Painting for builders across Melbourne
The supervisor sets the order of trades and we work to it. New builds, apartments, renovations and fitouts, priced within a day or two of walking the site and held to the date we agreed. Fifteen years of it, fully insured.
A link in the chain, not the reason for a delay
Painting sits near the end of a build, which is exactly where a slipped week costs the most. The supervisor decides the order of trades on site, and our job is to fit that order rather than argue with it.
- You tell us the day, we start on itThe supervisor works out the sequence for every trade on site. If painting starts Tuesday, we are there Tuesday.
- We ask for a clear run on painting daysPaint takes anywhere from two or three hours to eight to dry, depending on the type. Nobody brushing past a wet wall is the one thing we need from the site.
- We know who is behind usThe tiler or the carpet layer usually follows straight after. If we run late, everyone after us runs late, so our slot is treated as a commitment to the whole site team, not just to the client.
- The date is held, not hoped forWhen a job has a fixed handover, that date goes into the plan from day one and the crew is sized around it.
Priced in a day or two, then it stays put
We do not call a number out on site. There is too much to count, and a figure guessed in the driveway is the figure that gets revised later.
- Site visit firstWe walk the job, work out materials, protection and how many painters it needs, then send the price back within a day or two.
- Fixed from thereThe quoted figure is the figure. It is not revisited part way through, and there is no rate that quietly changes once the work has started.
- Variations are raised, not discoveredIf something genuinely unforeseen turns up behind a wall, it gets discussed the day it appears. It is never something you find out about at invoicing.
- You get an answer when you ringIf the call is missed it means we are on a site meeting, and it gets returned as soon as we are free. This business runs on referrals, so leaving a builder waiting is not something we can afford.
How the date gets hit
Speed comes from the number of painters on site, not from cutting the preparation. That is the whole method.
- Small jobs to about five daysA house of a few bedrooms, start to clean finish.
- Larger jobs to about tenBigger homes and multi unit work, again depending on how many painters are on it.
- The crew is sized to your datePart of quoting is working out how many people it takes to finish inside the window you have. When a lease meant a place had to be done in seven days, that is the number the crew was built around.
- Volume is not a problemOne commercial job was booked for two months. Two of us finished it in a little over one, across a large number of rooms, and the builder had the site back early.
New plaster, repaints and everything metal or timber
Different surfaces get different systems. This is what actually goes on, coat by coat, so there is no guessing what was used after we have left.
- New plaster: three coatsA sealer coat and two finish coats. On new builds the first coat is sprayed and then back rolled, because a sprayed finish on its own does not hold up. The roller works the paint into the plaster and evens out the texture.
- Repaints: two coats over full preparationEverything covered, sanded, cracks and chips filled, then painted. The preparation is not the part that gets shortened when a date is tight.
- Metal: primer plus two topcoatsThe system used on garage doors and on painted steel columns.
- Exterior timberWashed with a decking cleaner under high pressure, left to dry, machine sanded, then deck paint on floors and decks, or stain and clear on frames, windows and new hardwood joinery.
- ConcreteHigh pressure wash with acid first, then concrete paint. Garage floors, driveways and hardstand.
- Dulux throughoutManufacturer warranty behind the product, and a brand your clients recognise on the tin.
Access, paperwork and what the site looks like at knock off
The things a supervisor has to chase other trades about, and would rather not have to chase us about.
- Sign in and sign out, every dayStandard on commercial sites and treated as part of the discipline rather than as paperwork.
- Work permit card and safety cardBoth current and on hand.
- Scissor lift and boom lift licencesHeld for the jobs that need height. Without them there is no access, and rightly so.
- $20 million public liabilityInsured through AAMI. Certificate available for your records.
- Everything covered before anything is paintedFloors, fittings and whatever else is already installed. On a build where the flooring or the joinery is in ahead of us, that matters more, not less.
- Site left clean each eveningBrushes and tools washed, rubbish out, the area tidied. The next morning starts with painting rather than with clearing up.
- Seven year workmanship warrantyOn our work. Paint defects sit with the manufacturer, and building movement is not covered, which is worth saying plainly rather than discovering later.
New builds, apartments, renovations and commercial
Every photo below is a real Melbourne job. Follow any of them through to the full project in the galleries.
Recent jobs that came through builders and trades
New builds before handover. A whole house in Melton was painted before the owners moved in, sprayed and back rolled through every room. New plaster takes three coats there, and getting it done inside the handover window is the entire job.
Renovations and extensions. A full interior in Caulfield East went through with the rest of the site still running, and a place in Ferntree Gully went from white to a deep olive throughout. On a renovation the trick is working around what is already finished, which is why everything gets covered first.
Apartments and unit stock. A unit in Preston was taken back to a clean finish room by room. Multi unit work rewards a crew that keeps to a rhythm, because the same sequence repeats down the block.
Commercial subcontract. A school colonnade in Essendon and a two storey office building in Footscray, the second one off a boom lift over two days of exterior work. Sites like these are where the sign in book, the safety card and the equipment licences stop being paperwork and start being the reason you get through the gate.
What builders ask before the first job
- How many coats do you put on new plaster?Three: a sealer and two finish coats. A repaint takes two.
- How do you handle a tight date?More painters, not faster painting. Small jobs run to about five days and larger ones to about ten, and crew size is what moves that.
- How long before the next trade can go in?Two or three hours up to eight, depending on the paint. We just need the painting days themselves kept clear.
- Are you insured?Public liability through AAMI, covered to $20 million. Happy to send the certificate.
- What do you hold for access equipment?Work permit card and safety card, plus scissor lift and boom lift licences when the job needs height.
- How long does a quote take?A day or two after walking the site, and it is fixed from that point.
- Who will be on site?Mark, plus the crew sized to the job. You deal with the same person from the quote to the handover.
Got a build that needs a painter who holds the date?
Send through the scope and the handover date. We will walk the site and come back with one fixed price.
Get a quoteRequest a quote for your site
Send through the scope and the date you need it finished. We will walk the site and come back within a day or two with one fixed price.
Thank you, your request is on its way
Mark will get back to you within one business day, usually a lot sooner.
Got photos of the space? Send them through on WhatsApp and we can put a price together faster.