Regardless of the references, when hiring a painter you should
verify some independent references and if possible see the work.
Last summer I hired Nu-Cote Painting, and they promised to sand and
prime before painting. Well it didn't happen, and it's been
expensive to fix and re-do all the work. Essentially, I've paid
twice and the process was a big headache.
bdh (5/30/06)
To the person who posted asking about Carlos Avalos. We have used
Carlos several times after getting his name from this website and
have always been very pleased with his profesionalism and the
quality of his work. He has done both inside and outside work for
us, charging very reasonably for time and materials. Most
recently, he painted 2 accent walls for us in December. One wall
required much more work than originally anticipated because it was
difficult to get the dark color to take hold on our wall. Carlos
came back 4 or 5 times to add one more coat of paint(even on
Christmas Eve). We were quite pleasantly surprised when he charged
us his original estimate in spite of the additional work. We paid
a little bit extra, but it probably still didn't cover his costs.
Carlos is also a very nice guy- doing magic tricks for my kids. I
highly recommend him.
Susan (5/30/06)
I just wanted to let everyone know about a great painter who does
interiors and exteriors. Scott Wojno is a thorough, detail-oriented, very
considerate and talented painter who takes great care in his work but
manages to do so very quickly too. He is extremely concerned with
customer satisfaction and has graciously indulged my changed mind on
numerous occasions. He works alone and is totally trustworthy to be given
a key. His fees are very reasonable and I just can't say enough nice
things about him. His company is called Mastercraft and his number is
510/632-5181.
Paint Me Happy (5/4/2006)
RE Help with exterior paint and "curb appeal"
We used Glen Larsen to paint the interior and exterior of our home. He also did a
lot of repairs for us - 510-253-9851 (4/16/2006)
We also had a very bad experience with Bridge Painting. Without rehashing all the
unpleasant details, suffice it to say that he did not deliver on any promises, made us
all crazy for a period of two months, and ultimately left us with an unpainted (but
ugly from water blasting) house to welcome our out-of-town houseguests for an
important family holiday. We eventually hired another painter and started over, even
though it cost us extra money.
Not a Bridge Fan (3/30/06)
We have had good results with Richie Bucher. He is a very detailed painter who first
helped us with some complicated painting around our stairs. We had him come back to
paint our kitchen after a remodel. He is neat and the finished results look fantastic.
He was less expensive than many of the bids we received and his estimates for both
jobs were on the money - a good find. I know he does exterior work too, but we havent
seen his results there. Richie can be reached at (510) 654-7658.
David (3/30/06)
We just used a very good painter for the 3rd time. I have used him & recommended him to
many people. I recently heard of some horro stories from people that had had many problems
w/different painters. I felt that I hould let people know about Jeff Jolly (our painter).
He is a one man show and only does interiors but he is very quick and reasonably priced.
He lives in S.F. but does a lot of work in the east bay. His phone # is 415-250-4520. I
know he is looking for work right now so you might even get a better price.
Michael (3/8/06, phone number updated 11/20/06)
I want to counter the recent posting recommending Bridge Painting. They presented me with
a stack of glowing recommendations, one written by someone I happened to know, gave the
lowest bid, and promised to get the job done within a certain amount of time even though
they were busy and were squeezing us in.(It was a small job-rafters, trim, and windows,
all in really bad shape.) We discussed our concerns with the owner about handling the
peeling, chipping lead-based paint on our home, and he assured us his crew was equipped to
deal with it. Well, long story short, they dragged the job out for weeks, had different
people on the job, most of whom took no precautions in dealing with the lead based paint
(lead-based paint chips all over the place), the prepping was terrible, and then the owner
felt he was doing us a favor by not charging us more because three coats of paint were
needed to get good coverage. Perhaps my experience was out of the norm, because, as I
said, I did read through quite a pile of glowing recommendations. Does anyone else want to
chime in?
anonymous (3/8/2006)
Gustavo Anaya painted the interior and exterior of our house and the house across the
street. He is an excellent painter, very trustworthy, works hard, and his rates are very
reasonable. Call me for more details. Call Gustavo if you are looking for a
great painter this spring. He gives free estimates.
Jerry (3/8/2006)
I wish to alert the membership to Bridge Painting. They did an outstanding job of preparation, painting, and clean-up on our exterior paint job. A crew of 3 worked all day, every day, really prepping the surfaces, and sealed up all of our windows really well to keep dust out of the house. They were courteous, hard-working, and did a really outstanding job. Every day they cleaned up any debris and left the place spic and span. The final job was really fine.
Christine (2/22/06)
I'd like to recommend Susanne George. I think she calls herself Susie the Painter. She works in the East Bay. She painted several rooms in my house and did a perfect job. She was thoughtful, pleasant, timely about all aspects of the job. In addition, she gave me good color advice, obtained samples for me, picked up the paint, and even took some old cans I had to be recycled. Her price was the lowest of 4 estimates I received.
Susanne George 510-289-0713
arbor (2/22/06)
After looking a long time for a good painting referral, I recently hired Joaquin Ramirez to repaint a bathroom and refinish a number of old windows. He did an excellent job. He was pleasant, hardworking, responsible, honest, very helpful with color selection, and reasonably priced. He has had over l7 years experience, does interior and exterior work, and specializes in restorations. He also does cement work, plaster, and sheetrock repair. I originally got his name from Ace Hardware in Kensington, where he has worked for a number of businesses and private homes. He had a lot of prior references that I checked out, that were all very pleased with his work. His phone is (510)827-5934.
alma (2/6/2006)
I would like to recommend Allan Pollack, his email address is mymaya91[at]aol.com. He has more than 20 years experience, is very careful and reliable, but also fast. He specializes in interiors and can do small handyman jobs as well. He lives in Oakland and I found him to be very trustworthy and dependable.
dfigman (2/6/2006)
We have used the services of Carlos Avalos Painting several times over the past 5 years both inside the house and, most recently, the outide. We initially found Carlos via the BPN. He and his crew just finished painting the exterior of our 70-yr old 2-story mediterrean home which has a large deck and over 30 wood windows. We could not be more pleased with the quality of work. Carlos is extremely knowledgeable, has an excellent crew and work standards, and does exceptional work at reasonable rates. Carlos can be reached at 510-568-0510 (office) or 510-798-3100 (cell). He also has a new website (carlosavalospainting.net) with several pictures of this work. Our house is not yet on his website but will be in the near future.
Hal (2/6/2006)
A good friend, Jeff Sibley, recently moved to the area. His painting company, Sibley Painting and Restoration, specializes in interior painting, and Jeff knows everything there is to know (including the use of environmentally friendly paint). He painted our house and a neighbor's dining room with great results. You can reach him at home (510) 772-2753, or by email jeff[at]sibleyrestoration.com
mbrian (2/6/2006)
Rain damaged the living room plaster & lathe ceiling and walls in our 1925 home. On the referral of a BPN'er, we hired Phil Lawhun of Phil's Painting for both the plaster repair and the paint job. He finished the job today and I want to second the earlier recommendation. Phil is a meticulous painter and - almost as importantly - a gentle, soft spoken man. I work from my home and never had any trouble with noise while he was here (three days). I also didn't worry about having my very impressionable daughter around Phil -- the harshest word I heard him say was 'gosh!' Our living room is better than before the rain damage; Phil took time to sand down and fill all the abnormalties that result from earth movement. And the plaster job... what can I say? You can't even tell that there was ever any damage. Phil does both indoor and outdoor repair and paint. You can reach him at 510-317-1844. Let me know if you have questions.
becky (2/6/2006)
Antonio can be reached at (925)-382-3440 his cell, and (925)-753-0784 home, I higly recommend him, he did a great job, his rates are reasonable and fair. Next time I will hire him again! Thank you!
