Student Works Painting West

We hired Student Works to paint the exterior of our house in July 2017. We arranged a free estimate with Garry Fong. He was prompt, polite and knowledgeable and completed a thorough walk-through including a detailed breakdown of the work to be completed. He spoke to us in both English and Chinese which was very helpful for my Dad. The quote was competitive and included a 10% discount for booking on the same day. The job was initially planned to start in a few weeks but was delayed due to Garry's busy schedule which was mainly caused by an injury to one of his painters.

Although Garry's team did the power wash of our house, the painting was assigned to another franchisee, Jessica Bruzzese. Jessica's team was exemplary and completed the painting job in 2 days. Jessica was polite, efficient and communicated well. Her team also did a great job of cleaning up afterwards. Everyone we dealt with at Student Works conducted themselves in a professional manner. We are very happy with the end result and would definitely hire Student Works again and recommend their services to others.

Colin was contracted to paint the interior of several businesses at Chemainus Village Square. His quote was fair and very thorough. He made it very clear what was and wasn't going to be provided and worked well with other trades, often his team would be the last to leave the site and never caused us any delays. These are customer front facing businesses, not warehouses and the quality of work reflected this. We further contracted Colin to refinish the stain on large exterior beams. He managed our expectations well and provided us with an example of what the finished product would look like. I would not hesitate to recommend Colin and know that he works all over the lower Island, particularly Victoria. We are having him look at several more spaces this year.

Jessica Bruzzese and her crew did a great job on our house in Abbotsford - we have a complicated roof line with some difficult to reach places - they did everything thoroughly and professionally and had everything cleaned up and taken care of very quickly when they finished. We would definitely use them again.

Werner Shuck:

We hired Connor Fairweather to paint the vacant interior and exterior of our new home we had just purchased. We had plans to move in at the beginning of August and there were no contractors available on such short notice. Thankfully, Connor came by for an estimate the same day I called him. The price was reasonable, although I would have paid much more to have the job done before we moved in. I was nervous as the job was being done while we were not in town and having not met Connor in person I was skeptical. Connor did his best to update us with daily phone calls. I gave Connor and his team a generous tip for working extra long days to have our house looking brand new when we arrived. He was a very nice man and I recommend him for anyone looking to have work done.

During the summer of 2017 we chose to undergo a much needed complete exterior paining project for our house. I selected Student Works after getting quotes from three similar painting services. I chose Student Works because the young man who did the quote was very professional and communicative. Although his quote was a little bit higher than the others, I was confident that I would be getting a quality job. That is where the positive aspects of the service and experience ended.

The crew that showed up was almost completely inexperienced and had to be shown basic painting techniques. The first task was to power wash the house in preparation for painting. The power washing was improperly done. Dirt was sprayed onto the front door and on to the walls. Only the front of the house and some of the side and back were washed. The upper part of the house was left untouched.

Painting began on the following day. Unfortunately the power sprayer was not working and I was informed that it would need to be fixed before spraying could start. The crew began cutting in on the windows, doors, and other areas. There was no spot priming, scraping, or removal of flaking paint. They simply painted over what was already there, dirt and all.

Once the sprayer was working, the crew began spraying the house. Windows were not properly covered resulting in overspray on glass and window screens. There were also drips of paint on several windows. In the garage I specifically asked the crew to avoid spraying the hard top of my Jeep which was hoisted up against the ceiling. The crew did not cover or protect the Jeep top with blankets or paper and as a result, the top now has paint spray all over it.

I was initially told that the job would take 3-5 days. In the end, the project took a total of 9 days. The sprayer had to be repaired twice during the project and the crew had to power my personal tools and ladder. On the last day of the project I did a walk around with the crew leader. I identified over 50 deficiencies which I documented for him. They included things like:

- overspray on windows and other surfaces
- paint drips on trim, surfaces, and the decking
- splotchy spray on areas of the house
- railings improperly painted
- poor quality cut ins on trim and corners
- areas missing paint

It took an additional day for the deficiencies to be resolved. For most, I simply agreed to the resolution rather than extending the work any further. In hindsight I should have been more insistent that the work be completed to my satisfaction.

In addition to the sub-standard paint job, which I am confident will require remediation in the next year, the crew scratched and dented gutters by placing ladders against them, damaged fruit bushes by dumping paint water in our garden, ruined the lawn by leaving tarps and other supplies directly on the grass, left garbage in our yard, damaged a hose and sprayer, left tools which I kindly lent to them covered in paint, and left paint drips all over our new deck and arbor.

When providing the invoice, the crew leader explained that a tip was customary and that he would appreciate a testimonial. Before paying the invoice in full (over $6000 including taxes), I explained to the crew leader how disappointed with the service I was and that neither a tip nor a testimonial would be forthcoming.

In summary, even though I paid for a professional quality service, I received neither. What I did receive was the most painful service experience I have ever had with a trade. I will not use Student Works again and I have actively discouraged others from using them as well, based on my experience.

We contracted Trent Lindgaard and his team to paint the exterior of our home in Richmond. From the start, Trent was very professional and knowledgeable. He ensured the surface of our home was prepped properly first (power washing, scrapping/sanding/caulking where necessary). Trent and his associate, Chris were diligent, courteous and professional throughout the entire time they worked on our home.
We are pleased with the results and would definitely recommend Trent and his Student Works Painting team!

Had Trent and his Richmond team power wash the house before painting the exterior, trim, garage door and deck. Professional, friendly, efficient and thorough. Happy with the result. Would recommend to anyone.

Enlisted Trent Lindgaard and his friendly crew to paint the exterior of our home in Steveston. They turned out to be a hard working professional group of students who were enjoyable to have around. We were very happy with the results and would recommend them to anyone. Thanks Trent and crew.

Trent Lindgaard and the Student Works painting crew did a very good job painting and power washing the upper roof and trim of our house. They were professional and thorough. Would definitely recommend these hardworking students.