Renaissance Painters

I wanted to thank you for your team’s work on my cabinet doors. I recognize it was a tiny job, and probably not worth the time on a standalone basis but you and your company left a great impression. I’m 25 now, so I’m hoping my next kitchen will have more than 5 cabinet doors for you guys to work with!

Very happy with the quality of the job and the customer service.

Renaissance Painters painted our exterior shed including the double doors and standard window with flower box.

I'm happy with their quality work. And they will willing to come back and fix/touch-up the couple of spots at the window that were required.

I am happy with the work so I would likely use them again.

I'm happy with Jason's (the owner) willingness to discuss feedback. We had a couple of e-mails back and forth along with at least two conference calls. This feedback was initiated when they asked me for a Homestars reference.

Based upon this feedback, I think they will get better with the things that we did not like. Here's some of the items discussed:

a. Pre-paint day --> I didn't like how the story/costs kept changing even though it was probably for the best and there always seemed to be an explanation. The initial phone quote for what Jason called a "simple job" was $600 for labour. That then turned into $850 for labour as the explanation then became that it would likely need 1.5 days or 2 people for 3/4 of a day. Then it turned into that the team would use a sprayer which normally has a $1,200 minimum charge but that we'd be able to keep our $850 quoted cost. Like I said this ended up being better as the work was done faster (only about 1/4 of a day with 2 people) and Jason says that the quality with the sprayer is better.
b. Pre-Paint day --> I didn't like how we didn't get resolution [until after the job was completed] on how to handle the Cedar ledge for the Shed. I believe Jason was going to check with his supplier about what to do with that ledge (e.g. stain or paint with a different type of paint). However, I don't think we ever got an answer and we ended up leaving it alone. I'd rather leave it alone than do something to it that might potentially ruin it. I agree with Jason on that. However, if later on it turns out that we could have had an answer and something could have been done at the same time as painting the Shed then I would be disappointed as I wouldn't hire painters again to come in just to do the ledge (and I'm sure Renaissance Painters wouldn't want that job either as it's too small of a job).
c. Pre-Paint Day --> Jason called me to ask me what colour we selected. However, we had already e-mailed him that info and Jason has already even provided us with an e-mail quote that re-stated the paint colour and even included the sheen. As per Jason's e-mail quote: " Paint all surfaces with CC470 Rocky Road top line Ben Moore Aura eggshell sheen." So I'm not sure why he had to call and ask me. I don't mind if it was a "confirmation" type call, but to me, it seemed like they were asking for the colour and that seemed to indicate a little bit of disorganization. To be fair, we are a "small simple job" and I'm sure they have many projects on-going.
d. Pre-Paint Day --> it seem to me, from my humble opinion/perspective, that I had to follow-up with Jason to ensure that my job got booked while I think it should have been the other way around where the Company is trying to book a date with us. And Yes, I realize it's a small job compared to Renaissance Painters other projects, but I think that a Customer is a Customer/Client regardless of current project size, especially since we're in a new house and starting a new family so it is quite likely that I'll need future paint work & future paint projects going forwards.
e. Paint Day --> I gave instructions to ring the door bell just so that my wife who is home with our new born baby would know that people are here to work and that the workers could then go ahead around back to work. However, my wife was disappointed as after ringing the door bell they just stood by the front door until she answered them. I thought my instructions were clear. I gave instructions that said: " You can ring the doorbell on arrival so that my wife knows that you are here to do the work. She likely won't answer the door bell, but by ringing it she knows you've arrived. Then you can go around to the back of the house and through the gate to start working."
f. Paint Day --> The team needed to use our outdoor water hose, but needed my wife's help to turn it on and due to their need to disturb my wife, that ended up waking up our new born baby. The use of the water is OK as I previously had even offered to Jason that I would leave the outdoor water tap on so that the team could use it. However, Jason said that he didn't think it was required. Good thing I still left it on just in case as the team did need it. What if I had turned it off and the team needed access to water outside?? That potentially would have delayed our job??
g. Paint Day --> I'm not sure which worker (maybe both?) smoked cigarettes on our property in the back yard. To be fair, they were outside and they thought they were done working. But I'm allergic to cigarette smoke (so luckily I wasn't home), but my baby may also be allergic so we don't want anyone smoking near us. Regardless of allergies and what not, I don't think workers should smoke on our property.
h. Paint Day --> the painters forgot to paint the cross beams of the window (see picture attached). We had to check to see if they did it and then when we realized they missed it, we had to ask them to paint that.
i. Post-Paint Job --> I was sent an invoice that was dated wrong. Innocent mistake, but just one more iteration of administrative work that we have to deal with.

