Alpine Painting & Sandblasting Contractors

AMB Property Corporation

AMB Property Corporation® is a leading owner, operator and developer of industrial real estate focused on the world’s busiest distribution markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia. They serve approximately 2,600 customers in 48 markets in 15 countries with a portfolio of 156.1 million square feet. The Company’s portfolio comprises High Throughput Distribution (HTD®) facilities—industrial properties built for speed located near key seaports, airports and major freeway interchanges.

Alpine Painting was selected to bid the Exterior Caulking & Painting of 14 warehouse buildings ranging in size from the smallest at 12,000 sq. ft. and the largest of 42,220 sq. ft. of Floor Square Footage. Estimating the 14 buildings was a challenge because each building was different from the next in size, substrate and scope of work. Surfaces varied from Stucco, Brick, Split Faced Block, Aggregate Panels, Cinder Block, Poured Smooth Concrete Foundations, Metal Drip Caps, Gutters, Leaders, Corrugated Metal Roofing & Siding Metal Overhangs, Railings, Galvanized Guardrails, Overhead Doors, Prefinished Metal Window & Door Frames and more.

Our Estimating Team walked this project on two separate occasions measuring each substrate and counting units for a total of 12 man hours. We followed the PDCA’s Estimating Guide utilizing production rates to determine our labor hours. Based on the square footage we followed modified spread rates from the coating manufacture’s product data sheets to determine the total material for each of the 5 different types of paint used on this project.

Alpine Painting was awarded the job by Amy Buchwald, Property Manager for AMB Property Corp. Alpine was chosen as the most qualified bidder from a total of 5 Painting Contractors bidding this project. It was later expressed that we were chosen based on multiple factors including but not limited to, completion of past projects of similar size and scope (references), complete and thorough bid package and competitiveness of overall project numbers.

Our proposal included a detailed scope of work identifying the specific building and substrates included in this project. We outlined a tentative schedule for the progression and logistics of the future work to dictate the pace of the project. Our proposal was detailed with surface preparation methods, a specific coating system with colors/finishes and the color locations. Our proposal, which was incorporated in our contract, summarized job specific conditions and exclusions so that prior to the start of work the customer and our company were on the same page. Our goal was to have an upfront understanding and like expectations to prevent unnecessary change orders and keep our customer satisfied throughout the job. Finally, for each building I included location specific notes to ensure that each of the custom AMB colors were applied to the right areas.

We discovered through conversations with the owner’s representative, Amy Buchwald, that a specific color scheme was very important. We used a combination of three main colors and two secondary colors for each of the 14 buildings. During our pre-job walkthrough, my supervisor, project manager, Amy and I visited each building and compared the notes from our proposal with her color scheme to ensure that we were in sync.

Prior to our arrival on the site another contractor removed hundreds of lineal feet of deteriorating mortar joints and repointed areas on each building. We waited the appropriate time for the mortar joints to cure prior to coating each building. Because there were so many areas that were repointed removing the residual mortar and loose dust was imperative. We utilized a minimum of 2500 psi water pressure on each building to ensure the surfaces were clean enough to accept paint.

Two 30 ft. rough terrain scissor lifts were utilized to safely and more effectively access each building. Our men also used rolling scaffolding and various size ladders to work around the complex. Safety is a priority on every single one of our jobs. Our men used five point harnesses and lanyards while working on lifts. We also provided proper hazard communication and marked out and notified each building tenant of the work to be performed prior to working on their building. This was important because many building tenants needed to move vehicles, materials and equipment in order for us to safely get to all areas of the buildings.

Any failing or deteriorated caulk was removed and replaced with Sikaflex 15LM Elastomeric Sealant. All peeling paint and rusted surfaces were hand tool cleaned. Once all of the rust and loose and peeling paint was removed our crew applied a full prime coat of Glidden Professional HydroSealer Primer/Sealer to the masonry surfaces on each building. Glidden’s HydroSealer is a revolutionary product designed to bond to smooth concrete surfaces, bind chalking and worn surfaces and can be applied to new, dry masonry surfaces with a P.H. of 13 prior to a 30 day cure window. To provide a longer life span of the coating system we upgraded to an elastomeric finish coat. Glidden Professional’s DecraFlex 300 Smooth Elastomeric Coating was chosen. DecraFlex 300 paint was a great choice because it is a premium quality, high build, elastomeric waterborne coating, that provides a long lasting weather resistant finish on exterior, above grade vertical masonry, stucco and poured concrete. It provides a waterproof film, even against wind-driven rain, yet breathes to allow entrapped moisture vapor to escape, preventing blistering. Superior elongation properties allow the film to expand and contract over existing hairline cracks without the reoccurrence of cracking through the film.

Prefinished metal surfaces were to be coated such as Drip Caps and Window & Door Frames containing a Baked-On Factory Coating. These surfaces were scuff sanded to provide a mechanical bond and promote paint adhesion. We then applied a specialized Bonding Primer, XIM- UMA, to ensure a chemical bond. Any rusted metal surfaces were primed with Devoe Devguard 4160, Rust Inhibitive Primer. Window Trim and other metal building surfaces were coated with Devoe Devflex 4216 High Performance Waterborne Acrylic Coating, Semi-Gloss Finish. Devflex 4216 has qualities such as alkyd-like hardness and durability, exceptional adhesion, superior flow and leveling, excellent gloss and color retention, low odor, and high hiding abilities.

Since this project had a tight time frame Alpine utilized three crews of 3-4 men to work starting the middle of August through the entire month of September. September proved to be a very hot month in Central New Jersey. Our men had to use caution and not paint metal surfaces in the heat of the day or bypass certain areas of the building and paint them on cloudy days. We worked weekends to maximize the amount of work completed and to minimize the inconvenience to local businesses. Paint was applied by a combination of brush, roll and airless spray depending on the substrate and weather conditions.

Throughout the entire project each building was open to conduct business. We safely coned and taped off areas where we were working to ensure that no customers or workers entered into our work area. Our foreman, supervisors and project manager were at the site on a regular basis to ensure the project was completed safely and according to the contract documents.

Overall, the project was a huge success. We were able to complete 14 Office Buildings/Warehouses in 36 working days (Under Two Months) all while allowing each business owner to remain working with minimal inconvenience during the summer season. AMB expressed their gratitude by presenting Alpine Painting with a letter of recommendation. (See Letter #11 - Letter of Recommendation)

 

Project Details

• 176,000 SF of Surface Area Painted
• 1000 gallons of Primer
• 1400 gallons of Elastomeric Coating
• 25 Cases of Caulk
• $200,000.00 - Approximate Total Contract Amount

Surface Preparation and Coating System

• Full Pressure Wash to remove chalk and contaminants
• Spot SSPC-SP2/3 (Hand/Power Tool Clean)
• Sika 15LM – Sealant to Failing Expansion Joints

 

Credit To

Amy Buchwald, Lead Property Manager for AMB Property

Ed Bain, Alpine Painting’s Lead Project Manager

Our diligent and hardworking craftsman

Artie Ableson, Ricciardi Brothers Paint Store and Glidden & Devoe Paint Representative

Able Rental Company

www.AMB.com General Information