Society · 8 November 2025 · 8 min read
A committee's guide to getting society exterior painting right
Scope, scaffolding, safety papers and payment stages — what an RWA should pin down before the first tender meeting.
Society exterior painting is the largest recurring maintenance spend most RWAs handle, and the one most often decided on the lowest number alone.
Write the scope before you invite quotes
If each contractor scopes the job themselves, you cannot compare the bids. The committee should specify:
- Total painted area, tower by tower, measured — not estimated from built-up area.
- Crack filling: hairline versus structural, and who decides which is which.
- Whether terrace parapets, staircase shafts, lift lobbies and stilt ceilings are included.
- Grill and railing treatment: anti-rust primer plus how many enamel coats.
- Product name and coat count, in writing.
Ask for these papers, every time
- Labour insurance and workmen's compensation cover for the crew.
- Height-work safety gear: harnesses, and either certified scaffolding or a rope-access licence.
- A named site supervisor who is present daily and reachable by the committee.
Structure the payments in stages
A workable ladder is 15% mobilisation, then progress payments per tower on completion and inspection, with 10% retained for 90 days past handover. That last 10% is what gets the monsoon snag list fixed.
Sequence the work around residents
Start with the tower with the fewest ground-floor complaints and use it as the reference standard everyone else can walk over and inspect. Publish a week-by-week schedule on the notice board and the society group. Most resident friction on these jobs is not about quality — it is about not knowing when the scaffolding outside their bedroom is coming down.