All posts by manage-system-user

One of the most challenging things to paint are decks and fences. These challenges include getting the wood clean and dry enough to hold stain. The wood most decks and fences are built out of is some variety of cedar or pine. The soft wood does not lend itself to being pressure washed without a great deal of attention and care. Too much pressure and the wood fibers will expand and tear causing them to look “fuzzy”. Once this happens, it will be very difficult to get the wood to hold stain for any length of time. The three dimensional nature of most decks and fences make it difficult to clean them well. Poorly cleaned surfaces are the primary reason paint fails. For paint to stick, as the saying goes, the surface must be clean, dry, dull, and stable. These are just the beginning of the challenges your deck and fence wood faces.

You should be aware that your deck and fence are perfectly situated for failure. If you have a shady yard, the wood will be wet for prolonged periods after the overnight dew or a rainstorm. Moisture is a problem for most waterborne coatings especially on a vertical surface list a deck! The water will have the effect of softening the paint making it susceptible to scratching as your rearrange furniture across the surface or even by walking across the surface with a rock stuck in the treads of your shoe. Being in a sunny yard has even more challenges. UV rays are brutal on paint and stain. The intense heat and UV rays from the sun will take a huge toll on your coatings!

Once prepped appropriately, the proper material must be selected. If your deck or fence is made from cedar wood, you will have to ensure that you select a product designed to be compatible with the resins and tannins in cedar. If you apply a typical waterborne stain or paint to cedar the oils will cause it to release and peel off prematurely. There are many primers and stains designed for cedar application, but just be sure you’ve selected a product that is compatible. Most typical stains are made for pine as that is the most common scenario. Once the product is selected, now let’s talk application.

Stain should be applied to all exposed surfaces of the wood. Most fence and deck boards are too close together to apply the material to the edges of the board very well. Anywhere the material is not adequately applied will allow moisture to be absorbed into the wood and this will loosen the bond between the wood fibers and the coating. This process is exacerbated in the colder months when the surface dries much more slowly. Any water in the fiber that freeze will cause expansion and will cause disbonding even more quickly. As you can see, decks and fences are difficult to maintain! I would not expect more that five years of service from the coatings on my outdoor wood surfaces. You can greatly extend the life of these coatings by proper maintenance. Pressure wash your fences and deck every spring. I would apply another coat of stain to a deck every other year and to a fence every three years or so. You can reduce the issues with decks and fences by doing the job correctly to begin with, with frequent cleanings, and by applying one fresh coat often. This frequent coating ensures that any damaged coating is repaired so you keep the UV rays and water away from the wood. Stain is, after all, a sacrificial coating. The sun and weather degrades the stain instead of your wood!

If you are like most large building owners or managers you know the familiar story. When you moved into your new shiny building and it looked good – really good! About a year or two later, you start to notice it isn’t looking so good anymore. You start seeing hairline cracks and the paint around the cracks is starting to look faded and whitish. You might even have the presence of mind to get out that O&M manual to call the GC who built it or to call the architect and see what is going on with your building. The GC will most likely just shrug his shoulders and tell you your warranty expired one year after the building was built. The architect might show more sympathy, but he wonders what you want him to do about it. This is one of the most common complaints with precast buildings that we encounter. Most new build specifications on painting precast call for pressure washing, one coat of an alkali resisting primer and two coats of paint. A completely inadequate system for a 9” thick panel filled with high PH and lime that is just waiting to come out. In reality, better specifications would be costly and nobody else is doing it so that would put most ground up quotes out of the competitive range. So most new precast buildings will need to be repainted within the first 5 years of service.

