Monroe, NC · since 2000
Painters & Remodeling in Monroe, NC
Home. The shop is here, the crew lives here, and after twenty-five years a good share of Monroe's kitchens, porches and stair halls have been through our hands.
- 2000started here, in the fall
- 1crew, one contract
- 4.9from 51 Google reviews
Home base
Twenty-five years in one town.
Every other page in this section describes somewhere we drive to. This one describes where we start the day. Monroe is the Union County seat, and it has a wider spread of houses than anywhere else we work: turn-of-the-century streets near the courthouse square, brick ranches from the 1960s, and new subdivisions filling in towards the bypass.
Painters in Monroe: what the houses ask for
The age of a Monroe house tells us most of what the painting job will be before we see it. Looking at it in person tells us the rest, which is why we do not quote from photographs even here.
| The house | What we usually find | What the job actually is |
|---|---|---|
| Older streets near downtown | Plaster, deep trim, layered old paint, settlement cracks | Repair and preparation first; the painting is the smaller half |
| 1960s and 1970s brick ranch | Sound walls, textured ceilings, tired trim and soffits | Straight repaint, with popcorn removal and wood repair as add-ons |
| 1990s and 2000s subdivisions | Oak or cherry kitchens, first exterior repaint overdue | Cabinet refinishing and a full exterior, often in one visit |
| Farmhouses out in the county | Wood siding, long porches, outbuildings, sun and weather on every face | Wash, scrape, replace what is rotten, then two coats |
Kitchen and bathroom remodeling in Monroe
Most remodeling companies that advertise in Union County are based in Charlotte and subcontract the trades. We are the other arrangement: a Monroe crew that does the demolition, the framing repair, the tile, the drywall, the trim and the paint itself.
On a bathroom that means the shower is taken back to the framing, whatever was wet or soft is replaced, and it is rebuilt in cement board with a sealed membrane before tile goes on. On a kitchen it usually means deciding honestly between refinishing, refacing and replacing the cabinets. Both are laid out step by step on the bathroom remodeling and kitchen remodeling pages, and anything needing a permit here goes through Union County.
Around Monroe and Union County
The places the crew is in most weeks without leaving the county.
Monroe and around
- Downtown Monroe
- Courthouse square
- Lake Lee
- Wingate
- Unionville
- Marshville
- Mineral Springs
- Fairview
- Rock Rest
A hallway, a single ceiling, a front door repainted properly, a run of rotten fascia replaced before it becomes a wall problem. Most contractors price those out because of the drive. We do not have one.
Our own work
Porches, stairs and whole rooms.
Photographs of jobs this crew finished, not stock. More on the gallery page.
On the record
What you can check for yourself.
We would rather publish four facts you can verify than a page of adjectives. Everything below links to the source that holds it.
Are you actually based in Monroe?
Yes. Chris McManus started the company here in the fall of 2000 and it has never moved. Monroe, NC 28110 is the address on the estimate, and the person who writes that estimate is on the job. The story is on the who we are page.
Will you come out for a small job in Monroe?
Yes, without qualification. Further from home we have to be honest about when a half-day job stops making sense for either side. In Monroe it always makes sense, and a good number of our larger jobs here started as one ceiling or one soft window sill.
Do you work on the older houses near downtown Monroe?
Often. The streets around the old courthouse have some of the oldest housing in the county, and those houses want a repair-first approach: plaster, deep trim profiles, many layers of old coating and the occasional surprise behind a window. If a house is old enough for lead paint to be a question, that is dealt with before anybody starts sanding.
Do you cover the rest of Union County?
All of it. Wingate, Unionville, Marshville, Mineral Springs, Fairview and the farm roads in between, as well as the faster-growing western side of the county. Out in the county the work leans towards exteriors, porches, decks and outbuildings.
Do you need a general contractor license for a remodel here?
In North Carolina a general contractor license is required above $40,000 in contract value, according to the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors. The board published the rise from $30,000 effective 1 October 2023. How to check any contractor's record yourself is in this guide.
Are you painters or general contractors?
Both, by the same crew. Painting is where the company started and it is still most of the work. The same people also do carpentry, tile, drywall, trim, decks and full kitchen and bathroom remodels, which is why a remodel here comes on one contract rather than four.
Get a free estimate
In Monroe, no job is too small to ask about.
One ceiling, a run of rotten trim, a front door, or the whole house. We are already in town, so the drive never decides the answer.