4 Reasons to Repaint Your Office Space

4 Reasons to Repaint Your Office Space

As team members return to the office from working from home for more than a year, it’s the perfect time to give your office space a facelift. For many of us, the office is where we spend the majority of our day and is often considered a second home. 

Why not make your employees’ second home comfortable, fresh, and welcoming?

 

Check out our reasons to schedule an interior repaint this fall:

 

  1. Increased Productivity. Did you know the colors you choose can directly increase or decrease productivity in the workplace? Depending on what your industry is, the color palette you choose for your interiors can differ. Read this short article and fantastic infographic illustrating colors and moods. 
  2. Boosted Morale. A freshly painted office space may be the right medicine for a boost in employee morale. Have you ever spent an afternoon reorganizing your bedroom or living room space? When you’re all done you love the new look and feel, making you enjoy the space even more. The same principle applies to an office repaint. It gives everyone something to look forward to when coming to the office and a renewed sense of pride in their space.
  3. Customer Perception. Give your customers a priceless first impression as they enter through your front doors. Whether you want to welcome them with warm tones, or utilize colors to navigate your office space, the decision is up to you. Here is a great article further explaining how colors can impact the perception of customers.
  4. Protection and Preventative Maintenance. Why wait for your walls to show age and deterioration. Paint protects the surface of the walls where the substrate may be absorbing moisture and improves air quality by decreasing the dust and allergens on the walls. When you have B. Taylor Painting repair wall damages and repaint all interiors, you will save money in the long run. If you wait decades to repaint, you will have more repairs or potential issues, creating a larger bill. This is why we suggest repainting interiors every 5-10 years and being proactive with any minor damages.
If it is time to give your office a new look as your team rolls into Q4, give us a call and we would love to get your project
on the schedule

How do you mitigate dry rot?

How do you mitigate dry rot on your HOA/CID property?

Weird, musty smells on your property can be an indication of dry rot.

When it comes to mitigating dry rot, many property managers try to find the cheapest fix possible, especially when budgets have been approved for the year. However, one of the most important aspects of dry rot mitigation is staying on top of the problem because a little money spent in the present will save a lot of money in the future.
 
There are two types of rot: wet rot and dry rot. Both are a fungus caused by excess moisture and treated in similar ways.
 
Dry rot is the most severe fungal decay in the timber on your property because it destroys the timber’s strength. Most properties will have it at some point; it’s just a matter of time when the beams and wood structures will need to be replaced.
 
Building maintenance is key to mitigating dry rot. Annual site inspections of properties and maintaining maintenance schedules on building components and substrates will extend the life of the building envelope to minimize unforeseen costs.
 
Sometimes you can mitigate the dry or wet rot problem with a fungicide if caught in its early stages. If the area has large amounts of damage or has become unsafe, it is best to replace the decaying wood for your residents’ safety and the long-term maintenance of your property. Sometimes we can replace a portion of the rotten beam (or other pieces of timber) and save the client money instead of replacing the entire component.
 
How to mitigate dry and wet rot on your property:
  1. Repaint your property every 5-10 years.
  2. Caulk/recaulk seams on your property every year or at least inspect areas that may need it.
  3. Contact our team to get a free, no-obligation site inspection.
 
If you are looking for a contractor with dry or wet rot experience, let’s set us a Zoom call discussion and get your project on the books for 2021!

Home for the Holidays

Home for the Holidays

Bring on the memories, sweet treats, and family time.

Christmas caroling, cookie decorating, tree hunting … these are among my favorite Christmas activities with my family.

I never knew just how special Christmas was until I changed my zip code and time zone from where I was raised. When the holidays rolled around, I yearned to be with family or close friends, doing holiday activities. Even though I have never spent a Christmas away from home, I know the excitement built around the opportunity to depart from one place and truly be home for the holidays.

