Success Stories

Our success is built on our reputation for delivering to clients the top quality painting results they expect. We stand behind each and every project that we complete, and are proud to showcase some of our recent success stories.

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church

St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church has been a visual focal point of downtown Guelph since 1828. This beautiful and distinct building was due for a Refined refresh. Our team excels at tackling challenging historical projects like this one and understood the importance of this undertaking, especially in terms of maintaining the church’s appearance as a city staple.

Steeped in history

The land where St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church sits was purchased in 1856. Construction of the building started in June 1857 and the work was completed in April of the following year. The church saw its first expansion in 1877 with the addition of transepts and the Sunday School building. During 1908, the Church Hall was added, as was the kitchen, the minister’s vestry and classrooms. Not including a few coats of paint over the years, the next big project the building saw was the renovation of the Church Hall and kitchen in 1999.

Fast forward to today, 2020. The church’s Board of Managers decided to take advantage of the time afforded to them while the building was empty due to the pandemic. The Church Property Committee, a sub-committee of the Board of Managers, accepted leadership for ensuring multiple projects were
completed, including two major repainting projects. One of our satisfied clients referred Refined Painting, and we took on the projects with the goal of having all the work completed in time for the church to open their doors back up in the fall.

Challenges

This was a major undertaking due to the vast size of the building. The Church Hall alone was 4,700 sq. feet. Working at great heights was involved, and our trained team always put safety first. We used a scissor lift and an articulating boom for most of the project to ensure we could work meticulously and safely reach the church’s highest peaks and windows. Using the articulating boom to restore and paint the windows required an enormous amount of precision and caution to preserve the original aspects of this historic building.

Located in downtown Guelph, this project involved us working in a highly visible, heavily trafficked area. Working outside during the hottest part of the summer, our steadfast team spent many days at extreme
heights in 30 plus degree weather.

Despite these challenges, the project went very smoothly. The only surprise arose in relation to the sound absorbing panels on the interior of the building. These panels were not being painted and the colour chosen for the adjacent walls had to compliment the original hue of green. We started applying the colour that the church had chosen, only to find that it didn’t co-ordinate well with the panels. We paused our work, contacted the church committee regarding the colour choice, and suggested that they choose a different colour. Customer service is integral to our core values, and our team took the initiative to go above and beyond to ensure an amazing finish.

What we did

The project included the walls, ceiling and doors in the Church Hall. This room hadn’t been painted since 1999 and was due for a cosmetic upgrade. While on site the church property committee had us repaint the exterior wood windows on the 1950’s Christian Education wing as well as two very tall transept windows on the original Sanctuary.

Height was a factor throughout this project and our team used a scissor lift to paint safely. The walls and windows were all thoroughly scraped and sanded. Wood fill was added to the exterior wood trim and painted.
All exterior windows are now more weather resistant, which will ensure their continued longevity and help to keep water and rot from damaging the historic stained-glass. It took our experienced team two weeks to complete all the interior work, and another two weeks or so to finish the exterior.

Success

The work on St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church was done safely, on time, on budget and held to the highest of standards that all Refined Painting projects are held to. The exterior wood treatment will prevent water and rot from damaging the historic stained-glass windows, allowing them to continue to shine brightly during the midday sun. Now back to looking its
best, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church can remain a focal point of hope and strength in the Guelph community for years to come.

Guelph Transit Terminal

Over the years the terminal had gone through several upgrades and was a mishmash of past renovations. In dire need of maintenance, the City of Guelph tendered the project in 2013, but did not proceed until 2016. By that time the terminal was old, tired and worn down due to heavy public use.

Challenges

Prior to our arrival the General Contractor had to deal with failing ceiling plaster, damaged exterior wood, and a general state of disrepair. The Guelph Transit Terminal is a Registered Historical Building, and preserving as much of the original design and features as possible was imperative.

The real challenge, however was timing.

Painters are almost always the last contractors to visit a site. We are the finishing touch that ties all the renovations together. In the case of the Guelph Transit Terminal the sheer complexity of the work caused by the building’s general disrepair meant that small delays throughout the construction process easily compounded, which put our team on an extremely tight timeline to finish painting before the cold weather set in (which we did, thanks to a long, warm fall season).

What we did

We’re experienced and we relied on that experience to remain professional. We used proper lines of communication to coordinate and address any challenges that arose during the project with our fellow contractors and stake holders.

On such a large project with so many outside factors we knew that our key to success would be our flexibility. We managed to stay on schedule by working with the General Contractor, using every scheduling opportunity to complete work.

All the delays threatened to push us back until after painting season which could have seriously impacted our work, but thanks to our ability to coordinate timing, resources, and space with our fellow contractors we completed the project on time.

The exterior wood was failing when we arrived but it was scraped and we primed it with an oil based primer, then two tinted top coats. All-in-all our work helped restore the historical, curved ceiling, walls, and exterior wood soffit.

Success

The result? The Guelph Transit Terminal is a clean, modern building that retains its registered historical status and is nothing short of absolutely gorgeous.

The building is now abuse-resistant, safer, and user friendly. Refined Painting, alongside hardworking General Contractors like Collaborative Structures Ltd., breathed new life into the building.

Raymond Sewing Factory

The Raymond Sewing Factory was a large 16-Bachelor unit and a commercial space, but a catastrophic fire (which started on the main floor restaurant) gutted the interior and there was very little to be salvaged. Extensive smoke and water damage meant that much of the building had to be restored.

When the construction started all that remained was a shell of the original building.

Challenges

Many of the units had 10-ft ceilings and much of the work was three-stories up. There were few straight or square walls, making matters even more difficult.  Overall in terms of volume and complexity, this was our biggest project to date —but we love a challenge!

The main challenge wasn’t the work itself, it was the scheduling and volume of work. There was a lot to do, and the tenants had a set move-in date. By the time they were due to reoccupy the building we had to make sure that everything was perfect and fully restored.

What we did

We were tasked with painting all 16 units, as well as the corridors, ceilings, wood trim, and stair towers. In addition, we did the exterior soffit and a decorative fascia at roof level. Our Working at Heights Training meant that the team was comfortable tackling the job using an elevated work platform to scrape, prime and paint three-stories up.

Success

We completed the project on time and according to schedule which meant that the tenants were able to move back in as planned. As the project progressed the scope of our duties increased, but we were able to tackle them by remaining flexible.

Today the space is beautiful, the tenants are happy, it’s fully occupied, and the Raymond Sewing Factory continues to be a landmark building in downtown Guelph.

Our next success story

Your project could be our next success story! Contact us today for a quote.