Like Bugs to a Light…

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As a commercial contractor we encounter many interesting situations – day and night. Several of our commercial accounts use our services for facility maintenance – handling a wide variety of projects, some of which require our services after hours. One would think that when the sun goes down and all is quiet within the Seattle city limits that a fair amount of work could be addressed without interruptions from the public. Oh how wrong – think again!

Over the years, our experience has taught us that after hours work is met with a mind blowing amount of people in our way – like bugs to a light. A good amount of our facility maintenance work for commercial accounts pertains to safety. A commercial client requested a new concrete anti-slip coating at their ATM locations. Of course, we scheduled this work to be performed after hours to avoid people, because the products being used needed 6 hours to cure before receiving foot traffic. The work was schedule to begin at about 8 pm and the area of work would be closed down until 8 am the following morning. A week in advance of our work, signs were posted that the ATMs would be closed for use on the specific night of our work.

Our crews worked the first few hours of the night shift to prep and apply the anti-slip coating, the remaining 6 hours was literally “watching paint dry”. At this point, the job foreman sent the crew home and he himself was left to wait out the remainder of the shift to ensure the coating was not disturbed and ready for use in the morning. No sooner did the crew pack up and leave, then all the ATM customers in the city needed to use this specific location. With the job foreman standing in front of the area of work to re-direct foot traffic and with the location completely “taped off” with several rows of caution tape, people were fighting their way in to use the ATM machines. Every excuse was given; “I’ll only be a minute”, “I need to get cash out”, “I won’t leave any foot prints”, etc. Why everyone and their brother needed to cross the line and step all over the newly applied anti-slip product that was curing, when there was another ATM machine around the other side of the bank, still has us scratching our heads. No matter how nicely our job foreman tried to redirect traffic, say the ATM machines were out of service, told patrons their shoes would get stuck in the wet concrete, every single bank customer crossed the line without regard for the project at hand. Keep in mind this work was performed on a Tuesday night and the crowds of people were coming in droves between midnight and 4 am. Who would have thought this one bank branch was so popular on a Tuesday night?

No matter what challenge a project brings, we stay the course and make it right for our clients. Our commercial accounts keep coming back to us for services because they know they can count on Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services to do the job right, whatever it takes. We do our best to plan for whatever we think may come at us on a project, but like bugs attracted to light, we had no idea how a wet concrete coating would attract so many patrons at 2 am.

Please reach out and let us know how we can help you maintain your facility, we pride ourselves on a quality job and working within the needs of your specific situation. Until the next funny story in the Adventures of Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.

Make it a fair fight…

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As a contractor that has commercial clients, many times our professional carpenters and painters will need to work nights in order to accommodate the client’s schedule to have the business open and running during regular business hours. We have several large commercial banks with multiple sites throughout Western Washington that we work for and our team members are all very familiar with the after hour’s security protocol. Once the branch is closed and all employees are off site, then our crews can unlock the facility, contact security to let them know we are working in the building for the night, and then proceed to lock up the front door, so there are no unexpected visitors.

Many years ago we had a week long project for a particular bank to remodel/upgrade both restrooms. Once onsite, the job foreman followed the standard security protocol and then got to work with the crew upgrading the first of the two bathrooms. It was about halfway through the shift, around 1 am when all of the sudden the 3 man crew working in the restroom came face to face with police officers in the hallway outside of the bathroom with their guns drawn. Of course the team was just a little freaked out. Apparently the crew had tripped a silent alarm (in the bathroom?) which called the local police. It was very obvious that the crew was working on the bathroom and authorized to be in the branch that night, so nothing became of that situation, but to this day when our crews are working in a commercial bathroom, they look for the “silent alarm switch” – we still haven’t found it.

We do many commercial bathroom upgrades every year. Our teams of professionals work quickly so there is minimum time that the bathroom is not available for service. All products and materials needed are staged onsite before the work begins so we have the assurance that all items are accounted for. Quality is our standard and daily clean up is essential so when staff arrive the following morning there is no evidence outside the restroom that any work is being performed at the branch. It’s not every day
that our crew is greeted by guns or police officers, but all were professionals in the situation. Now when we know the team will be working a night shift in a restroom, the joke is, “grab your guns – nail guns and spray guns, it needs to be a fair fight”!