So, let’s talk about the correct way to paint precast. With concrete, timing and prep is everything. Most precast is painted within six months of the panel creation date. It takes a lot longer than this for the PH levels in that much concrete to get low enough to be safe for most waterborne paints. A really thorough pressure washing is the first step. Pressure washing removes the bond breaker used to make sure the panel cleanly releases from the form. Most bond break used today is “self dissipating” meaning that, given enough time and rain, it will eventually dissolve and should be safe to paint. Never rely on this. There are still precast manufactures not using this new technology and you don’t want to chance your very expensive paint to this fate. A thorough pressure wash is a must. When we paint new build precast, we make sure we go through plenty of water and we always do quite a few adhesion tests to make sure the masonry primer will adhere well to the precast panels.

Second, you have to use a primer that will resist high alkalinity Many paint manufacturers sell two types of primer a thin type called a conditioner and a thick type called a masonry primer. We always opt for the primer type. Before we apply the prime coat, we always test for PH. Simply spray some distilled water on the panel and then use the PH test strips. These can be purchase online or at any pool store. If the PH is over 12, we always recommend holding off and trying again in a month or so. If the work must continue, we would consider applying an additional coat of primer or using the conditioner as the first coat and primer as the second coat.

Finally, we always recommend using a topcoat that is made to resist the alkali in the concrete. Our turn to products are Permacrete High Build Masonry coating from PPG or the Loxon Masonry Coating from Sherwin Williams. These products give you a pretty good chance of getting a good 10 years out of your first paint job. Some owners and architects ask for an elastomeric coating, but we do not recommend this in our area for quite a few reasons. More on that in another post.

Whether you are a business owner managing your own space or a facility manager and you’ve been asked to get the office area painted, you’ve probably wondered how much it costs to paint your office space. While many variables go into a commercial quote of this sort, we are always happy to give you some idea of what you can expect. First, a little about the process. During our quote visit, we will discuss the goals you are wanting to achieve such as are you want minimal interruption to your operations or do you just want to get it done. Also, what is your ideal paint job longevity. Basic commercial grade paints look great, but they don’t hold up very well to cleaning or scuffing. If you want five years out of your paint, basic commercial line paint is going to be your best choice. However, if you want to go 10 years or more between paint jobs, you will want to think about a better line of paint so it will clean and touch up better between paint cycles. Design also affect pricing. Most clients like the idea of having accent walls to make a space look more dimensional and interesting. All this will be discussed in our quote visit to ensure we give you the tools to make the best decision.

Now, how much is the basic paint job in most office spaces? We use simple calculations to come up with how man square feet of walls space you have to paint, then we rate the condition of the walls for patch and prep work, add in the material preference and work hours and we have all we need to price out your job. If the walls are in good shape with minimal prep, you want a basic commercial grade product, and the work will be performed during normal business hours, a 12×12 office with acoustical tile ceilings at 8’ and vinyl rubber base, your cost would be around $375 each 12×12 office. If you add a door and frame to that, you can expect around $520. Of course, the more offices you have, the price will go down a bit due to efficiencies of doing more work at once. More expensive areas would be the break room and restrooms because there is a lot to mask off and cut around. A typical break room measuring 20’ x 30’ would cast around $900 to paint the walls only – prep and two coats. Accent walls will add about $50 per wall due to the extra time to make a clean, sharp color transition.

I hope this helps you make the decision whether to go ahead to with your paint project or go in another direction. Whatever you decide, we are hear to help!

One question we always get is how do I pick the right colors. There is no easy answer to this question. Some people love pastels, other love the deep bold colors, some like the cool soothing colors, and others like the warm earth tones. The best way to think about the color you will want is to think about the space you are dealing with and the mood or affect you want to produce. If a room is filled with light and large, you have more freedom to experiment with a wider palette of colors. If your room is more confined and there is no natural light, you have much less freedom in your choice of colors. We always advise a few general guidelines and exercises when trying to pick colors. Let’s start with the guidelines.

Room size – many in the home decorating space will tell you that small room need light, airy colors to help them look large, but what if you goal is to create a nook that you want to feel cozy. Deep tone colors can often make a room feel like the swallow you up. This can be a good feel for a reading room or a small intimate meeting space. If you do want to open up a small space, a light and interesting color might work best. The idea behind room size is to keep the activity and the mood of the room at the front of your decision. Let yourself have some freedom no matter what the room size.