Every year my family assembles a list of neighbors who are elderly, widowed, or new to the area. Once we create our map of neighbors, we tune up our voices, practice a few carols, and hit the road in hopes of brightening someone else’s holiday season. I won’t lie, we are not a perfect choir by any means, and thankfully most of the people we visit have had decades worth of birthdays and can’t hear us well anyway. Bad singing or not, we thoroughly enjoy getting together and watching our neighbors’ faces light up with pure joy when we visit.

Before Christmas, we usually set a date in the kitchen as a family. Gingerbread cookies, chocolate turtles, peppermint bark, and popcorn balls are a few of the staple desserts a few of us make together. However, we usually bake up more memories than actual desserts. Oftentimes it’s a messy project, but it’s one that 2, 3, or  4 generations get to bond over, giggle, and reminisce past memories. The girls usually bake the goodies, but we do make our brothers and dads press the popcorn balls together and they enjoy that part. That is all they are allowed to do because if we let them hang around too long, there are no goodies left for Christmas. 

Sweet holiday treats are best enjoyed on the road to hunt down the perfect Christmas tree, in my opinion. Tree hunting was a concept I had to warm my husband up to a few years ago. He is from the midwest where they all have beautiful, fake trees that can be put up for 4-6 weeks. Where I come from, if you don’t have a Charlie Brown Christmas tree in your house – you are doing it wrong and missing out. We spend up to a few hours “hunting” for the perfect tree, or trees, for my family all while throwing snowballs and telling stories. Sometimes the trees need a little trimming when we finally get them to the house because they are too tall, too fat, or the trunk won’t quite fit in the stand. After a little work here and there, the tree is decorated with traditional ornaments and the smell of fresh Pine fills the house.

The hustle and bustle of the holidays, the stress of 2020, work obligations, and preparation for 2021 can become overwhelming. It’s been a year. But, don’t let those things steal your joy next week. 

Whether you are home for the holidays this year, or away due to the unfriendly “Rona”, I hope you enjoy the reason for the season and take time to make a few memories with whoever you are with. 

Merry Christmas!

– Alyx, B. Taylor Painting Marketing Specialist

Tree hunting with the family in 2018.
Holiday fun on the family farm in 2017.
My sister and I snowmobiling at my grandparents house in Eastern Washington.

What is Dry Rot?

What is dry rot?

The termites are gone, but what about the holes we can't see?

Dry rot is a species of wood fungus (aka dead, rotting wood) that usually affects wood in the forests; however, it can be an issue with structural buildings composed of wood. Moisture and excess air, as well as airborne wood fungus cause the wood components to begin rotting. As the fungus eats the cell walls of the wood, it leaves the outer edges easily breakable and dry. 

The fungus can come in two variations. One form is where the decayed areas are brown in color and the wood easily crumbles. The other form is where the wood is a muted yellow color and almost feels like a sponge.
 
There are minor repairs and remedies for dry rot, but when it comes to your property and the safety of your residents, it is most common practice to monitor any areas impacted by dry rot and repair them when safety and structural integrity becomes an area of concern.
 
If we are able to inspect areas in question and monitor them annually, we can help our clients budget for the repairs and advise when the repairs need to happen. 
 
Even though you cannot fully prevent dry rot, you can take preventative maintenance actions to help reduce the damage and costly repairs down the road.
 

Five dry rot tips from our team:

  1. Get an annual inspection from ground level
  2. Check balconies and decks whenever you have access
  3. Caulk (correct material and application) any seams or joints in woodwork will help prevent water intrusion
  4. Seal the caulking with the correct paint 
  5. Your tenants will alert you and they may not even know it. Keywords to look for are “Weird smells”, “Musty”, “Squeaky”, “Shaky”.
 
Next week we will go in depth on how to mitigate dry rot and what that looks like.

Coatings, Caulkings, and Regular Maintenance​

Coatings, Caulkings, and Regular Maintenance

“Your buildings look good as new!”