Kerri (1/12/2006)
If you need a professional and honest paint job, i know Ven is one of the better options in all the bay area. Recently he did an excellent job in my house, he
painted the interior and exterior, as good as i ever seen before, and the best thing of it all, his rates are very reasonable.
Ven can be reached at 925-382-3434, 925-753-0784.
yec (1/12/2006)
July - December 2005
We recently bought a house in Berkeley that needed to be painted completely inside. The painters that we hired showed up to do the job then said it was too much to do an left. We then called Myron Olsen, of Myron Olsen painting and they really saved our lives. They quickly and efficently painted our entire house in record time so that we could move in to a freshly painted home. After the move and bathroom and kitchen remodeling. They came back and put the finishing touches on the paint job. It's usually hard to get people back once you pay them. Myron stayed true to his word, returned calls promptly and did a beautiful job. His workers were clean, neat and respectful of my newly renovated home. I can highly recommend him and his team. Please call him at 510-521-3351.
eva (11/30/2005)
We had Ramon Herrera paint our stucco house last summer and were very pleased. He also just finished our neighbor's house on our recommendation. His number is 415-314-0065.
Kim (11/14/2005)
We highly recommend Martin Perez of Martin & Sebastian Painting. They are based in Manteca, but Martin is local and can be found by calling: 510-304-9408 or 510-538-6271.
We were getting backed up preparing for the arrival of our son in December and Martin gave us a very reasonable bid for the small job of painting one bedroom. He did an excellent job with the prep, painting (ceiling, walls and baseboards) and cleanup. He arrived on-time and was finished with everything very quickly (5 hours start to finish) and even caulked our baseboards before painting. He was friendly, clean and meticulous. We couldn't be more pleased with his work.
~Marilyn & Jonathan (11/1/2005)
We just had the exterior of our house painted and wanted to recommend Frank Cefalu of afc Painting (415) 308-1645 to anyone who is planning on hiring professional painters. Frank's team is extremely conscientious in their preparation, painting and cleanup. True professionals. Very thorough, no shortcuts taken, very responsive to client needs and wants. Frank's pricing is very fair. He was a mid range bid for us, but provided an additional coat of paint (we got one primer coat and two top coats) for the price. Our house is now the standout on the block and in our neighborhood.
Sharon (11/1/2005)
We enthusiastically recommend NewCoat Painting, a locally owned painting company. We recently had the exterior wooden windows and trim of our house painted. Jorge Aguiar, the owner, did a great job. Not only was he knowledgeable and meticulous, he worked extremely hard and did not cut corners on the prep work (he spent a tremendous amount of time on prep work). He was conscientious, reliable, neat, and honest. He is a true professional. His pricing was also very fair. NewCoat Painting does both interior and exterior jobs and is licensed, bonded, and insured. Jorge can be reached at: 384-3216 or newcoat[at]pacbell.net.
Pleased with Jorge's work (10/20/2005)
Louis Davis just did a huge job for us, painting our house, inside and out. He and his crew were amazing. The work they did was terrific. They were tidy and responsible, responsive and easy to have around. They worked long hours to get us back in the house, and were easygoing about redoing rooms when we changed our minds about colors (and without charging us more!!). I can't say enough about Lou. He's a great guy and a wonderful, professional painter.
Ayelet (10/20/2005)
I have a recommendation for a fantastic and affordable house painter- Salvador Romero (510) 910-2313 cell phone.
He and his crew painted our house, many colors, high ceilings, lots of detail and many changes. They were thorough, tidy and timely. Most important, they were affordable. They were not the lowest bid i had gotten, but they were clearly the better choice. So I went to Sal and asked if he would be willing to match the lowest bid I had received, and he agreed. They were great to work with, and I highly recommend them. Sal- (510) 910-2313. Let him know Margaret recommeded him.
(10/20/2005)
I just moved into a new house here on near Indian Rock (Berkeley Hills), and had 2 rooms on the inside and the entire exterior painted by CertaPro Painters. I was really impressed with the service I received, and the attention to detail. I have had other painters in the past, and these guys were very professional, and kept the place immaculate. The sales guy really listened to me, and had a pretty good sense of colors. You can get a hold of him at 925-787-1843. His name is Soumil Amin.
Marie (10/12/2005)
I found the GREATEST painter in the world!!!!
I have had several not so great experiences hiring tradesworkers but all that has changed.I discovered this guy by noticing the good work he was doing on my ex-husband's house. I hired him to basically totally redo the paint job another company had botched. His estimate was etremely reasonable and even more importantly his work is excellent. He and his crew are considerate, trustworthy (I can leave my house open all day) and really have the expertise to do a quality job that will last. I am so excited about this guy that I just want to tell the world. Finding good skilled workers is tough and this crew is a real gem. J.P. Painters - Jaime Portill0 510 639 4599....cell 510 381 7195. He says he does carpentry and landscaping too but the only thing I have experience with is his prep/painting work which is truly first rate.
Jessie (10/12/2005)
I'm posting regarding a painter (Susie George) who I hired a few months ago from a recommendation on this list. She's a well-meaning person, has a great eye for color, but her attention to detail is really off.
I asked her to mask trim and cover the floors when she worked--I had to ask because the first time she slopped all over some wood I had just stripped and painstakingly refinished, and she left blobs of paint on the floor that I had just done a ton of work on. Even after I made the request I had to spend a ton of time scraping paint off the floors. I'll have to refinish the molding that she slopped.
When I asked her to fix a few areas that she left looking really rough, she came back and slopped so much paint on the area that it ran down the wall. In addition, she didn't dust off the baseboard before painting it (I'll have to redo that).
On a more personal note, she would leave the door standing open, even after I had asked her not to (and told her why) and cats came in and sprayed my living room. It's also possible that someone came in while the door sat open because now my engagement ring is gone.
I hate to be negative about folks because nobody's perfect, but I'd feel bad if someone worked with her and was unhappy like I was.
Anon (10/12/2005)
I wanted to give a recommendation for Steve Roberts painting in Walnut Creek. He did our exterior and then did four other houses on our block. He has also done some work for us inside as well (ceiling painting, stripping wallpaper and texturing.) At the end of the jobs he always makes sure we are 100% satisfied, and if there are any touch ups, he has his guys out there quickly to take care of it. He was so polite and his crew was efficient and courteous. We would use him again in a heart beat. We have had a lot of contractors in and out of here, and he is the only one we feel comfortable recommending. His number is: 925.705.0230
jennifer (10/12/2005)
I wanted to update my recommendation for Phil's Painting. I posted a review in May 2003 raving about what a great job he did with the poor condition of our stucco exterior. He just completed (Sept 2005) the interior of our house which was also in poor condition with 85 year old lathe and plaster walls spiderwebbed with cracks.
Once again, the house looks like new and several major cracks around the fireplace are impossible to detect. We also opted to paint our kitchen cabinets instead of refacing and they look beautiful. Because of Phil's attention to detail and thorough work, we saved $8K and saved the character of the house.
Phil Lawhun's number is (510) 317-1844. I can't say enough about how impressed I am with his work as well as his ability to manuever around our hectic household of kids, a huge dog and lots of chaos.