All these items have been discussed with Jason (owner) and he was very receptive and he's going to make some changes to the process/procedures to make things better going forwards.

I am happy with the work so I would likely use them again.

Renaissance did a great job with refinishing my kitchen cabinets. They consulted with colours and were always available to answer all my questions regarding the project. The cabinets looks amazing, and I'm so happy with the overall outcome.

The guys did a fantastic job on this project. They paid great attention to details and they were very efficient.

Renaissance Painters painted our kitchen cabinetry a beautiful colour Acadia White. They got the job done within the deadline period as promised. We are thrilled with the job and their service and would recommend them highly!

This could have been a great job and group of people to hire but will never deal with them again. They have their process perfect and the customer service is fantastic DURING THE HIRING PROCESS ONLY! The job was done quickly and I was impressed and was told that they would return to perform touch ups at no cost to me. I have been constantly having to chase after Jason and his team for over 1 month now after the start date to finish the job even when I have wanted to add extra work and have been willing to pay for all of it including the original touch ups. Because it is an exterior there is now no window of good weather left to complete it after loosing numerous good weather days. I have put in multiple phone calls, texts and emails, most times with no response back. When I do manage to get in touch with Jason I have been told that my job's completion "fell between the cracks because they are so busy". IMHO this is a fail.

Promises, promises, promises! You’ll certainly get a lot of them from the team at Renaissance, however, their low standards and poor quality workmanship nowhere near matches their over-inflated rates. Your first contact is Jason, a nice guy and very personable, and he does a great sales job claiming they are the best in the business. Unfortunately, his foremen, Vaso and Zim, and their workers fall far short of all the promises made.

My reno included stucco ceiling removal, kitchen and laundry tile removal/replacement, and painting. To make things easier, I pushed out my move-in date so that my condo was completely empty. Unfortunately, the workers treated it like a job site, not with any respect for the fact that it is my home. I went in and checked on the progress each evening and was always faced with disappointment:
- My appliances were not covered and were filthy with construction dust and paint splatter. Such a simple thing to do considering there was not a stick of furniture to cover and only four appliances to consider.
- I left a hand towel for the workers to use in the bathroom and found the painters had cut it up into pieces and used as cleaning rags, and these wets rags were just left laying around to cause water damage on the closet shelving. In the end, I was still billed (and paid) for painting rags.
- My balcony was littered with cigarette butts.
- A knob was knocked off the kitchen dimmer switch and thrown out (this is the only thing that I was compensated $30 for).
- They broke my fridge and it cost me $370 to repair. I was not compensated for this. When I told Jason, his response was “It was probably going to break anyway”. No it was not! In fact, the repairman told me that the part was damaged as a direct result of rough handling by the contractors. And they must have realized they broke it because they had the hose disconnected and the water supply turned off.

