Reserve Work, Reimagined:
Common Area Painting for a Southern California Master HOA
Common Area Painting for a Master HOA in Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
A master homeowners association serving more than 13,000 homes in Rancho Santa Margarita, needed routine reserve-study painting completed across parks, trails and common areas without disrupting the neighborhoods those spaces serve. The association found CertaPro Painters of Orange County through Vive, the vendor platform used by FirstService Residential. The work spanned two connected scopes: exterior and interior restoration at six community parks, and a separate refurbishment of Victorian-style park benches across four additional project areas.
This was not the association’s first project with CertaPro. By the time this scope of work began, the two organizations had already completed roughly three projects together, and the relationship has continued since.
PROJECT AT A GLANCE
6 community parks restored: Canada Vista, Central, Mesa Linda, Tijeras Creek, Trabuco Mesa and Vista Verde
62 park benches refurbished across four community project areas
4 bench project areas: Central Park, Vista Verde Park, Los Paseos Trail and Los Abanicos Trail
6 park restroom buildings repainted, exterior and select interiors
“Communication is key, and he was excellent at it.”
— D. Swanson, Capital and Reserve Project Manager
PROJECT INVOLVEMENT
The Challenge
The association was actively comparing vendors and had seen a familiar pattern with past contractors: strong communication through the bid process, then silence once work began. That gap created confusion around timing, status and site access, exactly the kind of friction a community with active walking paths, school-adjacent sites and weekend foot traffic can’t absorb.
Scope of Work
The park facility scope covered masonry siding, fascia, trim, doors, utility doors, columns and wooden trellises at six community parks, along with select restroom interiors and stucco repairs at multiple sites. A separate scope refurbished 62 Victorian-style park benches across four project areas, covering both the wood slats and the metal bases and hardware. Bench slats were removed and prepped and stained at a central staging area within Vista Verde Park, and the crew worked on no more than half of the benches at any one location at a time, keeping seating available for residents throughout.
Beyond the 62 benches in scope, the crew also prepped and stained extra wood slats, enough for another five to 10 benches, giving the association’s own maintenance team spare stock on hand for future rebuilds and repairs.
Planning and Scheduling
CertaPro Painters mapped out site access, parking, storage and walking paths in advance, and timed the stucco project around the local school year. Weekly Friday updates from the crew kept the association’s team current on what was open or closed, directly addressing the communication gap the client had flagged as a recurring problem with past vendors.
“We’ve never had that with a vendor before. You guys finished early, and it was just pristine.”— D. Swanson, Capital and Reserve Project Manager
On the Job
The stucco project was scoped for six to eight weeks. CertaPro Painters finished early, without sacrificing precision on wood trim and detail work. When a separate bench refurbishment needed to hit a grand-opening deadline, the crew adjusted its schedule to make it happen.
BEFORE PHOTOS
Years of sun exposure and heavy community use had left their mark across the association’s common areas: weathered wood on the park pergolas, faded stucco on restroom and utility buildings, and sun-bleached, corroding hardware on the park benches.
Trabuco Mesa Community Pergola, Before
The wood trellis structure over this park picnic area showed years of weathering, with the stucco columns due for a refresh ahead of the reserve-study cycle.
Mesa Linda Utility Building Exterior, Before
This restroom and utility building's stucco walls and tile roofline were prepped for painting as part of the broader common-area scope.
THE FINAL RESULT
Every site was completed on the schedule the association needed, with the park facility work finishing ahead of plan. Six community parks were restored, and all 62 park benches were returned looking new, with extra slats prepped as spare stock for the association’s maintenance team. Throughout, the walking paths, parking and school-adjacent access the client had flagged as critical from day one stayed open. CertaPro Painters of Orange County continues to work with the association on additional reserve-study projects.
“It was above and beyond, genuinely.”
— D. Swanson, Capital and Reserve Project Manager
Trabuco Mesa Community Pergola, After
The refreshed pergola shows crisp, even coverage on both the stucco columns and the wood beam structure above.
Mesa Linda Pavilion, After
Freshly painted stucco columns and stone-accent bench walls with a refinished wood beam roofline.
Mesa Linda Pavilion Detail, After
A closer look at the finished wood beam work shows the clean lines and even coat achieved on the trellis structure.
WHY MASTER HOAS & PROPERTY MANAGERS CHOOSE CERTAPRO PAINTERS® NATIONAL ACCOUNTS
✓ Reputation
A track record with FirstService Residential-managed communities and other large-portfolio clients who need painting programs that scale.
✓ Consistent Communication
Structured, proactive updates — like weekly status check-ins — so your team always knows what’s open, closed or in progress.
✓ Local Execution, National Oversight
A National Accounts team that coordinates scheduling and account relationships, backed by locally owned crews who know the community.
✓ Guaranteed Pricing with a Warranty
A detailed, itemized proposal for every project, with no surprises and a limited warranty.
Ready to Talk About Your Community’s Reserve Schedule?
If your association or portfolio has upcoming reserve-study painting work, CertaPro Painters® can help you plan it around your community, not around ours.
Contact us to start the conversation.