This is a statement you want to hear from everyone who walks your property and it can be accomplished with annual maintenance procedures to ensure the newest look possible prior to needing a complete repaint. 
 

PAINTS AND COATINGS

  • Paint: “Protect and Beautify” Paint is film-forming and will temporarily seal the substrate that it’s applied to. It will aesthetically change the substrate to make it more vibrant, cleaner and appear newer. 
  • Coating: “Paint with Performance” These are paints with a specific purpose. The purpose depends on the system used and includes: elasticity, water proofing, water shedding, rust and corrosion containment, high adhesion, durability and color retention through a catalytic reaction. 
Protecting your property begins with a good paint or coating film. Cementitious and wood substrates are highly porous and will absorb water like a sponge, unless properly sealed with a paint or coating. Ferrous metals will naturally react with the environment, flash rust and scale unless properly sealed. If there is a lack of attention, it could lead to dry rot, wood rot, and structural issues that will be exponentially more costly than regularly coating your property.
 

CAULKINGS

Caulking and re-caulking the seams and joints on your property is a critical preventative maintenance step. Caulking is a sealant and provides elasticity for your structures to aid in the contraction of heat and cool temperatures. It will inhibit water intrusion at susceptible areas, preventing the formation of dry or wood rot. 
 
We recommend caulking or re-caulking every 3-5 years, or whenever you paint your buildings. 
 

REGULAR MAINTENANCE

Regular maintenance includes assessing the surfaces to find any damages or weathering of materials. We recommend power washing to get the dirt and grime away from the surfaces and give your property the instant “new” look. Power washing at least once a year is best, twice is great. 
 
Small, damaged areas can simply be touched up, others may need to be replaced or completely repainted. If you keep up on your regular maintenance, you will save money in the long-run.
 
In an effort to minimize costs, it’s a best practice to assess every area of the building and property where there is paint or surface coatings. Your assessments should be done on schedule every year, and we suggest having a professional look at them, as they will know what to inspect and can make an appropriate timeline for repairs.
 
With this being said, we do suggest to set an emphasis on the exterior, as that is what is seen the most by visitors and receives the most weathering.

Communication as a Community Manager

Effective communication within your HOA community is critical.

How do you relay important messages to your HOA members and board members throughout the year?

Although our team does not manage HOA communities, we work with Community managers every day and have made it our mission to SERVE them through our commercial painting and reconstruction services. As with any company, internal and external communication is critical. It is only effective if the news is timely and valuable to the reader as well.

Here are four tips we have for you to integrate into your community management communication strategy.

1. EMAIL CAMPAIGNS: Utilize an email campaign platform of your liking and one that fits your budget. Our team loves to use Constant Contact, however you may prefer Mail Chimp or have one offered to you through your website. Email campaigns are a quick and simple way to get branded information out to an entire contact list in a matter of minutes. You can send a large blast or pick a smaller group of people to target. You may also find their templates easy to use and their analytics handy for quarterly data reports. Most email campaign systems provide analytics to the administrator which include open rates, bounces, button clicks, and more. We use these campaigns to send updates on projects to our clients and as an aid for internal communication as well. This is where we store our master contact list and keep all clients’ information up-to-date.

2. GOOGLE: Do you request Google Reviews? We strongly suggest making sure your Google page is set up with current information, hours, and photos. Once you have control of the backend of your Google page, you can respond to reviews too! Responding to reviews shows your homeowners, contractors, and board members you care and acknowledge their concerns or positive feedback. Google is an excellent tool to help track your website data, phone calls, and more.

3. CANVA: Have you ever needed to share important information and do not have time to send it to a graphic designer? For those needing to promptly get information out to HOA members or post flyers around the community for local events, use Canva! This is an online resource that is FREE to use for basic designs. You will find templates, colors, sizes for all formats of content, and more. Within minutes you can have a newsletter, flyer, or social media post created with branded content and a clear message. You can also create presentations with it for board meetings, open houses, and more. From Canva, you can download, print, or post the design straight to your social media page.

