5 things the Board needs to know when thinking about repainting the school.
5 things the Board needs to know when thinking about repainting the school.
The Principal often wants to “just get it done”, the Property Manager is keen to “take it slowly and get it right” while the CFO would prefer to put it off till next budget. But if all parties understand some basic points, it’ll all come together for you. Here are 5 things to consider when going through the process:
1 - Look for a contractor that is prepared to consult
In some cases you may require the services of a external consultant to manage the repainting project, however in many cases this is a waste of resources. Either way, you need to ensure that the actual painting contractor is someone who will partner with you and work as a consultant.
Its for good reason that only a very small number of painting contractors specialise in painting schools. Theres a lot more to it than meets the eye, and you’ll get that gut feel when you land on the right contractor for you.
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2 - Put a Disproportionate amount of focus where it matters
You will often hear the term ‘high wear areas’ when looking at painting your school, because students running through doorways and around corners of buildings will leave wear marks even on the newest painted surfaces. This is one example of where a disproportionate amount of focus needs to be on a small area, and this pattern repeats throughout the process.
Discuss with your contractor where you think you need to prioritise your focus, and he/she will provide guidance based on experince with other schools to help validate your ideas.
3 - Your needs will be different to other schools, but not unusual.
There are many common maintenance plans to consider, and if these don’t fit your requirements, have a conversation with your contractor about tailoring a plan to your specific needs. If you have no idea what you are looking to achieve, your contractor will be able to provide some template ideas to start with.
For example, a recent school we worked with had many different materials cladding their building varying from Hardie Board to Colorsteel and concrete. The Colorsteel was still in almost original condition and didn’t need to be touched for a number of years. The Hardie board (sheet planking) was a different story - it made the school look old and tired. Instead of progressivly working through the school over 5 years, we worked out a plan to target specific materials surfaces, and ended up with spare money in the budget.
4 - Explain your cyclical plan and past experiences
Going over your 10YPP (10 Year Property Plan) and/or 5YA with your contractor will assist them to ensure the planning phase is far more transperent and therefore successful.
Also explain experiences (both good and bad)that you’ve had with painting contractors in the past, to ensure you don’t have a repeat! If you have had issues with contractors staff not being Police Vetted, or with reporting not being kept up daily, or Quality Assurance not happenning, tell them!
5 - Don’t spend all your budget
With every repaint, there is always some small unforeseen requirements that crop up. It could be previously out of scope areas or it could be a few building and rot repairs. Either way, we recommend a school keeps a bit of budget in reserve for these contingencies that may arise. As an example, a school with 100k to spend should retain around 5 to 8k for contingency items.
