Speedy Gonzalez

A lot of painters like to brag about how fast they can paint. This would be great if they were in the Painting Olympics, but operating a paint contracting company is not about speed. Or at least is shouldn't be.

Invariably such discussions focus on a small project, like a 10' x 10' room, or a single door. While it may be possible to paint a single room or a single door in an impressive time, this is irrelevant when it comes to estimating a job in the real world.

Let us say that you can paint that 10' x 10' room in 2 hours (actual paint application time) and so you use a production rate of 160 square (320 square feet/ 2) feet per hour for painting walls. If all you ever do is paint 1 10' x 10' room, this might work out. But how many of us operate a business that does nothing but single 10' x 10' rooms?

Most people I know tend to get tired as they do physical labor. Maybe not exhausted, but they do fatigue. And with fatigue our production slows. While we may be able to paint the first room of the day in 2 hours, it may take 2.5 hours to paint the third or fourth room of the day. In other words, our production rates go down.

We must also factor in set up, clean up, moving equipment, and various other tasks. Certainly we could account for all of these separately. But why? Why add 6 or 8 or 10 other line items to your estimate when these items are involved every time you paint a room?

For example, you must lay down a drop cloth, you must remove hardware/ switch plate covers, you must set up a ladder, etc. each time you paint a room. You must clean your brush and roller at the end of the day. All of these tasks are predictable--in both their occurrence and the time they take. Using these tasks as a separate line item when calculating your price is essentially a waste of time. Include them in your production rates.

When we factor in all of these variables, the time to actually paint a room increases significantly. On paper, if someone can paint that 10' x 10' room in 2 hours, he should be able to paint 4 of them in an 8-hour day. But it ain't going to happen. He will be lucky to get 3 rooms painted, which means his actual production rate is going to be 120 square feet per hour. That is a difference of 25%, which means you would be undercharging by 25%.

When calculating production rates, do not use a single, small project as your basis. You will wind up with numbers that might seem reasonable, but simply won't reflect reality. Unless of course, you truly are Speedy Gonzalez.

A Virtual Mayoral Campaign

For the past nine months I have written for two blogs. This is one. The other, Live Oaks, is my true passion.

Since I was a teenager I have wanted to be a writer. The vagaries of life took me in a different direction for a number of years, but I have returned to that dream. Next month I will have an article published in The Objective Standard, and I am working on other writing opportunities.

In the meantime, I am launching a virtual campaign to become Mayor of Houston. I am not a literal candidate--I have no desire or expectation to be elected. My goal is to influence the debate, a goal that I have successfully achieved in Houston on multiple occasions, as well as in other cities.

You can read my announcement here and my Statement of Principles here.

Fear

It is often said that fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. While this is often the case, there is more to fear than that.

Fear is an emotional response to a perceived, unknown threat. For example, if you hear a loud knock on your door in the middle of the night, you might experience fear—you perceive a threat because you do not know who is at the door. However, if you are expecting someone, the same noise will not evoke a feeling of fear.

The owners of paint contracting companies are often reluctant to make changes in their business because of fear. They perceive some threat—perhaps failure—and the consequences of the change are unknown. This isn’t necessarily irrational, or making false evidence appear real. The chance of failure does exist, and there are unknowns.

Overcoming our fear is necessary if we are to move forward. There are several key steps in this process.

The first is to identify the actual facts. Are there as many unknowns as we think? Have we made similar changes before? Can we learn from others who have made similar changes? Answering these questions can help us realize that the unknowns are not as significant as we think. We may actually know more about the situation than first appears.

The second step is to identify what information we can obtain to reduce the unknowns. This may involve soliciting the input from someone who has made a similar change or doing research. Knowledge is certainly an ally, as it helps eliminate or reduce unknowns.

Armed with this knowledge, we can then develop a plan that will reduce risks and address any remaining unknowns. The plan allows us to think through the change, identify potential obstacles, and have a specific course of action.

The process of overcoming fear is designed to reduce the perception of an unknown threat. As we gather more information, the unknowns decrease. As our knowledge expands, the perceived threat is reduced. In combination, our fear will be greatly diminished and we will be prepared to move forward.

The Paint Police

As the owner of a paint contracting company, I have an eye for spotting poor paint jobs. Almost without thinking about it, any time I enter someplace I am inspecting the paint job. And often, what I see is offensive to anyone with a semblance of standards.

I see brush strokes going in five different directions. I see touch up that doesn't match. I see lines that wiggle more than a worm on hot pavement. I see application problems and preparation problems. But most of all, I see a serious threat to the well-being of anyone who enters that building. We need a law to protect people from shoddy paint jobs. We need the Paint Police.

You may think that this is absurd. You may think that I am being sarcastic. You would be correct on both counts. But this is no less absurd than many laws that are proposed. And I can make a good case to support such a law.

Paint is composed of hundreds of chemicals, including volatile organic compounds, titanium dioxide, resins, and some other things I can't even spell. Some of these chemicals can be quite dangerous, and when combined they become a virtual Chernobyl. For example, if you ingested one ounce of 100% pure acrylic latex paint, you would experience severe stomach problems.
Few people realize that paint off gasses for a prolonged period--sometimes for years. So, while you may not saddle up to the bar and order a shot of SuperPaint on the rocks, you could be ingesting toxic fumes anytime you are in the proximity of paint.

Look around you. I bet you can spot a lot of things that have paint on them-- your walls, the woodwork, your furniture, and perhaps your shoes. (A little known fact is that most leather shoes are painted in Brazilian sweat shops by artisans who make cheap banana leaves look like expensive leather. But that is a different story.) All of these products are emitting toxic chemicals that are slowly destroying your liver. And the problem gets even worse if you start gnawing on one of these items.

You are probably thinking that you never gnaw on your furniture, your walls, or your shoes. And if you don't then I give you a lot of credit for your self-control. You see, paint manufacturers add secret ingredients to their products that subconsciously create strong gnawing urges in humans. During WWII, government scientists worked with the paint companies to find ways to influence enemy behavior by adding certain ingredients into paint, and then Allied bombers dropped tons of paint on villages throughout Europe. The result was very colorful. But I digress.

One of the primary problems with paint is poor adhesion. If the paint doesn't stick to the surface to which it is applied, it will come off. The result is peeling, flaking paint. Because of the secret, enticing ingredients in paint, humans will unknowingly ingest it. This often occurs in the middle of the night. This phenomenon has been documented in numerous B-grade movies.

Many people mistakenly believe that a paint job just requires picking a color and slapping some paint on the wall. Au contraire. There is much more to a high quality, long lasting job. Things such as picking the proper roller nap, using the right primers, and drinking an approved beer. Unfortunately, there are many people out there who are applying paint and don't know the difference between an eggshell and a satin. These people pose a tremendous public health risk.

It is time that we do something about it, and given the aroma of change that is in the air, this is the perfect time to do it. We need the federal government to enact sweeping regulations to insure that all paint is applied properly. We need to crack down on those who denigrate our trade, and do other things that I don't like. I urge you to write your Congressman and Senators in support of this proposal.

And while you are at it, you might suggest that they make me the Paint Czar.