Man shares video of contractor from hell after Toronto painter walks out on job

A Toronto man is warning home-owners about an unprofessional experience he had with a painter, and he has posted a video the interaction online.

William Zhao told blogTO he hired a company to paint his kitchen cabinets back in July.

Zhao captured the exchange on home security cameras. He posted clips to YouTube showing how the contractor visited the home and said he would need to clean and sand the cabinets before painting.

Then when the contractor returns in late August to do the job, he and staff members paint directly on the cabinets. When Zhao questions the contractor, there is a brief discussion and then the man and his staff walk out leaving the cabinets half painted.

When contacted by blogTO, Ken Blackburn Jr. said Zhao was likely setting him up to discredit his business. Blackburn is listed as the owner of Condopainting.ca and says he has 26 years of experience as a painter.

“What I believe has happened here... is that a family relative or even close friend of this irate client is in fact a paint contractor and they put him up to this to damage my reputation,” Blackburn wrote in an email.

Zhao said that wasn’t the case.

“Absolutely not, if I had a relative in the painting business, I would have asked the relative to do the painting,” Zhao told blogTO.

Blackburn also said Zhao didn’t post the entire interaction.

“The client did not stop badgering us and asking questions getting in the way of my workers... and lieing [sic] about the process which had been spoken of to complete a job I was hired to do... which was to paint his kitchen cabinets,” he said.

Zhao sent blogTO more footage from his surveillance cameras, which appear to show a normal interaction up until the point where Zhao questions Blackburn about painting directly on the cabinets.

The contract never mentions washing or sanding the cabinets, Blackburn added. He insists the prepping was not required given the superior quality oil primer manufactured by Zinsser.

Zhao said he is now out the $400 deposit.

“I never got that back,” he said.

by Karen Longwell via blogTO