Let us know if you have a project; we pride ourselves on quality and working within the needs of your situation. Until the next funny story in the Adventures of Wheeler Painting and Restoration services, be well and do good.

“No thank you- I don’t drink coffee”

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To all you coffee drinkers out there, you know the value of being well caffeinated particularly for project meetings. Oftentimes, in the construction industry for larger commercial projects, there is a preliminary meeting for subcontractors with the general contractor and client. Many times there are new faces and other subcontractors at these meetings that we are do not know.

Years ago I found myself at one of these pre-construction meetings, in a conference room on the job site. I arrived ahead of the general contractor, but other subcontractors were onsite. When I walked through the door, I noticed that I was the only female at the meeting, not uncommon for my situation at all. One of gentlemen at the table, who was there to represent for one of the subcontractors, was OLDER and requested that I go and “grab coffee for the room”. Obviously, the gentleman thought that I was someone from the office who was sent into the conference room to get coffee for the meeting. I responded to the gentleman saying, “No thank you, I don’t drink coffee” and I proceeded to sit down at the table. Of course the gentleman was a bit confused and a few moments later, the project manager for the general contractor came in to start the meeting. The introductions around the table began, and once it was known that I wasn’t the “gal from the office”, but the painting subcontractor; well…… needless to say, I wasn’t asked to get coffee anymore. This is just one more funny story or awkward situation that I come across as a women who owns and operates her own construction company.

A commercial project is very different than a residential project. Typically, they are larger with many moving parts and several other trades to consider and work with. We have been offering professional painting services in the commercial market for the last 33 years and work well with other subcontractors to complete the project on time for the client. Many commercial projects have complicating issues such as traffic control for exterior work or after hours work for active interior spaces. Our professional team members understand the complexity of commercial projects and offer the flexibility to accommodate factors that lend itself to a successful project.

Our services range from interior and exterior panting to full service general construction. Tenant improvement, refurbishment, modernization of an office space, common space or restrooms are a good amount of what we do. What we don’t do is serve coffee, but we would if the price was right.

Let us know if you have a project coming up that we can take a look at for you. We pride ourselves on quality and working within the needs of your project. Until the next funny story in the Adventures of Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.

Unexpected Surprises are Nothing for Our Interior Painters

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Our team of highly-skilled, professional painters have come across many situations throughout the years. Commercial work presents different issues than residential work and one is not better or easier than the other- just different. Before work begins on a project, the project manager has been onsite,  has had meetings with the client, and noted any issues that the crew should be aware of to ensure the production crew has a smooth running project. Just ask our painters about the process, the products to be used, or even the timeline and they are on it and can provide great insight to a project. However, when a residential client unexpectedly answered the door in her bra and panties, our team members were flustered! This experience happened on a residential project, several years ago, but it’s still a story we all talk about today.

The crew of 3 arrived on the project and the job foreman approached the front door and knocked. Of course when the client answered the door very casually in her bra and panties, the job foreman was beyond embarrassed and didn’t even know what to say. The other two crew members were busy unloading the vehicles and the job foreman was stuck there at the front door with very intense eye contact. The client did not act as if anything was usual and welcomed the team in like nothing was up. After showing the crew to the rooms where the painting was to be done, she excused herself to finish getting ready for the day. There was an awkward silence – the crew not knowing what to say or think. So the team just moved forward with getting to the task at hand – painting. The client left to go to work for the day and I seem to recall it was some time after lunch before the crew broke out in laughter and the jokes started flying. The job foreman was the only one of the 3 professional painter’s onsite that day who was married. The joking was not about the client, but rather should girlfriends and the wife be brought in on the “revelation” of the day.

