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Four years ago we had our house painted by a professional contractor. He completed the job using Benjiman Moore primer and paint. Within the first 2 years we had some blistering and paid the contractor to patch the effected areas.

The blistering has continued and this year I contacted BM to leverage the stated lifetime warranty. In my initial exchange I was told that the issue could be "moisture". I questioned how moisture could be a problem for premium exterior paint.

In response BM sent out a field team. Their response: moisture wasn't the issue. The wood was "dead" and therefore needed special prep. I have yet to get an explanation as to who sides their home with "live" wood.

BM has offered us 10 gallons of paint to resolve the issue.

Well we agree on one thing: the wood underneath the paint is damaged. Benjiman Moore feels the wood was damaged when it was painted 4 years ago. To us, the wood is damaged because for the last 4 years it has been covered by inferior paint. I also find it interesting that Benjiman Moore feels that the problem was caused by improper preparation and yet the offer doesn't include primer.

Based on our experience BM requires the owner of a home to oversee the application of it's paint as it's applied by a professional. I would appreciate an explanation of how the homeowner is expected to have sufficient knowledge to act in this capacity. Additionally, as the home owner is in fact buying the paint from the contractor, I would like to understand that the contractor is not in fact acting as BM's agent.

Additionally, there is no certification program to ensure consumers hire a painter who is qualified to apply the product. We fully complied with the recommendations on hiring a contractor as stipulated on the following web page:

http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/how-to-hire-a-contractor

In this regard I went to local BM dealer and asked one of the owners whom he would recommend. He waited until another contractor left the store to tell me that when his "mother needed a painter" he used Rich Brown. It is important to note that we had used other painters in the past so we had some background on which to base our ultimate hiring decision. In addition to our home's exterior Rich painted about a third of it's interior, all of course with BM paint.

Additionally, when reviewing Rich's contract I compared his prep plan to the information provided on the BM website: http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/for-your-home/how-to-paint-a-house-exterior. I observed Rich performing the work as recommended.

To summarize: by following BM's recommendation on selecting a contractor who performed the job in line with the company's instructions we have ended up with a house with a paint job that started peeling months after application. While we appreciate the offer of the replacement paint, the cost of preparation and application make this an incomplete remedy. We didn't purchase paint to sit in cans but to cover the exterior of our home. We contend that it wasn't fit for purpose which wouldn't have been known until it was applied and sat on the walls for an extended period. It is the rough equivalent of a company manufacturing inferior motor oil which causes damage to an engine : the liability goes well beyond the cost of the oil and covers the repair or replacement of the engine.

BM charges a substantial premium for it's product and justifies the additional expense with quality and reliability. Unfortunately, we have found the warranty to be a whole lot of bm.

Monetary Loss: $4700.

Location: New York, New York

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I work for a privately owned Benjamin moore dealer. I have been in the business for 10 years.

It seems that your home has breathing issues. A good painter would have realized this. Most likely you have moisture issues in your basement. The moisture travels up between your walls and is absorbed by the wood, causing it to rot from the inside out.

To solve this problem you actually need to seal the walls in your basement with a rubber or synthetic rubber based paint similar to the coatings you will find on in ground pools except they make special products for this issue. A primer sealer, which was most likely used by the painter worsened the issue, resulting in faster degradation of the wood and new paint. Had he used a regular primer the paint would still breathe, but rot, just more slowly then it has been. I am not trying to cover Benjamin Moore's behind by any means.

I do not work for them, I work for a privately owned dealer which sells other brands as well. That being said Benjamin Moore has definitely had some bad and recalled batches as have every other paint company. Benjamin Moore also has some products that do not perform well and need to be replaced or reformulated. Look at the humidity levels in your basement.

If they are high, you have your answer. One more thing many consumers and contractors have bought into the whole paint and primer together deal. Paint and primer together is a gimmick. Paint is never mixed with primer.

All this means is that it is paint that covers extremely well due to a high solids content. Therefore you are able to eliminate primer in some situations but not all, and it sounds like maybe your painter did not understand this yet as many painters and dealers did not around the time your house was painted. Your house may have needed to be primed separately. If moisture is not the issue then this very well may be.

Paint companies need to stop advertising paint and primer together.

Biggest scam in the industry. I hope this is of some help to you.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-735643

Thanks for your perspective. Actually, the house only has a crawl space, and it's bone dry. Additionally, my apologies if my narrative was misleading but the primer was applied separately.

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