Painting

People often mistakenly apply the five to seven year repainting principle to newly built homes and offices. Here are a few good reasons why you SHOULD repaint within a two year period after construction…

1. SPECIFICATION OF PAINT USED DURING CONSTRUCTION

It is not uncommon that the person specifying the paint to be applied to various substrates in a new build is not suitably qualified to do so. This invariably leads to inadequate protection and accelerated weathering reducing the ultimate life span of various elements of the build resulting in wasted and unexpected replacement and/or repair costs

2. BUILDING CONTRACTORS OFTEN DO NOT USE APPROVED APPLICATORS

Approved applicators are required to adhere to strict preparation and application procedures including testing the moisture content of the various surfaces before working on them. If your builder did not use an approved applicator there is a strong likelihood that you have neither a product nor a workmanship guarantee on your new build’s paint job

3. ALL BUILDINGS WILL EXPERIENCE SOME FORM OF MOVEMENT OR SETTLEMENT IN THE FIRST YEAR

No matter how good your professional and contracting teams were, your new home or office WILL develop movement and/or settlement cracks in the first year or so. Although sometimes hairline in nature these MUST be rectified timeously to prevent water egress, degradation of plaster, lifting of paint and tiles and the potential for structural type damage

To mitigate against all of the above, projects managers and architects alike often adopt a ‘belts and braces’ approach and specify the highest quality paint during the build process. The truth is that irrespective of the paint used, if it is not applied by a suitably qualified painting contractor in the correct manner one would not enjoy the benefits of this approach. This coupled with the fact that the building will almost certainly experience some form of movement and/or settlement after construction is the reason why we now recommend that you use a ‘middle of the road’ paint specification during building, which saves you money at a time when every bit counts, accept that fact that you SHOULD repaint two years down the line and then if needs be apply the Rolls Royce of products for longevity.

People often make the mistake of trivializing the painting of a building and so when the time comes to give their home or business a facelift, they opt for using a painter off the street. Here’s some food for thought before you do:

1. HOW DO YOU KNOW IF HE KNOWS HOW TO PAINT IF YOU DON’T?

Although applying paint to a particular surface could be construed as “simple”, the preparation of that surface and knowing which product to apply under what circumstances is absolutely key to the facelift being a successful one

2. YOU WILL HAVE NO GUARANTEE ON THE PRODUCT OR THE WORKMANSHIP

The major painting brands will guarantee their products if they are applied in the correct manner by an approved applicator for up to seven years. Most reputable painting contractors will guarantee their workmanship for five years

3. ARE YOU COVERED IN THE EVENT OF AN ACCIDENT?

Because painters work on ladders and at heights they have to undergo regular medical testing to ensure that they are not prone to conditions that could put them at serious risk such as seizures for example. In the event of an accident, you could be liable for medical expenses if no workman’s compensation cover is in place and potentially face criminal charges if the correct safety procedures were not followed

4. FIXED COST AND CONTRACT PERIOD

An experienced painting contractor will commit to a fixed price and contract period before commencement. In doing so, he or she has an incentive to complete the job in the allotted time period in order to show a profit. The opposite is true for the painter off the street in that he or she probably does not have the experience to guage how long the job will take nor would he or she be overly keen to wrap things up quickly as their future is uncertain at best

5. SECURITY… SECURITY… SECURITY!

In this day and age it would simply be crazy to invite a man off the street into your home or onto your property for days, if not weeks, on end and expect your security not to be compromised