PRO PAINTER SUMMER 2013 by Annex Business Media

summer 2013 volume 10 , #2

Residential

Commercial

Institutional

Industrial

PAINTING

the City of

Gardens

Brad McDonnell Painting & Decorating Victoria, BC

PM#40069240

acebook see page 6

Science of stain

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inside

FEATURES

Exterior Painting Tips

Painting the City of Gardens

Cover photo: Diana Nethercott/KlixPix

What’s the best way to prevent bee attacks? Do you know what ‘blocking’ is? Advice from our readers on working outside.

A profile of Brad McDonnell, one of the most experienced and respected painters and decorators working on heritage houses in Victoria, BC.

Gross Versus Net Profit

Profit is not a dirty word – it’s a great word. To learn more, start by understanding the two types of profit and how confusing the two can cost you dearly.

DEPAR TMENTS 4 6 8 10 20 28 30

Editorial Painter’s procrastination begins at home. Facebook Conversation Sharing experiences on cleaning up your work areas. Where Are They Now? Greg and Dino Kalaitzakis, Minerva Painting, Winnipeg, have come a long way in six years. New Products

Tech Savvy Recent advances in the science of wood stains and finishes. Tattoowall Classes are in session in Toronto for this image transfer technology. My Best Work A new type of contest. Send us photos of your completed projects and you might win a cool prize.

www.professionalpainter.ca EDITOR: Bruce MacKinnon Email: thewritestuff11@gmail.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS Subscribe@professionalpainter.ca

CONTRIBUTORS: Mike Draper, Don Douloff, David Godkin, Steve Maxwell, Agnes von Mehren

Professional Painter magazine is published by Dynamic Paint Products Inc., Mississauga, Ont. Canadian publication mail agreement PM# 40069240. Professional Painter magazine and Dynamic Paint Products Inc. do not warrant or assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed herein.

AD SALES: Steve Payne Email: spayne@canadiancontractor.ca Phone: (416) 219-9949

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

acebook

“Pro Painter Magazine”

SUMMER 2013

VOLUME 10, NUMBER 2

prime coat

By Bruce MacKinnon

Painter’s procrastination begins at home Why is it that so many of us pro painters live in houses that need painting? If you’re one of them, take heart. There are some ways to get yourself going.

o you have a house in dire need of painting? No, I don’t mean your customer’s, I mean your own home. It is a universal truth that mechanics drive the worst cars, shoemakers wear the worst shoes, carpenters have unfinished finishing and painter’s houses need painting. I am the very last person to criticize a painter for having pride in his work on the job but not be able to do it at home. I know it’s hard to face painting your own home on your own spare time when you do it all day. You have the pride but not the energy. That’s the reason why the above-mentioned truism is, well, true. When I lived in Toronto, I rented a very small apartment that had needed a paint job for a long time. It took a nasty snowstorm to push me into action. After being snowed in for more than four days, I got antsy and finally tackled the job. Starting was the hardest part. I mean, where do you put the entire contents of an apartment while you paint? All piled up to the ceiling at one end! What a pain. But at least I’d broken through the procrastination. And Procrastination is exactly what sprang to mind when I was visiting a carpenter’s home recently. He had the trim for three doorframes in a corner, waiting for him to “have time.” We laughed about it for a bit until we realized his wife was listening. She (rightly) pointed out that, in the time we were taking to talk about it, the job could have been started. It needed the, uh, persuasion of his wife for us to just roll up our sleeves and get things moving, right then and there.

4 24

Since I was the painter in the room, it fell to me to touch up the one wall. Me and my big mouth. But it wasn’t all bad. We had a laugh (when it was done two hours later) and I got a free meal out of it. So what do you do if you’re also procrastinating about your own home’s paintwork? Well, here are a few strategies. I know it really depends on your mindset and, to a large part, work ethic. First of all, try to treat your own home like any other project you will tackle. In other words, schedule it. And get your guys over to help: wobbly pops and/or a barbecue can, believe it or not, persuade them to accept your “invitation.” One painter I know insisted that his wife pay cash for the job, even if it went directly back into her purse. It was great incentive for both of them to take it seriously. It was good for a giggle if nothing else, and made for a great story afterwards. I helped one painter to do his kitchen as soon as he got home, so it was a continuation of his day. That technique works: don’t mentally ease off the gas, so to speak. We got it done quick. The important common denominator is having someone working with you. By having company, it’s a lot harder to goof off or procrastinate. It’s worth it. Not only do you and your family feel better about your surroundings, but you get the weight of another obligation off your mind. Intentionally or not, your home becomes a showroom. Visitors and possible customers can see your work first hand. And that is great incentive to do your best work at home. pp

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

acebook painters

A FAceBook Conversation

Pro Painter magazine’s Facebook group page has attracted a loyal following in the last year. The conversation below is a small part of what our Facebook painters are talking about while they help each other learn and grow professionally. To join in, open your Facebook page and search under Pro Painter Magazine.

