Many times in past columns, I have suggested adding scope as a strategy for capturing more volume on the backlog. As I’ve said, there are a number of construction services that run complementary to commercial metal framing and drywall, including insulation, paint, plaster, exterior insulation and finish systems and acoustical ceilings, to name the most apparent. For a drywall subcontractor who only does framing and board, and is looking to broaden his horizons, adding paint to the list of in-house activities makes the most sense for a number of reasons.
Obviously, the bundling effect is going to make the bid package more attractive to the general contractor. Bundling not only streamlines the bidding and award process, but dealing with the fewest number of subcontractors possible makes delivery of the project vastly simpler and cheaper for him in the long run. And by including paint in the list of wall/ceiling services, the smart sub has already ingratiated himself on bid day to the GC by being the full-service Division 9 subcontractor, and thereby offering to make his life easier and his wallet fatter.
Paint May Give You the Edge
But the advantages to adding paint to the mix go way beyond the obvious. Just in terms of interior finish, the edge you get with performing the entire finish installation quickly becomes evident. Consider the control you gain on schedule, sequence and quality assurance, simply because the drywall finishing and the painting are so closely related and interdependent. From something as critical as determining the volume of work to be readied for a work cycle to something as simple as sharing masking efforts, the positive cost effects emerge.
For example, I have many times touted the advantage of using high-build primer over the antiquated skim-coat method for achieving smooth Level 5 finishes. Being the paint sub, who owes a prime coat on the drywall anyway, shooting a high-build primer in lieu of a skim coat after a Level 4 gains you the windfall of eliminating that entire step.
Another example of the scheduling advantages occurs on jobs that require spray texture. Due to harsh lighting conditions, many jobs require a prime coat of paint before texture to seal the product evenly and thus equalize the disparate porosity between the drywall mud and the wallboard paper face, thereby diminishing the consequent flashing effect. Many stand-alone painters are loath to cycle a crew in, then go away and come back after the spray texture. It’s more costly for the painter, but it eliminates rework for the drywaller. But hey, if you’re both, cooperation prevails and contention dissipates. Prime before texture becomes company policy.
But this is narrow thinking when we only assess the paint scope as an interior drywall coating. The advantages to broadening scope with paint stretch beyond what we initially imagine. We tend to think of paint riding on the coattails of drywall when the nature of many projects is the exact opposite. It is commonplace to open the plans and find minimal framing and drywall work, but much in the way of paint. Think of a Wal-Mart superstore, where there are a few full-height walls and a few bulkheads, but a bazillion square feet of OTS dry-fall. In such cases, it is the paint scope that is carrying drywall on bid day, not vice-versa.
Then there are the stand-alone paint projects that add further justification for including a paint department in your approach. Parking garages, infrastructure projects and industrial facilities are examples of paint-only projects that have the potential for good profit.
Easier Than Most Add-ons
Given the information thus far, adding paint to your repertoire seems like a no-brainer. But like anything else worth its salt, it comes with a price. Not that the barriers to entry are high. Very little investment in equipment is needed to add paint to the program. But as we pointed out before, painting is not just a matter of covering the drywall. There are many aspects to painting that require an unanticipated level of sophistication. A typical commercial project demands extensive work in areas such as site and roof (site walls, gates, bollards, light-pole bases, screen walls)—areas unfamiliar to a studs-and-drywall estimator—that demand the expertise of a specialist. Therefore, I strongly suggest to any commercial drywall contractor who is considering adding paint to the scope, to include adding some overhead in the way of a qualified paint estimator who knows the ropes. Specialty coatings, wall covering and the aforementioned site work are all paint items that could easily plant an unassuming drywall estimator in a patch of tall weeds. Obviously, number one on the list for adding a paint department would be adding a paint estimator.
Unanticipated sophistication notwithstanding, any commercial drywall contractor who is thinking about increasing his odds on bid day by increasing his scope of work, my advice is to add paint. I think that about covers it.
Vince Bailey is an estimator at Valleywide Plastering in Phoenix.