Perparing a buildimg for painting

bhenson

bhenson

Moderator
Hey everyone,

Got a quick general question. I have a PM that needs me to perpare a building for painting. She is wanting 2 different estimates on work. Below you will find the details on what he is looking for. Hopefully I can get an answer on pricing. We havent done this type of work before but I know we can handle it.

1. 479 linear feet of ( 6700 sqft ). Remove all paint to perpare for painting. Wall ( center blocks ) is completely covered with paint. Wants to remove old paint. Need price on what you would charge.

2. Same as above but wants price on sealing the center block and repainting.

Thanks in advance forthe help.

Bryan
 
That will be a very messy job, pressure washing will probably not get all the paint off and you will be there forever cleaning up the paint chips off the surface and off yourself.

Paint stripper will get more of the paint off but you are looking at a lot of money in just paint stripper.

I don't do those kind of jobs anymore as the cleanup can take a very long time and now with the epa rules on paint removal, if someone calls on you, I would make sure to have done a lead test on the paint first to be sure that there is no lead in the paint or it could be one of those fines that can probably put you out of business.

I have seen where the turbo nozzles eat into the cinder block and cause lots of permanent damage to where when you paint over the blocks, you can see the permanent grooves in the block. Cinder block is not that strong even though they build with it, pressure washing can easily carve into it.

I would charge several times the cost of washing it and remember that the cleanup will take a few times longer than the paint removal, especially if you are using paint stripper.

Good luck.
 
Personally, I would be talking to the painter to see what HIS needs are....unless you are doing the repainting anyway.
 
I just finished a similar job with a friend. He is a general contractor that made some improvements on/in a building, then needed to strip paint and repaint outside. If you don't have any experience painting, you may want to subcontract it. Since your experience is a little low on this, the painter can give you a better idea of what a paint-prepped surface should look like.
My friend needed help with the strip part. We foamed (hood cleaner) with a high caustic solution, then used an 8gpm and 4gpm machine. The 8 was hot water, and once the caustic did its thing, the paint bubbled and peeled off easily. The 4 is cold, but did great touch ups and then sweeped the paint on the ground/tarp to make for easy clean up! We thought we would need to sand some areas, but never did.
I would suggest you find a painter you can begin a relationship with. He must expect to prime the blocks, if not, find another painter! Go do a "demo"/test area with the painter present and see what it takes you to make an acceptable surface for the painter. Then decide how much you need to charge to replicate that.
Another tip, a razor blade on a stick made quick work of some stubborn areas!
 
Bryan...I stopped doing paint prep years ago when I was in Florida. To much hassle, and your just adding another person to the equation as far as the paint warranty goes. If you want to do this I would do like Celeste said and communicate with the painter to find out exactly what his expectations are. IMO, 90% of any paint job is the prep work. CHeck the walls for chalkiness and peeling paint, that will give you an idea of how long it will take you. Make sure you discuss w the painter who will scrape any peeling paint you didn't get off. You or Him.

When I did do paint prep, I did have some easy ones, but most were a huge pain with painters never completely satisified.
 
The paint looks to be coming off pretty easy. What happened was the past painter did not seal or prime the cinder block and the paint is peeling off. I grabbed a section and pulled off a hugh chunk ( apporx 3X3 piece of paint ). I plan on doing all the work myself. Prep, seal, prime and paint. I have a friend that is a painter and he is going to help me with it.

I just need to figure out what to charge. Not sure if i should charge by the linear foot or sqft. Any suggestions on price range?

Thanks for all the advice that has been given.
 
I am the painter man,but I aint going to Oklahoma lol. We always get total sf of place to be painted. example length+width+length+width*height. The only time I use lf is when I have to paint something like gutters. That way you know how much actual space needs coating. You need to know if its rough or smooth areas your having to paint. on and on and on..send me a email at pleasewashmyroof@netzero.net. give me the total SF, condition of the surfaces, landscaping surroundings, if it is a commercial building smack in the middle of rush hour town or in bum Egypt. Let me know the spec for the paint they want to use or if you have control over that. Send some pics if you got em.
 
We do plenty of paint preps for residential do it yourselfers as well as for a few local painting companies. Some are not so much fun and others are pretty cut and dry. Wanna have some fun. Try paint prepping a Tile Roof for re-paint. Now we are talking fun times. ( NOT).....LOL
 
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