Jared Martin asked: How often does everyone get around to cleaning up their work vehicle and shop? Jared Martin

Not often enough that’s for sure, but it’s always so much better when you have it done, makes the next job so much nicer to start.

Donna Robinson Lawson

The last time I did my van...took me 6.5 hours...Blue Lightning recently died on me so I took the opportunity and bought a VW Passat wagon...less room to carry garbage and tools I don’t need! John Osborne

I work out of a hatch-back, and always did. Everything has a place and a place for everything. But going over it all at least every three to four months stops me from duplicating so many items. Well not really. But it helps. And it feels so good when it is done. Dagmar Wickes

Just got a new Grand Caravan in Feb... same as the old van... it will probably get cleaned out fully only once or twice a year. It’s the boxes inside that have never been actually sorted. The thefts from my garage happen yearly so that helps with clutter too...

Dave Kinniburgh

Spring and fall for vehicles (missed this spring. Oops) and fall for garage. Not enough! Jason Bergen

Join the conversation on Facebook: “Pro Painter Magazine”

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

where are they now?

When we last profiled them, Greg and Dino Kalaitzakis were busy painting houses in Winnipeg. Six years later, they are really ramping it up, having recently opened a facility that allows them to spray lacquer onto high-end fixtures.

FROM FAMILY FIRM TO

FACTORY FINISHING

lot can change in a half dozen years, for those who are motivated. Greg and Dino Kalaitzakis of Minerva Painting in Winnipeg, Manitoba are certainly motivated. The subjects of our winter 2007 profile run a family painting business begun by their father George, a native Greek journeyman painter, in 1970. The senior Kalaitzakis is still on the brush and so are some of his grandchildren. “My father drilled into us the importance of relationships, which is the foundation of our unique service ethic,” Dino says. “We care about what we are doing and strive for perfection and our customers’ satisfaction. The reputation and paycheque follows.” The company has taken a big step forward this year, moving into a new office-warehouse space of 5,000 square feet. It includes a new spray booth specifically for spraying high-end fixtures, furniture and woodwork with lacquer paint. “It radically changes how we paint and opens up numerous possibilities for us,” says Greg. Lacquer is now considered an industrial finish because of its high VOC content. So this spray side of the business has tremendous potential.

“We are hoping to attract the carpentry workshops around town who don’t want to finish their own mill work,” Greg says. “This is high-end finishing, with the possibly of shipping stuff around the world. We are going to be doing what our dad did in the old days, except it will be done in-house now.” George had always done furniture spray finishing, but he did it at his clients’ locations at night. “This gives us ultimate quality control,” Greg says. “We have the luxury of doing this properly now. We used to paint all day, spray at night till bleary-eyed, then go back in the morning to see if the finish was acceptable. Now we can do it right in house.” Minerva will still continue painting high-end homes, in addition to the spray lacquer business, but they are also moving into commercial work. They want to apply their same quality principles to oil tanks and apartment blocks. “We want to continue the family style of biz,” Greg says. “Most of our customers have known us all our lives. We don’t want to lose that. Our company works in conjunction with our value system. Minerva is just an extension of us.” – Bruce MacKinnon

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

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Professional Painter • Summer 2013

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Professional Painter • Summer 2013

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applications

exterior painting Pro Painter recently surveyed some of its readers across the country to ask them which particular “glitches” they were running into on their exterior work this summer, and how they were solving them.

Bee and wasp attacks Being swarmed by bees (or wasps or hornets) on the ground isn’t that much fun. But if you’re high up on a ladder, it can have tragic consequences. Maurice Benchetrit, of Immaculate Painting and Decorating, Toronto, carries a can of bee-killing spray on his belt whenever he’s working up under the eaves of buildings. He does a lot of painting at Trinity College, University of Toronto, where the Victorian-style dormer windows attract bees, well… like honey. “Every year, I encounter four to five hives,” Benchetrit says, “and always make sure I bring a bee-killing spray, because if you’re really high up, you have nowhere to go if you’re attacked,” he says. He uses a pressurized spray that allows him to direct a “nice, long stream” to pinpoint a nest from 10 to 12 feet away. Particularly nasty are wasps, especially in August, when they “act crazy,” says Benchetrit. When he blasts the bothersome bugs with his lethal stream, “they drop like flies” — or in this case, euthanized wasps.

Putty that gets too sticky To counteract today’s putties, which are much more oily than previous mastic products, it’s best to add sheetrock compound into the mix, to give a drier consistency. “The putty will be easier to work with,” says Benchetrit. In addition, “the (drier) putty delivers a good, clean line and looks like new.” Typically, he uses “a tiny bit” of the powdered sheetrock compound, sprinkling it onto “a big glob” of putty that he’s placed into an empty can. It’s key, he says, to hand-knead the putty thoroughly with the

Photo: Thinkstock

tips! By Don Douloff

powdered compound, to create the right consistency. “I go by feel,” he adds. He uses sheetrock 45 or 90; a lowernumbered grade, such as sheetrock 20, would cause the putty to dry too fast, he cautions. Proper consistency is especially important when working in the hot sun, which can render putty extremely soft. Always prime bare wood before applying putty, he adds.

