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OSHA

Now for the down side.

Small business in the construction industry, Frisbee Painting is very concerned with safety. Frisbee Painting certainly wants all of our employees to return home each night safe and with a profit for the day.

The things I learned in the 10 hour OSHA course yesterday.

1) OSHA on average issues 2.7 citations per visit.

2) OSHA has a new goal to issue 5 citations per visit.

3) OSHA has no part of the agency designed to help businesses achieve compliance.

4) Anything discussed yesterday concerning safety was just good common sense.

5) Many safety issues on a construction site are, as you can imagine, subjective.

6) OSHA will easily be able to achieve 5 citations per visit.

Does this strike anyone else as the wrong method?

OSHA

In an continuing effort to keep up with the changes in regulations, and improve the service we offer our customers all of our foremen have just returned from a 10 hour OSHA training class for safety, all of our foremen have completed this now.

Not only will our customers receive better service, but we hope to continue our record of no on the job injuries!!

Safety Safety Safety

As construction workers it is very important to be safety conscious. Frisbee Painting Inc has decided as of tomorrow all of our foremen will be OSHA certified. This is becoming the standard on commercial jobs, and we have decided to make it a priority on residential jobs as well.

Lead Paint

I have just finished reading the CDC’s “Preventing Lead Poisoning in Young Children”. It is a very dry read, but full of great information. There are two main things I have taken away from the reading.

1) Although lead exposure can be caused by many different things (lead jewelry, food, and cosmetics) the most common high-dose sources of lead exposure are lead based paints and lead contaminated house dust and soil.

2) Large numbers of children with elevated BLLs live in very close proximity to each other.
This leads me to believe that many of these children are living in housing that was built before 1978 and has been poorly maintained. Though I am not an expert in the matter I am lead to conclude that maintaining a property and routine cleaning will greatly reduce the risk to young children. However, these are only my personal conclusions.

We will have 2 painters certified in lead paint removal within two months.

For more information about us visit http://frisbeepainting.com

Technology

This is an area that I have had to play catch up! If you are having problems with this visit

http://tinyurl.com/cnm8sv

it will be worth your time!!

Lead Paint

Another good link for information about lead paint:

http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/body_burdens/b1-graph.htm

Lead Paint

Here is a great link for information about lead paint:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5803a3.htm?s_cid=mm5803a3_es

It is a very dry read, but great information with more links if this is something that concerns you.

Choosing a color

So many times this is where it all goes wrong!!

If you are doing a complete remodel, choose your paint color last! Pick all of the other things first (drapes, carpet, furniture).

Always, always, always put up a sample of your paint before you commit to the color. You will be amazed how different it will look when it is on the wall.

If it is the exterior of your house, put up samples in multiple places. Look at it in the morning, day, and evening. The sun or lack of will make the color appear different.

When you have what you want then proceed with the work!!

Lead Paint

Although painting does not take a degree, and is more skill than intelligence, it is still very important to keep up with new information. Slow days, like today, are the perfect time to do this.

Although houses built after 1978 should not contain lead paint we often find ourselves working in older homes so it is important that we understand it.

Here is a great link about lead paint:

http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/5054.html

Visit us at:

http://frisbeepainting.com

Office Work

It is really funny to me, I hate to be in the office, yet I am on my third week of nearly all office work. I am finding that it is very important!!

In an effort to manage the customers experience from beginning to end and make it all good the office work is very important.

After taking some time to analyze our bids and forms for the company, and getting input from employees. We have come up with a packet that includes the bid, our basic company information, and the details for your job. It is designed to make keeping your records and our records easier. In the future if their are ever any problems with your paint job it will be very easy for any of us to pull the information about your job (paint colors, work done, ect). This will make our employees more efficient and your experience BETTER!!

Visit us at:

http://frisbeepainting.com

Paying Your Painter

It is a very common practice for Painters to ask for money before any work starts. They will tell you that it is for materials. Don't fall for this, alot of people have been taken by painters who will do not do a good job.'

Our payment policy is as follows:

Payments may be made by cash, check, master card, or visa.

Payments are due when:

First ½ when job is ½ complete. This is when the pressure washing, scraping , caulking, and priming are complete.

Second ½ when job is 100% complete. If it is not possible to complete a walk through for any reason within 3 days of completion 90% is due and 10% may be held until the walk through and punch list are completed.

If other payment arrangements are needed we are happy to try to accommodate these prior to work beginning.

This hopefully protects both parties involved.

Never pay before work has been done!!!

Knowledge does your painter have it??

Many people will buy a paint brush and a cheap sprayer and call themselves a painter. Painting is not hard, but it does take much more than that.

Today I have spent the better part of the day in meetings. One of which was with a paint representative for PPG. They handle Pittsburgh, Porter, and Iowa paints. We are often approached by paint companies wanting us to use their products.

It is important to understand almost all paint companies have high quality and low quality paints.

Before I will even bring a paint on to my job I want to know about the company, know the specifications of the paint, and see the comparison to other quality paints.

I could bore you with the specific details, but really what most people need is to know that the person handling their painting knows and understands this information.

When you hire Frisbee Painting INC we will provide you with this information, give you an overview of it and more if you wish.

It is all about quality!!!

Visit us at:

http://frisbeepainting.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Liberty-MO/Frisbee-Painting-INC/59841789746

Will your painter go the extra mile!!

We have been working on the outside of a house this week.
Yes we can maintain quality in these cooler temperatures. Most companies have paint formulated for about 38 degrees and above, but I am digressing.
When we bid this house we bid it with two coats of paint (3-4 wet mils each coat). The rear of the house did not cover properly, it simply put needed more paint. There were some areas that did not seal properly with just two coats of paint. Yesterday as I talked to the home owner about this I think they were waiting for me to explain why we needed to raise the price.
They were pleasantly suprised as I explained that this sometimes happens and we would be sure it was taken care of.

