What is the Difference between Residential and Commercial Painting?

Painting is painting, right? But professional painters seem to differentiate between residential and commercial painting work. So what’s going on? What is the difference between residential and commercial painting? Or are they basically the same?

Here are a few of the ways in which residential and commercial painting jobs are different, and why it’s important for commercial customers to look for painters with the team, equipment, and experience to handle the jobs they’re offering.

Size of Job

Commercial painting jobs are often larger (sometimes much larger) in scope than your average residential painting job. By itself, this isn’t necessarily a huge problem. However, many things in a painting operation are changed when a job gets big. Namely, quantity of help and equipment needed to get the work done in a target time frame.

Rates

Because of the size of the job and the quality expected for most commercial painting, the reality is that it will cost more. More people will need to be hired. More equipment made available, and often special equipment that a painter may have to rent. Permits or special insurance hoops will need to be jumped through, and that takes time. In addition, certain surfaces not commonly painted in a residential context may require special tools or paint. This affects the price again. In some situations painting can only be done at night when customers are away, for which customers will have to pay a bit more to make it worth the painter’s time. For all these reasons, don’t expect a commercial job to be bid according to the same price scheme as residential work.

Speed

Painting a house can take a week. People want to have the painter in and out quickly, but because it is a private residence it’s ok if things don’t go quite as fast as possible. Detail is what matters. In painting commercial interiors and exteriors, speed matters just as much as detail because the presence of a paint crew disrupts business no matter how much the crew tries to minimize their impact. Therefore a commercial painter must have the experience and equipment to more confidently and more quickly apply paint with just as much attention to detail as they would give to a residential job.

Surface Type

Surfaces such as masonry or metal are encountered in commercial environments which are far less common in residential contexts. A commercial painter must be prepared for these surfaces and know what it takes to get a good result.

Equipment

Sometimes special equipment is required for commercial contexts that wouldn’t be necessary for most residential jobs. Specifically we are thinking here of scaffolding or a lift of some sort. Commercial painters either need to own these items or be able to borrow or rent them. Not to mention they need to be able to safely operate them.

Liability

Commercial painters must be trustworthy enough to do their work safely around a place of business. Further, they need to have insurance which will protect their customer from liability in the event an accident happens.

Permits

Special permits may need to be pulled for commercial jobs which you would not think of in a residential context. Specifically, a commercial painter may need to close down all or part of a sidewalk. They should be completely in charge of that paperwork, so you need someone who will do their research to make sure all the boxes are checked and no one runs afoul of the law, potentially racking up fines or a negative public image.

If you’re looking for professional commercial painters, contact the team at Mt Hood Pro Painting. We’d love to talk about your needs.