Interior, residential painting is a very straight forward process for our team of professional painters. Contents are moved out of the way, the flooring is covered, light switches removed, light fixtures removed and then walls and ceiling are prepared for paint (hole or crack repairs). Our standard is to apply two coats of paint to all surfaces to be painted; walls, ceiling, millwork, doors, etc. After all painting is complete, the area is put back together – window blinds re-hung, switch plate covers installed, can light
trim rings installed, masking removed and contents reset. The bra and panty greeting by no means is a regular occurrence for our crew. The crew made the collective decision to start at 8:30 am instead of 8 am for the remainder of the project, in order to give the client plenty of time to make a good outfit selection for the day. No matter what your painting project may be, we are confident our crew of professional painters can handle it, even if it comes with a bra and panty greeting.

Until the next funny story in the Adventures of Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.

A Woman in the World of Construction

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Being a single woman in the world of construction, I have had some experiences that many others have not had. There was a session where we did a good amount of work for one specific general contractor, with one particular project manager. We were a main sub-contractor and performed a wide variety of work. About once a month I would meet with the lead project manager to go over paperwork and get invoices approved before they were submitted to accounts payable for payment. The meetings were always at their corporate office and in the common conference room. I kept the meeting to an hour and only discussed projects. Before an upcoming meeting, the project manager called me and asked if we could move our meeting to a restaurant and have lunch while we discussed the projects. I agreed, but insisted that I pay for lunch. He agreed and just before hanging up, his last comment was, “come dressed to kill”.

Great, this was heading in a direction that was not professional at all. It’s never been easy being a woman in construction, but I really enjoy what I do and the work our company performs for all of our clients is outstanding. So what to do? I wanted to keep it professional, but also communicate that our relationship was just about the business of construction. It took me a good portion of the week leading up to the lunch appointment to figure out what I was going to do and what I would say. The day finally came for the lunch appointment. I was purposely a few minutes late as I did not want to be the first one to the restaurant. I wanted the project manager to be there first, seated at the table so he could get a good look at me when I came in. You should have seen the look on his face when I came to the table in “hunting-camo” from head to toe -including camouflage face paint. I boldly walked up to the table and sat down. “Dressed to kill, what’s the hunting adventure?” I asked. He was so embarrassed and understood that I was not going to play his little game. Needless to say, we went on to have a great lunch, invoices were approved and the working relationship is still going strong to this day.

He never apologized and we never discussed his intent behind his comment “come dressed to kill”, but I thought my solution to the problem was just about the funniest thing ever. If you are wondering what the actual project was that this “hunting lunch” pertained to, it was a commercial building that needed some upgrades to roof top structure for the elevator “dog house”. Our team of professional carpenters fabricated and installed a new roof ladder with anchor points, all up to code. The old metal exterior cladding that was used as a siding material around the elevator “dog house” was removed and upgraded with a texture Hardie Panel siding board. The exterior cladding was sequenced correctly with a new water shield to address the water intrusion issue that was occurring. After the carpenters finished their work, then our teams of professional painters came in to prime and paint the new upgrades completely.

Our team enjoys a variety of projects and a good challenge every now and then. I guess I enjoy a good challenge as well. I’ve never been hunting, but if I ever need to go, I have the outfit. Let us know if you have a project that you need help with. We would love the opportunity to do an amazing job for you, one time and under budget.

Until the next funny story of the Adventures at Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.

 

Does your Home need a “New Dress or Shoes”?

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It is that time of year for exterior painting.  The season here in the Pacific Northwest can start in late April or early May if we have a dry spring, but many times we don’t swing into high gear with exterior painting until after the 4th of July.   The exterior painting season continues well into October and many times early November.  Commonly, when a client reaches out to us to schedule a complimentary onsite appointment for measurements to be taken and to discuss color options, they call and inform our office that they are looking to get a quote to have their exterior painted or something along these lines. 

