After retiring, Ed Crandall wanted to continue working and run a small business. He and his wife, Mary Beth, a commercial interior designer, had done three home flips as well as several remodeling projects in their own home. As the general contractor on the flips, he dealt with the many sub-contractors needed for projects such as painting, tiling, and flooring.
“I started to look at different business opportunities, such as businesses that were for sale, which led me towards franchises,” says Crandall. Since he was already familiar with remodeling, he gravitated towards that industry.
Eleven years ago, he opened Five Star Painting of Southwest Minneapolis. Five Star, founded in 2004 by two friends who painted houses to pay their way through college, became a franchise in 2005, and since then has grown into a national brand across the United States and Canada. (In January 2015, Five Star Painting was acquired by Neighborly®, a home-services platform founded in 1981.)
In the beginning, since Crandall was still somewhat involved in his former business, Dennis Imbody, a friend and former business partner, took on the majority of the day-to-day operations. Imbody is still with Five Star today. Mary Beth is involved as well, and is available for color consulting services. She can help customers choose paint colors and ensure that they feel comfortable with their choices.
Five Star Painting of Southwest Minneapolis offers interior, exterior, residential and commercial painting services as well as drywall and water damage repair. It can also remove popcorn [textured] ceilings to give homeowners a more modern smooth ceiling.
The company confidently stands behind all of its work. Five Star offers a two-year warranty, so if something happens within two years, Crandall’s crew will come back and fix it. And that warranty is also backed up by its national parent company. His crews, Ed says, are made up of honest, hard-working people. “All of our workers have insurance. I carry insurance too, which is a backup to their insurance.”
“If you call up random painters, you’re never too sure what you’re going to get,” says Crandall. “We have a ton of references from people who are happy with the work we’ve done, which makes it easier for people to make a decision. I’m never going to be the cheapest guy, but I’m always going to be available to come back if there is a problem.”
As far as paint brands, Crandall prefers to use Benjamin Moore and Sherwin Williams. “Probably 70% of the paint we use is Sherwin Williams. They’re set up to work well with contractors and are the largest paint company. They have by far the most extensive selection of paints and have the expertise to help with specialty coatings”.
Popular colors change over time. For exteriors, he says, white is still fairly common, and in many cases it’s all white - white trim and siding. “White is the most common trim color, but over the last few years there’s been a lot of requests for bold colors. So dark blues, dark grays and in some cases, dark red.
“With interiors, people are generally going back to more neutrals, so lots of light grays and light gray blues. Versions of white are also very popular. People are still doing taupes and beiges, but less frequently.”
Since temperatures have to be on the warmer side for exterior painting, his crews usually start in the middle of April and continue until the middle of October. Sometimes, there are projects in November, depending on weather conditions. Of course, interior painting projects go on year-round.
Since COVID-19, people have been spending more time at home and have noticed cosmetic issues that may have been overlooked in the past. So, sprucing up their residences has become more of a priority, and a fresh coat of indoor paint can do wonders for the look and feel of a house. Similarly, new exterior paint can add a whole new level of curb appeal.
Five Star handles standard mid-sized painting projects to more extensive large painting projects. Service areas stretch to about 15 miles west and 15 miles south in a triangle from the southwest corner of Minneapolis, including cities such as Edina, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, and Richfield.
“Spring starts our busiest season,” says Crandall. “We’ll be doing as many as 20 estimates a week.”
To find out more or to schedule a free estimate, go to https://www.fivestarpainting.com/sw-minneapolis/ or (612) 400-8542.