Tip of the Month – February 2010
FREE LABOR! What you talkin’ ‘bout Willis? Ok, some of you more seasoned folks, who are actually old enough to know who Willis is may not be enlightened by this Tip but some of the newer members of the management community will appreciate knowing it.
It is unreasonable to expect that property and community managers know all about paint. It is also unreasonable to expect that they would be able to assess the paint needs of their structures, put together a comprehensive set of bid specifications, produce color imaging and then oversee the actual application of the coatings.
The good news here is that you don’t have to! All of the major paint manufacturers have representatives who will perform these services for you, free of charge. They will visit the property, write specifications based on the type of surfaces to be painted and their condition, provide color images with suggestions for paint colors and visit the project during the course of painting to verify that the contractor is following their specifications. Did I mention that they do this for FREE? The only caveat is that you have to give them the time to do it properly. That means you should get them on board well in advance of the time that you want to paint. Color imaging usually takes a couple of weeks and would only be done for larger jobs.
The written specifications will assure you of “apples to apples” bid comparisons because potential contractors will be bidding on exactly the same products and quality, not their concept of what should happen. As a courtesy to the paint reps, decide on the brand of paint you want to use first and then get their rep involved. A reliable painter (such as PrimeCo) can assist you in selecting a manufacturer.
For your convenience (in alphabetical order):
Dunn Edwards
San Diego Julie Meyers – (619) 884-3866
jmyers@dunn-edwards.net
Orange County Keisha Sanker (562) 760-9969
Keisha.sanker@dunnedwards.com
Orange County Mimi Kim (714) 357-4954
mimi.kim@dunnedwards.com
Frazee
San Diego Debi Palumbo (858) 229-5685
dpalumbo@frazee.com
San Diego Becky Millat (619) 723-9184
bmillat@frazee.com
Orange County Kristi West (949) 278-1041
kwest@frazee.com
Orange County Lori Marsh (714) 348-2166
lmarsh@frazee.com
ICI
San Diego Char Garrow (619) 954-8958
cmgarrow@aol.com
Orange County Kimberly Emmett (714) 448-3535
ocpaintgoddess@aol.com
Orange County Paint
Orange County Rich Sielaff
ocpaints@aol.com
Vista Paint
San Diego Patty Mathias (619) 277-6778
flowerpatty55@yahoo.com
Orange County Leslie Giordano (949) 973-4617
lgiordano@vistapaint.com
Orange County Tim Hoss (951) 454-2500
paintedhoss@hotmail.com
Inland Empire Blair Loubet (951) 454-1859
Vista_Paint@msn.com