Our project managers will come out and take a look at a client’s exterior.  Inspect for areas of rot that may need to be replaced, look at the condition of the existing sealants and caulking.  A discussion is had about exterior contents that will need to be moved away from the house and vegetation that will need to be cut back as well before work begins.  Often times, if a client is unsure of colors, the project manager can provide suggestions, show pictures of recently completed project or direct the client to paint companies like Sherwin Williams or Benjamin Moore for more inspiration.  At the time of the initial meeting with the client, our project managers take as much time as needed to gain all the information we need for the project as well as explain in detail what the client can expect through the exterior painting process.   Most clients are not home when our professional painters are working, so a project manager will discuss details like access to the back yard, security of pets, what to expect each day for progress and scope of work.  The flow of work is reviewed with the client from power washing, to masking, to prep work to the actual paint application.  We like to have these in-depth conversations with potential clients so they understand the value they are getting when they hire Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services to be their professional painting contractor.

A few years ago, a client was referred to our company.  This is one of the best ways for us to acquire a new client since a referral comes with a positive experience.  Typically it is a friend, family member, or maybe a business associate that has had a great experience with our professional crew and passes our name along so others can experience the great services we offer.  The phone rings and on the other end is a wonderful lady, very excited, explaining that “her girl” is having a birthday and needs a new dress and a pair of shoes.  I was totally thrown off when I took the call.  I thought to myself we are in the construction industry, not the fashion industry.  I started to explain that I thought the caller had the wrong number or maybe there had been some miscommunication, but we were a painting company, not a fashion company.  The caller responded with perfect, we were just what she needed.  It took a little more time on the phone for me to figure out that “her girl” was the client’s old home and the home was going to be celebrating 100 years that coming summer.  The client wanted a new exterior paint job for the house, therefore equating it to a “new dress”.  I was on board and understood what we could help the client with.  I was still a bit confused as the client also mentioned that “her girl” also needed a “new pair of shoes”.  Come to find out the historic home had wonderful curb appeal, but also had a small retaining wall in the front of the house that needed some attention in order to refresh.  This retaining wall, the shoes, needed some cleaning, concrete patching and a new coat of specialty paint.  All of this was certainly something we could do, I just needed to get up to speed with the terminology the client was using and translate that into the services we offer.  A new dress and a new pair of shoes equaled an exterior painting job and restoration of the front retaining wall.  

Bring our client’s projects to life is what we do.  To provide the client with a professional job, a great experience with our company, and quality craftsmanship is what we are all about.  It took me a hot minute to translate the excitement of the client into specific services that we offer, but once I got on her page, our team of professional painters were able to provide a beautiful “new dress” and a “new pair of shoes” for a great client.  We have gone on to perform many projects on this historic home over the years and “she” is a beauty.  So regardless if you need a “new dress”, a “new pair of shoes”, a kitchen remodel, a bathroom makeover, or an addition to your home, we are the team for you.  

Let us know if you have a project, we would love the opportunity to do an amazing job for you, on time and on budget. 

Until the next funny story of the Adventures at Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.

The “Bare” Facts about this Kitchen Remodel

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Kitchen remodels are a very popular service we perform for many of our clients.  A great deal of time is spent with the client before any onsite work is performed.  There are onsite meetings, design meetings, consultations at showrooms to assist in material selections, flooring and counter top selections, informational meetings about the best appliances and appointments for cabinet selection and layout.  We take our time on the front side of the project so we can provide the dream kitchen for our client.  When the onsite work begins, we first start with removal of appliances, cabinets, counter tops, flooring, etc. so we basically only have the 4 walls of the kitchen remaining.  The project starts with a clean slate.

At Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, we pride ourselves on outstanding and regular communication with all our clients.  When a project is put on our schedule to start work, we have ensured that our schedule matches up with the client’s schedule, since our work can be very disruptive to someone’s regular routine. By the time our team of professional carpenters are onsite, there has been an abundance of communication with the client.   It takes an average of 2-3 months from when we first take a call from the client to when the actual kitchen remodeling work begins.  During these first few months, most often a client is removing contents, cleaning out cabinets and getting prepared to have the existing kitchen taken completely out.  In most circumstances our clients are at work when this type of project is going on (complete demo of the kitchen) or some even opt to move out of the house for a few weeks while their kitchen undergoes a complete remodel.   In these circumstances a client will provide us with a key for access and the key is kept on site in a lock box attached to the exterior of the home. 