The workmanship itself was a further disappointment. At first glance everything looked fine, until I actually moved in and found nothing but sloppy, amateurish, incomplete workmanship.
TILING:
- The tiling in the kitchen floor is just “okay” and there are a few uneven tiles that keep tripping me up.
- They didn’t pull out the dishwasher to tile underneath so it was an absolute mess with globs of dried grout. When I pointed it out, the tiler who was installing the backsplash, cleaned out as much possible. It still looks terrible and one of the adjustable feet on the dishwasher is still buried in grout. It’s going to be a real problem for me when the dishwasher has to be serviced or eventually replaced. Zim’s excuse for the lousy workmanship was that they would have had to unhook the dishwasher.
- My laundry room is directly off my kitchen and I expected the tile job to be finished properly, no different than the kitchen. It’s a mess! Where they had removed a built-in shelf and a washer/dryer platform, they just left old glue and grout on the walls and painted over it. Instead of removing the baseboard, they just slopped the grout up on it and let it harden, resulting in rough unpainted baseboards. When I requested that it be finished properly, instead of installing new baseboards, they just slapped up some mismatched baseboards or nothing at all in some places. When I told Zim it looked awful, his excuse was that he didn’t have matching baseboard in the shop. Well, wouldn’t it make sense to just replace the baseboard, especially when his tiler had ruined it with grout anyway?
- The tile is travertine and needs to be sealed, but this has never been done in spite of Zim’s promise to come back and do so. I will now have to hire a professional company to replace the baseboards and finish the floor.
- After the backsplash in the kitchen was completed, Zim made me go out and buy the electrical plate covers and install them myself. Something they should have done, but whatever, I just did it myself. It’s an easy task, that is, if the electrical outlets are installed properly on the tile which they were not. I had to glue in little bits of tile so that the outlet sits properly. I only zapped myself once and they still don’t sit properly.
- When Sam came back to repair a corner on the backsplash, I asked if it was possible for the microwave shelf to be cut. He said he could do it, but it had to be “hush hush” because he wasn’t billing it through Renaissance. He broke the shelf when he was trying to remove it and said he would be back on the weekend to replace it. I never saw him again.

PAINTING:
- The painters can be summed up in three words - sloppy, sloppy, sloppy! They left paint splatter and drips on every conceivable surface; my brand new hardwood floors, mirrors, wood cabinets, trim, counter tops, tiles, light switches, door knobs, windows and the entire fireplace surround. I’ve been scraping and doing touch ups for the last 6 months.
- My master bath had to be repainted because Vaso ordered the wrong colour. Luckily, I caught it after the first coat, but when they did a second coat with the right colour, they did a horrendous job. What a mess! There is paint splattered everywhere, and they didn’t even bother to cover the first coat in some places so the wrong colour shows through.
- Their finishing work is sloppy too. The towel rack in my master bath just fell apart when I touched it and it was absolutely covered in paint. A lot of the outlet covers where cracked or just sitting on the light switch without being screwed in.
- Vaso upsold and convinced me that my kitchen cupboards needed painting and would be more durable once he recoated them. Just a few months later, and they’re already chipping. The cabinets were removed and painted off-site and they rehung them but never adjusted them properly. My son had to show me how to adjust them so they are level and don’t hit anything when opening. I still can’t figure out how to make the drawers level again.
- Some open wires were left in the living room, and I reminded Jason repeatedly that the opening had to be covered with a plate and painted. It was still not done when I moved in and Vaso disappears once he’s been paid, so I had to go out to Home Depot, buy the cover, install and paint it myself.
- I just noticed recently that my kitchen has not been given a second coat. It looks awful. You can actually see the darker paint in the corners and along the top of the wall. Yet another Renaissance job I have to finish myself.

If you do hire Renaissance, you have to stay on top of things so be prepared to supervise everything closely, including billing. There is no invoice for labour and the billing for materials is questionable. I requested an invoice for the $1080 I paid in material for the plaster work. The plasterer had receipts totalling $782 worth of product he purchased for my job specifically. He explained that the remaining $300 was for product they used that was left over from other jobs. On the tiling job, the labour and material was all quoted as one with no breakdown. There was a huge skid of leftover tile and grout and when I asked Zim about it he said he’ll use it on another job. My response was “Did I pay for all that?!” He did not reply. It certainly makes you wonder if clients are paying for materials that have already been paid for on previous jobs. The only proper invoicing is paint materials, for which I found about $200 in overcharges. I had several phone conversations with Jason to sort this out, each time with my credit card in hand, but he put it off and then left on vacation. Then Zim refused to do my kitchen backsplash until I paid the outstanding bill. It was so insulting! At this point, I had already paid them over $30,000 and I did not appreciate the unspoken accusation that I would not pay the rest of my bill.