4. RESPOND: How quick are you at responding to messages, especially the ones that come through on social media? We understand you are busy and time is everything. Responding to emails, texts, and others can be the bane of your existence some days – we get it. However, we encourage you to utilize Facebook’s automatic response on Messenger and leave your guests a friendly message, directing them to your website or phone number. This may help alleviate some of your messaging issues and make your residents feel valued in a timely manner, without putting pressure on you to respond on all platforms.

This current season of COVID has proven how challenging and important communication truly is. For our team, we have used all avenues to stay in touch with clients, subcontractors, team members, and industry friends.

We would love to know what tips you have for effective communication in your community. Let us know if you already use these resources and share what works and does not work for you.

A Sprinkle of Misunderstandings

When was the last time you let a sprinkle of rain get in the way of a big project? 

A common scenario regarding project proposals is similar to the following:

B. Taylor Account Manager: “Good morning, I am following up to see how the board meeting went the other day. Did the project get awarded? Were there any questions regarding the proposal? When can we start?”

Client: “Hey, Thanks for calling and following up. No, unfortunately, the painting project didn’t get signed or awarded because the board felt that the rainy season was upon us, and they decided to wait until next year!”

After a phone call as such, we hang up and ask ourselves why the board waited until quarter 1 of the new year to sign a paint project? When they could have signed it in quarter 4, it leaves us a bit perplexed. 

Our confusion stems from the simple fact that it takes (sometimes) months’ worth of time for us to prepare the project. Plus, we are able to paint in the wet months, especially interior projects. We work around the weather to complete exterior paintings as well. 

A timely signed contract allows us to get it scheduled, prepare pre-production paperwork and our workforce. Projects added to the calendar of future work are the ones with signed contracts.

As a team, we keep everyone posted on future jobs. The labor force enjoys knowing what projects they are slated for next, just as much as leadership loves planning each project. We believe it is best to be fair to our team members in the field by offering them a peace of mind in regards to their workload and stability of their job, as they have families to support. 

During the wet months, if our clients procrastinate in the process of getting contracts signed, there is no guarantee there will be a workforce immediately ready to beautify their neighborhood. This is a key reason contacts need to be signed months in advance. 

Our leadership team is best equipped and prepared to exceed client expectations when we can schedule projects and plan each one appropriately with ample time. At the very least, when a project gets signed a couple of quarters ahead of time, you are allowing the contractor to order some material, mockup the property, and get the right paint and paint colors on the wall. 

Business partners, do everyone a favor and make plans now to sign contracts in quarters 3 and 4 this year for all your contractors in 2021. 

 

The Palette Bandwagon

Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Do you hop on the color trend bandwagon or do you stay traditional to your association colors?
Sherwin-Williams’ Color of the Year is Naval. This beautiful shade of blue might be the perfect option for a fresh exterior color on your property. It provides a sense of peace and quiet confidence like none other. If you are wanting a resource to help plan the colors for your Multi-Family property, CLICK HERE.
Kelly-Moore’s Color of the Year is KM5183 Sun God. This color gives off a sense of personal passion and confidence. CLICK HERE to check out the colors it pairs well with and how you may want to use this bold color on your property.
Something to consider: every color gives off a different impression and feeling. When choosing your next color be sure to consider what feeling you want your visitors, homeowners, and employees to have when they are on your property.
  • BLUE – Peace, quiet, and serenity. Blue can sometimes be viewed as a depressing color, however if you mix up the shades, you will find it can signify loyalty, authority, or strength.
  • YELLOW – Happiness, energy, and playfulness. Yellow can be a scary color to use for some people, yet if it is used correctly and in the right shade it can give a bold, delightful statement.
  • RED – Passion, excitement, aggressive, and important. This is a color you may use with caution or play with the shades of red to find the perfect fit.
  • GREEN – Life, prosperity, nature, and vitality. Green is always a wonderful option for an accent color.
  • BROWN – Natural, rustic, and honest. Often paired with green, brown can be a great match for a rustic setting or just as a neutral color for your property.
We are fortunate to work with both Sherwin-Williams and Kelly-Moore as trusted industry partners. If you have color selection questions or what to discuss a future painting project, our team is happy to help. We are already starting to book fall and winter projects, however we still have room for late summer. If we can assist you, please let us know.
The B. Taylor Painting Team