It is our company policy that before entering a home, key in hand or not, that the job foreman rings the door bell, knocks on the door and waits a good 3-5 minutes before entering to ensure we are not disturbing a client’s routine.  Understanding the amount of communication with our clients and our entering process into someone home in the morning (extensive knocking), it is very rare that we find anything but a quiet job site waiting for us when we arrive.

You can only imagine the surprise of the crew when they entered the home of a client for the first day of onsite work for a kitchen remodel when they found the female client completely naked with a towel on her head in front of an open fridge, drinking orange juice from the container.  She screamed and made a nose dive behind the existing kitchen island for cover.  Our crew was completely flustered and ran out of the house without exchanging words with the client.   The flustered job foreman stood in the driveway with the rest of the crew and made a call to the office to explain the situation.  The office advised that the crew wait outside and at some point the client would come out, fully dressed and at that point work would move forward.  

Sure enough within about 30 minutes; a fully dressed, very embarrassed client came out of the front door and deeply apologized for the awkward start to the project and said she had lost track of time while getting ready.  In an effort to ease the awkwardness of the situation the client stated “the whole reason I’m moving forward with the kitchen remodel is for a larger kitchen island, because I never know when I might need to duck and cover.”  She gave a wink and headed off to work.   The crew stood there speechless for a few minutes, waiting for the shock to wear off, before everyone burst into laughter and headed into the house the start the project.

We do our absolute best to cover all situations and discuss all possible issues that might come up on a project, but nothing in our previous experience prepared us for the naked client in the kitchen that morning.  We now know that we might need to cover naked… regardless of what needs to be covered on a project, we pride ourselves on doing an amazing job, on time and on budget.  Let us know if we can be of service with your next project. 

Until we share another funny story; be well and do good.

Waterproofing “Naked Alley”

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Waterproofing of commercial building exteriors is something we have extensive experienced with.  Many buildings in the greater Puget Sound area are older and have failing exterior envelopes that require maintenance and waterproofing.  At times, it is the wall to sidewalk transition joint that has failed and is causing water damage or it could be a failed expansion joint in a concrete tilt up building.  Regardless of the circumstances, our highly skilled carpenters can address waterproofing with many products and mechanisms.

Many times the job is fairly straight forward and our approach is clear and the team determines the best process to achieve the waterproofing.  However, it is those circumstances outside of our control that can tend to cause the greatest issues on a job.  One might think it would be the weather that would cause our carpenter the biggest challenge.  True, weather can play a big factor, but over the years we have learned how to work with our every changing weather here in the Pacific Northwest.  Our greatest challenge on any given job is always the people.  Not our people or even the client’s people, it tends to be “the other people”, those totally not related to the job that can be a big challenge.  

While working down south in the Olympia area, our highly skilled carpenters were working on a commercial building, alley side, that had a few areas of water intrusion that needed waterproofing.  We arranged for a City of Olympia permit to close down the alley to all auto traffic and most foot traffic so our team could work without hindrances.  While working inside the alley to address the waterproofing of the building our crews parked their vehicles in the alley.  This would allow the crew to easily access their tools and our crew vehicles made it impossible for others to enter the alley.  The job foreman was comfortable with the job set up until a gentlemen came strolling down the alley right through our established job site.  Now foot traffic was not a large hindrance and the team could kindly direct a few pedestrians out of the coned off area.   This particular man was walking down the alley naked, nothing but the birthday suit on.  Awkward!  Of course this is one of those times when the crew thinks to themselves, “we don’t get paid enough to handle this kind of stuff.”  

