The commercial work we take: offices, retail turnover, HOA common areas, light industrial interiors
Small offices are the most common commercial job we do: reception, conference rooms, private offices and hallways, often in a durable eggshell or satin that wipes clean, with doors and frames in enamel. Retail turnover is next, where a space is between tenants and needs neutral walls and a clean ceiling before the next lease. HOA work is townhome and condo common areas: entry halls, stairwells, clubhouse rooms, and sometimes the exterior trim and doors of a building where the association is responsible for paint. Light industrial means the finished parts of a shop or warehouse building, the front office, break room and restrooms, not the production floor. If your project is on this list, it is probably a good fit.
- Offices: reception, conference, private offices, hallways
- Retail turnover: walls and ceilings between tenants
- HOA common areas: halls, stairwells, clubhouse, building trim and doors
- Light industrial: front office, break room and restrooms
Working around a business that is open
Commercial jobs usually happen while the business is running, so the plan is about staying out of the way. We work in zones, one office or one hallway at a time, and keep egress clear so nobody is stepping over a drop cloth to get to the exit. Low-odor waterborne paints keep the smell down for staff and customers. Where a space cannot be painted during business hours, we schedule around your hours where our calendar allows it, and we tell you what we can commit to before the job starts rather than promising nights and weekends we cannot deliver. Furniture gets moved and covered the same way it does in a house, and the space is vacuumed and reset at the end of each day.
What we do not take on, and who to call instead
Large warehouses, parking structures, multi-building complexes, high-rise exteriors and anything that needs a lift crew, epoxy floor coatings or industrial coatings are not us. Those jobs need a commercial contractor with the equipment and the crew size to do them right, and we are glad to say so on the first call. Where we are the right call is when the project is the size of a house, the finish quality matters, and you would rather have the same small crew that painted your home paint your office. HOAs and property managers with a handful of buildings tend to be a good long-term fit.
When we would talk you out of it
- Warehouses, parking structures and multi-building campuses. Those need a commercial contractor with lifts and a large crew, and we will tell you so on the first call.
- Epoxy floors, industrial coatings and anything that needs a specialty product or certification. Not our trade. We can recommend who to ask.
- Projects with a hard deadline that needs a large crew. We are a small crew and we say so up front.
What you get
- Residential-grade prep and finish on a commercial space
- Work zoned to keep the business open and egress clear
- Low-odor paints for staff and customers on site
- Durable sheens on walls and enamel on doors and frames
- Honest yes or no on fit at the first call
- Same small crew from start to finish
How it goes
- 1
Photos and a description of the space
Send photos of the rooms and tell us what the business is and when it is open. We tell you straight away if the project is a fit and give you a written estimate if it is.
- 2
Schedule around your hours
We agree which zones can be painted during business hours and which cannot, and set a schedule we can keep. If your hours and ours do not line up, we say so before starting.
- 3
Zone by zone, egress clear
One office or hallway at a time. Furniture moved and covered, floors masked, walls patched and primed, two coats in a durable sheen. Space reset at the end of each day.
- 4
Walkthrough with the manager
We walk the finished space with whoever is responsible for it, touch up anything they point at, and leave labeled paint for the building's own maintenance touch-ups.
How much does commercial painting cost for a small office or retail space?
We quote commercial work from photos and a walkthrough the same way we quote a house: area, surfaces, prep and coats. What is different is scheduling. Painting during business hours in small zones takes longer than painting an empty space all at once, and work outside your hours depends on our calendar, so both are discussed before the number is set. Ceiling height, the amount of door and frame enamel, and the condition of the walls after the last tenant all move the estimate. Repeat clients with several buildings get the same crew and the same spec each time, which keeps every job after the first simpler. The estimate is free, written and itemized by room.
- Total wall and ceiling area and ceiling height
- Doors, frames and trim in enamel
- Condition of the walls after the last tenant
- Painting during business hours in zones or in an empty space
- Scheduling outside business hours, where possible
- Single project or repeat work across several buildings
Questions we get on the phoneStraight answers.
Do you paint commercial buildings?
Select ones. Small offices, retail spaces between tenants, HOA common areas and the finished parts of light industrial buildings are a good fit for a residential-sized crew doing careful work. Warehouses, campuses and anything needing lifts or industrial coatings are not, and we say so on the first call.
Can you paint our office while we are open?
Usually, yes. We work one office or hallway at a time, keep exits clear, and use low-odor paint so staff and customers are not living with fumes. Spaces that cannot be painted during business hours are scheduled around your hours where our calendar allows, and we tell you what we can commit to before starting.
Do you paint HOA and townhome common areas?
Yes. Entry halls, stairwells, clubhouse rooms and, where the association is responsible for them, the exterior trim and doors of the buildings. HOAs with a few buildings tend to be a good long-term fit, since the same crew and the same spec make every job after the first straightforward.
What paint do you use in commercial spaces?
Durable waterborne paints in a scrubbable eggshell or satin on walls, a hard enamel on doors and frames, and a flat on ceilings, all low-odor so the space can be used soon after. Specific products depend on the surface and the use. We name them on the estimate so your building maintenance can match them later.
Related
Where we do this work
Commercial projects across Independence, Medina, Corcoran, Orono, Wayzata, Plymouth, Maple Grove and Minnetonka, and the rest of the west metro and Central Minnesota. See the full service area.