Light level – light is often something you can control. Second to wall color and texture, lighting does more to achieve a room’s ambiance that any other factor. In fact, it may be more important than the color depending on what you are trying to achieve. If you cannot control lighting, paint or wall covering will play a large roll in bringing about the mood or feel that you want.

The Unchangeable – there will invariably be elements in the space you are trying to paint that will be out of your control. If you are renting an office space or apartment, it might be carpet, trim, doors, and ceilings you can’t change. Or if it is an exterior it will be the landscaping and the neighboring buildings that you will need to think about before you pick your palette. Consider how well your color scheme will fit in the context of the whole. If the buildings or houses around you all have a certain theme, you certainly don’t want your facility or home to be completely out of character – that is just jarring no matter how good your color scheme.

Mood – after you’ve thought through all the above and have a good idea of what kind of color schemes will be acceptable, you will need to think through your objectives concerning the mood of the room. Do you want a warm and inviting space? Earth tone grays are pretty good at this. Do you want interesting but low key background kind of interesting? Then pastels are for you. Are you looking for something dominant and strong feeling? Then look to the deep colors like navy blues and mid-tone, interesting reds and greens. Only you can know what the mood of the room should be.

Branding – I would be remiss to not mention that, if you are a business, you need to consider your branding. The colors you pick should be neutral when it comes to your branding elements. You would not want a royal blue and gold logo in a room with pinkish gray walls. You would want that logo on a white or light cool gray wall. Just make sure your branding and company them fits the colors you are picking – this is more important than you can imagine!

The final advice we give homeowners and business owners alike is to visit a few businesses that they find appealing. Go to the mall where the stores are a multi varied symphony of designs. Starbucks with their comforting warm colors with a bit of interest added is great for relaxing and socializing – that is why they picked them! Chick-Fil-A with their white and red is exciting and energizing, not to mention brand conformity. Burn Cigar Bar has the deep and vibrant colors making it an interesting, cozy, and even exciting environtment.

Oh, just FYI, if you get stuck, most paint suppliers like Sherwin Williams and PPG will refer you to a color specialist and will even give you an hour or two with them if you buy their product for the project. Just let us know and we can even make the arrangements when you contract with us!

Of all the commercial spaces we paint, restaurants present the most challenges, but this is why you need to hire a specialist. First, most restaurants are open for more hours than retail – often from 6am to around 9pm. This leaves a narrow window of 10pm to 5am for painting. Second, restaurants are not configured in ways that make easy access to walls and soffits. Finally, but not the least of the restaurant entrepreneurs concerns, is what type of paint should be used and how much will it cost me. Let’s talk about some of the difficulties that make painting your restaurant more expensive than most retail spaces.

The reduced and odd work hours will add to the cost of your project. Restaurants often serve breakfast, lunch, and supper. This leaves about 7 hours of productive work time for our crews to get paint on the walls, ceilings, trim, and other surfaces your are wanting painted. The off work hours are premium time and the limited work durations will mean your project will either take longer to finish or require larger crews. These are no problems for us, but you need to be aware that these will affect budget and schedule.

The second thing that you have to consider when pricing out is the configuration of most restaurants that make access to the walls and ceilings more challenging than other spaces. With most restaurants configured with booth or seating around the walls, we will need to move them or scaffold over the top of them. Although we have methods to deal with these obstacles, this will add to setup and breakdown time resulting in more labor costs. We will also need to mask off or cover all your furniture, casework, and equipment. This is easily done, but the additional time and materials do add up and are a significant part of the overall cost.

Third, and this one is a trade off as a restaurateur, is that there are actually few surfaces to paint in most restaurants. In many scenarios, many of your walls are glass, wood, or wallcovering. Unless your are remodeling these surfaces, you will most likely not be painting a decent portion of your business. This is often offset, though, by increased color transitions and less productive open spaces to paint.