The job foreman got off his ladder and was approaching the naked man, when all of a sudden the naked man grabbed a large sealant gun (similar to a standard caulk gun, but larger) that was sitting on a truck tailgate and he took off running past the crew and the area of work.  There wasn’t a single carpenter that was willing to chase that man down to reclaim the tool.  The job foreman just yelled out to the others on the crew saying, “I’ll call the office and put in for a tool replacement, we are not chasing that one down.”  We have a standing policy in our company that if your tools wear out or break while on the job site, the company will replace them.  We have always said if a carpenter is careless with their tools and it just “walks off”, then you are on your own for replacement.  In this case, that sealant gun ran out of the alley faster than the crew could imagine.  Long story short, the company replaced the sealant gun.

Needless to say, it has been 10 years since that project and the waterproofing is holding up very well.  Any time we have a new project to address for the client at that building in Olympia, the crew refers to it as “Naked Alley”.  We will never know what happen to that sealant gut, but we do know that we stand behind the amazing work that our crew performs each and every day.  We pride ourselves on doing an amazing job that stands the test of time and finishes on time and on budget.  Let us know if you have a project you need help with. 

Until we share another funny story of the Adventures at Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.

Master Bathroom Remedy

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We get calls every day from client’s who need us to come look at a water damage situation that originates in a bathroom.  So it was not out of the ordinary when a client called and asked us to repair a living room ceiling below a master bathroom due to water damage and to source the area of water leaking from the master bathroom.  An appointment was made and one of our project managers met the client on site to see what he could figure out.  The repairs to the living room ceiling were very straight forward; replace some drywall, texture to match existing and paint the ceiling complete. 

Now upstairs in the master bathroom the investigation began.  The obvious culprit was the free standing soaking tub as it was directly over the area of damage in the living room.  The project manager’s first thought was it could be the free-standing tub filler fixture or possible the tub drain itself.  After extensive testing of both areas, neither of these items was causing a water leak. The tub was free standing so it wasn’t mounted to any surrounding walls, yet it set close to the back wall of the bathroom with about a six inch gap between the tub and the wall.  The project manager got down on all four and was looking all around the outside of the tub with a flashlight and could see where the floor tile around the backside of the tub was not finished and there was no grout or sealer.  The project manager explained the situation to the client and stated that when someone is in the tub and splashing around vigorously, water splashed out of the tub is literally running through the unfinished floor tile to the ceiling tile below.  The client was very surprised and said that the tub is hardly used and that his wife is the only one who soaks in the tub.  Then the project manager bent down to the backside of the tub again and pulled out a pair of men’s underwear.  The project manager suggested that maybe it would be best if the tub was only used by one person in the tub at a time in order to prevent water displacement out of the tub by two people sitting in it.

     The client responded to say that those were not his underwear…..  

Team Wheeler was on site within a few days.  Our professional carpenters removed the soaking tub and pulled up the loose floor tile that were just sitting on the floor behind the tub.  A waterproof coating was applied to the floor and the tiles reinstalled.  The tiles were finished off with grout and the entire floor grout was sealed to prevent future water damage.  The tub was reset, drain reinstalled and tub filler put back in place.  The tub was tested for water leaks and was found to be completely water tight.  While the work was being performed in the bathroom upstairs, the crew removed a 4X4 piece of water damaged drywall from the living room ceiling as well as wet insulation in order to expose the floor framing for the master bathroom.  The framing was left exposed for a few days.  A containment system was created and a fan and dehumidifier left to running for a few days to ensure all framing was completely dried out.  The water coming from the master bathroom upstairs had only caused water staining and no rot was present.  Once the water testing was completed in the tub, all exposed floor joists/framing were treated with Microban (an antimicrobial to prevent organic growth).  New insulation was installed and drywall replaced in the 4X4 inspection area.  Tape, mud and finish texture to the drywall to blend it in with the existing and then the complete ceiling was finished off with two coats of paint.  Due the highly skilled painters (who also perform drywall work), there was no evidence of damage or a patch.  

