Leicht Paul J Painting

Better Businees Bureau, I was called in the early summer of by [redacted] ; a twice previous customer, to stop by his house and pick up a drawing of a floor plan of his finish basement project which he wanted my company to do I met with ***, and reviewed the floor plan, he explained what areas on the drawing where to be finished and what areas were not getting any finish He asked if I could give him a bid for completing the work as described I took his floor plan drawing with me and proceeded to provide an estimate for the work as he described and a typed bid for work to be completed was sent on July 15, In need of setting up my work schedule, after several months and no response from [redacted] , on January 13, I sent him a text to check on the status of the basement project The last time we spoke [redacted] mentioned that he thought the painting portion of the project would be ready mid to late January and I was checking to see if he still planned to use our company for the project, since per ***’s request I penciled his job in for this time frame, [redacted] responded back by thanking me for checking in and letting me know that he added another wall to the project and only a little had been started He stated that he was trying to get everyone back on schedule but it has been a challenge and asked if I would remove him from the schedule for now and he would follow up when he could give me a good estimate on timing I responded back and ask that he let me know when he was readyOn May 10, [redacted] text me indicating that the tapers had started that day, (a day behind schedule) and he thinks it will take at least five days He indicated that he hated to keep messing with my schedule but he thought it would make sense to push things off a few days or even into the following week I responded that we should plan on the following week and to let me know Friday how the job was progressingOn May 18, [redacted] text me and said that the drywall taper needed another day because it was taking a long time to dry and now thought Monday would be the definite start date I responded with an ok, and changed my schedule around yet againOn Friday May 20th, [redacted] text to let me know that normally he would hang back the first day and walk me through things to make sure we were on the same page, but that he had some early morning meetings scheduled all the following week, so he ask if I could stop by Saturday or Sunday for a few minutes to go over the scope of work I indicated that I was out of town for the weekend, but if I arrived home early enough on Sunday I would stop byOn Saturday May 21, [redacted] text me indicating he had yet another issue on the basement project and that he would let me know by Sunday if it could be corrected in time to start on Monday So because of the uncertain ability to start on Monday, I indicated that we would continue on an existing exterior job on Monday and would start on Tuesday especially since the forecast called for rain the rest of the week, and I had already changed my schedule around to accommodate [redacted] severl timesOn Monday May 23, I met with [redacted] at his house at 5pm to go over the scope of work and review the project After a walkthrough of the basement project there were additional areas that were not on the original floor plan that was supplied in which [redacted] now wanted finished, I informed [redacted] this added work would require an additional cost and a revised proposal I went home and figured the additional cost of extra work to be completed, and shortly thereafter text [redacted] back indicating the additional cost would be $1,and that he should let me know how to proceed [redacted] asked if I would give him a break down for the additional work and I replied by text the breakdown and did not get a responseOn Tuesday May 24, I text [redacted] and indicated that I did not hear back from the previous night and asked if we were on hold with the project or should I instead send a crew over on Wednesday May [redacted] responded that he wanted to hold off on starting, because the additional price caught him a little off guard but wanted to use my company because as he stated “I know that you do good work” He then indicated that he was trying cut cost on the flooring in order to offset the added cost I responded “OK let me know what you decide”On Wednesday May 25, [redacted] text me, “let’s go ahead and move forward” asking when we want to start priming, tomorrow or Friday I responded Thursday May 26th Later that day he indicated he wanted an upgrade in the paints bid for the job and wanted to use Sherwin Williams Harmony, but it was not available in a matte finish I indicated that I always use Sherwin s interior Duration Matte finish [redacted] did not want to use that product because it did not have the green guard symbol on the label and wanted to upgrade to the Emerald brand matte finish We also went back and forth on primers to be used and he finally determined that the primer that we normally use had the Green Guard symbol on the label and we were able to proceedOn Thursday May 26, after many schedule cancellations and loss of productivity we were finally able to get started with the job [redacted] text me at 6:am and indicted, “I know the basement floor looks like crap, but my tile installer needs me to clean it before he installs If your guys can keep the splash down to a minimum or throw down drop cloths that would help me out” I replied that I always protect the floors, it’s just professional curtesyWhen we arrived on the job the floors were covered in joint cement globes and drywall dust So we used lengths of cardboard (2xfoot in size) as floor protection I would not put my clean interior drop cloths on the dirty floor because they would no longer be able to be used on an interior job We continued to move the cardboard along the wall areas where we were painting to protect the concrete basement floor (80% plus of which were getting carpeted over) to keep free from paint drips as much as possible [redacted] was out of town that week and had also asked me to do any drywall repairs that I came across, which I indicated would not be done until after the priming was done as long as it was minor repairs I text [redacted] at 11:am letting him know that I had three workers at his house and they would be close to, if not finished priming that day I also let him know that everything I saw on the tape job looked good and asked if I could proceed with the sand swirling of the ceiling on Friday (another upgrade from the original proposal) He indicated that he was waiting to hear back from his wife on her thoughts on how it looked but indicated once it was sand swirled there probably won’t be anything noticeable and would let me know when he heard back from her I did not hear back from [redacted] on whether we could proceed Friday with the sand swirl on the ceilings, which resulted in another day of crews lost productionOn Monday May 30th at 10:12am I received a text back from [redacted] wanting to know when I would be back to proceed with the ceilings and walls I indicated I would not be able to start back until Wednesday June 1, On Wednesday June 1, we started the finish sand swirl painting on the ceiling and finished painting the walls as indicated [redacted] had vacuumed the dust and debris from the floors and even though the floors were still dirty, I covered the entire floor area where the finish paint was to be applied, with my exterior drop cloths and did so throughout the rest of the job to protect the concrete unfinished basement floor, again covered and protected 100% He also wanted