Lauren
(10/12/2005)
I just wanted to respond to a recent request for a color consultant and painter. I also used Cass Morris, and got her referral from BPN. While I found her to be excellent at recommending colors and paint combinations, the execution of her painting was sloppy. She left paint splatters on my hardwood floors, sink backsplash and kitchen counters. Corners and edges were also not completely painted. While I would recommend hiring her for color consulting, I would not recommend using her for the paint job.
Looking for more careful painters (8/13/2005)
I would like to recommend a wonderful painter who has recently painted most of the interior of my house. His name is Mason Koelewyn. Mason is very meticulous and professional, detail oriented and knowledgeable about paints and colors. He cleans up thoroughly every day so that your life doesn?t get too disturbed. Best of all, he is a very sweet guy, someone you don?t mind having in your house all day. His prices are reasonable and he works quickly and efficiently.
Give him a call!
Kim (7/24/2005)
Phone number for Mason Allen Koelewyn 510-847-3517 (updated 8/29/2006)
Jan-June 2005
We just had Steve Vaughn of Vaughn Painting finish an exterior paint job for us.
He did an excellent job and I would highly recommend him to anyone looking for a
quality job. His crew of about 5 worked long hard days paying attention to
detail, being curtious to myself and my son and cleaning up at the end of the
day. Steve spent alot of time working with me on colors, explaining the process
and updating me regularly on progress. Vaughn painting is definitly the most
outstanding group I have contracted with to do work on my home and without hesitation I would recommend them. Steve can be reached at 510-918-0655.
mcarroll (6/29/2005)
I feel compelled to mention, as we are all into the house
cleaning/painting season, that we've recently experienced a
really great painting company. The name is Color Touch, and they
were not only very concientious and did great work, but also
courteous, respectful, and basically a pleasure to work with! We
would recommend them highly. They have a website, it is:
http://www.colortouchpainting.com The owner's name is Todd and
his phone # is 415 826 1710
Tom M. (6/29/2005)
A short time ago, I posted a very positive review of Joe Parente, who painted the exterior of our house. I am informed that Mr. Parente now only does interior jobs. In fact, we recently used him to paint our bathroom. His work was once again stellar. His estimate, although not the lowest, was reasonable and fair. Moreover, the job was perfect and timely. Plus, Joe really makes an effort on the clean-up. We had nothing left to do but admire our new room. His number remains 415-730-0917.
joe (6/11/2005)
Guillermo Chicas was recommended as a painter on BPN (4/8). Based on that recommendation we hired him to paint our entire interior. He did a terrific job, was very neat, trustworthy, willing to work with many different colors, was always a pleasure to have around during the process. His rates are reasonable. I highly recommend him! He is willing to work anywhere in the Bay Area. Please call him at (925) 759 7564 or (925)754 9713
Amy (5/19/2005)
If you are in need of a knowledgeable handyman/carpenter,
I will refer you to our 'painter' an all around home repair expert. He has over 20 years of home construction in San Francisco experienced. Extremely helpful with waterproofing and deck coating. Will work on carpentry and plumbing. You can best reach Bob Antonelli on his cell 415-724-4301. He has 100's of referrals.
sue (5/5/2005)
Tony Cataldo does great work! He painted a very large area in our house that need a ton of prep. He is great painter, smart and fun to have around. He was very flexible in allowing us to do as much of work as we wanted to bring down the price. He offered wonderful tips that I will carry on to future projects - "secrets of the trade." Call him for a quote 652-2836
April 4/8/2005)
If you need meticulous interior or exterior painting work, please consider Guillermo Chicas. He has painted for me on several occasions and has done excellent work. Guillermo can be reached at 925-754-9713 or 925-212-6798 (cell).
Maria (4/8/2005)
I just got a great paint job from a young lady named Megan C Melton. It's very high quality work for a cheap price, plus she did a color consultation to bring out my artwork. I highly recommend her! Her number is 510.655.7866.
Rose (4/8/2005)
We recently purchased our first home - settled for less than we would have in a more affordable area. It had never been updated and the walls had the most unpleasant, old, pervasive, cheesy texture on them and we decided we really needed to get rid of it or I'd be miserable. Well, we really lucked out with our painter - NEIL GROSSMAN, (510) 290-8644. He took on a difficult challenge and now, oh boy, do we feel good about moving into this house!
He uses very high-quality materials, he takes the time he needs to do a task properly, he pays great attention to detail (and I can be a stickler) and his rates are reasonable. He's also a heckuva nice guy. We strongly recommend him. We found him through earlier referrals on this site and we're so happy we did. And, oh yes, he also returns phone calls promptly. One of the few painters we contacted who did. HIGHLY-RECOMMENDED.
Carole, the Stickler for Detail (2/25/2005)
Meticulous Painter Wanted
Hello,
There are numerous recommendations for painters on this
website - it's hard to know where to start. I am looking
for a METICULOUS painter to do a large interior project. I
am extremely fussy when it comes to things like woodwork
paint, clean straight lines, even application of paint.
If you have had experience with an above average painter
who does quality work please let me know. There are so
many so-so painters out there and a lot of so-called
painters!
Thank you.
Loraine (1/25/2005)
In the last newsletter, I asked for recommendations for meticulous, above average painters and I got a number of direct replies to my email. So I'm posting names and numbers here for all to share:
Olorin Painting.(510) 292-5137 (recommended by wife)
Jessica Munck (recommended by self) 510-978-8233
Guillermo 925-754-9713 home or 924-212-6798 cell
Carlos Duarte - no number given
Aidan McIntyre - 510 655-0551
Ramiro Magana - (510) 501-8472
Loraine McVey
I recommend Pacific Northwest painters. We found them very
professional and reliable. They are wonderful.
Heather (1/25/2005)
Interior Painting & Carpets
I moved into my husband's house six years ago when we
married. He had lived in the house for 10 years and the
carpets had never been cleaned...they were already a mess;
and the walls discolored by years of smoking over a period
of years by two inhabitants. (My husband hasn't smoked,
after 30 years, for over 7 years!) We need help with
reclaiming the house, which involves repainting all the
interior rooms, then installing carpet. This also involves
a huge moving job, as we have lots of furniture pieces and
both my husband and I work at home and have lots of files,
papers, etc. In addition, my sister, ill with cancer, has
come to live with us. It looks like this: we need
someone/crew to come in and move furniture, paint, then
recarpet every room of the house ([at] 1500 square feet). Are
there people out there in these professions who can help us
in a sensitive, room-by-room way (BTW, I'm busy conducting
a live radio show from home once a week, too, so that has
to be worked around!) Help! I can no longer live with
these walls and carpet! And thanks. Ilene
Ilene
Hi Ilene,
I think I have just the person for you. Her name is Alicia
Brite (510-568-3217) and she is primarily a color
consultant and specialty painter. She has been a painter
for years and also has project management experience. You
can check out her website: http://www.thecoloreffect.com/.
She has all the lskillsn you need for the specific work but
there are two other reasons I am so excited to turn you on
to her. It sure seems you could use some help making the
space better than just clean and fresh but actually
supportive of all the things going on in your lives. This
is exactly what she does with color. The second reason is
her sensitivity to what her clients really need. I actually
think she does what she does to work with families such as
yours where her work can have a transformational effect.
I wish you the best of luck with your project.
