Planning a Successful Commercial Property Refurbishment – 5 tips to consider
4th June 2020
Is your Commercial Property in need of a Refresh?
As we all face diverse challenges with getting back to work after lockdown, we believe this is a great time to start thinking about freshening up Commercial Properties. With many commercial properties still closed or maintaining a low staff level, there is great opportunity to get all necessary work completed quickly, reducing extensive disturbances. It may also be more financially viable as contractors may be able to schedule the work during typical work hours, reducing the need for late-night hour premiums.
In this blog, we offer some advice for people thinking about upgrading the exterior of commercial properties.
Painting your commercial building is an investment that should be approached strategically in order to avoid complications with the public and staff. It’s also hugely important that you ensure that the work is completed in a way that delivers on the look you want to achieve.
A high-quality paint job makes great impressions on your staff and indeed your customers. This encourages better staff morale and indeed helps encourage repeat visits from customers. Therefore, updating the look of your property with a fresh paint job is important for the continued performance of the business.
In addition to a good painting project, additional services (such as external cleaning or landscaping) can give your property the required makeover to keep your customers impressed.
Let us consider the external maintenance of a commercial property. If you are looking to undertake a commercial exterior painting project, follow these five tips to ensure a higher return on investment.
1. Plan out the scope and timing of the investment on the Project
Take the time to consider the scope and extent of your painting project. How many areas or indeed buildings will need to be painted? What is the expected duration of the workload? It is often more cost-effective to get large work done at once rather than breaking it up into several smaller jobs.
What is the most appropriate time of year to undertake extensive outdoor maintenance? Irish weather can play a significant role when planning extensive work. Many contractors offer special discounts for painting when it’s colder out. Is this a wise choice and will it affect the quality of the work?
Special care has to be taken to allow most paints to adhere to external surfaces when it is colder. Consider your business cycle and select the periods when the painting procedure will cause minimum inconvenience to your commercial activities. Is this post-lockdown period a good time to get work complete.
2. Choose the Right Colours and Design Aesthetics
Choosing the right colour for your exterior commercial building is often an overlooked aspect. The right colours will make your buildings more attractive and appealing to customers. Most professional contractors have vast experience in recommending suitable colours related to the style of the building. It may also be appropriate to consult with Interior Designer specialists who can operate a colour consultation service.
The right colour shades will ensure that your building is on-trend and evidence suggests that colour psychology can contribute to client and staff behaviour. In fact, the colour choice could be the difference between what is considered a dull-looking property and a striking masterpiece.
3. Adhere to safety standards and industry best practice
The safety and health concerns of your clients and tenants should be a top priority for everyone considering refurbishment projects. Make sure you select the right materials that cause minimal health risks to people present in the space. Give preference to odourless paints to avoid problems for customers while you are open, during and/or immediately after the project occurs.
There should also be Risk Assessment carried out to ensure that there are no Health and Safety issues that require specific actions. Large commercial properties require specific knowledge of large properties that may contrast to Choose a painting contractor that has a good history of safety procedures and applies industry best practices on all projects. It is hugely important that the contractor you choose has all relevant training and insurances in place before undertaking renovation work on the property.
4. Consider additional services to complement the look of your Premises
Your commercial exterior painting project should involve more than just painting outside walls. Successful refurb projects tend to depend on a variety of services that contribute to the overall appearance of the property. These typically include external power washing and landscaping services where appropriate. There may also be specific renovation work that requires the work of qualified tradesmen such as carpenters, engineers or glazing specialists.
Regular pressure washing extends the life of your paint by removing dirt and mildew that stain surfaces. Extensive Prep-work and restoration of materials where appropriate ensure that the quality of the painting is maintained over many years. Although extensive prep-work ads to the overall expense of the project, the return on investment are more appropriate.
5. Choose the contractor that is right for the job
Due to the unique challenges that are involved with painting a commercial building, take the time to select the right contractor for your paint job. An experienced contractor can provide suggestions for the proper implementation of the project and provide extensive references. There are many commercial property jobs that may be too complex for inexperienced painting contractors.
Make sure the contractors are registered and insured. This will help you be confident in the quality of finish. This will also mean that your investment is more likely to yield the results you plan for. A good contractor will also be able to understand the complexities of your project and provide insights of all the costs expected on the project. This ensures that you can plan to have the financial resources to complete the project on time and within budget.
Are Porter Decorators the right fit for your Property?
Porter Decorators have a long history of working with commercial property managers. We have a large portfolio of completed work that we can showcase and offer references on. Applying the best industry practices is simply what we do on every project. With professional certified training and all relevant insurances, we take each job very seriously. Our team often travel to complete a wide range of extensive work.
We also have a wide network of complementary trade professionals that can work on large project requirements. We hope you found this blog post informative and we encourage you to get in touch with our team to see how we can help you with your latest commercial property refurbishment project.
Call Eamonn on 087 275 8611.
Email: eamonn@porterdecorators.ie