to know if we used fans in the basement and I replied yes for drying purposes and also because he turned the air conditioning unit off in the house, even though I indicated the a/c would help with dry time, not to mention a more favorable working condition for my crew We finished the finish painting of the walls and ceilings on Thursday June 3rd, 2016, then pulled off the job so the woodwork could be installed [redacted] called to inform me the tile setter would be coming to do the tile work, for the doors and frames were now hung I suggested to him that the raw doors and frames be stained and at least one coat of polyurethane applied to prevent any splash from the tile grout causing permeant discoloring of the wood He agreed (and delayed the tile setter until the end of the week.) On Monday June 13, we pre-sealed the doors and frames (again an extra to the original contract) as requested by ***, and then stained all the doors and frames We returned the next day June 14, and put the first coat of Poly Urethane on the doors and frames; again working without air-conditioning, making working conditions for my crew and me very uncomfortable I asked [redacted] for a progressive draw for work completed, of which he left me a $2,check, in addition to the $3,deposit he gave me at start of job On Tuesday June 21, I text [redacted] to see how the tile work was coming along, to get an idea when we could get back on the job in order to keep moving forwardOn Wednesday June 22, he responded thanking me for following up and that the tile guy just finished He indicated that he needed to get in the basement the upcoming weekend and “clean up, for the tile setter was a lot messier than he thought” He indicated that the electrician was scheduled for Tuesday and it would be better for us to get in after that I asked if his trim was in yet and he said “it was available but not delivered, and he was waiting for it The carpenter who was working with [redacted] on the weekends, was starting to build the window box extensions and hanging cabinets the upcoming weekend (yet another delay.) On July 6, after the trim finally came in, we returned to pre-seal the trim (another extra not on the original proposal) and stain the trim and then return the next day to put the first coat of poly urethane on the time so it could be installed prior to the final coat of poly urethaneOn July 11, 2016, I text [redacted] to make sure the carpenter installed the trim, because we were scheduled to return on Monday to finish coat the trim with Poly Urethane [redacted] replied that he had pushed off the carpenter so that we could get the “color right” before it was installed I verbally explained that I wanted to finish after it was installed to make sure all the woodwork was consistent in color But [redacted] insisted it be finish coated prior to installation in his garage where we had to work on the trimOn Wednesday July 20th, at 6:pm, [redacted] forward on to me two pictures of the base trim which he was showing some light stain areas on his trim and a few runs on another piece These were on the bottom side of the base trim that faces the floor and would never be seenOn Thursday July 21, 2016, [redacted] text me letting me know that he was scheduling things out to wrap everything up and scheduled the stair installer for the following week and wanted us back on August 1, 2016, to finish the jobOn Monday August 1, our company returned as scheduled to continue the finish coating of the poly urethane of the doors Three of my employees along with myself spent the entire day sanding the doors and frames to remove factory burrs and raised wood grain of the doors and frames, we vacuumed them clean including all surrounding areas and then wiped off the doors and frames with tack cloths; which removes any remaining dust, a standard procedure We also covered (entirely) the concrete and tiled floor areas with drop cloths, to include over the plastic that [redacted] laid over the new floor in preparation for the finish coat of poly urethane and miscellaneous touch ups (which were caused by other contractors) [redacted] also ask me to give him a price on staining the unfinished wood panels on the newly installed cabinets on the bar I gave him a quote and he said he was going to do it himselfOn Tuesday August 2, at 6:00pm, [redacted] text me and asked how things went on this day and that he heard from his mother in-law that we would be back the following day, being Aug 3rd (she was house sitting every day we were on the job site) He wanted to know if I thought we would be finished So I verbally called and talked to [redacted] and explained that the staircase needed a second coat of stain and we would not be done until Thursday August 4th, On Wednesday August 3rd, at 8:pm, [redacted] text to confirm from our conversation the night before, that both myself and my lead Forman would be on the job in the morning to wrap things up He asked if we could be on the job site at 6:am because he had to get to work, and wanted to do a walk through My foreman and I accommodated [redacted] and arrived as requested at 6:am the following morningDuring the walk through [redacted] pointed out some areas of concern mainly little specks of stain that were flicked on the walls during staining So as we walked around and looked at the entire job, I marked the areas of concern with little pieces of blue tape to make sure I did not miss during touch upAfter the walk through, [redacted] went to work, my foreman proceeded to put the first coat of urethane on the handrail and I started on the wall and ceiling touch up areas When my foreman was done with the poly urethane, together we worked on touch up areas, making multiple trips around all the finished areas to make certain nothing was missed, as I am very thorough and conscientious of all work provided by my company At 12:noon, I text [redacted] to let him know we were finished and that I would like to stop by and pick up final the payment owed from the original contract of $1, He replied that he wanted to look things over and would do his best to look things over that evening, but realistically would probably not be until the weekend He also said that there were a few temporary light bulbs that got paint specks on them and wanted them cleaned off or to be reimbursed for them I responded that I would clean them off, which I did eventually do I then indicated that I would be leaving on our family vacation for ten days and wanted to get the final payment before we leftOn Friday August 5, at 7:am, [redacted] text stating that after our verbal conversation the night before, he now can still see stain specs on the painted walls around the door areas, he informed me that he moved the plumber to Saturday and I could come by late morning once his HVAC guy was done [redacted] went on to say that “if we can’t get things right this time that they were going to pursue other options (different painter, doing it myself, etc) He went on to say that once I am there I will agree that the technique we used is not working and that the ball was in my court (basically meaning whether or not I get paid) He went on to say if that works he would text me what time his HVAC guy would be finished so I could come over Once again I accommodated [redacted] and agreed to come over, even though we were preparing to leave on our family vacation, as it is important to me to have satisfied customers Now at 9:am [redacted] text me again and indicated that he would be home at 11:am I replied “OK” and agreed to meet at that time; a time convenient for him I arrived along with the job foreman to take a look at ***’s concerns As