2020 Summer Painting Season

Too hot to paint? No way. 

Painting in the heat is different than during the cool, wet seasons, however, our service never changes. Our team has the expertise to ensure each project is done with high-quality workmanship and the correct products are used each time. 

 

Success in the warm months:

Just like an art project, paint typically dries faster in warmer temperatures, than it does in the cool winter months. Painting apartment complexes and commercial buildings is not much different.

As in any other time of the year, success begins with the prep. This includes the need to provide adequate downtime (or drying time) after pressure washing the substrate. During the summer the water will evaporate faster and more forcefully; therefore, if a coating is applied too soon it will bubble as the vapors try to escape but are trapped by the film once dried. This is especially true on wood (or engineered materials) as it absorbs water deeper than any other substrate, but in general, it’s a rule that must be followed regardless of the substrate.

For metal, workability lies on the surface temperature. It must be painted early in the morning before it heats up. If that is not possible, the coating must be applied very thin so it will not crack as it dries from the inside out or surface to ambient air. 

Since the paint dries so quickly in the heat it cannot be worked or handled much, if it’s overworked it will show spray and roller patterns. The key is having skilled tradesmen, a foreman that knows not only how to spray the material, but what equipment is needed and how to properly use it. The right tip and pressure on the spray rig go a long way when spraying paint during the hot summer months. A skilled, experienced foreman will know what he’s working with and will adjust his spray pattern accordingly to vanish spray lines and leave a uniform finish without having to do the same task multiple times. Skilled and experienced painters/journeymen know how much they can work the material and how long they have until the roller and brush begin to leave stipples and brush marks. 

 

Types of paint to be used in the heat:

The question is not whether or not it’s the correct paint. Rather, it is whether or not the application method is proper for the coating and substrate. 

Most coatings are engineered to be used in the heat. However, not all are applied or worked the same way. High solid coatings are more likely to show patterns if overworked or if they are applied with the incorrect equipment and unskilled workmanship. Two-component coatings have a shorter pot life in the heat and stains are susceptible to “shinners”. Once again, the key is to have professional, experienced tradesmen handling the materials.

 

Safety first in the heat:

On top of proper coatings, applications, and quality workmanship – we hold safety to be our #1 priority all the time, with an increased focus during the hot months. We make sure there is ample water supply for our team members on the job sites and breaks are taken in the shade. If it is an option to paint earlier in the day before the peak temperatures, we change the time of day we paint. Lastly, leadership members train foremen to recognize the signs of heatstroke and there is always a plan for emergencies set in place prior to starting each project. 

B. Taylor Painting would love to be your trusted contractor for all painting projects. If we can help you, contact us today at www.btaylorpainting.com.

Vapor Abrasive Blasting

Written By Ashley Kenny

Gilroy, California, is known as the garlic capital of the world. With enough production to warrant a July festival in honor of the “the stinking rose,” there’s plenty of processing facilities to keep contractors busy.

In November 2018, B. Taylor Painting was working at a Gilroy processing plant and seeking alternative methods of surface preparation. Mechanical removal would do more than protect employees from going home smelling like a greek food truck – it would change the game for the service of B. Taylor Painting.

“This project actually entailed doing light gauge steel, sheet metal covers on equipment and where the belting and belt system move, there’s a lot of intricate pieces,” said Brian Taylor, President of B. Taylor Painting. “One of the benefits of a media blaster would be that it allows the metal to stay cool enough to where you don’t have it warp.”

