Jardine's Restoration and Painting LLC

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We’d urge people to be cautious and watchful. <br /> We’d had the exterior of the house painted twice previously, by companies other than Jardine, and, in both cases, got what we believed to be substandard results because the contractor had bid too low and was cutting corners by the end of the job. Mr. Jardine’s estimate came in at about the same amount as those two previous jobs and was significantly below two other estimates we received this summer. We told him so and allowed him to look at the job again. His second bid was 10% higher than the first but was still low enough to be worrisome given past experience. We eventually accepted his bid but we were prepared to unilaterally reduce the scope of work to help ensure a quality result on the scope that remained. <br /> We never made it that far. <br /> We engaged Jardine late in the summer, by which time he was booked through September. When he first contacted us to set a firm date, we were told “first week in October”. Then that slipped to “second week”. Then “Friday of second week”. Then “Monday of third week”. Then Tuesday at 9. Then Tuesday at 10 because members of his crew were having “personal issues”. Finally, at 11:15, a two-man crew arrived up to start power washing. Less than three hours later, they were gone for the day due to equipment failure. <br /> Which was a good thing because, in the two hours they were actually engaged in the job, they did a lot of damage to the house. Three-quarters of the windows screens they came near with the power washer had been shredded; no effort to remove or move them and no request that we do so. Significant sections of the wood had been gouged and/or feathered by too-high pressure applied at too-close a distance – they were removing far more than just dirt and paint. (Granted, it’s old wood on an old house but the extent of the damage should have told them they were using the wrong tool for the job.) An entire side of one dormer was completely missed. No cleanup. <br /> So we fired them. Jardine offered to make it right and to continue the job but we weren’t willing to take the chance of more damage, especially because we believed his budget was too tight to satisfactorily complete the job AND pay for the $100's (maybe $1000's) in damage his crew had already done. <br /> That he did not have a chance to finish leaves open the possibility that he might have saved the day and ended up doing a magnificent job. <br />

They did a good job. They presented themselves as someone who is experienced in doing log homes which was important to me. I had some damage to the logs done by wood peckers that I had to have repaired. He suggested a substance called Sikaflex instead and he supplied that which I was pleased about. We talked about what kind of stain to use and he did have a recommendation but as we went around the house, it had just rained and he saw that the water was still beating up on the logs and he said "well maybe we ought to go with what the kind that you had" and I was happy to do that so I supplied all the stains. He was willing to make adjustments. We found for instance that the side of the house that takes the morning sun was drinking up the stain, it just needed more on there. So he gave me a very fair price to do a second coat. We talked about the other side of the house too where it gets the afternoon sun. He said "I will do it for $250 extra for each side" but he only ended up charging me $250 for both, so I that was very nice. I went with David because he was the only one that specifically advertised himself as a log home specialist. We were a little frustrated with the schedule. He is located in Newville, Pennsylvania which is probably a good half an hour away and he was trying to juggle this and some other jobs and trying to find the best time to do them and the rain just was not cooperating.

I initially contacted Jardine's Painting through the contact form provided on Angie's list, and David Jardine promptly responded by email to begin discussions about what work was needed. David and his colleague then visited my home and prepared an estimate based on our discussion. Let me say at the outset that my home presents some unique challenges for any exterior work because it is situated on a steep wooded slope and portions of the house are not easily accessible. Other painters I talked with expressed reservations about taking on the job. But David and his colleagues seemed to view the job differently -- they saw an opportunity where they could use their expertise and creativity to achieve an outstanding result. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and can-do attitude that they expressed during our initial consultation -- this was an important factor in selecting them to do the work. I was very pleased with the way that they approached every aspect of the job from that point forward. I was concerned about making the right color choices, and David was courteous and helpful in discussing all options with me. In fact, he even designed a custom color mix for the garage door that complements the exterior stain beautifully. I had previously thought that perhaps the garage door needed replacement, but now it looks new. All of the other staining and painting tasks undertaken for this job were also very well done. For example, I had recently had sections of the siding replaced with new wood, and other sections were etched from vines that a former owner had allowed to grow on the siding. David and his crew managed to make everything look uniform and you cannot tell that either of these former issues ever existed. I would also like to state that David and his crew were courteous and professional in every way. They took the time to discuss various options of the work with me. They were also considerate of the fact that I had pets in the home and they were very careful to not let them outside. They cleaned up thoroughly at each point along the way and were very respectful of my home. In summary, I think that the house looks beautiful with its new exterior staining and paint job, and I could not be happier with the work that Jardine's Painting did. I highly recommend them! <br />

I spoke with David Jardine on my first call. He has someone out to give me an estimate in a week. He was out the next week to do the work. My porch was power washed and stained and looks great. David and his crew were friendly, prompt and neat.

It is very difficult to get contractors to perform work in the area that I live. It is about 30 minutes out of town, in a rather remote area. I am used to either being rejected, or simply not having any service providers in my area. For instance, Service Magic's assistance resulted in no contractors able to perform the work. Jardine's is one of several businesses that I contacted to get a quote on painting/treating my house and deck. It took me some time (weeks) to get the quotes from the other places. David Jardine came out and conducted an initial assessment within hours of me contacting him and I had a written estimate via email within 24 hours. I asked him to break the quote down, giving me the option of doing either just the house or deck or combining them both. He did this, offering a reasonable discount if I had him do both the projects. Once I perused the estimate a bit, I called him to ensure he was including the work on the gates, steps, and deck boards in the estimate. He immediately came to my house again so that we could survey the work together to ensure we had a common operating picture. He brought his foreman with him. Both were professional and helpful in assisting me in choosing the products to be used and finalizing the work to be performed. This led to me requesting that Jardine's also treat my fence, which they agreed to. We set a time for David to come to the house with the contract for me to sign. David was right on time and was very patient in answering all of my questions. He brought with him a copy of Jardine's 4 year warranty and his state license. Per our agreement, I paid him 1/3 up front and asked that he get started as soon as possible. He and his crew started work the very next day. Over the next couple of weeks, they stripped/pressure washed the house and deck, carefully moving everything out of the way. They replaced the deck boards, steps and gates as previously quoted. It all looks great! David arranged a meeting with me on the last day to jointly inspect the work, at which time I paid him the rest of what he was owed. All in all, it went down perfectly. I will definitely use them again.