we are walking through the basement area he was pointing out specs on the wall most of which my foreman or I could not see, as [redacted] had is face two to three inches away from the wall So I marked each area with a piece of blue tape in areas [redacted] indicated and then touched up the wall area using the original paint that was used to paint the walls, both the job foreman and I again walked around several times after we retouched up to make sure we didn’t miss anything I at that time asked [redacted] to come down and take a look at everything and all areas he painted out to be touched up, and again he walked around with his face two to three inches from the walls and pointed out new areas which he didn’t see before with claims of specs on the wall which my foreman and I could not see, but as before I marked the spots where [redacted] had his finger pointing with blue tape Now all to seemingly suspicious, for the red flags were going off much clearer, and his requests were so ridiculous, that two times I asked [redacted] if he intended on paying the remaining balance, because if he wasn’t I did not want to waste any more of my time He indicated that he had every intention of paying the balance due So my foreman and myself went around again and touched up the areas [redacted] pointed out (which we could not even see a speck, just touched up where [redacted] indicated) and for a third time I asked him to look over things to make sure he was satisfied and again with his face two to three inches from the wall, he continued to point out specs on the wall and again I marked them with blue tape to make sure we hit the areas of concern As my foreman and I went around for a third time touching up the areas [redacted] indicated (even though we could not see anything) it was becoming clear to me that [redacted] had no intensions of paying the balance of $1, But once again in an attempt to make my customer happy, my foreman and I went around and touched up areas indicated by *** When we were done with the third go round of touch ups, I at that point considered the job complete We proceed to pack up our tools, equipment, paint, and supplies I asked [redacted] for a check, as payment is due upon completion of work Clearly using another stall tactic, [redacted] said “even though I have the final say on writing the check, my wife needed to look at it first” It was perfectly clear that [redacted] had no intention of paying the bill, (he needed a way to make up for cost over runs on the job) and not paying me was his solution At this time we loaded up all equipment and paints and leftThroughout the entire job with exception of the primer coat we had all work surfaces covered with drop cloths to include the concrete floor that which will be 80% carpet and 20% tile As Previously stated the floors were so dirty when we arrived the first day to prime that we used sections of cardboard to protect the floors as much as we could, and throughout the entire touch up process we used masking tape and paper to protect all wood surfaces and drop cloths on the floor in all area we had touch-ups I have been in the painting trade for years and no one protects the floors on new construction including the million dollar homes I work in regularly But I do take pride in my work and concerned about the cleanliness of the job site, this job was no different, paint was not splattered all over the floor from my company, as stated by *** During the touch process of which [redacted] Claims took five days in a row, Monday we sanded all the doors and frames, then vacuumed the dust off the doors, frames and surrounding floorAnd then used a tack rag on the doors and frame to remove any remaining dust My foreman then stained the staircase woodwork -Tuesday we finish coated poly urethane the doors and frames, my foreman stained the staircase woodwork a second time and I did some miscellaneous touch up -Wednesday 3, 2016, [redacted] called the night before claiming that we got some poly Urethane on the plastic that he laid down over the bathroom tile that we had covered with drop clothsMy foreman was scheduled to go back to put the first coat of Poly Urethane on the staircase woodwork [redacted] then proceeded to tell me he did not us to do anything else in the basement No more touch up work, just poly the staircase and leave -Thursday August 4, 2016, my foreman and I were on the job site, foreman lightly sanded the staircase woodwork and put on the finish coat of Poly urethane, he then helped me touch up the walls and ceiling When finished, my foreman and I walked around and looked the job over several times and we were satisfied with the resultsThat night again as stated [redacted] had some areas of concern and I again agreed to come back on Friday to address ***’s concerns -Friday August 5, was the date [redacted] ridiculously starting pointing things out on the walls in which you could not even see .Throughout the five days that we were there that particular week, we repeated touch ups only one day, on that Friday, not five different days and at no time throughout these five days was anything ever mentioned about something being wrong with the stained woodwork, not until final payment was requested -Addressing ***’s claim that the Urethane or stain was not dry, the Mini Wax brand Poly Urethane used, dry’s to the touch in one hour and if it was still wet after days as [redacted] claims, we would not have been able to sand the doors and frames on 8/1/2016, after being varnished the first time on 6/13/ Not to mention that the tile setters dust would have been stuck all over the finish from when he was there on 6/15/ -Concerning the stain color issue, this is the third job I have done for [redacted] and the second job included staining new woodwork in his sunroom of which I did At that time I left him touch up stain So the first day we started I asked him for the can of touch up stain and he said he did not have any so I asked him what color it was and he said he didn’t know Later he mentioned that he thought it was Zar Golden Oaks, so I went out and bought a can and the color was not even close That was the only color he gave me so I used a lot of Old Master stains and picked out a stain color that matched the color of his first floor woodwork from the color chart After the stain was applied it dried a little off color which I would adjust with the first coat of Poly Urethane, and I did so successfullyI even did a sample board of the trim with the adjustment in color for [redacted] to approve before we proceeded with the trim of which he approved If the stain job was so bad that he claims he has to replace all the wood trim, I have to ask why then did he give me a progressive draw of $2,after the basement doors and frames were stained and the first coat of Poly Urethane was appliedThroughout this entire job it was obvious that [redacted] had no regard of contractor’s time, as he continually postponed and delayed scheduled work dates, causing not only my company but the other contractor’s loss of productivity and profit Often he would not call until the morning we were to begin work before cancelling, making it impossible to schedule another job for the day Once [redacted] even made a comment to me that he doesn’t know how the plumber made any money because he was there for six days He in short made the same comment about my time invested in the job Throughout the job it was clear that [redacted] has and had no regard for contractor’s time and money, and only out for his own gainIn the years I have been in the painting trade and all the years I have been in business personally, this is only the second