Powdery film residue Before starting a project, rub your hand over the exterior surface. If, after doing that, there’s a powdery film left behind on your hand, that’s residue, which must be washed off the building; otherwise, paint will bulge, crack or peel, says Troy Power, of Troy Power Painting, in Halifax. “You can’t paint over residue, so you have to wash it off,” says Power. He finds the most effective way to remove residue is to use a pressure-wash system. To that end, Power employs a high-pressure machine calibrated at 3,000 psi. Residue, he says, isn’t environmental, and results from “the breakdown of all the old products on the building – the existing layer(s) of paint. It doesn’t come from the weather.” What’s more, it’s a problem that Power encounters frequently. “I run into it 50 per cent of the time,” he says.

Wind-blown paint splatters There’s nothing that annoys your customer more than getting unwanted paint splatters onto their automobiles, exterior light fixtures, garden furniture, even their trees and plants. Darren Smith of Upscale Painting & Sign in Cornwall, ON, uses lightweight canvas drop cloths to

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

applications

cover these and other vulnerable items around the perimeter of all his exterior paint jobs. Lightweight fabric like this doesn’t damage foliage and allows plants to breathe. Never use plastic covers on foliage: they can damage or even kill your valuable customer’s plants pretty quickly on a hot day, although plastic-sheet drop cloths are ideal to protect lights, windows and doors. Canvas drop cloths also make your jobsite look professional. Smith has seen painters using bedsheets as drop cloths outside, but they don’t exactly leave an impression of professional painter credibility.

Window and door sticking It’s technically called “blocking” and we’ve all seen it. It’s when doors and windows stick shut and are difficult to open after we’ve painted them with latex paint, even after the paint has cured. Blocking can occur on wood garage doors, windows and weatherstripping-free painted doors. “When I come across (blocking), I use a palm sander or a piece of sandpaper on a wood block to break down the surface,” says Dino Kalaitzakis, of Minerva Painting, Winnipeg. “Then, as we paint the (sanded) doors, we open and close them twice, once at the end of the shift and then the next day, to prevent them from sticking shut.” Some pros

use clear Briwax to unstick stubborn doors and windows. Kalaitzakis says he’s never used Briwax, but agrees that it could be an effective fix for the problem. “You don’t want to get a complaint from the customer that they can’t open a door or window,” he says.

Problems from high-pressure washing Although high-pressure washing has its advocates, low-pressure washing is a more sensible route, since high-pressure cleaning can drive water into wood and damage windows (and even siding). Stu Constable, of Painting and Decorating Inc., Charlottetown, has seen high-pressure washing damage homes. “I’ve seen pressurewashed shingles come off, and on older homes, nails come loose. To be truthful, I don’t believe in pressure washing. You wait all spring and summer for the moisture to come out of the wood” and then saturate the home in pressuredriven water. “Then you have to wait two to three weeks, with good, dry weather, for the moisture to come out of the wood again,” he says. Constable practices what he preaches and favors, essentially, no-pressure washing, with a brush, soap and a garden hose. “It’s labor-intensive, but won’t damage anything,” he says, “so it might be cheaper in the long run.” pp

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Professional Painter • Summer 2013

shouldn’t we be on your shelf? 13

cover story

Victoria, BC is one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest. With its rich landscape of heritage houses, it is the perfect market for Brad McDonnell’s painterly craftsmanship.

I live and breathe painting. I think about it all the time,” says Victoria, BC professional painter Brad McDonnell. “My name is my company, so I take it very, very seriously.” He didn’t always feel that way. After graduating from high school in the 1980s, he kicked around on a number of jobs, “spinning my wheels,” in his province’s Okanagan region. Then his dad got him a job with a local commercial painting contractor. After learning some of the basics and working in the industry for a few years McDonnell began to feel his oats, his confidence sky high. “I ﬁgured I knew everything,” he smiles wryly. “Because anyone and everyone can paint. It’s easy, right?” Just how hard – and rewarding – professional painting can be became clearer when Grant Curl, a longstanding residential painter in Victoria, took the young painter under his wing. Grant was a fine craftsman, and he taught his young protege the critical importance of labeling paints room by room and how to be professional

in his dealings with clients, respecting their homes, respecting their property. “He taught me how to be more personable, too, with clients. Grant was well liked in the community. He was a good tradesman and very hands on.” Under Curl’s watchful eye McDonnell gradually blossomed as a residential painter. Then, at 23, restlessness and the urge to travel set in. In 1987 he donned a backpack and flew to Australia where, he says, he made “huge dollars” painting – and enjoyed a few close encounters with the tennis elite, as well. “I met Matts Wilander and John McEnroe. Then one day I was up on a stepladder and was almost knocked off the ladder by Martina Navratilova and her coach. So I had a little giggle with her over that.” A quarter century later Australia is a distant, if happy, memory. McDonnell is now the proud owner of Brad McDonnell Painting & Decorating, a busy, high-quality painting firm that takes special pride in working on the many heritage homes in the BC capital.