Jenny
house painter recommended
I wanted to recommend a housepainter who I originally
found on the UC Berkeley Parents Network from a
recommendation that was a few years old. Bob
Antonelli and his crew (phone: 415-724-4301) painted
the stucco exterior of our house in north Berkeley and
replaced missing window trim as well as stained the
redwood decks and replaced rotting deck boards. He
also does interior painting. The crew did very thorough
prep while painting and took care of a lot of details like
filling in cracks, holes, clipping nails, etc. The
brushwork was neat and tidy, with clean edges. They
also did a good cleanup once the job was finished. Bob
was very responsive to taking care of all the little fixes I
kept track of and was not done with the job until my
to-do list was complete. We were very happy with the
results. Please feel free to contact me if you wish for
more details. --Mollie (1/6/2005)
Oct-Dec 2004
I've been using a good woman painter. She works alone, is
very responsible, does great work, and is low cost. Susie
at 510-289-0713.
Caroline (11/7/2004)
My wife and I would like to recommend Neal Grossman for
both interior and exterior painting. Last year, Neal
painted the entire interior of our house, which included
tearing down a lot of wallpaper and repainting our kitchen
cabinets. This year he painted the exterior, which
required a great deal of carpentry and preparation. The
quality of his work is excellent and his prices are
reasonable. He is also extremely reliable and honest and
has a very good eye (he's also an artist.) We have
reommended Neal to two other friends and they have both
been extremely happy with his work. We plan to hire him
for future projects ourselves. You can reach Neal at
510.290.8644 or at gr8walls at yahoo.com.
Tom (11/7/2004)
May-Sept 2004
We just recently got my mothers master bedroom and bathroom
painted, and I was so impressed that I just had to recommend this guy.
His company is Olorin Painting, and John was by far and away the most
reliable, professional and easy to work with painter that I have
encountered. Not only did he do excellent work, but he really went to
great lengths to explain what needed to be done, what prep-work he
needed to do and why, and was just an all around nice guy to interact
with. He was very reliable and communicative throughout the job,
patient with my mom (who can be a bit demanding) and I thought he
was a wiz with colors - he really knows his stuff. Best of all, his bid was
quite reasonable, especially considering the high quality of the work.
You can reach John at 510-292-5137. This is a guy who actually CALLS
YOU BACK, and keeps his appointments!
Lisa (9/24/2004)
I would like to recommend a painter who recently completed the
exterior of our house and is now doing a neighbors across the
street.
Gabriel 510-685-0086
He is available on weekends only and has a crew of 3-4.
His rates are extremely competitive and he is very responsible and
thorough. Sherry ((9/10/2004)
We recently had the pleasure of using Glen Larsen Construction to paint
the inside and outside of our home. He was conscientious, thorough, and
did a beautiful job. One of the things that really helped was Glen's color
design experience. We used deep tones and color accents and he worked
his way through room by room, helping us make excellent choices that
people compliment us on when they come over. We will be using us for
all our painting work in the future. His number is 510-232-9122.
Warren (7/23/2004)
I would like to recommended two excellent professionals.
One is a carpenter named Kifle Zereat. The other is a
painter name Kezete Kifle. They did several small jobs in
my house. They did a marvelous job, they were
professional, they were on time and they were on budget.
Kifle Zereat's phone number is (510) 387-9041
Kezete's phone number is (510) 472-0577
Abiud (7/11/2004)
Joe Parente (415-730-0917). We recently had the exterior
of our house painted by Joe and his assistant. He is
energetic, knowledgeable, friendly, timely, considerate,
meticulous and most of all, a great painter. His estimate
was the lowest of four we received and he was the only
owner/painter we found. That is, he actually does the work
himself instead of sending a crew out. Joe also
recommended a color for our front door that we had not
considered and we are thrilled with the results. He cleans
up every day and walks you through all the details of what
the job entails. As you can tell by now, I strongly
recommend this guy and his assistant. (7/11/2004)
I just had a wonderful housepainter do the inside and
outside of my house.
Her name is Sigal -- phone 510-209-8590.
Excellent neat work. Great with color consultation -- did
multiple samples to make sure it was perfect.
Fair pricing. Showed up on time every day. I loved
working with her and she was easy to be around.
tine (7/1/2004)
We highly recommend Dave Davis Design - painting, color and
interior specialist. Dave did a great job redesigning our
living space including painting, color, restoration, and
furniture to optimize our small living space and match our
lifestyle. He helped us transform our living room and
dining room to be both functional and also very comfortable
and beautiful! Dave worked collaboratively with us and
communicates well. He also is extremely conscientious and
reliable. Dave Davis can be reached at 510-525-4624.
Mary (7/1/2004)
I've just had my house exterior and interior painted by a
house painter who is so terrific that i just had to post
an enthusiastic recommendation. His name is Tony
Cataldo. When I checked out his references I heard
people say what I am now able to say from personal
experience: Tony cares about his work and takes great
pride in it. He is thorough, easy to
communicate with, appropriately perfectionist, works
quickly but methodically, and is reasonably priced and
totally reliable. he suggested colors and shades that
were in tune with the spirit of my home. Just thought
you might like to know about him and his work. his # is
652-2836
Justine (5/1/2004)
I can recommend Kellie Frederick for interior painting.
Her partner, Mason Koelwyn has been painting my kitchen,
which included removing the wall paper and completely
restoring the walls. Mason was able to repair cracks,
pits, areas where the wall board was showing through and
general unevenness. He did it all, plaster repair,
patching, skim coating, etc. I have a toddler and was
concerned about fumes, sanding dust, etc, and Mason has
cleaned up very thoroughly every day and I have been able
to use my kitchen throughout the process. I highly
recommend them. I found Kellie's recommendation in the
archives.
Valerie
(5/1/2004)
Editor note: As of Jan 2006, Kellie Frederick is no longer
in the area, but Mason Koelewyn can be reached here:
Mason Allen Koelewyn
510-847-3517
mason AT masonallenpainting.com
We have sometimes had a hard time finding an affordable
painter who does high quality work. I would like to
recommend Steven Naylor of Naylor Painting. He's an
energetic and very reliable graduate student with 10 yrs
experience. He takes both interior and exterior jobs and
some handy jobs like pressure washing, deck/patio cleaning
and sealing. Good references and careful bids. He's in
Berkeley at 510 684-6004 or cashphillips at hotmail.com.
Jen (5/1/2004)
I would like to recommend Milko Cudina Begovic. He did a
remodel of the bottom floor of my house. He is a skilled
carpenter, painter and also builds and repairs walls,
stairs, doors, etc. He also can build custom lighting and
built a sliding internally lit door for the entry to the
bathroom. He is detailed-oriented and trustworthy. He is
also sensitive to families with young children and will
have a safe and clean job site. You can reach Milko at 510 234 0745 or at
milko at il-studio.com
Alice
March-April 2004
Recently Ross Painting in San Francisco painted our house inside
and outside after a big remodling project. They were great, and
the cost was reasonable. They were very patient with last-minute
drastic re-dos, like me changing my mind about the Tomato Red walls
in the kitchen. They did a gorgeous job with very bright colors
and contrasting trim - lovely straight lines and rich hues. They
also removed the tattered 1950's grass wallpaper from one room, patched and
painted the walls. I get a lot of compliments about the paint job.
Ginger
I wrote a recommendation for Bob Antonelli, but forgot to
put his phone number. 415 821 2661, 415 608 6239
Recommendation: We used Bob Antonelli for painting the
interior of our
house, but his speciality is exterior painting. He did a
WONDERFUL job on the inside of our house (people actually
comment on it when they come over). We will definitely use
him when we get to repainting the exterior of our home. He
is reasonably priced, and efficient. He was recommended to
us by a friend who is a designer, and I know that a
contractor she was working with always uses Bob. I highly
recommend him. Vandy
To the folks looking for an exterior paint job: I highly
recommend Carlos Avalos (510) 568-0510!! He is very nice,
professional, and inexpensive. I got his name from the UC
Parents archives and have been very pleased w/ him and his
crew.
