Selecting a commercial painting company for your project
Posted on May 31, 2021
When you need a commercial painter for your business the selection criteria are a bit different than the ones you might use to select a painter for your home. Whether you have a retail, hospitality, medical, professional, or industrial building to be painted you are going to want to know what to look for to find the right painters for your job.
The following list of criteria covers a lot of different commercial requirements for painters but within it, you can find the ones that apply to your unique space’s painting needs.
1. The legal issues – Ask to see any contractor licensing information for your state. A commercial painting contractor’s business generally has to be granted a license number that also comes with an expiration date. You should request this information at the start to determine you are dealing with a legitimate company. Also, ask to see proof of liability insurance and workman’s compensation insurance. Ask about the amount of insurance they have and consider if it is in line with the amount of risk that might arise related to your painting project.
2. Ask about prior commercial painting projects. A reputable contractor will be able to supply you with examples of their work including addresses and dates. You can also ask for references from former clients. Additionally, you can check any online reviews they may have related to commercial painting. You should see a decent track record of successful jobs even if they aren’t exactly the same as the one you have. Remember that commercial painting jobs tend to vary in scope a lot more than typical house painting so if someone says they can paint your big box store based on their experience painting a warehouse it’s probably going to be similar enough.
3. Ask about access to and use of any special equipment that may be required for your job. Often times commercial jobs might require hoists, scissor lifts, cranes, etc. The contractor may need to erect scaffolding in order to complete their work. Special safety equipment like harnesses may be required as well. You need to understand how that will impact the timeline and cost of your project and what access requirements it may imply.
4. Specialty paints or coatings may be required to complete your job. A good commercial painting contractor will be able to make the right recommendations for the kind of paint systems needed to deliver the results you want. It may be the case that your project can be completed using traditional residential interior or exterior paint but don’t automatically assume it if the surface is concrete or metal or if they are subject to excessive heat or cold etc. different paints may be required to give you the performance and longevity you need as well.
5. Special painting equipment may be needed to complete your project beyond just specialized access equipment. Ask if the paint or other coatings will be applied with brushes, rollers, or spray equipment. This may impact how much of an area needs to be taped or sealed off, how it will be ventilated and how long it has to remain that way to allow for drying.
6. Regulations and restrictions may be a factor in your project. HOAs often have restrictions as to the time of day and days of the week when work can be performed on buildings. Restrictions related to pedestrian and vehicular traffic flow, hours of operation, and overall job duration may also exist. Ask your commercial contractors if they have previous experience operating inside of these kinds of restrictions and how they plan to adapt to yours. It may require that they add additional painters to complete your job in time or it may require the job to be broken into phases. Good contractors should be used to these kinds of requirements and be flexible enough to handle anything from working at night to adding staff to hit a tight deadline.
7. The ability to respond to complex bid packages with a quick turn-around time may also be an issue. If your project is going to require research, special pricing, special orders, etc. you need to know that the contractors you invite to bid will be able to respond in the available time frame and in the detail needed to be considered a valid bid. This is your chance to give them pre-bid information regarding lead times and requirements.
At CertaPro of Rock Hill, we perform commercial painting work right along with our residential painting. While we may be best known as a national residential painting brand the truth is we also have extensive experience in commercial painting in the Charlotte, NC. and Rock Hill SC. area with all the references and portfolio proof you need to be certain we can handle virtually any commercial project you have in mind.
When your ready to start selecting contractors to solicit bids or just discuss your project feel free to contact us and give us a chance to show you how CertaPro can deliver exceptional results under whatever conditions may apply to your commercial project.
