By Bob Cusumano
This a story about Jerry, the president of Sunshine Painting in Atlanta, Georgia. Jerry is a happy man because he just landed a big contract. His company will perform the painting and decorating work on the conversion of an old hotel into a new condominium. Some of the existing items will remain in place, but there will be extensive renovation including many new partitions, doors, windows and trim.
Unfortunately for Jerry, the painting and decorating specifications are pretty “sketchy”. He doesn’t spend much time reviewing the fine print in the contract concentrating instead on the contract amount of $200,000. The contract did stipulate that Sunshine Painting would perform all necessary painting and decorating work as directed. Before the job begins, Jerry receives a color schedule calling for accent colors, multicolor finishes, and split doors frames in some public spaces.
Sunshine Painting is told that the drywall is ready and starts priming in many areas. Before the priming is completed, the drywall contractor has performed extensive patching. Sunshine is directed to re-prime these surfaces. The hollow metal doors and frames are factory primed. However, they’ve been stored outside and some rust spots have formed on the surface of the doors and frames. Sunshine has to re-prime these items before finish painting can be performed.
Sunshine applies block filler and two coats of latex semi-gloss to the walls of mechanical rooms, storage rooms, and stair towers. The owner complains that there are some unfilled voids and Sunshine is directed to fill these voids and repaint the affected areas.
The brief project specifications stated that existing stained and varnished wood was to be refinished. When Jerry bid the job, he assumed that this meant that these items would be sanded and a new coat of varnish would be applied. However, it was the architect’s intention that all existing finishes be stripped, the items stained a new color and re-varnished.
Some existing painted wood trim is also to remain. Because the wood has been painted several times in the past, there are profile differences where there are profile differences where paint has previously peeled and there are dings and dents visible. Jerry again assumes that he will sand to remove any loose paint and slightly feather and then repaint. The general contractor says that he expects all dings, dents, and profile differences to be filled and sanded so that the wood “looks like new”.
Jerry didn’t expect to have to perform any exterior caulking. However, the general contractor said that “painters always caulk” and said that it was the responsibility of Sunshine Painting for exterior joints other than window perimeters.
Not surprisingly, the hotel renovation is behind schedule resulting in several construction trades trying to work in the same area. This working out of sequence results in the necessity of overtime, reduced efficiency, and damage to finished work. In Sunshine Painting’s opinion the job is complete. However, the decorator says that the size of the spots in the multicolor finish are not acceptable. She expected them to be smaller so that the multicolor finish resembled granite.
A punch list is prepared and blue dots are placed at locations where Sunshine Painting is expected to fix dings and dents that have been done to finish painted surfaces.
When the job was bid, Jerry had to provide unit prices for various potential extra work including $1.00 per square foot for wood trim. 1000 linear feet of chair rail was installed. When Jerry submitted his invoice for extra work, the general contractor said that the quantity was only 250 square feet.
Sunshine’s contract amount was $200,000 and they anticipated a profit of $20,000. However, the extra cost of the various issues discussed above include:
Color schedule- $12,000
Re-priming drywall- $ 5,200
Priming doors and frames- $ 3,500
Filling blockfiller voids- $ 2,200
Stripping stained wood- $ 5,500
Fixing wood defects- $ 4,000
Exterior caulking- $ 8,200
Working out of sequence - $ 9,400
Overtime- $ 3,100
Re-apply multicolor- $ 4,050
Damage repair- $14,000
Loss on extra wood trim $ 750
Total “ Issues” $75,700
This would obviously eat up all of the profit and result in a large loss on the job. However, by employing PDCA standards, Sunshine Painting can recover these disputed amounts through properly documented extras. Let’s see which apply.
Color schedule- PDCA P3-04 establishes four interior color levels and four exterior color levels. Color Level I is one paint color shall be selected for all interior painted surfaces of the entire project. The standard goes on to say that when the number and placement of paint colors are not designated in the bid documents, the Painting and Decorating Contractor has the right to assume color level one and is entitled to additional compensation if other color levels are selected.