Photos: Diana Nethercott/KLIXPIX

By David Godkin

Professional Painter • Spring 2013

cover story

THE CITY OF

Restoring “old girls” to beauty True to its name, Victoria’s landscape is punctuated with heritage houses from the 19th Century – and some particularly beautiful Edwardian homes built between 1900 and 1910. These houses are works of architectural art and they require heritage-quality paintwork. “I have a lot of people work for me because they really enjoy that artistic feel they get from this,” McDonnell muses. “It’s rewarding to see an old girl in such rough shape eventually look so stunning, so beautiful, especially with a good colour selection.” From the get-go McDonnell understood specializing in heritage homes would mean encounters with houses with a high number of substrates – as many as twenty coats of oil-based paint slapped on, and very detailed finishings. Because of that, “There’s quite a bit more prep in scraping, sanding, filling and caulking, and window glazing. And there’s a lot more colour detail and generally much larger homes.” “These old houses they split and

Professional Painter • Spring 2013

cover story

they crack and lose all the tannins in their wood. The cells in the wood are just dead, they don’t pull paint very well, they expand and contract at a greater rate and it just pushes the paint off.” The absence of structural venting and vapor barriers only exacerbates the problem, McDonnell adds. And not every client understands. They want ten plus years out of the paint job on their heritage house, usually because someone has told them to expect that. “I tell them I’m sorry I won’t lie to you. Within five years you will see paint failure. I don’t care who paints your house.” Something clients sometimes fail to

appreciate is that a paint job is only as good as the prep work that goes into it. Take caulking, for example. Recently McDonnell priced a job involving HardiePlank cementitious-type siding with 1” by 4” corner boards; the client had been told by a previous painter that he intended to caulk in the 3/4”gap where the siding meets the corner. “I said, no, no, you don’t want to caulk all that up. That’s crazy. First of all wood expands and contracts and the caulking will all fall out in a year and you’ll have a mess on your hands.” In addition to over-caulking, some clients are unaware of the washing and drying requirements for older wooden structures. “You wash the house on

Friday and the client expects you to paint the house on Monday.” McDonnell patiently explains the importance of letting the house dry out, testing it to ensure moisture content is below 14 or 15 per cent. Unfortunately, some painters aren’t nearly as scrupulous, rushing the job by painting over wet or dirty wood or painting when the weather is too cold. Getting the business end right… McDonnell doesn’t claim to have the world’s best head for business. What he prides himself on, though, is his common sense. Some of the mistakes he sees others making he’s managed to avoid. Like hiring your girlfriend to manage the books. “If you need to know if something’s is a 100 per cent write off, hire an accountant.” Another is good timekeeping. McDonnell says he can’t understand why some painters seem afraid to call up a prospective client and say they’ll be late for an estimate. “I hear that all the time from clients. A painter who shows up for three days and leaves for four days or has two jobs going and is totally disorganized.”

“It’s rewarding to see an old girl in such rough shape eventually look so stunning, so beautiful, especially with a good colour selection.” Where some painters get into major trouble is bidding too cheaply. This is particularly the case when they’ve been working for someone else for years making $22 an hour and then go out on their own. So they charge their first client $25 an hour. “You cannot run a business on $25 an hour, you won’t last,” McDonnell says. “But there are hundreds of them out working out of the back of a car trying to

Will Cheetham, a painter with Brad McDonnell Painting, works on the back porch of a Character House in Victoria, BC.

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

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cover story

do that.” Underpricing yourself on a heritage project is particularly hazardous, says McDonnell, because it’s easy to overdo the prep work. “If you’re a perfectionist, you better have a client with deep pockets because you can’t possibly strip the houses down without spending tens of thousands of dollars to do so. You can’t go overboard or it’ll turn into a forty, fifty, sixty thousand dollar paint job.” Many painters also assume that, because they’ve been painting for years, they should be able to look at a house and instantly calculate how much to charge for painting it. “To me, that’s just not accurate enough.” Instead, McDonnell breaks the house down into segments and then estimates by the minute – 20 minutes for this window, 25 minutes for that door. Once he’s added up all those minutes using a calculator he then simply divides by 60. “Boom!” he says. “There’s my hours.” It’s proven to be a very accurate system. The inability to accurately estimate a job and lack of foresight running a business kneecap more than a few contractors; McDonnell says it’s also the principal reason why painters starting out should think twice about working underground. Because it’s

one thing to hire other painters at $25 an hour, quite another to pass up on writing off those wages come tax time. “If you’re going to run a business you’ve got to charge accordingly. You also have to have insurance, workers compensation, and of course proper equipment.” Like most company heads McDonnell has a website, but he isn’t convinced this is the best way to generate business. First, Victoria is a retirement community where most of his clients are elderly and less prone to Internet browsing. In this particular type of market, McDonnell has discovered that an ad in the Yellow Pages lands him twice the amount of work that other types of marketing do. It’s not cheap – his ad costs him a steep $1,300 per month, which adds up to about 5 per cent of his gross sales. But the alternative, says McDonnell, would be worse. “If I cancelled all my advertising tomorrow and tried to rely on word of mouth, I wouldn’t survive.” Educating the public What’s a little puzzling about McDonnell’s downplaying of the importance of the Internet is the length to which he goes to communicate using it. Not just as a business tool, mind you, but

