03 — Commercial Painting
Commercial Painting
Base build, fit-out, repaint and scheduled maintenance. The difficulty is almost never the painting — it is sequencing, access, and knowing what is already on the wall.
matched to the substrate and the programme
as standard where the space is occupied
The painting is the last trade in and the first one blamed. Most of what determines whether a commercial repaint holds up happens before a brush is opened: what is already on the wall, whether it is sound, and whether the programme allows the coats to cure rather than just be applied.
On an occupied floor the constraint is rarely the area. It is access — which rooms can be closed when, how long the smell is acceptable for, and whether the tenant can lose a lift lobby on a Tuesday. We stage that with the building manager before pricing it, because a scope that ignores it is a scope that gets re-quoted on site.
On a base build the constraint is the trade in front of us. We price the sequence we are actually given, and we would rather flag a clash at tender than absorb it as a variation.
Specification
| Scope | Fit-out · base build · repaint · make-good · scheduled maintenance |
| Application | Airless spray · HVLP · roller · brush |
| Substrates | Set plasterboard, render, blockwork, concrete, timber, joinery, previously painted surfaces |
| Sectors | Workplace, retail, hospitality, health, education, industrial, owners corporation |
| Access | After-hours and weekend works, staged occupied floors, scaffold and EWP |
| Colour | Matched to any NCS, RAL, Dulux or Pantone reference |
| Accreditation | Dulux Accredited contractor |
| Warranty | 10-year workmanship |
Preparation standard and film build are specified per substrate and stated in the scope of works, not assumed.
Questions
Can you work outside business hours?
Yes, and on an occupied floor we would usually recommend it. Night and weekend works are priced into the scope rather than added later — tell us the hours the space is available and we will stage around them.
How long does a repaint take?
A single tenancy is usually days rather than weeks; a multi-level or common-property repaint runs to weeks and is staged. The honest answer depends on access and on how much preparation the existing surfaces need, which is what the site visit is for.
What if the existing paint is failing?
Then the repaint is a remedial job with a coat of paint on the end of it, and pricing it as a repaint is how a job goes wrong. We identify it at the site visit and scope the preparation separately so you can see what you are paying for.
Do you handle lead paint?
Yes — see Remedial & Restoration. On a building of a certain age we test rather than assume, and abatement is managed to EPA Victoria requirements.