Eli’s Painting and Renovations

I was totally happy with Eli and the job he did painting my apartment. He gave me great advice,
I needed a painter who had insurance and would be approved by the coop board.
Eli’s office was prompt, professional and communicative. He came by in person to do a free estimate. He gave me the estimate hours later in writing and it was a firm bid.
I had three different people bid on the place — all came in within range of each other but Eli’s bid was the lowest and also he gave me the most detailed estimate with ways I could do things like not paint inside the cabinets for less money, and full transparency about the cost of materials on which he got a discount.
He also pointed out things– explained what things would cost and why and gave me good ideas too. He was great to deal with.
His crew showed up promptly and were so nice and fun to have in the space. They treated it as though it were their own home. They did a beautiful and careful job, in the time estimated, left it spotless and were
Also his attitude was great– he wanted to help make the place the way I wanted it, to give me his professional opinion and to make me happy with the job. I am very happy with the work he and his crew and office did.

Sadly, I did not have a positive experience with Eli. This was my first home renovation in my first co-​op apartment, done end of summer 2014. I got a full kitchen and bathroom gut renovation, a small wall extension and painting of my entire apartment. The price seemed good compared to other estimates I received, however I did have to provide my own plumber and electrician. Before demolition began, I provided the plans for how I wanted everything done. The kitchen was to have IKEA cabinets, Eli specifically told me he had installed multiple IKEA cabinets, so I thought the kitchen plans I provided would be followed accordingly.
After the co-​op approval, renovations began. Work could only be done M-​F 9a-​5p as per the building rules, so I was never present. I was lucky to have a family member stop by once in a while to make sure things were being done as I wanted. Otherwise, the job would have looked even worse. Here are the highlights:
Kitchen
— To fit the cabinets in my small kitchen, one of them had to be cut, all specifically written in the plans. This cabinet was placed before cutting. The guys had to remove it, cut it and place it back up. Eli was trying to charge me extra for reinstalling cabinets ($ 600!), even though it was known and written in the plans.
— My new kitchen sink was all scratched up before it was even installed.
— I purchased a brand new microwave, with no defects. When trying to install it, the guys somehow lost a screw inside the microwave. They had to open up the microwave to retrieve it, and in the process completely bent the bottom portion, now it looks warped and not new. My cabinets were also scratched up from the microwave install.
— The panels that should cover exposed side pieces of cabinet were not used in the right areas (they were placed on top of the cabinets right up in the ceiling for some reason?)
Bathroom
— The sliding glass shower door installation. If I could have done it, I would have. The track for the glass door was installed wrong, there were holes drilled at the bottom of the track for some reason? You do not need to drill on the visible portion of the track. Additionally, water was leaking when I showered, more sealant was needed. After fighting, I was finally credited for the shower door cost.
— The floor tiles were not even.
— My brand new toilet seat cover was all scratched up somehow.
— There were 1 or 2 chipped bathroom wall tiles.
— Bathroom tiles went «missing» even though I had purchased more than enough for the size of my bathroom beforehand. I believe the crew lost or threw out many necessary pieces. I had to purchase more.
I do not believe Eli stopped by my apartment once to check on his crew and make sure they were following my plans, just when the work was done to collect his money of course. I would call him and ask about the progress, he would tell me everything is fine. Meanwhile, my father would stop by my apartment and notice the crew not really knowing what they were doing and having to answer questions. Why was Eli not contacting me? Probably because he had no idea what was going on at my apartment. I just did not feel like he cared that much about the quality of work done, that’s what made my experience so bad.
Bottom line: if you need a decent paint job for a decent price, go for it. Stay away from the «renovations.»

Eli and his wife deal with customers in a nice and professional tone and their pricing is better than many competing services. Their crew also works relatively quickly. However, the reason that I am giving them 3 stars is because they sent me a subpar crew that did not have the capability and/​or motivation to properly paint the corners/​edges of walls/​ceilings. When I complained, they kept sending the same crew over and over again which only added to my frustration when the issues did not get resolved. At the end of the day, I had to hire a professional to fix the work.

Eli did am AMAZING job with my bathroom. I wanted wallpaper removed, which required plastering, and then painting. I initially felt that the quoted price was high, but it was much less than another quote I received. It took longer than I expected to finish the job, but the job was done carefully and meticulously. The result is perfection!

Got to say that I love Eli. I found him from Angie’s list and all the awesome reviews there but I just wanted to drop positivity all over the place with him. He met us for our initial inspection at 730pm on a Thursday, quoted us a pretty fair price and then was so accommodating when I had to move the painting start date 4 times. Furthermore he was finished 2 days early!
There were only minor mistakes left and those were easily fixed by us I would say overall they were just awesome. A+ customer service too.

Look no further than Eli’s Painting and Renovations if you need a painter!
Eli showed up on time as scheduled for our initial meeting to look over the job. His estimate, which was very fair compared with two other quotes that I got, was sent to me via email promptly after that meeting. Eli came again after I hired him to go over the specifics of the job and to talk about scheduling. Eli is a total professional with a wonderful personality. He is well versed in the intricacies of painting in a co-​op. He is completely comfortable in dealing with the outside building management, the in house manager, the building staff and manages well with the time constraints of working in a co-​op. His paperwork and insurance documents were submitted to the building management in a timely manner. He has all the credentials that makes him a good choice for working in a co-​op.
Eli’s staff are a wonderful group. Will, Ernesto, and Edison made up the main team and additional workers were sent to me as needed. They were neat, polite and hard working. They did a wonderful job painting! They are very eager to please and were happy to fix any and all little inconsistencies that always occur in any paint job. In particular, my dining room was painted in in two different colors above and below the chair rail and a third color for the rail and the trim. When the room was was completely finished, I decided that I didn’t like one of the colors and they graciously, without complaint, repainted the entire lower portion of my very large dining room. They were very careful in their painting and gave extra attention to problem areas that I did even notice before they came! Painting one’s apartment is very disruptive, but Eli’s team did their best to make it as pleasant as they could under the circumstances. They prepared the apartment well in terms of covering furniture, rolling up rugs, and putting up plastic over the doorways. I was thrilled that Eli’s team finished the job ealrier than expected and I was able to have a party for 25 people 4 days after they left.
Eli and his office staff are extremely responsive. Emails to him are answered either by email or a phone call within a half an hour even when I contacted him at night.
I give Eli’s Painting and Renovations my highest recommendation and 5 stars and I look forward to working with him again for part 2 of my project.