Deficiencies, deficiencies, deficiencies…

One of the most challenging aspects of any exterior painting project is the deficiency process. These challenges get multiplied when working on a multi-family residential Strata property, and there are the same number of opinions as there are residents and everyone has a point they believe is valid.

Some deficiencies are obvious. Missed areas, rotten wood that requires replacement, or failed sealants that become more visible after painting. Other deficiencies can be deceptive and be the result of previous damage from other trades or painters that is not replaceable by the current painting or restoration company.

Separating the legitimate from the pre-existing deficiencies is something that falls on the Project Manager on a project without a consultant, or on the consultant on an inspected job. For an industry professional, it can be easy to tell the difference between a new overlapped paint onto the vinyl siding and one that has been there for years. The challenge comes into play when the resident swears its brand new, even though it is obviously (to our eye) that it’s been there since the complex was built.

It becomes an issue of understanding perception. When, as a resident, there is a painting project happening, people LOOK for problems that need to be fixed. They likely never noticed the paint overlapped before because they weren’t looking specifically for it, so it became invisible to their eye.

If the project is going forward without a professional 3rd party consultant, this can end up in a conflict, because it is the foreman or Project Manager from the painting company trying to explain to the resident and Strata that it is pre-existing, and if it is cleaned or removed at this point it will result in damage to the surface. This can be perceived as the paint company simply not wanting to clean it, or as them being defensive.

An independent inspector is required to be the voice of reason in this situation and either explain to the resident what they’ve done to determine that it is old, or to tell the contractor how they’ve determined it’s new and move the project toward completion reasonably, responsibly, and in an appropriate timeline.