Medina Painting

Six original finials came off the peaks of a 1904 house on the East Side of Providence, were restored, and went back up — one of them designed and rebuilt from scratch. The customer who wrote that up in April 2023 was describing an exterior painting job. That is the shape of most Medina work: the paint goes on last, after the carpentry nobody else wanted to touch. Al Medina runs I Medina Painting & Remodeling out of Providence, covering the East Side and South County, and the company lists interior and exterior painting alongside carpentry repair, remodeling and water damage work. Its Google page carries 171 ratings at five stars, with written accounts going back to 2022. Old houses are where the detail lives. A customer writing in September 2024 had the exterior of a 250-year-old house painted and described extensive preparation — carpentry where it was needed, scraping — done carefully and still on schedule. Another in October 2024 had a 1924 painted shingle home in Edgewood done. In March 2026 a homeowner had termite damage left behind by previous owners cut out, replaced, and the new wood stained to match the old planks. A July 2026 customer said Al added minor carpentry at no charge to get the job right, and that the crew cleaned up immaculately at the end of every day. The relationships run long. One customer writing in December 2023 had used him for twenty-five years, including two new bathrooms; an architect writing in September 2025 had worked with him for nearly thirty; a homeowner in December 2025 said they had called him for a decade whenever their old house produced an emergency. Several say they found him the same way: they asked the neighbours, and everyone said call Medina. Small jobs get the same speed. A March 2025 customer had a door jamb repaired within hours of phoning. A December 2024 one had years of gutter and downspout work, then a stubborn attic leak traced while it was raining. And in June 2025 someone called about lead abatement, had Al at the door within fifteen minutes, and was told what they actually needed was cleaning rather than encapsulation — so the job never happened. Two things to settle before signing. The registration number the company prints on its own site, Rhode Island #7320, has not been checked against the state registry, so ask for it in writing and verify it yourself. And since the crew does carpentry, plaster and water damage as well as paint, pin down what is inside the quoted scope: several customers describe repairs discovered and handled mid-job. For an older Providence-area house that needs prep as much as paint — clapboards, trim, rot, historic trim details — this is the crew East Side neighbours keep handing to each other. Ask for the preparation spelled out in the estimate, and for a nearby house you can go and look at.