Brad McDonnell, left, owner of Brad McDonnell Painting, and Steve Small, one of his painters, discuss the placement of the address plate on the front of a client’s home in Victoria.

as a way to educate people about residential painting. Take a look at his website and you’ll see helpful information on the relationship between excessive moisture and paint peeling, helpful hints on varnish and mildew, and the 10 questions people should ask when getting a professional quote. “People aren’t just targets. I want even those who don’t hire me to go onto the website and learn something,” he says. McDonnell isn’t averse to learning a few things himself. For years he’s relied upon the good advice of Cloverdale paint rep Al Crichton. “He helps me out a lot,” he says. “I phone him quite a bit for advice and product knowledge because there are always new products coming out. I think it’s very important to get to know your sales reps.” For his part, Crichton calls McDonnell’s business sense “terrific.” “What you find in this industry is that there are good painters out there who are not business people,” Crichton says, “and then there are business people who are not good painters. Brad is good at both.”

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

cover story

A better informed client means less time explaining both the basics and finer points of residential painting, McDonnell maintains. He takes the same approach with his employees, guiding them with the same patience and care that his mentor Grant Curl took when McDonnell was a young painter starting out. “Best boss ever,” says Will Cheetham. “Brad’s organized. And he trusts us.” Stephen Small nods in agreement. “There’s no drama. Brad’s very respectful about our abilities and the jobs go well.” Best of all, he listens, adds Cheetham. Whether it’s a problem with the way a particular paint lies down or a problem that arises on site, McDonnell “focusses on finding solutions” instead of pointing the finger. McDonnell says he’s lucky. “I’ve got a really great crew right now who I’m really proud of and happy for.” The best employees, he adds, bring a combination of integrity, hard work and knowledge to the job. He also places a lot of stock on neatness and above all politeness to the client. Judging by the

ally go on their own.” So far, McDonnell seems to be bucking the high turnover rate experienced in the rest of the industry: Steve has been working with McDonnell for four years, Will for five, and both seem happy right where they are. We all need downtime When he’s not painting McDonnell is travelling to hot, sunny climes in places like Las Vegas and Arizona and golfing. He doesn’t pretend to possess a great handicap and despite once getting a contract to paint the home of someone he met on the links, he insists he goes there to relax, not to drum up business.

McDonnell also likes spending time with his sons Brendan, 18, and Jacob, 14. He’s even shown them a few of the painting basics. Will he pass the painting business on to them? Actually, McDonnell would rather Brendan and Jacob start up their own businesses. And not necessarily painting, he says. It’s a tough business, mostly seasonal and the wages aren’t high. “But if you’re a businessman, run good crews and run a successful business as I have for a few decades then you can make a good living at it.” “And I really like the flexibility of being a business owner,” he says. “It’s a really good feeling.” pp

“I’ve got a really great crew right now who I’m really proud of and happy for.” testimonials, that approach seems to be paying off. Say customers Ted and Sue Lejeune, “Not only did they do great work, they also made sure everything was cleaned up and habitable by the end of the day. We would not hesitate to recommend their company…” Helping young painters understand the importance of running a business in this way is gratifying, McDonnell says, though it comes with a cost, too. “Guys like these are hard to hold on to because they’re like me. They eventuWill Cheetham, a painter with Brad McDonnell Painting, works near the roof line. “Best boss ever,” he says of McDonnell.

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

tech savvy

THE

science

STAIN

Canada has one of the toughest climates in the world for exterior stain

manufacturers to contend with. They battle for painters’ loyalty with proprietary formulations that are closely guarded.

By Bruce MacKinnon and Steve Maxwell

here are three key factors when it comes to wood stain performance: product quality, surface preparation, and the amount of moisture, sunlight and abrasion that the surface is subjected to. This is why staining outdoor wood is a much stiffer challenge than anything you’ll face indoors. Where the usual routine for interior surfaces involves application of stain for colour and urethane for protection, forget all that for exterior jobs. Ultraviolet rays, deep freeze-thaw cycles and extremes of moisture and dryness are all part of the the tremendous punishment outdoor finishes face here in Canada. If a stain can prove itself in the Great White North, it can do the job for a painter anywhere in the world. We live in a marketplace filled with waterbased finishes, but the fact is, alkyds are key to high-performance

exterior stains. Alkyds are synthetic oils designed especially to grab onto wood. Modern alkyd molecules are smaller than latex equivalents and they have lower surface tension. That’s why alkyds penetrate so deeply into wood. Latex products tend to remain more on the surface, penetrating only a fraction of the distance that alkyds will. Deeper penetration and greater chemical stability are the reasons that alkyds and natural oils last longer than other options. Lower-VOC stains Government regulations are forcing manufacturers towards low-VOC paints and stains, and different manufacturers are meeting these challenges in different ways. One popular approach involves the seemingly contradictory combination of waterborne chemistry with alkyd materials. These hybrids unite the chemical properties of water-