complaint I have received from the Revdex.com, and the first was over a $issueUnfortunately it appears to me that ***’s basement project is over budget and he is trying to compensate the cost by any means possibleI have read ***’s complaint letter and find it to be untruthful, unfair, and hurtful I went above and beyond, even leaving for family vacation late in order to accommodate his requests, all of which were just a means to stall, and keep me on the job to get more work done, that in which he had no intention of paying me for I have no doubt that like a bully he would have continued to be selfish in his demands of my time and money, just to further his gain if I were not to have seen the job as complete and exit with my equipment and paint on August 5, It is unfortunate the path this job has gone down, for in the past [redacted] and I had a mutual respect and cohesive working relationship, one in which he was satisfied enough with our work, as well as work ethic that he called again on my company For whatever reason it appears [redacted] is using me as his scapegoat in his financial issues, maybe I am an easy target because I am known to go above and beyond to have customers satisfied with my work, even at my own financial expense, truly this is a discerning matter But for him I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures, no matter whose feet he is stomping on Most of my clients are repeat customers, all of whom you can call for references on my work performance Name of Customer: Mr& Mrs [redacted] Disputed Amount Owed:Desired Settlement: -Pay the balance of original Contract =$1, -Pay for upgrades in materials = -Pay for extra work requested by customer =$2, >Preseal woodwork >Sand swirl ceiling >Stain basement stairway -Pay for lost time due to short notice job delays and or cancelled dates =$1, $6,

In addition to the damages previously listed, I estimate that approximately $3,of payments made to Paul relate to work which was not performed to industry standard. This estimate relates to the staining work of all doors, windows and trim. This amount is in addition to the
$3,890.20. Sorry for the confusion

I am providing the following in response to statements forwarded to me by the Revdex.comregarding a compliant I filed again Paul J Liecht PaintingIn short, I find many of ***’s statementsoffensive, inaccurate and fraudulentMany of the text exchanges which *** references are both takenout of context and/or incompleteAdditionally, he has provided completely inaccurate statementsregarding the terms of our contract which were agreed to verbally prior to the commencement of theworkI am further discouraged and outraged in the way he has once again failed to acknowledge thepoor quality of work performed and is now making defamatory comments regarding the merits of mydispute, suggesting my reasoning is based off budget issues with my projectWhile I am sure I can writejust as many pages as ***, I have focused this response on those items which were the most absurd.Where necessary, excerpts from ***’s response are provided below as well as relevant pictures thatsupport my claims (pictures that I previously offered to provide to *** but he chose to ignore)Ifthere are any statements which I fail to address but are deemed critical to this dispute, I am happy toprovide my opinion on the matter*** has made accusations on many occasions that I have been insensitive to his schedule,suggesting that I often changing scheduled work at the last minuteWhat *** is failing to admitwas his eagerness to start the work at my house even before I was ready to move onto thisphaseFor that reason, on several occasions I mentioned to *** that it may be best to waituntil I was absolutely ready for the painting phase in the process and that I didn’t want to alterhis scheduleHowever, since this work was completed during a stormier time of the year, ***implied that it was no inconvenience to move forward as he was looking to fill his schedule onrainy days with indoor workFor example, *** indicated that a large outdoor project which hehad been working on for three weeks was behind as a result of rainFor this reason, heintended to take advantage of dry days for that project but was ok using rain days for myprojectAnother example of contradictions to ***s’ scheduling accusation was when *** saidhe was going to staff another job if I didn’t give him immediate approval to move forward withthe next stage of this processAt this time of the project, *** knew that I was out of town thisweek and it would be difficult to look at what was done but I was doing my best to coordinatewith my wifeHow is a customer responsible for lost time when the contractor claims to haveadditional work lined up or when weather issues create an urgency to fill the contractor’sschedule? Finally, at no time did *** make these accusations during the job.However, if this is ***’s claim, it could more easily be argued that *** is in debt for our lostwages and/or time related to making arrangements having someone housesit while her crewworked at certain times during the project to correct prior errorsAdditionally, considerabletime was spent cleaning up his mess which resulted from his failure to exercise “professionalcourtesy” to protect my propertyFurther, there was at least one occasion that *** tried torush things along resulting in his foreman showing up one morning for work, only to determinethat the prior coat wasn’t dry enough for him to move forwardFinally, as *** indicated, nearthe end of the project I spent nearly hours quality controlling his work in real time, pointingout again and again spots that were patched but not painted or where stain was had splatteredall over painted surfaces*** admittedly didn’t take these corrections seriously by stating hejust painted in the general area I pointedThese are just a few examples which demonstrate thehypocrisy in ***’s comments related to lost time*** has suggested that he took the appropriate measures to protect my personal and realproperty but had limitations resulting from the work condition of the spaceInterestingly, as*** stated, he stopped by on May before starting work (this was the night in which he bidthe additional work)At that time I asked if the work environment was clean enough for him inwhich he responded “oh yea, this is perfect”The only “mess” that was on the floor prior to*** starting the project was dried joint compound, something that easily came off with a littlewater but wouldn’t rub off on drop cloths (after all this is what painters paint over in newconstruction with brushes and rollers)The space had been vacuumed, mopped and dried onseveral occasionsHowever, even if it was the case that the space was too contaminated, ***made a commitment that he would protect the floors and failed to do soIf *** usedcardboard, which my wife and I doubt he did (and I suspect *** does too given he wasn’t onsiteat this time and initially claimed the entire floor was covered until he realized he wasn’t onsiteat that time), it clearly wasn’t effectiveAll that would have been necessary to provideprotection was a $roll of plastic, a precaution I took when I had them stain trim in the garageduring a subsequent step of this projectOn that day they started staining trim, when ***showed up to set his foreman up for staining the trim, upon seeing this plastic I laid down, hemistakenly thought this was done by his foremanI corrected him stating I had done it and hesaid “well that’s something we would have done anyway”Does it really makes sense that ***would protect a garage floor (and thought in fact he did) but wouldn’t protect a basement floorafter the