“Do you offer painting services at night?” is a common question we get asked by our clients. Let’s face it, people see renovations and office painting as a necessary hassle and try to avoid it at all costs. Horror stories of renovations gone wrong are everywhere and some of these stories are true.
Wouldn’t it be nice if the painters could work after hours, without inconveniencing the staff? As a matter of fact, Ecopainting painters can in fact work at night if needed. We have trained crews we can schedule during the weekend or at night.
Is Painting at Night Necessary?
Years ago, painting a facility during the day was not possible. The smell of the paint was strong and the office staff was not able to work during the renovations. It was also difficult to carry on with business as usual because of the dust and garbage that was created. With recent advancements in building and paint materials, most painting can now be done during business hours. Sure, there may be a busy workstation, or a fully booked boardroom, but working at night is not always necessary.
Reasons to Paint During the Day
- Today’s zero VOC paints have virtually no smell and most of the products that Ecopainting uses are zero VOC. Paints from Benjamin Moore such as the Ultra Spec 500 remain odourless, even after the colourants are added.
- A good contractor has systems to contain dust and waste without interfering with the office workers.
- In our experience, our professional painters are welcome in office environments and “blend in” within the work community. The excitement and anticipati on of new colours brings positive energy to some otherwise bland and boring environments (no offense).
- Workers (painters) perform better during regular working hours, making the project run more efficiently and be completed faster.
- Security concerns are easier to handle. At night, arrangements have to be made with third parties, like the security personnel or the building maintenance department.
- Painting offices at night is expensive. Even though we provide full service after hours, scheduling is more difficult and there is a longer waiting list. Putting night crews together is challenging, mostly because painters need some time to adjust to shift changes. If a crew starts working on a night-shift, it’s a good idea to keep this same crew together for the entire project. The body has difficulties adjusting to changing sleep patterns. Hospital and emergency workers deal with this issue constantly.
Reasons to Paint at Night
Despite doing most of our office painting during business hours, night work has some advantages. In some cases, there is no choice because of the clients operations and space limitations. Here are some important reasons:
- Working when nobody is around. Sequencing the work is easier when you don’t have to worry about inconveniencing anyone. The painters can start and finish rooms the same night, clean up fast and move on to another area.
- Work in Common areas. Washrooms, lunchrooms and cafeterias are busier during the day. At night, work in the common areas can move faster when uninterrupted. For example, men can work in women’s washrooms and the other way around.
- Easier parking and less traffic. Downtown traffic is heavy during the day and parking for contractors is a nightmare. By contrast, driving home at night is a breeze and parking lots are vacant and much cheaper.
- Logistics. Dropping off paint supplies and equipment is much easier. There is always space in loading docks and the elevators are empty.
- More convenient for office staff. When desks and filing cabinets are full they need to be emptied and moved. Some office occupants need to move to a temporary space to accommodate the work. If work is done at night, the walls can be painted, the floors vacuumed and furniture placed back before the morning starts. It’s amazing to walk into a new and bright space without any inconvenience.
- The client’s visitors and guests. Some of our customers receive guests and visitors for meetings and conferences. Putting your best foot forward during renovations is difficult unless work is done at night or preferably during the weekend.
Sure, painting at night can be a change of scenery for us. There is no traffic, parking is definitely easier, the streets are almost empty. Downtown Toronto at night is very nice to look at and even Tim Horton’s line-ups are shorter at night. But if you ask more painters, the great majority will agree that being in bed is where they would rather be at night.
If your office needs a fresh paint job but have been dreading the hassle, you don’t have to. Book an appointment with one of our estimators and bring up all your concerns. We very likely have painted for customers with similar concerns to yours and we can share their experience. We can paint your facility at any time to suit your needs without compromising efficiency. With our experience and our trained painters, quality and convenience are not mutually exclusive.
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