I Left My Painting Contractor Unsupervised

by Sean
(Hahira, GA)

When my wife and I moved into a new rental, the realtor told us that it needed painting, but she would waive the deposit if we took care of the problem. We would be out of town until the end of the month anyway, so we accepted, and hired a house painter at the realtor's recommendation.

When we returned, we found that the painting contractor had only shown up the previous day, and did little more than spill paint on the hardwood floor, and fill the trashcan with beer bottles. He did get right to work the next day, however, and called us within a week to tell us he was finished. When we got to the house to check it out, I became very annoyed.

The week-long job the painter had done was little more than a slap up, one coat job. And sloppy to boot. I had to clean windows that he did not bother taping, and I had to sand and refinish a floor. On top of that, instead of the Low VOC paint we paid for, he had used cheap exterior grade latex in the house. Our newborn was not able to sleep in the house for a week longer.

Now, the parts that are my fault are fairly obvious. Do not hire a painting contractor based on the recommendation of your realtor without looking into it. I firmly believe I hired the realtor's out of work, drunk cousin.

Inspect the paint and other products before they are used. My daughter had sleeping trouble for weeks, and you could still smell the latex fumes a year later when we moved out. Oh, and latex washes right off of unprepared fiberglass doors, even six months later.

Be there. Seems a simple rule doesn't it? I forgot about it being a rule, and you see what it got me. Don't blindly trust anybody, especially if that somebody is making money off you. They know how to make more, if you don't pay attention to the details.