Re-priming drywall- PDCA Standard P4 states that The Painting and Decorating Contractor is not licensed, qualified, or obligated to render any final professional opinion regarding the “Quality of Appearance” of work performed by others. Instead, the Contracting Entity has the responsibility to determine that a surface is complete and ready for finish painting or wall coverings. The Painting and Decorating Contractor is required to inspect surfaces to be finished only to determine that the finish will satisfactorily adhere to surfaces provided by others and will perform as specified. When the previous trade has completed its work and/or notification to proceed has been given, such action will be construed as tacit evidence that all work has been inspected, and that it is ready for finishing. Once finishing has begun, the correction of defects is considered “Damage Repair” and the Painting and Decorating Contractor is entitled to additional compensation.
Priming doors and frames- PDCA Standard P15-07 defines criteria to determine if the shop primer on siding and other architectural features is defective. The standard says that shop primed items shall be stored at both the shop and the jobsite in a manner that prevents degradation and erosion of the primer. If it is necessary for the Painting and Decorating Contractor to perform any remedial work due to defective shop primer such as sanding, stripping, and re-priming, then the Painting and Decorating Contractor shall be compensated for this work.
Filling blockfiller voids- PDCA Standard 12-05 establishes 3 levels for the specification of block filler. If the project specifications do not specifically state the level of block filler to be attained, it will be assumed that a Level 2- Standard fill will be applied. The definition of Level 2 - Standard fill is “One coat applied with equipment specified by the coating manufacturer. Backrolling will be performed as necessary to attempt to fill deep irregularities. Masonry profile depth will be slightly reduced. Joints will be visible as tooled. Number of voids will be minimized, but voids may remain depending on the porosity of the block. A maximum of ten voids per square foot of surface area shall be deemed to be acceptable.”
Stripping stained wood- PDCA Standard P9-04 defines certain terms and phrases relating to the estimating of painting and finishes. The definition of refinish is “To change or restore the finish of (furniture, woodwork, etc.) This term does not imply the removal of existing finishes prior to the application of a new finish.”
Fixing wood defects- PDCA Standard 14-06 identifies and describes various levels of preparation for repainting or refinishing previously painted / finished surfaces. Specifications not specifically stating the level of finish to be attained will be assumed to imply a Level 2- Standard finish. Level 2 is described as follows: “Standard: This surface preparation level requires basic cleanliness of surface to ensure the adhesion of new finishes to the surfaces to which they are applied as well as the examination of existing coatings to assess their adhesion. With this level of surface preparation, good adhesion and longevity of finish is of primary concern and appearance is of secondary concern. Under this level of preparation the surface profile is not altered unless due to the removal of unsound previously applied paint, and that only obvious existing defects causing abrupt surface profile differences exceeding 1/8 inch or 125 mils will be corrected.”
Exterior caulking- PDCA Standard 11-05 addresses specific joints, cracks, junctions and voids in relation to the application of painter’s caulk. It states whether or not they are implied to be a part of the painting and decorating contractor’s work whether or not specified. In regards to this issue, the standard says that all caulk and sealant applications on exterior surfaces shall be excluded from the scope of work unless specifically directed or delineated in specification.
Working out of sequence and overtime - PDCA Standard P7-04 says that effective job sequencing is vital to the work of the Painting and Decorating Contractor. If changes in the work schedule requires acceleration or adverse conditions such as leap-frogging, stacking of trades result in damage to finishes, then the Painting and Decorating Contractor is entitled to compensation for additional cost.
Re-apply multicolor- PDCA Standard P5-04 establishes a method for sample preparation whereby approved samples determine the painting and decorating contractor’s compliance with the requirements of the contract.
Damage repair- PDCA Standard P1-04 establishes criteria for determining which party to an agreement to touch-up or perform repairs to a painted surface that has been damaged should bear the financial responsibility for such work. The standard states that damage caused by others and latent damage will be corrected by the Painting and Decorating Contractor after a change order is received from the Contracting Entity on either a lump sum or time and material basis.
Loss on extra wood trim- PDCA Standard P10-04 defines nine rules for estimating and bidding Painting and Decorating work. Rule 2 says that pipes, rods, structural steel, lumber, and other items to be finished whose circumference or perimeter is less than one foot is measured as one foot, otherwise the actual surface area is used.
It makes great business sense to make the PDCA standards a part of all of your proposals and contracts. No business person wants to be involved in jobsite disputes, and the PDCA standards can help resolve disputes in your favor.