@opps
The company I work for is pretty much 50/50 on sprayers vs brushes - we sub out the work and it is the individual paint crews who use whatever means they wish. That said, it has to be finished to a high standard or they don't get full payment. Most painters on our books have been working for the company for years, so it is only on the odd (exceptionally busy) occasion where someone else is hired and doesn't live up to the set standards. Even then, they usually get paid xx% of the contract, but a xx% 'remedial fee' will be withheld for 'unsatisfactory work'. (The fee is variable from job to job).
I'm one of three 'managers/estimators', so I go out to assess/price the jobs and decide which type of crew is required for each job. The contractors with large paint crews that we hire will usually get the bigger commercial jobs, and those are the ones who are more likely to use spray equipment. For most domestic work, we will hire smaller crews, who are the ones less likely to spray - the jobs that I price where I can see perfection is unattainable will be given to the 1-2 man 'budget' crews that we deal with less regularly. It may sound bad, but it's horses for courses, although even then we expect a finished standard far higher than what is visible on the initial inspection. However everything is detailed in their contracts before anyone signs, so they all know where they stand.
I don't personally like the hiring methods used because I know that some painters are taking on the smaller (often harder) jobs knowing that they have to put more effort in for our company (than they would if the homeowners hired them directly) just because they need the work. On a few occasions, I have given homeowners some of our painters' details simply because I know all parties would be better off hiring them directly, but I can get into trouble for that so only do it when I see clients that need a helping hand.
Regarding brushes, I have to be fair and say that they are not as cheap as you might imagine, especially if buying from the sheds over here. The 'premium' US made products are obviously somewhat cheaper here than they are over there, but it's not as much as I had expected when I first moved here. Obviously, trade suppliers are cheaper still and we can get equipment cheap via the company, but nothing is 'cheap as chips' when it comes to quality equipment. In fact, some of the everyday products - scuttles, trays, tape, etc, - is inferior to what I used back home and often a good bit more expensive. I suppose you can factor in that they are often different products to what I was used to using, but I still think they could be a lot better for the prices.
I can't say I have encountered any major issues with the water-based finishes becoming soft at work, but that may be down to the fact that we only tend to use a handful of trustworthy brands, unless otherwise specified by the customer. On a more personal note, the only brand I have noticed that seems to have had that problem is one that begins with 'V'
, but even then, the product was far superior to use than it's UK version.
The company I work for is pretty much 50/50 on sprayers vs brushes - we sub out the work and it is the individual paint crews who use whatever means they wish. That said, it has to be finished to a high standard or they don't get full payment. Most painters on our books have been working for the company for years, so it is only on the odd (exceptionally busy) occasion where someone else is hired and doesn't live up to the set standards. Even then, they usually get paid xx% of the contract, but a xx% 'remedial fee' will be withheld for 'unsatisfactory work'. (The fee is variable from job to job).
I'm one of three 'managers/estimators', so I go out to assess/price the jobs and decide which type of crew is required for each job. The contractors with large paint crews that we hire will usually get the bigger commercial jobs, and those are the ones who are more likely to use spray equipment. For most domestic work, we will hire smaller crews, who are the ones less likely to spray - the jobs that I price where I can see perfection is unattainable will be given to the 1-2 man 'budget' crews that we deal with less regularly. It may sound bad, but it's horses for courses, although even then we expect a finished standard far higher than what is visible on the initial inspection. However everything is detailed in their contracts before anyone signs, so they all know where they stand.
I don't personally like the hiring methods used because I know that some painters are taking on the smaller (often harder) jobs knowing that they have to put more effort in for our company (than they would if the homeowners hired them directly) just because they need the work. On a few occasions, I have given homeowners some of our painters' details simply because I know all parties would be better off hiring them directly, but I can get into trouble for that so only do it when I see clients that need a helping hand.
Regarding brushes, I have to be fair and say that they are not as cheap as you might imagine, especially if buying from the sheds over here. The 'premium' US made products are obviously somewhat cheaper here than they are over there, but it's not as much as I had expected when I first moved here. Obviously, trade suppliers are cheaper still and we can get equipment cheap via the company, but nothing is 'cheap as chips' when it comes to quality equipment. In fact, some of the everyday products - scuttles, trays, tape, etc, - is inferior to what I used back home and often a good bit more expensive. I suppose you can factor in that they are often different products to what I was used to using, but I still think they could be a lot better for the prices.
I can't say I have encountered any major issues with the water-based finishes becoming soft at work, but that may be down to the fact that we only tend to use a handful of trustworthy brands, unless otherwise specified by the customer. On a more personal note, the only brand I have noticed that seems to have had that problem is one that begins with 'V'
, but even then, the product was far superior to use than it's UK version.
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