Is anyone watching congress

For me it is not a Republican / Democrat issue. I know you can listen to Limbaugh, O"Reilly, and many others who will piont the finger in so many directions.

For me it is much simpler than that, WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SELF RELIANCE? HELPING YOUR NEIGHBOR? I guress I just dont understand why people think the government can take care of everything. The government proves time and again that they are the most inefficient and wasteful method of doing anything!

We as AMERICANS should stand up and demand better!

How did we turn from having statesmen to having politicians?

How long will it take our kids to pay for our compliancy (the last 8 years or more included)? Really is it about us or our children?

I know this has nothing to do with painting and only has questions with no answers, but really....

visit us on the web http://frisbeepainting.com no politics I promise!

Getting ready to sell your home

Now that you have the outside ready take a look at the inside. Normally it is very inexpensive to spruce up the inside.

· You may want to look at the ceilings. Are they still the old popcorn ceilings, you may want to modernize by removing it and putting a knock down on it.

· Do you have very bold or bright colors on the walls? You may want to consider moving to a more neutral color.

· Is your trim dinged or scratched. A fresh coat of paint will make this go away. If your trim is stained we can touch it up and give it a fresh look also.

These are just a few ideas, but with a very nominal expense we can really help your resale value.

Visit us at:

http://frisbeepainting.com/

http://frisbeepainting.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Liberty-MO/Frisbee-Painting-INC/59841789746

Getting ready to sell your home

Try spending a few dollars on paint. It is amazing the difference a little paint can make.

Curb appeal is likely the most important. So start with the outside and move in. The typical house will have some wood rot issues and problems with the paint. Getting these taken care of is not that expensive and will add value to your home, not to mention it will sell faster. More money faster that is what we all want!!
Visit us at: http://frisbeepainting.com/

http://frisbeepainting.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Liberty-MO/Frisbee-Painting-INC/59841789746

New bids

It is that time of the year, the weather is starting to show some signs of getting warmer. People are starting to look at the outside of their homes, and call for bids.

Now is the time to ask for your bid, even if you will need to wait until later in the year to have the work completed.

It is always good to know what it will cost, then you will be able to plan and reserve your time.
We will be happy to help you!!

Visit us at: http://frisbeepainting.com/

http://frisbeepainting.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Liberty-MO/Frisbee-Painting-INC/59841789746

The Weather!!

How can I talk about anything else? I was very luck and able to be outside most of the day today and honestly I think that is enough said. 73 beautiful degrees!!

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Is anyone else tired of the high cost of advertising?

We have tried many different methods of advertising. With mixed results our efforts have included the:

Yellow Pages

This was a horrible waste of money. We had a full page ad, at a cost of about $600.00 a month. We received no phone calls!! I say stay away!

Val-Pak

These are coupons inserted in a mailer. My feelings about this are mixed. We did get a lot of phone calls, however, in retrospect I would do it much different. Our representative encouraged us to make our insert a coupon as it would get us more business. It did get us a lot more calls I am sure, but they were not the customers you necessarily want.

We may try again this year, but we will make sure our message of a GOOD VALUE AT A RESONABLE COST gets out!! Not save $500.00. There is a huge difference in the message, one that I did not realize.

Yard signs

We have had very good luck with these. This year for the first time we hung Christmas lights, and advertised exclusively with yard signs. Our cost for advertising was $1500.00 and it was a smashing success.

I am not sure this will work for everything, but I am hoping it will have the same results for painting. We will try to visit this topic again later when I can update you on the effectiveness.

Internet

This is an area that we are very new to. As far as I can tell it is going to be very cheap, and I believe very effective. It will just take some of my time in the morning and evening. I am not going to get into how to do this here as it is a subject all its own, however, come join :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/North-Kansas-City-MO/Kansas-City-Networking/47980106515?ref=ts#/group.php?gid=31274289492&ref=ts

And you will learn how to do this.

Word of mouth

It is this simple do a good job for people and they will tell their friends and neighbors. It is the greatest thing!! And very cost effective!!

Visit us at: http://frisbeepainting.com/

http://frisbeepainting.blogspot.com

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Liberty-MO/Frisbee-Painting-INC/59841789746

Painters Background

When hiring a painter it is very important to make sure he has enough experience to make the correct recommendations for your needs.

For example many painters have only painted residential houses so their product knowlege is very limited.

Many houses have galvanized flashing, it should be primed with a product called galvite to ensure the paint will last.

Ask your painter what galvite is, most wont know!

It is important that your painter have extensive knowlege of residential, commercial, and industrial painting. The crossover knowlege will ensure you get a quality job!!

Contractor Resources

Always remember when you hire a contractor it is important that he have the resources to take care of any problems that may arise.

* What if ... a ladder goes through a window?

* What if ... while replacing rotten wood an electrical wire gets cut

Can he take care of it!!!

Ask these questions!!

Another day

Today we have painters working in Johnson County, they are finishing up a job!!

We also have painters going out to take down some Christmas lights another company hung. One of my customers was kind enough to call me and tell me some of her neighbors were having problems. NEW CUSTOMERS FOR NEXT YEAR!!!!!

What Paint to use?

Many paint manufactures spend a tremendous amount of money in advertising. They in turn have very good name recognition. It is important to understand nearly all paint manufactures have good quality paint and poor quality paint.

In short the name on the can is not as important as what is inside.

The favorite trick of many painters is to use a cheap paint from a company with name recognition. Don’t fall for this!!