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

tech savvy Don’t give up on your deck! Even the most severely discoloured decking can be brought back to life with the right products, procedures and protective coatings. These before-and-after deck photos in California were submitted to Pro Painter by veteran deck rehabilitation

AfTEr

expert Jim Grant. They were cleaned and refinished using the Superdeck/Duckback product line.

If a sTaIn Can prove ITself In The GreaT WhITe norTh IT Can do The job for a paInTer anyWhere In The World.

bEforE based coatings with the durability of base products such as mineral oils, paraffins and tung oil. This is what’s behind all the waterborne alkyd combinations you’re seeing. Linseed oil is a traditional base for stains too, and it also happens to be VOC-free all on its own. Penetration into wood is excellent and linseed oil hardens by chemical reaction with oxygen, not solvent evaporation. This is why linseed-based stains are slow to dry, but it’s also why they remain flexible and highly resistant to cracking and peeling. Semi-transparent stains Some semi-transparent stains are hybrids of another kind. They include latex/acrylic substances along with

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

waterborne alkyds. The acrylic particles cross-link when they dry and sit on the surface, protecting the alkyd particles that penetrate deeper into the wood and provide a physical anchor to the surface. Acrylic particles are particularly good at resisting the fading effects of UV light and standing water. Hybrid acrylic/alkyd stains are sophisticated mixtures and proprietary for each manufacturer. That’s why you should proceed with caution when using them to re-stain any surface that’s been previously coated. Things might go just fine, but It sometimes happens that you’ll get a patchy look when hybrid acrylic/alkyds dry over an old, existing finish. There’s always a chance that you might have adhesion problems, too. That’s why completing a small test patch can save you from big headaches later. Better to discover that stripping and sanding is necessary before recoating that 700 square foot deck. Solid stains are typically acrylic emulsions mixed with an alkyd base. They are used to hide the surface if it’s made with substandard or mismatched lumber, or if it’s marred by deep-crack weathering.

tech savvy

Coverage depends on the wood and the prep Stain coverage is as varied as the wood you’re coating, and it’s not just a matter of wood species, either. The more porous and well prepared the surface is, the better a stain

will absorb and last. Even durable, long-lasting stains can fail prematurely if applied over wood with low-absorbency due to mill glaze and residual pressure treatment chemicals. Low porosity is also why finishes always fail first over knots. They simply don’t allow the same amount of penetration as surrounding wood. ASK THE WOOD FINISHING EXPERT Renowned home improvement writer Steve Maxwell opens his mail Over the last 15 years I’ve answered thousands of home building and finishing questions by email, and by far the most common have to do with finishing outdoor wood. Here are the top three calls for help:

Wood MoIsTUre ConTenT of 14 per CenT or less.

Q: A:

What’s going wrong with my deck finishes? They don’t last much more than a year and that’s not good enough.

Q: A:

What can I do about peeling paint on a wooden outdoor railing? It’s tough to get a sander into the spaces between uprights.

Q: A:

How long should I leave wood to weather before finishing?

You’re either choosing the wrong finishing product, failing to prep the surface properly or both. I’ve run ongoing deck finish performance trials at my shop since 1990, and I know that many deck finishes fail within 10 to 14 months no matter how well you prep the surface. The solution is to choose a finish with a proven track record, not just a hopeful label. Even then, only a handful of products that I’ve tried last 36 to 48 months. The longest lasting products are opaque (like paint) and the second most durable are tinted film-forming products. The shortest-lived deck products are the clear sealers and these usually need reapplication each year. According to a field study by the largest finishing products manufacturer in the world, sanding with a 60- or 80-grit abrasive is the best way to prep outdoor wood for finishing because it maximizes absorbency.

Complicated and intricate outdoor structures should never be finished with anything that will peel because sanding is both difficult and inevitable. Finishing oil is one excellent option here because reapplication is so easy. You can also leave the surface to weather naturally or treat it with a one-time, wood-darkening treatment. As for what to do with the peeling railing you’ve got now, apply a deck stripper, wash it off, then sand when the wood is dry using a random orbit sander and a detail sander.

