December 2, 2024
A fresh coat of paint for your commercial property can do a lot of good. Your tenants and their customers will appreciate the improved curb appeal of your structure, and the market value of the property will be maintained or even increased.
But a great paint job from a reputable company is only part of the equation. To ensure that your investment pays off, regular maintenance is essential.
Read on for a guide to what effective maintenance looks like, and consider our companion piece on the basics of exterior commercial painting for the big picture on managing your commercial building.
Weather. Foot traffic. Operating machinery and electronics. Dust and debris. All of these things (and many more) leave a mark on your painted surfaces.
The impacts of these factors may be hard to notice over time. But when you step back to look at the big picture, these nicks, cracks, and problem areas become too much to ignore.
There are a few key reasons why you need to maintain paint in your commercial structure:
Although maintenance tasks like patching holes and power-washing can be considered DIY, a reputable local painting company can offer a comprehensive approach that deals with hard to reach areas, and specialized cleaning methods.
Here is an in-depth look into maintenance for commercial properties.
Keeping track of how your interior commercial spaces are faring can be broken down into the following categories.
Here are some proactive steps to maintain your building’s interior spaces.
Exterior surfaces on commercial buildings are difficult to keep in good shape, and the reasons why vary depending on where it is located.
Take a building in the Canadian prairies for example. If one of our Edmonton commercial paint teams refreshes a building, they know that the paint will be degraded by high levels of UV radiation from the sun, consistent freeze-thaw cycles in the shoulder seasons, and extremely low temperatures in the winter.
For more on the specifics of how weather affects paint longevity, check out our article on the basics of exterior commercial painting.
As if that’s not enough, exterior paint can also be damaged by people. For any building owner who doesn’t have a fully-fenced in lot, this can include graffiti.
Exterior surfaces require similar maintenance to interior surfaces, but with several key differences.
Cleaning is commonly done with a pressure washer, instead of by hand. This can be a yearly task, depending on where you live. Our Vancouver-based painting crews know it doesn’t take long for moss and grime to gain a foothold on a building.
Small touch-ups can be done by a professional team with access to ladders and scaffolding, which allows them to do a full assessment of the property, including hard-to-reach areas.
Keep an eye out for the early signs of water damage. By staying on top of potential issues, your maintenance may look like a small paint touch-up, instead of replacing structural elements that have been damaged by water.
There are additional safety considerations you will need to make when planning maintenance for your commercial building.
If you own an older building, you should consider the possibility of old paint that could contain lead. Lead paint wasn’t fully removed from the marketplace in Canada and the USA until 1990, and any structure built before then runs the risk of containing lead paint.
A specialized contractor can test paint chips from your building to detect lead, and can also determine if the paint needs to be removed.
Typically, unless lead-based paint is chipping, it may not need to be removed. Children and pregnant women are most at risk for lead exposure.
It’s also important to consider safety once a painting team is working in your space, both for your tenants and the painters.
The main risk to consider comes from volatile organic compounds, or VOCs. These are chemicals that evaporate quickly at room temperature, leaving that acrid smell that many refer to as “paint fumes.”
Exposure to VOCs can lead to a variety of health risks, and as a result many paint manufacturers offer low- or no-VOC paints.
Talk with your painting contractor about the kinds of paint that they will be using, and ensure there is a safety plan in place for everyone involved in the painting process.
Here’s how to plan ahead to maintain your commercial building.
First, consider that the average commercial building will need to be repainted every 5 to 10 years, inside and out.
However, many property owners will opt not to complete a full building paint job all at once. Generally, the following time frames can be considered for painting different parts of a building.
Interior Surfaces: Every 5-7 years for most paint on indoor surfaces. For surfaces with extra traffic, high humidity levels, or other kinds of wear and tear, problem areas can be spot treated as needed.
Exterior Surfaces: Every 7-10 years for a building in a moderate climate, even with spells of harsh weather. For environments with harsh sunlight or extended periods of harsh weather, repainting every 3-7 years is appropriate.
Take extra care in spaces where machinery like forklifts are in operation. Motorized vehicles like these generate wear through dust and debris, which will shorten your timelines.
Of course, it is impossible to know for sure how much maintenance your building’s paint needs from reading a blog. To develop a maintenance plan for your building, talk with an expert from a painting company in your area – like one of Pro Works’ Western Canadian Franchisees.
Deciding on a painting team for your commercial building paint maintenance can be tricky.
Painting is one of the most competitive industries out there, and all companies operate with a range of specializations.
Regardless of who you choose, make sure to ask the right questions during the consultation process:
Pro Works Painting answers these questions and more during our client consultation, when we prepare a free estimate for your commercial painting project.
Our franchises paint over 800 jobs every year, and we bring expertise from each of these projects to your project.
Get in touch with us today to find out what sets us apart.