How to Ensure You're on Budget with Government Building Painting
Renovating a governmental property can come with plenty of red tape -- regulations, historic building codes, and, of course, strict budgets based on tax revenue. When it’s time to repaint a government building, then those in charge can’t afford to neglect a single detail. Indeed, it’s barely an exaggeration to say that every drop of paint must be accounted for. With so many hurdles standing in the way, though, you might wonder how to approach such a project while keeping it within a reasonable price range. Careful planning, rigorous research, and practical compromises are all key to staying within budget and enjoying the best outcomes for your interior & exterior painting endeavors. Let’s go over the many ways to ensure that you’re on a budget with government building painting.
How to Paint a Government Building on a Budget
Determine Your Budget Well in Advance
Before anything else, you need to come up with a budget for your project. Going in blind will make it much more difficult to prioritize and track expenses. Moreover, lacking a semblance of what your project may cost can leave you vulnerable to dishonest paint contractors looking to take advantage of your situation. The person or people in charge of managing your agency’s accounts will have to figure out how much money can be allocated for property renovations (painting in particular). From there, in order to prepare yourself for future negotiations, take matters into your own hands by measuring the areas you plan on painting -- this will help you calculate the number of materials you’ll roughly need to complete the project. Use this information to come up with an approximation of the project’s material cost, then research average labor costs for commercial painting to land on a final estimation. If this number is well outside of your pre-determined budget, you may need to rethink your project as a whole or expand your budget, if possible. Otherwise, lock in your budget to maintain perspective as you move forward.
Prioritize Your Project
Staying within your budget (or better yet, under budget) isn’t just desirable -- it might be necessary depending on the strict influx of money received by your governmental agency and facility at certain intervals. As you ascertain the scope of your painting project, some compromises may need to be made based on your facility’s priorities. While your entire building might benefit from a fresh coat of paint, certain areas might need refreshing more than others, both for practical and aesthetic reasons. For instance, your facility might require commercial exterior painting more than interior painting due to years of environmental wear and tear. Create a thorough hierarchy of needs to ensure that all necessary renovations get made. As you itemize this list and break down their potential costs, you might find that some aspects of the project will thrust you over your budget threshold and, therefore, must be set aside for the time-being.
Look for Local Painters
In order to achieve the best results without busting your budget, you must seek ways to save money without cutting corners. This is sometimes easier said than done, but not impossible. Hiring a reputable and experienced local painting company as opposed to a larger entity can reduce the overall cost of your project in more ways than one. First off, local painters live nearby, so scheduling and logistics won’t be a major hassle. Not only that, local painters will be more familiar with the region and your building, giving them the home-field advantage. Convenience and familiarity aside, though, smaller painting companies tend to offer somewhat lower prices than their bigger counterparts to remain competitive. And, just as importantly, local painters are more accountable and often more communicative because their attention isn’t split in too many directions. Of course, no matter who you hire, you want to make sure they’re experienced enough to handle a government building contract and that they have the staff and resources to complete the project on time and within budget.
Gather Multiple Estimates
Comparison is key when trying to get the biggest bang for your buck. Once you’ve got your budget in place, determined precisely what needs to get done, and searched the field for candidates, it’s time to see what these potential hires have to offer. The more quotes you can get, the better (especially if they’re complimentary). Each estimate will reveal different things about each prospect and your project in general, such as how costs are determined for different tasks, which duties are least and most expensive, which paint products are used, how detailed an estimate is, and so on. You might be tempted to select the contractor with the lowest bid, but keep in mind that other factors must be taken into consideration before deciding, such as the type/quality of the materials, experience of the painters, duration of the project, etc. Ultimately, you’ll want to go with the provider that’s been in the business for a while, uses high-quality materials, has a solid track record, and whose estimate is transparent and falls within your budget.
Full-Service Providers Can Save You Time and Money
There’s another cost-saving factor to consider before deciding who to hire for your government building painting project: range of services. Professional painting providers that offer multiple services in addition to basic exterior and interior painting (i.e., surface preparation, pressure washing services, door refinishing, wallpaper removal, etc.) can eliminate the need to hire disparate contractors for your various needs. Creating and adhering to a tight budget is much easier when you’re only dealing with a single contractor, estimate, and bill. Plus, painting providers that offer a wide range of services clearly convey their level of experience and care -- it takes time and skill to handle a variety of trades under one roof, so these contractors are typically more reputable.
Avoid Going Overboard with Government Building Painting Budgets
Riding the line between optimal outcomes and low cost is a delicate balance for any painting project, especially those involving governmental facilities. But with careful planning, prioritization, and help from reputable, full-service local painters, your building can get the results it needs without exceeding its tight margins.
At Nash Painting, we have more than 15 years of both commercial and residential painting experience, with over 400 jobs completed. We’re equipped to paint any and all types of government agency across Nashville, Brentwood, and Franklin, TN, including but not limited to:
Administration Buildings
Bus/Transportation Stations
City Halls
Civic Centers
Community Centers
County Buildings
Courthouses
Detention Centers
Embassies
Fire Stations
Historic Sites
Justice Buildings
Operations Facilities
Police Stations
Parking Garages
Post Offices
Public Health and Safety Buildings
Public Utilities
Public Works
State Police Posts
Tourist Bureaus
Town Halls
Training Centers
Transmission Power Facilities
Treasury Buildings
Village Halls
Visitor Centers
Water Plants and Storage Facilities
To learn more about us, our hassle free painting services, and our values, call us at 615-829-6858 today!