The age-old practice of letting new wood weather before finishing is partly about reducing moisture content, but a better approach is to test with a moisture meter. Anything drier than 14 per cent and you’re good to go. Kiln-dried construction lumber is often not far from this. Removing mill glaze is the other reason people opt to let new wood weather before finishing, though you’re better off to pressure wash and sand to maximize absorbency. Steve Maxwell is a construction and wood finishing expert and the author of the video-enhanced ebook Love Your Deck for Kindle and iPad. Check it out at www.stevemaxwellhowto.com/deck-finishing

MosT sTaIns do besT WITh a

Best-practice prep procedures usually involves sanding to boost absorbency, but keep it coarse. Sanding with anything finer than an 80-grit abrasive actually reduces stain penetration by making the surface too smooth. Also, beware of surface weathering that causes old wood to look grey. Absorbency might seem terrific as you brush stain on that thirsty surface, but those grey wood fibers are also weak, often leading to premature finish failure. Do you know the moisture content of the wood you’re finishing? Better check it. Most stains do best with a moisture content of 14 per cent or less, but no one can tell just by looking at wood if it’s 16 per cent, 18 per cent or even 20 per cent. Why take a chance when a good moisture meter costs less than a hundred bucks? New wood presents unique staining challenges, and something called mill glaze is the reason why. It’s a burnished surface condition caused by high speed planer knives that smoothed the wood at the mill, and it can reduce stain penetration and finish life by more than half. Although sanding eliminates mill glaze, it also takes a lot of time when used alone. A faster approach involves the application of a deck brightener that contains oxalic acid. Gently pressure wash after application, then give the wood a very light sanding to remove any surface fuzz that developed. pp

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

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broad strokes

PAINTING FOR PROFIT

The difference between gross & net

By Mike Draper

Profit is not a dirty word – it is a great word Other than freedom, is there any other reason for owning a painting business? But when paint contractors talk profit, they need to understand the difference between net profit and gross profit.

hen I ask paint contractors how much profit they are making, I hear everything from “zero” to 35 per cent. The people who tell me zero, I have to wonder why they are in this business in the first place. And the people that claim 35 per cent net profits? It makes me wonder why Bill Gates doesn’t close down Microsoft and start painting houses. The difference between zero and 35 per cent “profit” is meaningless unless we start by understanding the difference between gross and net profit. What profit is not Before we look at the difference between gross and net profit, let’s look at what profit is not. Profit is not “How much can I squeeze out of a homeowner to repaint the interior of their house?” While it is obviously true that negotiating a higher price for a project is going to increase your profit, the best way to look at profit is “How SMALL CONTRACTING FIRM Gross versus Net Profit Gross Revenue (total billings)

$800,000

Job Costs ($560,000) (Materials, Labour/Subtrades) Gross Profit $240,000 Gross Profit % 30 ($240,000/$800,000 x 100) Overhead Expenses $160,000 Overheads % 20 (must include owner’s salary!) Net profit Net Profit %

$80,000 10

can I squeeze more profit out of my paint contracting business by making it a better business?” Now let’s look at three key numbers that every business owner must look at when assessing if their business is making enough profit, gross or net. Three important numbers The first number is how much you need to pay yourself for the work you do for your company. The second number is how much profit the business makes in relation to the company’s sales. And the final number is much return on investment (ROI) that you receive for what you have invested in the company. Gross and net profit As I have already made clear, gross profit and net profit are two very different numbers. Confusing the two is one of the main reasons that painters under-price themselves. Gross profit is the difference between your gross revenues and your labour and materials costs. As a self-employed painting contractor, if you confuse gross profit with what you used to make as an employee somewhere, you will almost certainly quote projects far too low. You need to look at your net profit. Net profit is what is left after you have deducted your overhead expenses, which include everything from the owner’s wages (yes, you!), to vehicle costs, tools, phones, office or shop rent, workers comp and/

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

broad strokes

or insurance, advertising and marketing, accounting, bookkeeping, interest payments and everything else that’s not your labour or your materials installed or applied. Wages are not profits! As a self-employed contractor, you should pay yourself a competitive wage or salary for all the jobs you perform that are not related to you actually working on site. Your are performing duties that are necessary for your company to continue to exist. Somebody has to do the work. Your own wages are not equivalent to, and should not come out of, net profit! They belong as part of your overheads, and should remain consistent throughout the year, including, if you are a legitimate contractor, you issuing yourself a T4 form for your compensation, just as if you were an employee. How much to pay for what functions For a modest-sized contracting firm, here are a few guidelines as to how much your should pay to have various tasks in your company performed. The percentages shown are percentages of gross revenues. Now, if you are SMALL CONTRACTING FIRM doing all of these Salary/Wages for Non-Labour Functions yourself, as an owner Project management/supervision 4% of that $800,000-ayear-billing painting Sales 5-7% firm, you should be Bookkeeping/accounting 1-2% paying yourself beOwner’s salary 6-8% tween 16% and 21% TOTAL 16-21% of your gross billings per year. In other words you should be paid between $128,000 and $160,000 to run this painting firm, which is not your net profit for the year! The net profit for the year is, as shown, 10% of your gross, or $80,000. Note that you need to make a gross profit of 30% to be able to pay for overheads of 20% and still make a profit of 10%. Neglecting the large component of overheads, which must include your own pay (and which should be paid as regularly as if you were an employee, and remain stable), is the reason so many small contracting firms go out of business. The break-even point In any small business, the break-even point is when your total sales match your total expenses. The cost of the work that you do must be included when looking at your breakeven point. To calculate break even, use this simple formula: Overhead costs/percentage of gross profit

Break even point

In our example, the break-even point is: $160,000/.30 = $533,333.