Here’s the topper… I hired Renaissance reliant on the Homestars rave reviews, so why was my experience so disappointing? There is one explanation - the workers were drinking on the job. Shocking, but true! As I said, my condo was completely empty, however, the previous owner had left several bottles of liquor in a kitchen cabinet. On day one of the reno, Nick, one of the plasterers, saw me moving all the liquor into a built-in cabinet in the dining room. We even joked about it. This cabinet was then covered to protect the wood during construction and I was not concerned, trusting that the workers would respect whatever few belongings I left there. When I came to check on the progress each evening, I could not figure out why the plastic covering was always torn off this cabinet and I had to repeatedly ask them to cover it. Then after smelling alcohol on one of the plasterers, it dawned on me and I found that most of the opened liquor had been consumed and a bottle of Crown Royal was actually missing. During the final walk through, Vaso had the nerve to open the liquor cabinet and ask me, “Do you want to keep this?” I was shocked! Obviously, he was aware that his workers had been helping themselves and drinking on the job. So unprofessional!!

The only reason I gave Renaissance one star is for the fact that they finished the job on time. All in all, a bad experience for a company that is extremely expensive and prides themselves on being the best. They claim to be well worth the extra costs compared to other companies but, as I discovered, you are not paying for better quality work with them. What you are paying for is the fact that there are so many hands in the pie. I voiced this to one of the workers and he replied, “Oh, you just figured that out.” For me, the end result was a mediocre job that did not match the price paid. After completion, I presented each and every one of my concerns to Jason and, in all fairness, he did offer to resolve the issues. However, the problem is that the same incompetent workman will return to do the repairs. I do not trust them and will not have them back in my home, especially now that all of my furniture and belongings are here.

We had a great experience when we hired Renaissance to paint our front porch and window trim. They responded very quickly to my initial inquiry and came to our house to provide a quote equally quickly. Jason was exceptional to deal with on the phone -- their customer service is probably the best we've had from all of the contractors we've dealt with while renovating our 100 year-old house. We also appreciated that they use top-quality paint. Jason recommended and arranged for a colour consultation with a Benjamin Moore professional and it was well worth the small additional cost. She interpreted our vision perfectly and suggested an accent that we would not have thought of on our own. Our house looks completely transformed. We will definitely use Renaissance again, and would recommend them to anyone.

Very high end quality work in a small condo kitchen. A few detailed adjustments at the end but very satisfied

This review is an edit, 2 months after the Renaissance team removed the stucco/popcorn ceilings on the main floor of my townhouse (living space + 2 bedrooms) and paint (3 bedrooms, hallways, living area). Initially, Jason his team (led by foreman Vaso) were helpful and communicative. I really appreciated how fast they got the job done. The ceiling work took about 3 days, then the whole home was painted in 2 days. The end price tag matched the initial quote exactly.

The flat ceilings look incredible. 10/10 for the ceilings.

The painting is a different story. I initially was happy with the work, noting a couple imperfections but thinking they were not a big deal. Mostly I was happy because my home looked amazing in the new colour. Then I started to notice the sloppy workmanship. The painters did not remove light switch or electrical socket covers when they painted - probably the most basic step of all paint jobs. They painted right over nails rather than removing them, and neglected to sand or prep the walls. There are noticeable drips of paint in several rooms. The edging detail is inconsistent. I'm not convinced they put two coats of paint on all the walls. I was also dissatisfied with their clean up effort and felt that they were very rough on my home (broken wooden floor tiles, scratches on my hardwood stairs, which Jason claimed "must have been there before"). They ruined the hand towel in my bathroom by using it to clean up paint - no idea why. There are chips and cracks all over the place. 3/10 on the paint work.

Jason convinced me to buy the highest quality Benjamin Moore paint (also the most expensive) because it will last, and then his painters did a rush job with it. Disappointing. Although Jason said they would come do any necessary touch ups, my two voice mails were not returned. My bad for paying without a more thorough review of the work.