CG
I can enthusiastically recommend Carlos Avalos, who I found
on the Berkeley Parents Network. He completed exterior
painting of our stucco home last fall, and he and his
workers did a meticulous and professional job filling cracks
and doing all the other prep work necessary. (My husband
is extremely detail oriented, and was very impressed with
the work each day.) Carlos and his workers were
courteous, conscientious, and neat, and his bid was very
reasonable. The handyman on his crew also built some deck
stairs for us and fixed a gate, and did a great job. In
addition, Carlos is a very nice person. His phone numbers
are 510-568-0510 and 510-798-3100 (cell).
Sima
June-August 2003
This is an unsolicited recommendation for Javier Espinoza
and his painting crew. They just finished painting my
house and I'm so pleased, I want to spread the joy! Aside
from being reliable, tidy, and detail-oriented, Javier is
an incredibly sweet man. Best of all, his prices are
significantly lower than any other painters I've talked
to. Give him a try! His phone number is: 510-967-7588.
Ellen
i have used steve page and sons painting for both the
interior and exterior of my home. it is a father/son run
business - steve painted with his father who began
painting in the 1920s and now his sons paint with him.
they are out of antioch, but work all over the east bay.
they are excellent painters, reasonable pricing, and
really nice, honest guys. i have been exceedingly happy
with their work. steve will come to do a free estimate.
they are busy so you may need to book them a month or
two
in advance. if you would like to see what their exterior
work looks like, send me an email and you can drive by our
house to see. Page and Sons Painting 925 827-2048
chalynne
We recently had our living room painted, and I loved our
painter! I got Kellie Frederick's name from this board, and
called her for a bid. She was one of 4 estimates (the
lowest), and she did a super job. She helped me with color
selection by making large ''sample'' boards, she moved all
the furniture out and back, and the job was done flawlessly
while I was away one weekend. She was very easy going and
fun to work with! Give her a call. East Bay or SF.
Kellie Frederick, 510-923-0319
Jennifer
Hi to all of those who are looking for a good painter can i
recommend myself? My name is Jessica. I have worked in the
bay area for 2 years already and in my country. Did many
jobs in Berkeley, Oakland hills, Cerrito while i was
woeking for my boss.
Now i've started my own business and i am willing to give
you the best of me. This means a reliable person that will
do a good quality job for a reasonable price. Since i am
starting my business i can give you a special price on your
project. Give me a call and let's talk abou it!
Thanks, Jess
Jess jessmunck AT hotmail.com
May 2003
I used Phil's Painting (Phillip Lawhun)out of San Leandro,
to paint the exterior of my stucco home that was in
terrible shape. I can't recommend him enough. He was
incredibly thorough and didn't cut corners on the prep work
and our house looks like it has new stucco. I was also so
impressed with his ability to stay on schedule and clean up
daily so that we could use our yard. I plan to use him
this year to paint the interior of our home.
His number is (510) 317-1844.
He has painted several houses in our neighborhood if you
would like to see his work.
Lauren
If anyone is looking for an honest, efficient, neat and
detailed painter to do interior/exterior
commercial/residential paint work, you can't go wrong with
Quality Touch painters. I've recently had a number of
large and small commercial indoor and outdoor jobs done by
them and am extremely pleased with the
quality of workmanship and the overall attention to detail.
Additionally, Quality Touch's pricing is competitive.
I am so pleased with Quality Touch's work that I wanted to
pass this information along to anyone who might be looking
for a painter in the near future. You can contact Quality
Touch (Victor) at 510.381.4131. You will not be
disappointed.
Also, feel free to e-mail me with any questions you may
have.
Anne
I want to recommend our painter: Neil Grossman 510-290-8644,
gr8walls AT yahoo.com. He does great quality work
and is very reasonably priced (our address is on College
in Berkeley if you would like to see the exterior he did a
few years back). He also specializes in interior painting
and floor work - which he has just done at our home recently
and we are very happy with. He is quite responsible and
very friendly.
Dara
For the multiple posts requesting a recommendation for an
interior/exterior painter: I must recommend the painter we
have used, though like all good painters, his schedule is
tight, so you are lucky if you can get him. His name is
Declan Banfield, and I originally found him through a
recommendation here on the UC Parents network. He has done
interior painting for us in two houses (we moved and hired
him again in our new house), and he does exterior as well.
His number 510-548-6485. He does high quality work for a
reasonable price, and is a really nice guy to boot. Good
luck.
luisa
Roberto Ibarra recently painted my daughter's room.
Excellent work and reasonably priced. I especially liked
the fact that he used oil paint for doors and wood trim.
Feels wonderful to the touch -- so smooth and no brushmarks
to be seen. I'm wanting all my doors and trim to be
painted in the same way as a result. All future painting
at my house will be done by Roberto and his small crew of
family members.
Lisa
Oct 2002
I would like to recommend a house painter. She did a small exterior
painting job for us. She works in the Berkeley-Albany-El Cerrito-Oakland
area. She uses environmentally-safe products. She is very
professional, reasonably priced, gives a detailed explanation of exactly
what she will do, and is easy to work with. She also gave me some
do-it-yourself painting tips for areas that I want to tackle myself.
Name: Kellie Frederick
Phone: 510-923-0319
kelfrederick AT aol DOT com
Miriam
August 2002
I'm looking for an experienced painter to paint the
exterior of our house. We have an older home with wood
sidings and will need a lot of thorough preparation. Any
recommendations? Thanks,
Loraine
I recommend Eric Saarni, 658-8313. He has done both the
exterior and interior of our house. The last time, we had
someone else do it (lower bid, excellent references, and
suggested a double coat) and regretted that we hadn't had
Eric do it.
-Fran
I just recently used Carlos Avalos for some painting on
the interior of my home. I called many of his references
and they all had great things to say about his work - he
does both interior and exterior painting. He also has a
handyman on his crew who can fix things around the house
for you! He was wonderful to work with not to mention the
lowest of all the bids that I received. I got his name
and number from this listserve. He can be reached at
510.568.0510.
- Amy
April 2002
Peter, the Painter (Peter Dumas), 644-3392. Peter has done
an incredible job on our exterior of our house and
restained our back decks. Very careful prep. work. He has a
free color consultant come over to work with you on the
colors. Was willing to repaint our front door multiple
times until we got just the right color. If you want to
drive by and see the job, we are at 1825 San Lorenzo Ave.
just above Colusa. He is a bit quirky and intense in
manner, but just a super good painter.
I'm just about finished having my house painted and I felt I had to put in a
plug for this terrific guy. Our house is being painted by Declan Banfield and
he is terrific. He is a man of integrity and kindness in addition to being
just superb at his job. I have felt comfortable leaving him in my house as
well as giving him a key. He is fast, efficient and comes when he says he's
going to. He also does beautiful work, he has an eye for detail. Just wanted
to let you all know, I think he's terrific. His number is 548-6485.
I would like to recommend a very dear man who has painted many houses -- inside
and out! in our neighborhood. He will soon be painting my son's bedroom.