In other words, in our fictional painting company, the company needs to do $533,333 in annual sales to make a net profit of zero. Anything less than that, and the company will have a net loss. Anything more than that, and the company is making a profit. Return on sales The second area to review is how much profit does your business make in terms of return on sales (ROS)? Comparing your business’s profit to sales volume is not a calculation many contractors - let alone many painters – make. So what is the ROS number anyway? It is a simple calculation done by taking your net profit and dividing it by your sales. Show the result as a percentage and that is your ROS number. In the example we are using here, after the owner paid himself for the work he had done and covered all overhead expenses, his business made a return of 10 per cent. If you are running your own painting firm, you should target eight per cent as the lowest percentage your company should make, while 10 per cent is okay and 15 per cent is considered healthy. At 10 per cent, your company has money to invest in its future: such as buying a new vehicle, investing in better equipment, doing better marketing, hiring a project manager, or whatever else will grow your business. Return on investment The final number we will look at is return on investment (ROI). Here, again, I find that far too few contractors look at this number. How much money have you put into your company? How much money did you put into your painting business when you started out? None? Then you probably invested your sweat equity: You went without a regular paycheque for a long period of time in order to finance your business. Or did you use a line or credit or personal savings to keep yourself afloat? Or perhaps you borrowed money. If you bought tools with your personal credit cards, that is investment, too. The fact is, that contractors either put their money, or their sweat equity into businesses, and they should expect a return on those investments at some future date. To actually realize their return on investment, they should be able to sell their businesses one day. Sadly, too many renovation businesses including small painting firms are worth nothing because without the owner being there, day to day, there isn’t a business. Their businesses are unprofitable, their businesses lack systems, and their businesses cannot be run on their own without the owner’s perpetual oversight and participation. Building a painting business that can one day be sold will be the topic in our next issue. pp Mike Draper is a contractor business coach for Renovantage (www.renovantage.ca) Professional Painter • Summer 2013

decorative techniques

session TATTOOWALL CLASSES ARE IN

Want to learn how to create great murals, overnight? Tattoowall digital imagining technology could be that one distinctive sideline that your painting business needs.

By Agnes von Mehren

t the Masters Academy of Decorative Arts, we are always learning of great new applications for the Tattoowall. Let’s talk classes. Attending a Tattoowall class, you will learn how to do the “invisible joint line” technique. Taking a Tattoowall class is also a way to familiarize yourself with the product, its thinness, how it is printed and lots more. For those unfamiliar with Tattoowall, it is a digital imaging technique consisting of a special membrane, 63.5 inches wide, created using eco-solvent inks that are not only environmentally friendly but help with the elasticity of the product. Those who are accustomed to hanging wallpaper will only require a one-day course of instruction. Other contractors will need one-and-a-half days. All students will receive an official Tattoowall installer certificate and a Tattoowall Trade Book at the conclusion of the course. During the course, we will discuss one of the major opportunities for Tattoowall installers: graffiti. It’s such a problem that business owners and municipalities are very willing to fund effective – and preventive – solutions such as Tattoowall.

Another interesting application that we discuss in the course is applying Tattoowall on concrete. We have been commissioned to apply the Tattoowall onto concrete planters along Queen Street West in Toronto. The Business Improvement Association wants the street to look like an art gallery and we will be applying art to both sides of the planters. Tattoowall gives artists who are not muralists the opportunity to showcase their art on buildings that would require the expertise of a muralist due to size. The Tattoowall is the only product in the marketplace that has the ability to convert art of any size into public-spacesized art, on any substrate. If you are a painter or an artist in the Toronto area, why not sign up for a class now? To sign up online, visit our website at mada-masters.com.

Agnes von Mehren is the president of Masters Academy of Decorative Arts. For more information visit www.ourwallscantalk.com, or call 647-346-3870.

Professional Painter • Summer 2013

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photo contest

SHOW US YOUR

BEST WORK! As a pro painter, your every brush stroke is permanently recorded. When you do a job right, you can feel it in your bones. You know when you hit it out of the park.

that good

When you feel about your painting at a particular location, share it with us. Send us your pics to propainter@bizinfogroup.ca and, in a few words, tell us...

 

Why about this project made you so proud?  



Where is the job located?

Was the job technically demanding?

Were there difficult working conditions?

Did you use a new technique or new equipment? 

Were you trying out a new brand of paint? 

What was the customer’s reaction?

EMAIL YOUR PHOTO(S) AND SHORT DESCRIPTION OF YOUR PROJECT TO:

propainter@bizinfogroup.ca DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES:

August 15, 2013

Winner will get a FREE Dynamic Paint Tools Package worth over $100.00!

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