Fourth, you will need to consider the products you use. In most localities, you will not need special materials in the dining areas, but you will need to consider using a glossier or more enamel paint in the restrooms and the kitchen areas. A pre-catalyzed epoxy is often our go to product for those areas. We recommend a washable paint in the dining areas so that you can get more life out of your paint job. We would recommend Duration or Emerald from Sherwin Williams, Ultralast from PPG, ScuffX from Benjamin Moore, or a pre-catalyzed epoxy from any of those manufactures for the best durability. These products are about two to three time the cost of standard commercial paint that we would use in most retail environments, but the investment is well worth the cost!

Now for the pricing. If you were repainting a small coffee shop with 12’ ceilings and a long wall full of windows, you would be looking at two nights for two painters – restrooms included. For paint and labor, you’d be look at around $3,200 for the entire job – walls only. Add the ceiling, doors, and trim and you can easily double the price of the job. The upside is how nice the place will look! And, honestly, most restaurants don’t need a fully repaint unless you just want something new and exciting. A small one nighter will get most of what needs fixed done for less than $1,500 in most cases. If you are thinking about painting your restaurant in the Indianapolis area, give us a call – our quotes are always free and we are happy to help walk you through the process and help you choose what needs done.

Warren Buffet once said that you only find out who has been swimming naked when the tide goes out. Over my short 46 years of life, I’ve seen the tide go out more than I can count on both hands. Some have been recessions and some have been more personal. The current crisis would be one example and we have all looked around and found a few “exposed” folks around us. It has been a very sad reality of our current time. Not all of them were the chronically broke type either. So how do you prepare for times such as these? We have a few principles we have followed over the years that have helped make us more sturdy financially and have helped us get through these tough times.

First, live within your means and save for the rainy day. Too often when a windfall comes, we run out and spend it. The spending may be on badly needed items or items needed for growth, but savings are also necessary for solvency. Every company should plan for some failure, for some unforeseen event. So how much should a company save for these hard time or unforeseen setbacks? We aim for six months of expenses – this includes payroll, paint, sundries, rent – the whole nine yards. Why so aggressive? Would you want hire a contractor who always makes their decisions based on financial needs? Neither would I! Having fiscal solvency allows us to make decisions based on principles, not on the urgency of the present needs.

Second, you have to expect growth and set aside money to finance that growth. If we are looking down the corridor of time and see the need for an estimator in six months, we start paying them now by setting aside an estimator’s paycheck into saving so when we do decide to hire, we both have the finances and are not stressed out trying to bring a new office worker online. It buys us a little breathing space to teach our new hire and to give him some time to settle in without the stress of having to “earn his keep” right away. Funny thing is, they usually come online quicker without the stress.

Finally, we like to have a big Christmas parties around here. After all, God gave us His only son and Christmas is the beginning of that story. We haven’t quite figured out how to give as generously as God, but we certainly try to emulate Him. We can only do this by being responsible and setting aside funds to bless those who have worked hard all year to make it all happen year in and year out.

To sum it up, the reasons you save are security, growth, and generosity. If you would like to discuss this topic further whether for your business or household, I would love to buy you lunch and talk it over – just give the office a call.

Early on in our company’s life, I was keenly aware of my inability to build a company. This is probably normal. Most men feel it when they marry or have their first child – at least I did. How was I to build a company that could survive all the hard times that would inevitably come? It was an inescapable question. How do you build a truly great company? Better yet, what does it mean to be a “great” company? I mean, if you listen to Trump, everyone is great, but even Dash from the Incredibles knows that if everyone is great no one is.

Jim Collins in Good to Great was indispensable to those early years of our company’s development. Collins points out many truths including “For, in the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work.” The leader who sets out to create a great commercial painting company will never achieve this end. I thought to be a great business leader I had to be charismatic, flamboyant, or at least very outgoing and likable. The truth is, that to create a great company, you only need a steadfast commitment to doing the work in front of you well. The following has been our recipe for success in our field.

