Special services
a Commercial Painter Might Offer For Free
Chapter 4
Chapter 4: Special and “secret” services a Commercial Painter Might Offer
Now that you’ve got down the basics and the terminology of Commercial Painting, you might ask the Boston Commercial Painting Company if they offer any of the following services:
Most of these should be at no additional cost to you unless otherwise stated below.
Rush jobs to meet a tight deadline.
Usually, a good Commercial Painting Company can meet your tight deadline at no additional cost.
- Many good Commercial Painters know that rush jobs happen. You may need to paint a peeling wall for an inspection. Fast. In some cases, Commercial Painting Companies in the Boston area have a “rush painting crew” to help our Clients out of a timeframe bind.
Your Boston Commercial Painting Company should automatically add you or your company to their insurance policy as “additional insured” at no additional cost to you.
Most reputable Commercial Painting Contractors have robust and expensive insurance. By adding you or your company as “additional insured,” you’re protected from a painter who hands you a Certificate of Insurance that looks unexpired, only to find out that they haven’t paid their insurance bill, and the policy has lapsed. This happens all the time in the Boston area, and you can protect yourself from this by requesting to be added to their insurance as an “additional insured.”- All insurance certificates should be emailed to you DIRECTLY from the insurance company and not handed or emailed to you by the Commercial Painting Company themselves. This is to ensure the certificate of insurance has not been tampered with or altered to contain false or misleading information. Again, tampered insurance policies are a real problem, so protect yourself.
- As an “additional insured” company on the painter’s insurance policy, you now have the right to call the insurance company to ensure the insurance is in force. Also, by being an “additional insured” party on the policy, if the insurance policy does lapse or the Boston Commercial Painting Company doesn’t pay its bill, you will be contacted directly by the insurance company by mail.
- If your Commercial Painting Company’s insurance expires during the middle of your project, don’t pay your final bill until the insurance company sends you an updated and unexpired policy.
Ask about discounts and seasonal offers:
- Because Commercial Painters paint both exteriors and interiors, the winter months (especially January and February in Boston) are “slow” because exteriors cannot be painted in the cold weather. This means most commercial painting contractors have more than enough painters ready to paint interiors in the wintertime and are happy to discount it by about 20% from their high season (April-November) prices.
- Night and weekend painting should be at no additional charge to you:
- Ask your Commercial Painter to paint overnight or on the weekends to help keep your business running smoothly during your daytime business hours. This service should not cost you extra money.
See if your Boston Commercial Painting Company can handle other aspects of the project, so you’re not managing multiple trades.
See if your Commercial Painting Contractor offers “one-stop shopping services” such as carpentry teams that can repair rotted wood before the paint is applied.
- This way, you don’t have to hire a separate carpenter before you paint.
It’s not uncommon for a Commercial Painter to give you a quote to fix wood rot on your building with the caveat that they might come across more rotted wood as they work on the exterior. It’s almost impossible to find every shingle or trim board that needs fixing unless painters are at work, on ladders “feeling with their hands” for wood for rot in high and hard-to-reach spots.
Color Consultation
- Working with a real designer to help you choose colors should be offered as a free service to ensure the interior walls’ color matches the company’s current furnishings and the paint color is “on-brand.” Color Consultation costs about $100 per hour in the Boston area, but some Boston Commercial Painting Companies offer it for free as a service.
- Ask for color paint renderings of your exterior or interior space before painting. This way, you’ll be able to see what the color you’ve chosen will look like when it’s applied.
You can negotiate warranty and payment terms with your Boston Commercial Painting Company:
- You want to make sure to see a formal written warranty and a structured warranty process. Paint does “fail” (peeling, bubbling, and blistering), and failure usually occurs within the first 6-months of application. Paint failures happen and aren’t usually a problem to fix, but if you can’t get your Boston Commercial Painting Contractor to come back to re-paint for you, you’re going to spend more money fixing it with another company.
- You are also likely able to negotiate payment terms upfront that fit your budget and cash flow.
Specialized paint applications and equipment to save time and money:
- Ask about spraying paint on walls and exterior surfaces to apply it faster and more cost-effectively versus brushing and rolling. Often, spraying a commercial building offers a great and long-lasting finish for a fraction of what it would cost to roll or brush on the paint.
- Specialized coatings
- Have your commercial painting company specify paint that lasts as long as possible in your painting environment. Remember, the word “coating” is just another word for “paint.”
Getting extra services from your Boston Commercial Painting Company:
Make sure the Commercial Painting Company assures you that a dedicated Project Manager or Field Supervisor who will manage your project, so you are not managing the painting project yourself.
Ask the Boston Commercial Painting Company for help communicating with your employees, residents, and tenants about when the painting will take place. This means that the painters can help you inform all parties by distributing door-hangers and posting flyers the day before they’ll be on-site painting.- Developing a relationship with your Commercial Painting Company’s project manager is crucial for Clients with more than one painting job each year. A deep and personal relationship with your project manager might allow for some “freebies” and a growing understanding of your expectations, so you don’t have to keep repeating yourself to a new estimator each time.
- Don’t be afraid to ask your Boston Commercial Painting Company to quote some unusual items to paint around your Commercial site. Most Commercial Painting Companies can handle the painting of EIFS and stucco, signage, common areas and hallways, speed bumps, bollards, flag poles, railings, metal pipes, gas tanks, fire escapes, acoustic ceiling tiles, stairwells, and even walk-in freezers.
Now that you know about all of the services that Boston Commercial Painting Companies might offer, read the next chapter to see how much it should cost you to hire them.
