CO NTRIBUTORS | PAINTING
The Best Time for a Big Project
DAVID DUNHAM
The pandemic shutdown offers a sort of silver lining for property managers who have been deferring work
Enoch Leung/Wikimedia Commons
E
veryone has been impacted during the ongoing pandemic and had their carefully laid out plans disrupted. In uncertain economic times, some building owners, AOAOs and managers are prone to put off needed repair or scheduled maintenance projects until the economy shows signs of strengthening. They may hold off on required re-painting, spall repair, waterproof coating, window sealing, garage repairs, deck coating, etc., for a year or more due to uncertain financial issues. And as we had been in such a boom with peak condo and hotel occupancy numbers climbing for the past few years, many buildings have had a hard time balancing use with maintenance. It’s costly to shut down operations or offer discounts for the disruptions. This has led to some deferred maintenance, smaller phases or just addressing emergencies when they arise. While this approach may make sense in the short term, it can be more costly in the long term than a complete project. So, where’s that silver lining? The current situation presents an opportunity for getting work performed now versus when you are near full occupancy. Barricading, coordination with tenants and public access can be much easier in times of low occupancy/demand. At this time, safety may be greatly improved due to lack of pedestrians or occupants in some of our empty hotels and commercial buildings. This could make projects safer and quicker. We are doing a painting and spall repair project which became so much safer as there are no longer hordes of people underneath our scaffolding. The barriers are much
simpler for the client. We now have access to some units through the interior rather than having to hang a rig on the exterior, which is more costly. Just think of the work that could be done in parking garages at this time when there are fewer cars present. We are currently working on a hotel garage that is thrilled to have this work completed now when there are minimal disruptions to their guests and operations. Again, this time could be a very advantageous time to do work on some of our lower occupancy buildings and garages. If funding is an issue, the building owner or AOAO might consider taking out a loan to fund high-priority maintenance and repair projects. Several local Hawaii banks have lending programs specifically geared to this need. Given today’s current low interest
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rates, a loan today will likely save the building owners and residents money in the longterm. Deferred maintenance is expensive! For our AOAOs that find everyone home, it may be a good time to plan for your projects. Some contractors might be concerned with their backlog due to unknown future economic impact and be willing to offer a discount if they can schedule gaps in their schedules into the future. Think positively and creatively for your property. We need to make lemonade out of the current situation. ❖ David Dunham is president of Kawika’s Painting, a licensed company that handles painting, spall repairs, roof coatings, water proofing, carpentry, walkway coatings and resinous flooring. Reach him at 848-0003 or oahu@ kawikaspainting.com.