Taylor connected with Don Gonneville of Gonneville Inc., a West Coast Graco EcoQuip blaster distributor. With more than 20 years of experience in the business, Gonneville showed up to the jobsite ready to demo the EcoQuip P model.

“We blasted in a real time environment and they actually bought it on spot and they’ve used it ever since,” Gonneville said. “Brian told me that on the first job they did, it paid for itself.”

This is no everyday sand blaster nor an average water blaster – it’s actually the lovechild of the two.

“Our unit has a blast pot into which you put water and abrasives together,” Gonneville explained. “Our system is pressurized with water. In other words, as the user blasts with the system, the water and abrasive that is ejected from the pot process is replaced by water being pumped back into the pot to maintain pressure in that pot.”

As for specifications, the EcoQuip’s blast pot is two cubic feet and can run on a 185 cfm compressor. But you can also attach a 400 cfm compressor to achieve even more production, Gonneville said.

From an engineering perspective, this blaster gets big points. Traditional blasting pots are compressed with air as they expel abrasives out. An empty pot means nothing but air.

“It has an uneven blast because as the air compresses and expands, compresses and expands, it changes the velocity of the abrasives being ejected from the system,” Gonneville said. “Water, on the other hand, since it cannot be compressed, will have a consistent pressure throughout, where the blast is very steady. So we use less abrasive and it provides a more consistent blast.”

The most significant improvement made by Graco since purchasing the EcoQuip line eight years ago is the design of the pot’s overhead dome, Gonneville said.

“The old design, rather than being convex, was concave on top and it trapped air around the rim on the inside,” he said. “When you went to pressurize the pot, you had to wait until the air was expelled before the pot would start pressurizing, which wasted some time. With the system we now have, since there’s no air trapped in that pot, as soon as we start introducing more water into the pot to pressurize, it pressurizes almost immediately.”

Time is money 

Quick pot pressurization isn’t the only thing that will get your budgets excited.

“The No. 1 cost is labor,” Taylor said. “Anytime we can introduce a mechanical form of removal, it’s going to bring that cost down. In our experience using this, for a year and a half now, we’ve found that this media blaster brings that labor down the most.”

Just how much does it save time on surface preparation? Pedro Cazares, B. Taylor Painting general manager, talked about a project in Marina, California, where his team was doing surface prep for ten housing units, two stories each. The metal railings sit close to the ocean, meaning the salt water in the air oxidizes the metal and in less than six years they needed a makeover. On that project alone, the use of the EcoQuip blaster saved more than 300 hours of labor, Cazares said.

Taylor said that kind of cost-cutting may not happen on your first job, but it’s worth it.

“The first time you go out and use this stuff, you’re not going to go cut your labor bill in half, because you’re still learning how the equipment works,” Taylor said. “But over time, you train your employees on how to use it and people get familiar with what it’s capable of, what situations it’s effective and what situations it’s just not. If we can get the equipment in there, this new blasting system is by far the quickest, most-efficient way to do it as far as labor is involved.”

Safety second to none

Proper training is less for the sake of your pocketbook and more for the safety of the operator. Contractors in every trade constantly seek ways to protect their people and maintain or exceed OSHA standards – and dry blasting rivals twelve-packs-a-day when it comes to lung health.

“It creates an awful lot of dust,” Gonneville said. “That’s one of the reasons why vapor abrasive blasting is gaining a lot of popularity. Because it reduces the amount of dust airborne particulates by almost 95 percent.”

An impressive number, but that doesn’t mean you go commando. In case you haven’t made dry blasting your favorite summer time activity recently, here’s your reminder that California heat and full body PPE aren’t exactly the best match.

“When it’s hot, the operators like our system a lot more because they don’t have to wear as much protective gear,” Gonneville said. “They do have to maintain breathing protection, eye and ear protection. That’s pretty simple.”