customer made the request? *** stated he later decided to use his outdoor cloths toprotect the floor so I am confused why *** didn’t take this precaution initially***’s lack ofsupervision as walls were painted and primed is the direct causation of this mess.Additionally, not once did we consult *** in the design stage of this project so he has no ideawhat was contemplated for floor covering or will be used in the futureThe truth is, not onlywas 1/of the floor tiled (requiring extensive cleaning before it was laid), we had intendedinitially to concrete stain the floorWhen we found out we were expecting another child, wemade the determination that carpet would be a better option this time but concrete stainingwould be a strong option in the futureUnfortunately, we won’t be able to do this now withoutincurring more cost to restore the floor back to its initial conditionFinally, ***’s responsedoesn’t explain the splatter on personal possessionsPlease see the pictures named:- Picture of floor- Picture of damaged propertyAs previously mentioned, and acknowledge by ***, on numerous occasions I marked andpointed out areas needing correctionAfter an entire week of *** making corrections whichresulted in time missed from work and/or making arrangements to have someone at the houseto provide *** access, these issues continued to existThe poor workmanship issues which existinclude: mismatched color, splatter on the walls, sloppy work and stain blotching on doors andtrimTo answer ***s question on why I had the trim installed if I wasn’t pleased with the color,I would reference him back to his text on July at 6:18pm where he indicated that he “willmake all correction necessary when I finish the doors”*** was aware of my discontent withthe color and blotching on the woodwork but assured me that he would correct the issues.These issues are noticeable to anyone looking over the work (and have been pointed out bynumerous people) and do not exist solely on unexposed areas as *** contendsPlease see thepictures:- Picture of trim cut in- Picture of splatter- Picture of splatter- Picture of trim finishPicture of mismatched paint- Picture of incomplete job - wallFurther, and most concerning, I previously mentioned that the stained wood continues to bewetI can’t explain what is causing this phenomenon however I do know that the color isrubbing off and has stained new carpet when the doors were set on top or rubbed againstduring swingWhile I don’t have any additional words to add to this claim, I have attachedrecent pictures of rags recently used to wipe the doorsYou will notice the resulting stain onthose ragesI have also included pictures of the carpet which was damaged as a resultPleasesee the pictures:- Picture of rag- Picture of carpetIt is completely unacceptable that stain is running off months after a projectNot only could itcontinue to destroy other belongings, it’s a potential health hazard for my family (pregnant wifeand kids under the age of years old)Finally, *** has claimed that that I owe him money in addition to the original contractedamountThese amounts include upcharges for things which are industry standards in thepainting profession (such as conditioning a soft wood like pine before staining) as well as thingswhich were agreed to in the original contractI personally find this aspect of ***’s claim themost dishonest*** knows these things were agreed to with the original contractWhile Ihave no intention of getting caught in a he said/he said situation, I can prove that *** had noexpectation of billing these items as out of scope work until he realized the mess he createdwith this jobI have included a final bill provided by *** for his services renderedThe startingpoint for this invoice is the original contract value less payments to dateThere is no referenceto out of scope services, upgraded material or lost time*** was quick to jump to assumptionsabout my inability and unwillingness to pay his bill although many of the same things could besaid about himThis project was poorly managed with little supervision*** needs to behonest with himself and deal with the situation his company created.As I said before, I find these to be the most concerning issues with ***’s statementsWhile I couldcontinue to comment on items such as his claim that the basement condition was too uncomfortable forhis crew (a crew that paints outdoors and in unconditioned new construction compared to my basementwhich is a space I have never seen the temperature rise above degrees), I have no plans onperpetuating this argumentAnd while I didn’t address every aspect of ***’s response, it doesn’t meanthat I agree with his statementsI have provided sample pictures evidencing the poor work of Paul JLiecht PaintingI can provide more pictures if necessary to demonstrate this sloppiness was not isolatedrather apparent throughout the entire projectI can also provide a full transcript of texts in which hestated he would fix my noted issues*** needs to take ownership of his mistakes and make this rightfor the customer

Better Businees Bureau, I was called in the early summer of 2015 by [redacted]; a twice previous customer, to stop by his house and pick up a drawing of a floor plan of his finish basement project which he wanted my company to do.  I met with [redacted], and reviewed the floor plan, he explained what areas on the drawing where to be finished and what areas were not getting any finish.  He asked if I could give him a bid for completing the work as described.   I took his floor plan drawing with me and proceeded to provide an estimate for the work as he described and a typed bid for work to be completed was sent on July 15, 2015. In need of setting up my work schedule, after several months and no response from [redacted], on January 13, 2016 I sent him a text to check on the status of the basement project.  The last time we spoke [redacted] mentioned that he thought the painting portion of the project would be ready mid to late January and I was checking to see if he still planned to use our company for the project, since per [redacted]’s request I penciled his job in for this time frame,. [redacted] responded back by thanking me for checking in and letting me know that he added another wall to the project and only a little had been started.  He stated that he was trying to get everyone back on schedule but it has been a challenge and asked if I would remove him from the schedule for now and he would follow up when he could give me a good estimate on timing.  I responded back and ask that he let me know when he was ready. On May 10, [redacted] text me indicating that the tapers had started that day, (a day behind schedule) and he thinks it will take at least five days.  He indicated that he hated to keep messing with my schedule but he thought it would make sense to push things off a few days or even into the following week.  I responded that we should plan on the following week and to let me know Friday how the job was progressing. On May 18, [redacted] text me and said that the drywall taper needed another day because it was taking a long time to dry and now thought Monday would be the definite start date.  I responded with an ok, and changed my schedule around yet again. On Friday May 20th, [redacted] text to let me know that normally he would hang back the first day and walk me through things to make sure we were on the same page, but that he had some early morning meetings scheduled all the following week, so he ask if I could stop by Saturday or Sunday for a few minutes to go over the scope of work.  