The project finished very well with a solid master bathroom floor and a restored living room ceiling.  With our highly skilled carpenters and painters, we don’t run into much of anything that we can’t fix.  However, our team has few skills to figure out who the mystery pair of underwear belongs to and who might be responsible for splashing wildly in the tub.  Not all projects have such a funny or mysterious start, but regardless of what the project may be, we are dedicated to handling each project with skill and professionalism.  We pride ourselves on doing an amazing job, on time and on budget.  Let us know if we can be of service with your next project. 

Until we share the next funny story, be well and do good.

Commercial Painting in Seattle, WA

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Commercial painting projects are very common place for us, but not all commercial painting projects are the same.  Some projects are done in unoccupied spaces before a client moves in as part of a tenant improvement project, some projects are performed during regular business hours and some projects require a night shift due to the nature of the business where we are painting.  Several years ago we were asked to do some painting in a retail space that was opened 7 days a week, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm, so in this situation the paint crew took several night shifts to perform the requested work due to limited hours and the need to have the retail space completely restored for business before opening the following morning.  

At times our team performs our work independent of anyone, some clients will hire a security guard and other businesses require a member from the company to be on site while we are painting.  Now on this occasion we had the facility manager onsite with our team overnight while the crew worked.  The project was painting several areas of the store broken down into small areas each night so the paint could dry and items restocked before the store opened the following morning. Contents were removed from the area of work, masking used to cover all areas not being worked on at any given night, and then the prep and painting proceeded. 

Since the team was not spread out across the store and were just working in the designated place, they quickly lost track of the facility manger.  At the beginning of the night shifts the facility manager would make small talk with the crew, but after some time, it became apparent that this small talk was getting in the way of the painting progress.  As the team moved through the first night, addressing the necessary steps of the painting process and cleaning up as they went, they lost track of the facility manager.  The store was locked down for the evening, so at the beginning of the shift the crew made sure they had all supplies, materials and tools inside the store with them along with food for break times.  At first break no one could find the facility manager, mind you they did not look really hard, but thought nothing of it as they went through the night performing the painting they were there to do.  As it was getting closer to the end of their shift and the painting was done for the evening and the retail space restored for opening in a few hours, the job foreman was getting anxious to leave and turn the crew loose for the night.  The facility manager was nowhere to be found and everyone wanted to get out of there to head to bed. 

Since the crew was locked in the store, they reached out to our project manager to have them (in the middle of the night) “call” the facility manager in order to let them know they were done painting for the night, to have a quality control check of the work and to get let out of the building.  Now our project manager who was at their home sleeping and woke up to the job foreman’s call and tried calling the facility manager, with no luck.  Now the retail store was not super large, but had many unique features in the store.  The crew members checked the dressing rooms, the restrooms and several other areas only to find the facility manager sound asleep on a couch towards the back of the retail space near the fireplace.  

This was a bit of an awkward situation for the painters.  The phone call did not wake the sleeping facility manager and the loud talking of the painters also did not wake the sleeping facility manager.  No one felt super comfortable “shaking” the sleeping individual awake, since the volume of the snoring indicated that this person was good and asleep.  Finally out of desperation, the job foreman approached the sleeping facility manager and briskly nudged their shoulder while shouting fairly loudly to awaken “sleeping beauty”.  Of course, there was some awkwardness and a bit of embarrassment on the part of the sleeping facility manager as they wiped the drool from their cheek, getting up to engage with our team.  Needless to say this process went on for three more nights; our crew came in, did the painting needed for the night, while the facility manager feel fast asleep on the couch near the fireplace. 

The project was complete and the client was very pleased with our work (we’ve had an ongoing relationship with the retailer for over 8 years now.  Several facility managers have come and gone over those 8 years, but only one was such a sound sleeper.  So no matter if your facility manager falls asleep on the job, no worries, and our team will not!  Our team of highly skilled painters address many projects requiring a wide variety of skills, but this was the one and only time that the painters needed to brush up on their “wake up call” skills, but professionalism prevailed and all was well that ended well.  Let us know if we can be of service on your next project.

Until the next funny story in the Adventures at Wheeler Painting and Restoration Services, be well and do good.