He is a very special person and is feeling the economic pinch right now
and is looking for more work. His name is Elvis, and he can be reached at
(510)6827035
We recently used George Croitou, 925-642-6325 for a complete re-painting
of the interior of our home. He worked very hard and efficiently, was
very responsive and courteous, and detailed-oriented. The job was very
difficult, but he persevered. We believe that his prices were reasonable,
and given the size of the job, he offered us discounts as we thought of new
painting projects. Of course, as with all household services, you have to
take the time to monitor the situation. He also did an excellent job on
re-tiling our kitchen floor, but he brought in a friend to help him with that.
Hello,
I am a general contractor I do small carpenter,
painting and repair jobs. Decks, doors, interior painting, some tile, and
flooring. License # 333-913 References upon request. I do excellent work. I
show up and I get the project done in a timely manner and within budget.
Call for a consultation, leave name and # and best time to call. 510-339-3304
Richard
I recommend Eric Saarni, 658-8313. He has done both the exterior and interior
of our house. The last time, we had someone else do it (lower bid, excellent
references, and suggested a double coat) and regretted that we hadn't had
Eric do it.
I just recently used Carlos Avalos for some painting on the interior of
my home. I called many of his references and they all had great things to
say about his work - he does both interior and exterior painting. He also
has a handyman on his crew who can fix things around the house for you! He
was wonderful to work with not to mention the lowest of all the bids that
I received. I got his name and number from this listserve. He can be reached
at 510.568.0510.
April 2002
We recently used George Croitou, 925-642-6325 for a complete
re-painting of the interior of our home. He worked very hard and
efficiently, was very responsive and courteous, and detailed-oriented. The
job was very difficult, but he persevered. We believe that his prices were
reasonable, and given the size of the job, he offered us discounts as we
thought of new painting projects. Of course, as with all household
services, you have to take the time to monitor the situation. He also did
an excellent job on re-tiling our kitchen floor, but he brought in a friend
to help him with that.
linda
I'm just about finished having my house painted and I felt I had to
put in a plug for this terrific guy. Our house is being painted by
Declan Banfield and he is terrific. He is a man of integrity and
kindness in addition to being just superb at his job. I have felt
comfortable leaving him in my house as well as giving him a key. He is
fast, efficient and comes when he says he's going to. He also does
beautiful work, he has an eye for detail. Just wanted to let you all
know, I think he's terrific. His number is 548-6485. Feel free to
email me for further info. if you'd like. Molly
2001
We just had our El Cerrito ranch-style house painted by Michael Borbridge
at Bridge Painting. (510-232-3340) These folks are probably not the cheapest
bid you can find, but they do a wonderful prep job that will last far longer
than many other "deals." Michael helped us to choose the color and it's just
spectacular! When driving on Colusa Avenue look for moss green house with
the purple door. Fine company, local references...and he's in a band that
plays at Club Muse in Albany on the weekends!
We had fabulous housepainters; Butch and Don of Don Foster Construction
(the two of them are the whole company.) Their bid was the lowest of the 4
I got, and they were exceptionally thorough in prep on our wood-sided house,
(which was in really terrible condition, the paint falling off in sheets,
all the window putty falling off, etc.) They use top notch materials;
Benjamin Moore all the way. They were pleasant and very friendly with my
two children (I would get home with a car full of groceries, and they would
leave me blissfully free to put-away, so eager were they to chat with their
new buddies.) They did a very good job, and were happy to go around at the
end and check with me for any missed spots or flaws. PLEASE say Valerie
recommended them; I want them to know it! Don Foster Construction 235-0363
I can highly recommend housepainters at Scillitani Painting. They were very thorough
with my house, which was in terrible shape. And, they were very reasonable. Greg
Scillitani can be reached at 925-833-8115 or 716-2365. Feel free to use my name. Elizabeth
I highly recommend Carlos Avalos for house painting and other odd jobs. He's a former
union painter who's building his own business. We've used him for several jobs, and have
always been impressed. He and his crew are good, clean, reasonable and reliable. His cell
phone number is 510/798-3100. In addition to painting, we've had him help on other odd
jobs, including ripping out a bench in a sunroom, and replacing the paneling and slate tiles.
They also did the demolition on our kitchen, and we were very impressed by the cleanliness
of the site when they were done. He works with one or two other helpers, and all are very
hard-working, conscientious, great about showing up on time and cleaning up after
themselves. He's very good about recommending environmentally-friendly paints as well.
We had the entire interior of our house painted in September by Carol
Paulus, 864-2240. Her estimate was the lowest of the three we received.
She did a very nice job, including substantial patching, and was very
accommodating.
-Shelley & Robin
Dobson Painters recently painted the outside of my house, and I was quite
pleased. They were also the most reasonably priced of the painters who
quoted. They are also reviewed on the web site (which is where I found them
in the first place). Sorry I don't have their number anymore. Good luck!
-Polly
We used McCloskey painters about a year ago for interior work and were very
pleased with their work.
J. Sanders
2000
Brad Catron of Catron Painting & Decorating recently did some work at my
house. He was prompt, reliable and did excellent work. You can check to see
if he has availability now by calling him at 923-0459.
Eastbaymom
Jae Kim owns All Pro Painting. He did an excellent job on my house (almost three
stories tall), is a hard worker, was a reasonable price. I've recommended
him to others and they've been very happy with his work.
Camille
Unfortunately, I have too much experience with bad or just OK house painters.
I can highly recommend only one painter. You may pay a bit more, because he
does more and is thorough, responsible, and friendly. He just finished my
house. Do call Declan Banfield: 548-6485. Urthlink
Roger Langford did our house. He's wonderful. 510-652-7960
Cbgord
I recommend Saul Espinoza. He did a beautiful job on our house, both interior and
exterior.
He and his brothers are meticulous and do a good job cleaning up and protecting the
rest
of the house from dust and debris, and they are also nice people. He is unlicensed,
however,
which makes him less expensive but may not be desirable for some people. We
recommended
him to many of our friends who have used him again and again, and also to my boss,
who
also thought he was the greatest. His telephone number is 233-3690.
sahoko
My name is Ivy Johnson and I have been mentioned once or twice here
already by my wife. We just moved up here a bit ago and I am trying to
start up my paint business with new clients. I have already done a job
here in Oakland so I have a local referral to give from people who were
very pleased with my prices and my work. Please contact me if you have
any painting or re-finishing needs, at one of the following numbers.
home (510)523-3631
pager (510)997-0938
(e-mail address) tippetteer AT aol.com
I look forward to working in the area and developing a new group of
satisfied customers.
1999
This is in response to a request for a painter recommendation. I recommend
Enrique Rodriguez 232-0107. He painted the outside of my house last year
and did a great job. He was very reasonable compared to other painting
companies who would have charged me several thousands of dollars more and
done only 75% of the work that he did. He is a licensed painter and very
honest. He uses very good paint and does good prep work. My general
suggestion for looking for a painter is to get references, and call them,
then look at their actual work. Of course this is easy if they have done
outdoor jobs. Good luck! Lisa
I've had good luck with Chris Shutes. 841-6161. Tell him I
recommended him. He and his partner Bill are great painters. They aren't the
cheapest, but the work they do will last a long, long time. Linda
A while ago, I followed up on a recommendation found in this email for a
painter named India Dobson. She and her husband have a small company that
paint interiors and exteriors. We were very pleased with the interior
painting she did for us and plan to continue to use her (and her crew) to
repaint our deck. My husband has years of experience in remodeling and was
very pleased. And, for doing such a good job, her quotes have been very
reasonable. Great work at a great price.
Dobson Painting - 644-0334.
-- Shanta
As owners of a 1931 fixer-upper, my husband and I are veterans when it comes to hiring
various contractors. We have found most to be either nonresponsive or we haven't
been
blown away by the results, so I am delighted when I find someone I can recommend.
