Do You Know Who You Hired and Why?
Brooks Painting recently started an exterior painting project on 6 commercial concrete buildings that have not been painted in 15 years, and they were (are) a mess. During the process of the washing, prepping and painting we discovered a number of interesting things.
What Went Wrong Before Brooks Painting?
This particular commercial property owner previously hired another painting company and gave them the “keys to the store” as one would say. No one really watched what was going on.
- You could tell where paint had peeled off the building and no primer was ever applied prior to doing the new paint job.
- The paint was so thin you could see the original color showing through the darker top coat color.
- Cracks in the concrete walls were filled with caulking and never smoothed out to blend in with the walls.
- Concrete walls with large portions of the wall missing form settling were filled over with fiberglass.
- Caulking was applied over the top to seal the fiberglass.
- Duct tape was used to cover holes that should have been filled and patched with concrete.
The listed just goes on and on. This proves the point you get what you paid for. Just because someone says they are a licensed painter or painting company does not mean he has your best interest in mind. These types of guys stay busy, but do not last long, and when they close shop they change their company name. Then another group of painters just like them is ready to fill their shoes with the same poor craftsmanship.
Will Not Make the Same Mistake Twice
This client has learned a valuable lesson. This type of work has caused substantial damage to their buildings and caused more cost to re-paint and repair than it should have if it was done right the first time. Anybody can paint a building but not everybody should paint a building! It needs to be done with the proper safety equipment, tools, products and professionals!
When the goal of a property owner is the lowest price, you are setting everyone up for failure: the property owner and the painting company.
Start knowing who you are hiring. See the buildings they have done over the years. Call past clients to make sure they backed up their warranty if needed. You want a company that puts the interest of the client first. You want a working relationship with your subcontractors to build trust and loyalty for both parties involved. One last thing, this does not mean that the highest price companies are the best either. Sometimes they overbid a project because they do not know what they are doing either. So do your homework and make sure the company you hire stacks up to being the best for your painting needs.
