Paint and Hammer

Have a job coming up where the definition of the open concept room is made with a newly built bulk head in the ceiling. The designer gave a colour scheme for the entire space, but for the bulk head put "colour to match existing ceiling".

Normally I wouldn't care, but this would mean I have to make a separate trip to the store for one gallon of paint after I match it. (not a big bulk head)

I think she passed the buck and should have done this. What do you think?

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Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic.
Ambrose Bierce

NCPaint1

I don't think so. It has to be matched, so better if you get it done. You can get it in whatever is spec'd or your choice of product? If she had said color "to be determined" then yes, she passed it. She determined what color is to be used, she just didn't do the match work. She could have, but I wouldn't want a designer choosing what products I'm using. So not a big deal overall I don't think.

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WisePainter

I chase designers like a CEO chases his secretary..."yes" is the only answer I use when dealing with them.

daArch

When you say, "colour to match existing ceiling" I am assuming you have to match a color that has been up on the ceiling for a few years. And I also assume that you will be matching it with a chip (?) and then having your local paint store mix that color up.

If the HO or the designer are particular, this is begging for problems.

A) an existing ceiling has many tones of the original color on it due to age, smoke, dirt, and whatever else can affect color.

B) Matching an existing color to a chip is difficult to be exact, and then to have a gallon mixed to match the chip is never an exact match.

C) If the sheen for the bulkhead is to be different from the ceiling, no one will ever believe the color is the same.

If no one is color eye sensitive, then you should be OK with a slight variance. It would still be safer to have the decorator designate the correct color.

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"Glazed Donuts Are the Building Blocks of the Universe"

"Are we having fun yet"

Paint and Hammer

Not a big deal....except I'll need 1 gallon. (the store is across town) Silly waste of time.

She also spec'ed one coat of primer on all walls prior to top coats. Newer place, clean, nothing special....colour is about two shades off of what is there....ya, not going to happen.

I'm used to my colour consultant who provides 'all' colours.

You got it Wise....

__________________
Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic.
Ambrose Bierce

Paint and Hammer

Bill, that's why I get the consultants to do their thing and I do mine. I don't want any responsibility on colour. I'm happy to pay my consultant to come out and do it. I've been working with her for 5 years and we've not had one colour call back.

__________________
Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic.
Ambrose Bierce

Steve Richards

Just explain to everyone involved that you don't have time for an extra trip to the paint store, because you're a busy busy man.

daArch

you are fortunate to have your color consultant.

__________________
"Glazed Donuts Are the Building Blocks of the Universe"

"Are we having fun yet"

Gough

I'm with NCPaint on this one. We'll often use that same spec ourselves when we develop a proposal. If it's a separate surface, we will change that language to be "to approximate existing color"", rather than "to match".

Nearly all of the materials that we spec are available in quarts, so that can make "misses" less painful dollar-wise. We bung the misses together for first coat or for our famous "Apartment Mix".

That being said, it is a bit of a pain and you need to figure the cost of the possible additional material and labor (time) into the bid. We've recently bumped up our number for that to reflect price increases. For us, $250/match seems to cover it most of the time. A lot of time, we can do it in one, but then there are those times....

Wise, I realize that this reflects a regional difference, but we found that we have to take a little different approach with designers around here. The only answer we give them is "no". I'm not sure if it's the population or the limited number of designers in the area, but our experiences working FOR them on residential projects has been uniformly bad. On the other hand, we have a few that we'll hire if it becomes clear that the client needs more help.

Paint and Hammer

She's awesome!

Used to be a painter. The went to school and got a decorators degree. Then worked at the BM store and was a good source of jobs, NOW is a realestate agent. I've staged two houses for her and we have arranged to have my estimates as part of her selling process. Mortgage money is the best money. We get a long well and we trust the we make each other look good. (not just because I'm sexy, but I actually do good work some of the time)

__________________
Painting: The art of protecting flat surfaces from the weather and exposing them to the critic.
Ambrose Bierce

PeintureLavergne.com

You must love problems! Some of the decorators I know are barely touching the ground... Impossible to please them!

WisePainter

The first few were a nightmare, and costly.
I quickly realized that saying "yes" to everything smoothed the wrinkles faster than dArch could dewrinkle expensive silk wallcovering.

Mind you, it created many headaches attempting to achieve near impossible demands.
It also forced me out of my comfort zone, and I learned some pretty nifty things along the way.

modernfinish

Sometimes it's best to just do it , this seems like one of those times .