We
just had a bathroom, kitchen and hallway painted by India Dobson at Dobson Painting,
who was recommended to me by another painter (who was too busy) in the Berkeley/Oakland
Good Service Guide. She is very responsive, prompt, reasonable, skilled, and just plain
nice. You can reach her and her husband at Dobson Painting in Berkeley, 510-644-0334.
LK
I recommend Oyle Painting for house painters. They can be reached at
(510)-528-9461. Fred Oyle is the owner. They do excellent work and are a
pleasure to deal with. Julie
We used Gateview Painting (222-0744) to paint the interior of our home
two years ago. They did a beautiful job. They were the lowest bid that
we got. (However, I think they underestimated the amount of work; it
took a little longer than they had anticipated.) Ellen
I was/am very happy with the exterior paint job we got from Omni Painting
Co. last year. The owner, Amar (forgot his last name), was very responsive
and went out of his way to make sure I was happy with the work. He even
spent an extra day and a half without extra charge just touching up minor
details. Based on the little bit of research I did, Omni's prices were
considerably less than most painting companies in the Berkeley/Albany area.
His crew was pleasant enough to have around. I would caution that I was
around the house a lot while the work was being done, and I was glad of it,
because I pointed out and asked for correction on several details that would
have gone unnoticed if I hadn't been watchful. But for me, the lower cost
made it very worthwhile for the little bit of extra effort on my part. Best
of luck to you--I found the whole project exhausting, as I studied what
colors to use, etc. Meg
I would like to recommend Pacific Northwest Painters, run by Eric and
Cornelia Grunseth (510/465-4085). They have done two interior and one
exterior job for me over the past five years. Cornelia is a wizard with
color. She communicates well and has helped me turn my ideas into
success. Eric runs the painting crews. He has hired good, reliable
guys who have been with him many years. I find them both very
responsive and easy to work with
mctorr
I highly recommend Signature Painting in Alameda for good quality house
painting. Dan has a good eye for color combinations and will spend time
working with you.
Randy
1998
I recommend Eric Saarni, 658-8313. We found his prices to be
reasonable (mid-range compared to other painters) for the quality of
work he does. The experience of our next door neighbor, who has had
their house painted several times since we moved in, is that you get
what you pay for when it comes to exterior painting.
Fran
My husband is a painting contractor (CA Lic #738605). He is also
bonded and insured. He mostly works alone (which means you get expert
painting, not just a good contractor and hack-painters), although he
will hire someone for big jobs. He has about 10 years experience in
the area (the last 2 as a contractor) and would be willing to provide
references.
He welcomes
inquiries and gives free estimates. He is a one-man show, so no uninsured,
unskilled people will show up to do the actual work--he has painted for 10
years and you get all that expertise. He has local refererences and a
portfolio. He doesn't advertise and isn't in the phone book (and for 7
years it hasn't been a problem).
Eric Sorensen Painting pager/voicemail: 510-330-8469
Even if you do not contact Eric, I would encourage everyone to be very
careful about hiring people who are not licensed, bonded, and insured.
If they mess up your house (break your window, disappear in the middle
of the project, etc.), you have little or no recourse. Finally, the
state contractor's license board has an 800 number you can call and
punch in the contractor's license number to check if there are any
complaints or actions on a certain contractor (ANY type of contractor:
general, earthquake retrofitters, painters, landscapers, etc). I
think this is a good idea.
Eric Sorensen Painting
pager/voicemail (510) 330-8469
our home (510) 540-8363
Thanks,
Laura Beth
Housepainters: I've been very happy with Bob Brokl and Al Crofts who are
by far the most reasonably priced house painters I've found and are also a
pleasure to work with and do a good job. I've recommended them to other
friends who have been thrilled, their prices being from half to 20% of
what other painters would charge for similar jobs. Their number is
655-3841. April
I highly recommend Frank Haskell. He has painted the inside and outside
of our home. Frank is a true professional. He and his team take
tremendous care in the preparation -- helping clients select colors,
removing old layers of paint and wallpaper where necessary, filling in
cracks, smoothing out walls and applying primer. The result is a
flawless paint job that lasts. I don't have his phone number with me
now, but he should be listed in Oakland. If you have trouble finding
him, call me. Stephanie
We have used James Painting in Berkeley to paint both the
interior and exterior of our house twice. They are extremely
professional, curteous, and CLEAN. You can reach them at
510-841-6571. Feel free to use my name as a referral. Linda
Do not use James Painting. He painted our house a few years ago and did
a less than satisfactory job. He mis-calculated how many coats of primer
our house would need, then tried to convince me he was doing me a big favor
by putting an extra coat on. His painters painted over a couple of
windows, but didn't take off the paint, and several months after the paint
job I realized that none of our windows would open. Make sure that after
the paint job is done, that they un-stick all your windows.
Toby
I've used Teressa Romain, but you'll have to look her up in the phone
book. She's extremely pleasant, neat, and does a fantastic job matching
colors and completing the work. Wendy
I highly recommend John Dumitru, a painter that works through Cole Hardware
in San Francisco.
Andrea
Sept 2007
I am looking for someone who will haul quite a few old paint
cans- some with paint in them, and dispose of them legally. The
commercial haulers won't take it and I want to make sure it
isn't dumped somewhere.
Too many paint cans
If you are in Alameda County, and you can fit them in your car,
there is Waste Management disposal site in Hayward that you can
take them to (open Thursdays and Fridays, check the WM website).
As far as I know there is no limit on what they will take.
Todd F
You can dispose of old paint cans for free through Alameda
County by dropping it off at one of their sites. Here is the
website with info.:
www.stopwaste.org
MK
Jan 2007
I need to have interior rooms re-painted and am extremely
sensitive to paint fumes. I have no experience with this, but
understand that there are paints that have low or zero volatile
organic compounds (??) that don't have the fumes problem. I would
like to find a painter who is experienced with these, who also
does a great job and isn't too expensive (am I asking too much?)
grateful for help
You don't need a special painter, you just need special paint. Low VOC paint (I don't
know of any ''no VOC'' paint works just like any other paint, but it costs a bit more
and sometimes won't come in deep, dark colors. Benajmin Moore's line is called
Eco-Spec, which we have used and liked but I think other paint companies have a
similar product.
We've used Eco-Spec and been very happy with the results in terms of the paint and
in terms of having virtually no paint fumes.
Hire a good painter and then just tell them you what kind of paint you want. Be
sure they use low VOC for primer and trim as well
Satisfied Eco-Spec customer
Ecohome on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley has a good selection of
low and zero VOC paints. It goes on like any other paint,
although you may need an extra coat if you are using a darker
color. It is more expensive than traditional paint, but well
worth it.
L
ALmost every major brand has zero/low voc line. Kelly Moore
has E-spec. Visit www.builditgreen.org and check out their
access green database - it will give you every paint
manufacturer that has zero/low voc paints in the Bay Area (which
is almost all of them). Any painter can order the paint just
like they would standard and the paint works just like the
standard paint. We just had our painter use KellyMoore's Eco
Spec and he was so glad not to have a headache at the end of the
day! One word of note, the darker the paint color the more VOCs
there will be in the paint. GOod luck
I dont actually have an answer to your question but wanted to let you know a little
more about the no-VOC paints that may help your search. I dont know much myself
but recently have been looking into it as a measure to reduce environmental toxins
in the home.
