No house is complete without a few coats of paint but it’ s not quite as straight forward as slapping some colour on a wall... especially not for an affordable housing project.
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A paint job can be a big task when contractors or developers haven’ t done the research.
IMAGE COURTESY OF PIXABAY
Paint it black or grey or...
No house is complete without a few coats of paint but it’ s not quite as straight forward as slapping some colour on a wall... especially not for an affordable housing project.
By Ntsako Khosa
“ Each brand of paint is different and the guarantee on each different product also varies,” says Jaques Scheepers from 70Nine SHADES.
South African Paints Manufacturing Association( SAPMA) say that getting the most value out of paint is a three-step process, it is part of a system.“ The choice of the paint, preparation of the substrate to be painted and quality of person who paints it, is important,” Scheepers advises.
Having been in the SAPMA for over eight years, executive director Deryck Spence, says that what you commonly find with paint selection, is that the cheapest product usually takes the cup.“ The architects or whoever is developing the property should ask how long they want the paint to last and ensure it must be done properly. This is what is going to give people a continuance of a lifestyle that they like,” says Spence.
“ Paint is the last thing that is executed in a project, because of this, it bears the brunt of skimping,” says Guy Lawson director at My Law Chemicals and Excelsior Paints. The problem with cheap paint is that,“ you apply that paint and the first rains that come, you’ ve got no paint, or it’ ll become transparent or you’ ll walk past it with a leather jacket and you’ ll have paint on it, fluorescence or if you’ ve got a dirty mark on it, you scrub it and the paint comes off,” Spence says. These are just some of the examples you will experience with cheap paint. There is also the recoating process that can be expensive.
DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONS
According to Spence, 20l of exterior PVA paint can range from R80 to about R1 500 this includes the packaging, transporting and so on. When deciding which paint to buy, it is pertinent to look at the properties of it.
Also, units to be built will house families that have children and the possibly of the walls getting dirty due to crayons or pen or dirty hands touching the paint, are some of the things that should be considered when selecting paint. Having a paint specification is a good start.
“ You’ ve got to decide on whether you want to spend the money on painting that is going to last five or 10 years. Or if you’ ll paint painting every year,” he says.
Some of the questions that you should ask when deciding include:
• What kind of paint is required,( oil-based or water-based)?
• What kind of brush to use,( fluffy, wool, synthetic or thin roller)?
• Is a 75ml brush needed if I’ m painting a gutter?
• What’ s the condition of the structure?
• Is safety equipment required to be painted?
“ It all depends on what you’ re going to be painting. All of this is important in painting, you can’ t take a chance,” explains Spence. Developers need to make sure that when purchasing paint
20
JANUARY- FEBRUARY 2018
AFFORDABLE
SA HOUSING