I indicated that I was out of town for the weekend, but if I arrived home early enough on Sunday I would stop by. On Saturday May 21, [redacted] text me indicating he had yet another issue on the basement project and that he would let me know by Sunday if it could be corrected in time to start on Monday.  So because of the uncertain ability to start on Monday, I indicated that we would continue on an existing exterior job on Monday and would start on Tuesday especially since the forecast called for rain the rest of the week, and I had already changed my schedule around to accommodate [redacted] severl times. On Monday May 23, I met with [redacted] at his house at 5pm to go over the scope of work and review the project.  After a walkthrough of the basement project there were additional areas that were not on the original floor plan that was supplied in which [redacted] now wanted finished, I informed [redacted] this added work would require an additional cost and a revised proposal.  I went home and figured the additional cost of extra work to be completed, and shortly thereafter text [redacted] back indicating the additional cost would be $1,695.00 and that he should let me know how to proceed.  [redacted] asked if I would give him a break down for the additional work and I replied by text the breakdown and did not get a response. On Tuesday May 24, I text [redacted] and indicated that I did not hear back from the previous night and asked if we were on hold with the project or should I instead send a crew over on Wednesday May 25.  [redacted] responded that he wanted to hold off on starting, because the additional price caught him a little off guard but wanted to use my company because as he stated “I know that you do good work”.  He then indicated that he was trying cut cost on the flooring in order to offset the added cost.  I responded “OK let me know what you decide”. On Wednesday May 25, [redacted] text me, “let’s go ahead and move forward” asking when we want to start priming, tomorrow or Friday.  I responded Thursday May 26th.  Later that day he indicated he wanted an upgrade in the paints bid for the job and wanted to use Sherwin Williams Harmony, but it was not available in a matte finish.  I indicated that I always use Sherwin s interior Duration Matte finish.  [redacted] did not want to use that product because it did not have the green guard symbol on the label and wanted to upgrade to the Emerald brand matte finish.  We also went back and forth on primers to be used and he finally determined that the primer that we normally use had the Green Guard symbol on the label and we were able to proceed. On Thursday May 26, after many schedule cancellations and loss of productivity we were finally able to get started with the job. [redacted] text me at 6:21 am and indicted, “I know the basement floor looks like crap, but my tile installer needs me to clean it before he installs.  If your guys can keep the splash down to a minimum or throw down drop cloths that would help me out”.  I replied that I always protect the floors, it’s just professional curtesy. When we arrived on the job the floors were covered in joint cement globes and drywall dust.  So we used lengths of cardboard (2x4 foot in size) as floor protection.  I would not put my clean interior drop cloths on the dirty floor because they would no longer be able to be used on an interior job.   We continued to move the cardboard along the wall areas where we were painting to protect the concrete basement floor (80% plus of which were getting carpeted over) to keep free from paint drips as much as possible.  [redacted] was out of town that week and had also asked me to do any drywall repairs that I came across, which I indicated would not be done until after the priming was done as long as it was minor repairs.   I text [redacted] at 11:01 am letting him know that I had three workers at his house and they would be close to, if not finished priming that day.  I also let him know that everything I saw on the tape job looked good and asked if I could proceed with the sand swirling of the ceiling on Friday (another upgrade from the original proposal).  He indicated that he was waiting to hear back from his wife on her thoughts on how it looked but indicated once it was sand swirled there probably won’t be anything noticeable and would let me know when he heard back from her.   I did not hear back from [redacted] on whether we could proceed Friday with the sand swirl on the ceilings, which resulted in another day of crews lost production. On Monday May 30th at 10:12am I received a text back from [redacted] wanting to know when I would be back to proceed with the ceilings and walls.  I indicated I would not be able to start back until Wednesday June 1, 2016. On Wednesday June 1, 2016 we started the finish sand swirl painting on the ceiling and finished painting the walls as indicated.  [redacted] had vacuumed the dust and debris from the floors and even though the floors were still dirty, I covered the entire floor area where the finish paint was to be applied, with my exterior drop cloths and did so throughout the rest of the job to protect the concrete unfinished basement floor, again covered and protected 100%.  He also wanted to know if we used fans in the basement and I replied yes for drying purposes and also because he turned the air conditioning unit off in the house, even though I indicated the a/c would help with dry time, not to mention a more favorable working condition for my crew.  We finished the finish painting of the walls and ceilings on Thursday June 3rd, 2016, then pulled off the job so the woodwork could be installed. [redacted] called to inform me the tile setter would be coming to do the tile work, for the doors and frames were now hung.  I suggested to him that the raw doors and frames be stained and at least one coat of polyurethane applied to prevent any splash from the tile grout causing permeant discoloring of the wood.  He agreed (and delayed the tile setter until the end of the week.) On Monday June 13, 2016 we pre-sealed the doors and frames (again an extra to the original contract) as requested by [redacted], and then stained all the doors and frames.  We returned the next day June 14, 2016 and put the first coat of Poly Urethane on the doors and frames; again working without air-conditioning, making working conditions for my crew and me very uncomfortable.  I asked [redacted] for a progressive draw for work completed, of which he left me a $2,500.00 check, in addition to the $3,000.00 deposit he gave me at start of job.  On Tuesday June 21, 2016 I text [redacted] to see how the tile work was coming along, to get an idea when we could get back on the job in order to keep moving forward. On Wednesday June 22, 2016 he responded thanking me for following up and that the tile guy just finished.  He indicated that he needed to get in the basement the upcoming weekend and “clean up, for the tile setter was a lot messier than he thought”.  He indicated that the electrician was scheduled for Tuesday and it would be better for us to get in after that.  I asked if his trim was in yet and he said “it was available but not delivered, and he was waiting for it.   The carpenter who was working with [redacted] on the weekends, was starting to build the window box extensions and hanging cabinets the upcoming weekend (yet another delay.) On July 6, 2016 after the trim finally came in, we returned to pre-seal the trim (another extra not on the original proposal) and stain the trim and then return the next day to put the first coat of poly urethane on the time so it could be installed prior to the final coat of poly urethane. On July 11, 2016, I text [redacted] to make sure the carpenter installed the trim, because we were scheduled to return on Monday to finish coat the trim with Poly Urethane.  [redacted] replied that he had pushed off the carpenter so that we could get the “color right” before it was installed.  I verbally explained that I wanted to finish after it was installed to make sure all the woodwork was consistent in color.  But [redacted] insisted it be finish coated prior to installation in his garage where we had to work on the trim. On Wednesday July 20th, 2016 at 6:24 pm, [redacted] forward on to me two pictures of the base trim which he was showing some light stain areas on his trim and a few runs on another piece.  These were on the bottom side of the base trim that faces the floor and would never be seen. On Thursday July 21, 2016, [redacted] text me letting me know that he was scheduling things out to wrap everything up and scheduled the stair installer for the following week and wanted us back on August 1, 2016, to finish the job. On Monday August 1, 2016 our company returned as scheduled to continue the finish coating of the poly urethane of the doors.  Three of my employees along with myself spent the entire day sanding the doors and frames to remove factory burrs and raised wood grain of the doors and frames, we vacuumed them clean including all surrounding areas and then wiped off the doors and frames with tack cloths; which removes any remaining dust, a standard procedure.  We also covered (entirely) the concrete and tiled floor areas with drop cloths, to include over the  plastic that [redacted] laid  over the new floor in preparation for the finish coat of poly urethane and miscellaneous touch ups (which were caused by other contractors). [redacted] also ask me to give him a price on staining the unfinished wood panels on the newly installed cabinets on the bar.  I gave him a quote and he said he was going to do it himself. On Tuesday August 2, 2016 at 6:00pm, [redacted] text me and asked how things went on this day and that he heard from his mother in-law that we would be back the following day, being Aug 3rd (she was house sitting every day we were on the job site).  He wanted to know if I thought we would be finished.  So I verbally called and talked to [redacted] and explained that the staircase needed a second coat of stain and we would not be done until Thursday August 4th, 2016. On Wednesday August 3rd, at 8:10 pm, [redacted] text to confirm from our conversation the night before, that both myself and my lead Forman would be on the job in the morning to wrap things up.  He asked if we could be on the job site at 6:30 am because he had to get to work, and wanted to do a walk through.  My foreman and I accommodated [redacted] and arrived as requested at 6:30 am the following morning. During the walk through [redacted] pointed out some areas of concern mainly little specks of stain that were flicked on the walls during staining.  So as we walked around and looked at the entire job, I marked the areas of concern with little pieces of blue tape to make sure I did not miss during touch up. After the walk through, [redacted] went to work, my foreman proceeded to put the first coat of urethane on the handrail and I started on the wall and ceiling touch up areas.  When my foreman was done with the poly urethane, together we worked on touch up areas, making multiple trips around all the finished areas to make certain nothing was missed, as I am very thorough and conscientious of all work provided by my company.  At 12:00 noon, I text [redacted] to let him know we were finished and that I would like to stop by and pick up final the payment owed from the original contract of $1,530.00.  He replied that he wanted to look things over and would do his best to look things over that evening, but realistically would probably not be until the weekend.  He also said that there were a few temporary light bulbs that got paint specks on them and wanted them cleaned off or to be reimbursed for them.  I responded that I would clean them off, which I did eventually do.  I then indicated that I would be leaving on our family vacation for ten days and wanted to get the final payment before we left. On Friday August 5, 2016 at 7:47 am, [redacted] text stating that after our verbal conversation the night before, he now can still see stain specs on the painted walls around the door areas, he informed me that he moved the plumber to Saturday and I could come by late morning once his HVAC guy was done.  [redacted] went on to say that “if we can’t get things right this time that they were going to pursue other options (different painter, doing it myself, etc).  He went on to say that once I am there I will agree that the technique we used is not working and that the ball was in my court (basically meaning whether or not I get paid).  He went on to say if that works he would text me what time his HVAC guy would be finished so I could come over.  Once again I accommodated [redacted] and agreed to come over, even though we were preparing to leave on our family vacation, as it is important to me to have satisfied customers.    Now at 9:55 am [redacted] text me again and indicated that he would be home at 11:00 am.  I replied “OK” and agreed to meet at that time; a time convenient for him.  I arrived along with the job foreman to take a look at [redacted]’s concerns.  As we are walking through the basement area he was pointing out specs on the wall most of which my foreman or I could not see, as [redacted] had is face two to three inches away from the wall.  So I marked each area with a piece of blue tape in areas [redacted] indicated and then touched up the wall area using the original paint that was used to paint the walls, both the job foreman and I again walked around several times after we retouched up to make sure we didn’t miss anything.  I at that time asked [redacted] to come down and take a look at everything and all areas he painted out to be touched up, and again he walked around with his face two to three inches from the walls and pointed out new areas which he didn’t see before…… with claims of specs on the wall which my foreman and I could not see, but as before I marked the spots where [redacted] had his finger pointing with blue tape.  Now all to seemingly suspicious, for the red flags were going off much clearer, and his requests were so ridiculous, that two times I asked [redacted] if he intended on paying the remaining balance, because if he wasn’t I did not want to waste any more of my time.  He indicated that he had every intention of paying the balance due.  So my foreman and myself went around again and touched up the areas [redacted] pointed out (which we could not even see a speck, just touched up where [redacted] indicated) and for a third time I asked him to look over things to make sure he was satisfied and again with his face two to three inches from the wall, he continued to point out specs on the wall and again I marked them with blue tape to make sure we hit the areas of concern.   As my foreman and I went around  for a third time touching up the areas [redacted] indicated (even though we could not see anything) it was becoming clear to me that [redacted] had no intensions of paying the balance of $1,530.00.  But once again in an attempt to make my customer happy, my foreman and I went around and touched up areas indicated by [redacted].  When we were done with the third go round of touch ups, I at that point considered the job complete.  We proceed to pack up our tools, equipment, paint, and supplies.  I asked [redacted] for a check, as payment is due upon completion of work.  