First - on the money question. Non-VOC paints are MUCH more expensive than
regular paints. I would say close to 4x as much. That was our experience. So, in
terms of your search for ''not too expensive''. just using the non-VOC paint itself will
drive the cost way up, depending on how much you are planning on painting. Not
saying its not worth it, but just wanted to make sureyou know about that.
Second - on the fumes. Yes, the fumes are much much much lower, but the can
still says to use in a well-ventilated area and I dont consider myself to be super
sensitive but could smell a trace of it, so much so that I didnt want my toddler to
sleep in the room for several days (and we didn't paint the whole room, just did
some touch ups around the windows). So, if you are that sensitive, you may need
to evacuate anyways.
Third - on a painter to do the job. Non-VOC paints function just like regular paint.
You dont need someone special to do the job. Like any painter, you can go pick up
the paint yourself and provide it to her/him. No special expertise needed.
Hope thats helpful
genevieve
August 2006
Hi,
I'm looking for recommendations for shades of yellow paint for
our living room. We want a shade that is more on the warm and
buttery side rather than bright and yellow. It is a medium sized
room with great light. Any recommendations for shades of yellow
to consider (or to avoid) are greatly appreciated!
I have painted nearly our entire house by myself and have tried
lots of paints- I absolutely love Devine brand which in
particular has nice shades of yellows. The paint goes on smooth,
thick so splatters very little, and has lowest odor of all I've
tried. They have a shade called butter you'd have to try in the
room as with any others, they look so completely different
depending on the light. I really like their ''custard'' color, too
though lighter than actual ''butter'' it's just a warm, with warm
yellowish tone, hue. They have small sample paint pouches and
also 8 x 10 paper samples to try. I have gotten it at Pursel
Paints, top of University Ave. past Ace.
Chris
We used a Benjamin Moore color called Fresh Butter in our family room and
guest bath.
From your description of what you want, I think you might like it. If you
find a yellow
you like that might seem a little intense, you or the painter can cut it
with white until
you get the intensity you like.
The Benjamin Moore website has great tools for testing colors in various
rooms online
anon
Dec 2005
We are moving my son into a new room in our house and he has requested we paint the room yellow. Anyone out there have a recommendation for a good shade that you've used? Lots of them look either too pastel or like pee or an egg yolk... Would love to hear if you have a shade that you're happy with. Thanks in advance.
Mellow Yellow
We just painted our new baby's room a pale, creamy yellow: Benjamin Moore Windham Cream (HC-6). It's available in their low-VOC line, so it's not fume-y at all. You should give it a look...
caroline
To the person who wanted a nice yellow for her son's room: We wanted yellow for our daughter's nursery, and our painter recommended a lovely warm yellow called Devine Butter (the brand name is Devine - it's a more expensive paint, but worth it). However, it is really important to paint a large patch on the wall, wait overnight, and make sure it looks the way you want it. We went through a few different shades of yellow and were surprised at the way a few of them turned out (compared to how they looked in the swatches). Devine Butter worked on our wall, but it might not on yours.
Martha Stewart's "Pale Naples Yellow"
is a great shade of yellow. I tried over twenty yellows to get to this
one. I have used it in two homes in my daughter's room. It has looked
good with all directional exposures. It isn't too yolky or too grassy.
The quality of the paint hasn't been very good, so have another company
mix the color to match.
Picky About Paint
For the person whose son wants his new room painted yellow: color is so personal I almost hate to make a recommendation, but we have one wall of our bedroom painted Benjamin Moore "Showtime." It's a sort of 1960s mustardy color, and I totally love it. It's a strong color, but we have it on just one accent wall, and the other walls are a super-pale butter color called "Lightning White."
Showtime
This is to the couple looking for just the right yellow for their son's bedroom. We have our kitchen painted in Hawthorne Yellow from Benjamin Moore and I couldn't be happier with the color. I'm extremeley picky about colors and went through three (useless) color consultants before I came up with this on my own. It's saturated with out being yolky, and it is neither pastel, nor drab. It has a slightly retro-feel to it - I believe it's in Benjamin Moore's Historic Colors collection. There is one shade lighter on the strip called Flax, which we have in a dark hallway. It's also a great choice for a room that might need extra brightening, though is every so slightly on the pastel side.
Benjamin Moore Fan
June 2007
I have a house that has a black metal bannister. I would like
to paint this a pewter color. Can this be done and what kind
of paint would I use?
Thanks
anon
Krylon makes some really nice metallic paints that can be
applied to metal. I'm not sure how they'd wear, but I've used
them on a variety of surfaces/projects and they look beautiful.
Rust-o-leum and Plaid also make metallic paints, if Krylon
doesn't have the colors you're looking for. I'd say it's worth
a try.
DIYer
Aug 2006
We have a couple pieces of furniture that need stripping. They are for the nursery we
are getting ready for our baby. We have tried a few natural products without much
luck. My husband wants to take them somewhere to have them stripped. My concern
is whether or not these harsh chemical strippers will stay in the wood, leaving us exposed to them when we
bring the furniture back into our home. I can find all sorts of info on why the chemicals are bad, but nothing
about residue they might leave on
wood. Does any one know anything about this??
Mary
We had a lot of window and door trim stripped in our Alameda
victorian to get rid of the lead paint. When the pieces came
back they were bare wood and looked like they had never been
painted. (We used JD Harpe, aka The Caning Place, Alameda)
If you're planning to varnish, you shouldn't dip the furniture
because it affects the original color of the wood. If you're
planning to repaint, then a couple of coats of primer and latex
will probably seal in any residual chemical agents.
Also, it's hard for me to imagine that the acid-based dipping
agents could possibly be more toxic than the fumes which out-gas
from fresh paint. Be sure and air the furniture (and any freshly
painted rooms) thoroughly before baby arrives. Now THAT'S toxic!
Sept. 2003
We have a problem that we don't know how to fix. We
recently moved into our house and started repainting. The
biggest problem is in the kitchen. We put up two coats of
latex primer and then two coats of latex paint, which is
now peeling off in many places, and can easily be scratched
right off. Does this mean that we painted over old oil-
based paint? If so, how do we remedy this? Do we need to
sand all the way back down to the original paint? Or can we
apply oil-based primer on top of what we've already done?
Discouraged Painter
We had a similar problem. I found out from several
contractors why paint may peel. Our maintenance guy
painted and scraped about 5 times, spent hours upon
painful hours with the paint bubbling in areas. Our
problem was that the dry wall was slightly moist from
having wicked up from the wet pergo flooring.
Other reasons that ''experts'' told us were:
1) oil based paint and latex cannot be painted on top of
each other. Need a primer in between. Correct.
2) You cannot mix two different brands of paint, and
particularly not latex and satin, for example. They were
wrong about this.
3) Need to prime before painting. Correct.
4) Walls may have residues of wall paper dissolving
solution, so you need to wash walls well prior to painting
otherwise it'll bubble up and not stick to walls. This
wasn't our problem.
Good luck! Perhaps it's moisture like our situation? We
did have to scrape all the way to the bottom, re-
texturize, it took a long time and I recommend someone w/
experience!
Susan
I hate to even think about it - but we had a similar issue
with our moldings (a main difference is that we hired
painters and they botched the paint when they were mixing
it). I could literally scratch off the paint with my
finger nail without even trying. It looked awful, was
totally child-unsafe and completely bummed us out. After
several experiments, the best remedy, as you say, is oil-
based primer. They didn't sand off the original mess -
which worried me, but it looks fine - actually good. For
most of it, they did use an oil-based paint to finish - but
not everywhere. Good luck,
anon
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