This system keeps your general managers smiling, operators safe and accountants as happy as they get. The EcoQuip’s ability to please doesn’t stop there.

Anyone in charge of paperwork shuffling will be happy to hear this also saves on your printer ink, at least in California, Gonneville said.

“In California, if your ratio of water to abrasive is at a certain level, the blast pot does not have to be permitted by the air quality management district or the air and resources board in Sacramento,” he explained. “A dry blast pot over a certain size has to be permitted and the user of that pot has to keep track of how much abrasive is being used. Our system does not have to be permitted. That’s one big advantage of the mix between water and abrasive.”

Cleanliness is next to godliness

Gonneville, Cazares and Taylor all agree – the EcoQuip blasts the competition when it comes to executing a clean job.

Cazares explained how B. Taylor’s team uses two layers of plastic around the blast areas to catch all of the broken glass used as an abrasive. This media is the most economic choice for B. Taylor Painting and 100 percent reusable, he said.

The president of the painting company agrees, going into more detail.

“We can actually funnel all that debris to an area where we can filter the water back out and contain all those particulates,” Taylor said. “Then sweep it up later or actually drain it into a bucket if you’ve created the proper funnel system, you can drain all of it.”

Environmental Benefits

This cleanliness translates into environmental stewardship as well, Gonneville said.

“It makes it a lot easier to measure how much abrasive you’re actually using in the process,” he added. “This means that our system uses a lot less abrasive because it can be metered or adjusted a lot easier than an air-compressed system.”

Gonneville said B. Taylor Painting is a “professional in surface preparation” – in part because they use the best equipment available in a way that is environmentally sound and friendly.

“Obviously, it often comes down to money,” Gonneville said. “But customers also need to consider how clean the job is going to be, how well it is going to be done. Of course, the result is very much a function of the equipment that’s being used.”

Workmanship

As general manager, Cazares’ chief concern is that of service quality. In the case of surface preparation, this means achieving a perfect profile.

“Grinding it or machining it by hand will leave a really smooth profile and will leave the metal really polished,” Cazares said. “When you apply coating to a really polished hard substrate, it does not stick. What we’re trying to achieve is dimpling in the metal that allows the primer and the coatings to adhere properly. In this case, with the team and system that we’re using, we’re aiming for at least a 2 mil. profile.”

The crew at B. Taylor Painting uses broken glass on metal, but there’s many options to send through the EcoQuip, Gonneville said.

“We use garnet on steel because it cuts very well,” he explained. “It’s denser, harder and it removes the coating quickly.”

Workmanship doesn’t pivot around the abrasive. It comes down to the user and the equipment. In the case of the EcoQuip, the machine is customizable depending on the project’s needs.

“We can blast anywhere from 40 PSI to 130 to 135 PSI,” Gonneville said. “Depending on the job we’re doing, for example, if someone is blasting wood, which is a lot more delicate, obviously than steel, they want to blast at a lower pressure so they don’t damage the wood. With steel on the other hand, you want to blast at a higher pressure because not only will they do the job faster, but also, it creates that profile.”

Doing the job

Whether it’s sandpaper or the latest model of a vapor abrasive blaster, tradesmen have always optimized their resources to get the job done. However, what sets a tradesman apart – a company apart – is how they use the tools they pick up.

“The biggest thing is that it allows us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and allows us to give peace of mind to our clients using this machine on the metal,” Cazares said. “The prep that we’re doing on the metal is going to hold up longer.”

Taylor chooses to work with people like Gonneville and companies like Graco because of the service they provide – which is why his clients, in turn, choose to work with B. Taylor Painting.

“We’re tradesmen, brought up in the trades,” he said. “Our company was founded on the principles of doing the job, you know, painting and providing service in the painting industry. But when we talk about getting a job done as efficiently as possible, it comes through experience and it comes through the fact that we’re rooted in the trades.”