Clearly using another stall tactic, [redacted] said “even though I have the final say on writing the check, my wife needed to look at it first”.  It was perfectly clear that [redacted] had no intention of paying the bill, (he needed a way to make up for cost over runs on the job) and not paying me was his solution.  At this time we loaded up all equipment and paints and left. Throughout the entire job with exception of the primer coat we had all work surfaces covered with drop cloths to include the concrete floor that which will be 80% carpet and 20% tile.  As Previously stated the floors were so dirty when we arrived the first day to prime that we used sections of cardboard to protect the floors as much as we could, and throughout the entire touch up process we used masking tape and paper to protect all wood surfaces and drop cloths on the floor in all area we had touch-ups.  I have been in the painting trade for 40 years and no one protects the floors on new construction including the million dollar homes I work in regularly.  But I do take pride in my work and concerned about the cleanliness of the job site, this job was no different, paint was not splattered all over the floor from my company, as stated by [redacted].   During the touch process of which [redacted] Claims took five days in a row, Monday we sanded all the doors and frames, then vacuumed the dust off the doors, frames and surrounding floor. And then used a tack rag on the doors and frame to remove any remaining dust.  My foreman then stained the staircase woodwork.   -Tuesday we finish coated poly urethane the doors and frames, my foreman stained the staircase woodwork a second time and I did some miscellaneous touch up.   -Wednesday 3, 2016, [redacted] called the night before claiming that we got some poly Urethane on the plastic that he laid down over the bathroom tile that we had covered with drop cloths. My foreman was scheduled to go back to put the first coat of Poly Urethane on the staircase woodwork.  [redacted] then proceeded to tell me he did not us to do anything else in the basement.  No more touch up work, just poly the staircase and leave.   -Thursday August 4, 2016, my foreman and I were on the job site, foreman lightly sanded the staircase woodwork and put on the finish coat of Poly urethane, he then helped me touch up the walls and ceiling.  When finished, my foreman and I walked around and looked the job over several times and we were satisfied with the results. That night again as stated [redacted] had some areas of concern and I again agreed to come back on Friday to address [redacted]’s concerns.   -Friday August 5, 2016 was the date [redacted] ridiculously starting pointing things out on the walls in which you could not even see.  ……….Throughout the five days that we were there that particular week, we repeated  touch ups only one day, on that Friday, not five different days and at no time throughout these five days was anything ever mentioned about something being wrong with the stained woodwork, not until final payment was requested.     -Addressing [redacted]’s claim that the Urethane or stain was not dry, the Mini Wax brand Poly Urethane used, dry’s to the touch in one hour and if it was still wet after 30 days as [redacted] claims, we would not have been able to sand the doors and frames on 8/1/2016, after being varnished the first time on 6/13/2016.  Not to mention that the tile setters dust would have been stuck all over the finish from when he was there on 6/15/2016.   -Concerning the stain color issue, this is the third job I have done for [redacted] and the second job included staining new woodwork in his sunroom of which I did.  At that time I left him touch up stain.  So the first day we started I asked him for the can of touch up stain and he said he did not have any so I asked him what color it was and he said he didn’t know.  Later he mentioned that he thought it was Zar Golden Oaks, so I went out and bought a can and the color was not even close.  That was the only color he gave me so I used a lot of Old Master stains and picked out a stain color that matched the color of his first floor woodwork from the color chart.  After the stain was applied it dried a little off color which I would adjust with the first coat of Poly Urethane, and I did so successfully. I even did a sample board of the trim with the adjustment in color for [redacted] to approve before we proceeded with the trim of which he approved.  If the stain job was so bad that he claims he has to replace all the wood trim, I have to ask why then did he give me a progressive draw of $2,500.00 after the basement doors and frames were stained and the first coat of Poly Urethane was applied. Throughout this entire job it was obvious that [redacted] had no regard of contractor’s time, as he continually postponed and delayed scheduled work dates, causing not only my company but the other contractor’s loss of productivity and profit.  Often he would not call until the morning we were to begin work before cancelling, making it impossible to schedule another job for the day.  Once [redacted] even made a comment to me that he doesn’t know how the plumber made any money because he was there for six days.  He in short made the same comment about my time invested in the job.  Throughout the job it was clear that [redacted] has and had no regard for contractor’s time and money, and only out for his own gain. In the 40 years I have been in the painting trade and all the years I have been in business personally, this is only the second complaint I have received from the Revdex.com, and the first was over a $25.00 issue. Unfortunately it appears to me that [redacted]’s basement project is over budget and he is trying to compensate the cost by any means possible. I have read [redacted]’s complaint letter and find it to be untruthful, unfair, and hurtful.  I went above and beyond, even leaving for family vacation late in order to accommodate his requests, all of which were just a means to stall, and keep me on the job to get more work done, that in which he had no intention of paying me for.  I have no doubt that like a bully he would have continued to be selfish in his demands of my time and money, just to further his gain if I were not to have seen the job as complete and exit with my equipment and paint on August 5, 2016. It is unfortunate the path this job has gone down, for in the past [redacted] and I had a mutual respect and cohesive working relationship, one in which he was satisfied enough with our work, as well as work ethic that he called again on my company.  For whatever reason it appears [redacted] is using me as his scapegoat in his financial issues, maybe I am an easy target because I am known to go above and beyond to have customers satisfied with my work, even at my own financial expense, truly this is a discerning matter.  But for him I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures, no matter whose feet he is stomping on.  Most of my clients are repeat customers, all of whom you can call for references on my work performance.  Name of Customer:  Mr. & Mrs. [redacted]Disputed Amount Owed:Desired Settlement:            -Pay the balance of original Contract                         =$1,530.00            -Pay for upgrades in materials                                    =     165.00   -Pay for extra work requested by customer                =$2,690.00   >Preseal woodwork   >Sand swirl ceiling   >Stain basement stairway                -Pay for lost time due to short notice job delays and or cancelled dates                                     �...⇄ =$1,920.00                                   ...⇄   $6,305.00