One principle of our success has always been a commitment to the “Golden Rule.” Treat others as you would want them to treat you. No excuses. No finger-pointing. No indecisiveness. The right thing to do will ALWAYS be the right thing to do. It doesn’t change based on circumstance. If our paint color is slightly off, it IS off. We don’t blame the paint supplier or the general contractor for not checking it. That is OUR job. If we are having a hard time meeting the owner’s schedule, that is not the owner’s problem. It is our job to solve it even if we have to lose profit or even go in the tank to get it done. Why? Because anything less is mediocrity and who wants to be the mediocre painting contractor in town. Certainly not us. In truth, greatness is exceeding the expectation.

Another principle is to always ask ourselves how we could have done the job better. If we are the same company we were a year ago, we have failed. Growth is not an option, it is a requirement. If we have a painter or crew leader who shows no improvement over the course of a year, they are not a good fit. In every area of our lives, this is the expectation. As a father of nine children, think how silly it would be if I was the same father I was twenty years ago. Or, even worse, what if my wife and I had no growth in our marriage. It is almost unimaginable. So why would we put up with this in our business? We don’t and, by God’s mercy we never will. The expectation is that our standards will strengthen and we will have more ability to hold ourselves to our ever rising standards in the years to come. I won’t have it any other way!

So quit trying to be the most flashy, the loudest, the most eye catching game in town and just get down to business. Your next job depends on it!

In the world of commercial construction, competition is king. How many projects have you lost to a lower bidder? How many of those lost bids did you know that your bid offered more value, but the price was higher. This is a common story and a common problem. Too often, the problem isn’t our price, but in our presentation and salesmanship. If the customer only sees two bids on paper with very little to distinguish the two, how would he know the value you offer over your competitor? We are savvy buyers these days, but often we only have the look and feel of something – and often the higher price – that tells us something might be better.

When looking at commercial painting bids, how do you know the value of the work? The most obvious is the quality of the quotation. Is the form and content thoughtful and professional. When you call, how do they answer the phone? Are they professional? Do they return phone calls promptly? Can they answer your questions quickly and thoroughly? Quite a few owners in the commercial painting field actually work in the field as well as the office. This can lead to slow replies and an overextended workforce.

Another thing to look for is how detail oriented are your bidders. Commercial painting is a detail oriented trade. It is not uncommon for a finish schedule to have 10 different colors and multiple sheens for different substrates. One sure sign that a painter is not detail oriented is that they frequently make mistakes, miss items on the quote, and make too many assumptions. It is as they say, the “devil” is in the details. Your painting contractor should be scrupulous when it comes to the blueprints and finish legend.

Finally, you shouldn’t throw out the lowest quote just because it can’t be any good, right? Good contractors miss items all the time. Maybe they are just following orders and not included all those items the one should “just assume” gets painted – like the gas pipe on the roof. Most commercial painting estimators will not include these items because they don’t specifically call out for paint. At some point in time in the not so distant future, this was considered the best practice to keep things fair and honest. We often put these items in our bids, but only when we know what the customer wants based on past experience. We usually try to list items like these under Clarifications or Exclusion so that the customer is clear on our assumptions. The last thing we would want is customer thinking we were pulling a fast one – I’d personally rather loose the money!

Many paint suppliers spin off new products from existing ones that are just glorified enhancements to their existing product line. We almost never trust a new product release without first using it and seeing if it stands the test of time. Emerald Urethane Trim Enamel is an exception to this rule. It has been a game-changer for our company. It is tougher than DTM and is quite fade resistant. It can be used on interior and exterior trim and metal items. It cures hard enough to resist scratching, yet is pliable enough to not become brittle.

Although cost is an issue, we believe it is justified with labor savings and performance. When you hire us, this product is standard on hand railings, doors and frames, trim, and all metal and trim type items.