Condo Media - September 2018 - 18

Homeowner's Corner

Be
Prepared
Prep Work can be Hard
for Painters to Quote
[by Pamela Bowman, EBP, CMCA]

Many communities who ask for
a paint proposal get just that in
return, a proposal to paint their
buildings. While some requests for
proposal include preparation work,
the preparation portion can be difficult for a contractor to quote due
to the unknown.
The variables are many:

What are the expectations of the
board and the owners when the
job is complete?

How many years are in the longterm maintenance plan before
the community paints again?

Has the board budgeted money
before asking the professional
for bids?

How much and what kind of
preparation is needed before
the painters arrive?

Has the board considered how
much carpentry needs to be
done before the paint job?

The answers to these questions will
help significantly in the response to
your request for a paint proposal.
IDENTIFY THE DETAILS
Peeling paint is usually a sign of the
original paint failing or water getting

CONDOMEDIA September 2018

behind the coating and pushing the
paint causing the paint to pop off the
wood, or to peel. Not too many times
do we see paint peeling off surfaces that
are already painted. Sometimes when
pine is used for replacement wood, it
has been primed with a shellac material
and the paint or stain will peel if there
hasn't been a good bond or the bond has
been fractured.
Knowing the amount of wood
replacement and or repair will help
the contractor determine what kind of
paint preparation is needed. Will the
carpentry work be installed with preprimed material, or will the painter be
responsible for priming the unprimed
wood? For best results, consideration
should be given for two finish coats for
any pre-primed wood that has been
installed and has been exposed to
the elements.
Cedar siding that is 20-30 years old,
whether it is vertical or horizontal,
usually needs some level of prep if it
is not going to be replaced, especially
when it has been beaten by the elements. Alternatives to replacement of
these surfaces are mechanical sanding
or chemical stripping. These processes
provide for the surfaces to be brought
down to bare wood, primed, and coated. A contractor needs to understand
what areas of a building or deck floors
may require this work in order to give a
proposal for the work required to paint
the buildings.

A budget that is set before the professional submits a proposal is usually a nowin situation. The association should be
open to alternatives the contractor may
suggest in order to get the necessary job
to keep the curb appeal of the community.
For example, reducing the number
of units and/or phasing the project over
several years. If the contractor works
to a budget, the paint job may not meet
the expectations of the board and the
community. Work together to come
up with an expectation and a plan that
can deliver.
Finally, the preparation the association needs to complete prior to the paint
job could be notifying your residents in
a newsletter that this project will be taking place and what the work is that has
been contracted for. Also if there is any
landscape work that can wait until after
the paint and carpentry is complete, it
would be helpful as there is a lot of activity surrounding the buildings during
this project.
When asking for a proposal for painting/staining, think about these things
so that both the contractor and the association can feel that expectations have
been met and the curb appeal of their
community has been maintained.
n PAMELA BOWMAN, EBP, CMCA
IS WITH PRIME TOUCH SERVICES.

Condo Media - September 2018

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