ABOUT
Built on 37 Years of Getting It Right
Alan Joyce started painting professionally in 1988. He was doing production work then: high volume, fast pace, learning the trade at scale. Those early years taught him something that most painters take years longer to understand. Speed without process destroys quality, and quality is the only thing that keeps a painting business running long-term.
By 1999, Alan had the skills, the reputation, and the client relationships to go out on his own. He founded A&J Painting Inc. in Berkeley, where the company has been based for more than 26 years. In that time, the East Bay has changed considerably. The client base has grown, the paint products have improved, and the expectations around licensed, certified, professional work have risen. A&J Painting has kept pace with all of it.
A Hands-On Owner
A&J operates differently from larger painting companies where project managers handle the jobs and ownership handles the sales. Alan is on the job site. Every project. That is not a marketing claim. It is a structural choice about how the company operates.
When the owner is present during prep, priming, and application, quality control happens in real time rather than after the fact. Problems get caught before they become callbacks. Decisions about surface conditions, product selection, and technique get made by someone with 37 years of context, not by whomever happened to be assigned to the crew that day.
A Team That Reflects the Same Standards
The A&J team is six people. That size is intentional. It allows for consistent work standards across every project, proper supervision, and the kind of communication between crew members that comes from working together over time. This is not a company that picks up day labor for busy periods and calls it a team.
The crew operates at a production pace, meaning projects move efficiently, timelines are met, and clients are not left waiting. But production pace does not mean corners cut. It means experienced people who know how to work quickly without sacrificing the steps that matter.
Licensed and Certified for the Work We Do
A&J Painting holds a C-33 Contractor License (#759175), the specialty license specific to painting and decorating in California. We also carry EPA Lead-Safe Certification as an Individual Renovator (#R-I-19157-22-01220). In Berkeley and the older East Bay communities we serve, this certification is directly relevant. A significant portion of the residential stock predates 1978, and proper lead-safe practice during surface preparation is both a legal requirement and a matter of occupant safety.
The Commitment to Quality Craftsmanship
We are family owned and operated, and that structure shapes how we approach every project. A&J Painting is not trying to be the lowest bid in the market. We are trying to be the contractor that homeowners and property managers call back when they need the next project done right. That reputation is built project by project, over time, by doing the work correctly.
If you're ready to talk about your painting project, contact us to schedule a consultation.