Parking Lot Stripping or Striping is generally the service of painting parking lots. We often get request from folks looking for stripping, but we know what they mean. Most parking lot striping companies offer a list of accompanying services to the main service of line painting. We offer several ourselves. Here is a complete list of service that we currently offer as well as some that are coming soon.

• Line Painting
• Handicap painting (Blue Box, Silhouette, Crosshatched Area & Path of travel)
• Stencil painting (Directional Arrows, Stop and Bars, No Parking Fire Lane, Etc.)

• Sign installation (Handicap, Stop, No Parking Etc.)
• Truncated Domes (Detectable Warning Mats, Tactile Warning systems Etc.)
• Parking Lot Seal Coating

• Asphalt Patching (Saw Cutting, Pot hole Repair, Speed Bump Installation, Asphalt Resurfacing)
• Pressure Washing ( Steam Cleaning, Gum removal, Oil Treatment Etc.)
• Curb Painting ( Fire Lane Red, Visitor Green, Handicap blue, Hazard Yellow Etc.)

• Wheel Stops (Concrete, Plastic, Rubber Etc.)
• Raised Pavement Markers ( Bot dots, Hydrant Reflectors, Two way reflector, Type K Markers Etc.
• Bollard Installation and Repair

• Concrete Cutting (Coming Soon)
• Crack Fill ( Rubberized, Crack Cleaning, Hot pour crack filler, Etc. (Coming Soon)

If you have and Parking Lot Stripping projects or related service, please feel free to give us a call today. Trueline Striping is open 5 days a week and we work in the field 7 days a week.

It’s Halloween! The most enjoyable of days for children and the most feared day for dentists. Today, we’re not going to talk about parking lot striping or about warehouse striping, but instead about what you can do to make Halloween a great day for your employees and for children.

1. Try dressing up! You may feel silly at first, but letting your employees dress up is a great way to make things fun and to make your customers giggle a little, which is sure to make them think highly of your company.

2. Give out stuff! Candy is, of course, preferable, but if you own an electric company, try giving out light bulbs. Anything that promotes your company is a great thing to give out to your customers.

3. Keep the candy, however, for kids. Halloween + children = candy. This is an equation you need to remember. Always ask the parent, however, if it is alright for their child to have a piece from your candy stash.

4. Consider staying open for trick or treaters! Some of the most successful companies stay open until 9 pm or so in order to cater to trick or treaters.

Stay safe this Halloween and remember to have fun! Happy Halloween from Trueline!

This week Trueline did a warehouse floor striping project that was started by another contractor. Its  a long story, but the lesson is invaluable.

In this story, Trueline was hired to fix a job that had gone bad for our customer. The contractor, he originally hired asked for 50 % up front for material cost, which he was paid. Their original contractor started the project and quickly things started falling apart. The customer started asking questions and realized that their original hire was uneducated about the paint he chose to put down for them. With only 20 % of the job completed, the contractor stopped showing up and stopped answering his phone. When they tried to go after the contractor for the up front money they put up, they found out he was not a licensed contractor and that he had only a P.O. box address and a cell phone number that was now turned off. When I questioned whether they would where going to pursue it any further, they stated that the cost to sue would not be worth the time it would take to pursue it.

The Services such as Warehouse Floor Striping,  also known as Warehouse Floor Painting, Floor Painting, Warehouse Line Striping, etc. seems easy because its similar to painting parking lots in that you are basically measuring out lines and painting them down. Unfortunately, the similarities end there. Warehouse  Floor Striping is a far more complex project to undertake then parking lot striping. With factors to consider such as, product choices, product pot life, timing, drying times, product compatibility, and many more.

There are a lot of contractors that will take a Warehouse Floor Striping project on with little to no experience or worse they are unlicensed or un-insured. A good indicator of a unlicensed contractor is not seeing it posted on there web site or stationary. Many times contractors will actually use another companies license. The easiest way to know who it belongs to is to do a search on your local state license board. In California ours it at http://www2.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicense/LicenseRequest.asp . You can check a license by company name, personal name ( i.e. owners name) or by contractor license number that they provide. Insurance is even easier. Simply ask for proof of insurance and then call there provider to make sure their policy is current and reflects coverage for their company.

Here are a few State License Board Search web addresses.

• Nevada https://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/datamart/nvscbSearchType.do

• Florida https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&SID=

• New York http://www.op.nysed.gov/opsearches.htm

• Washington http://www.dol.wa.gov/business/checkstatus.html

It is also important to keep in mind that not all states have a state license board.

Below is a good link for research. It has a nice users interface and easy to to navigate.

http://www.contractors-license.org

With the Internet becoming so popular for search, it has become more and more risky to hire a contractor. Companies can spring up over night and be gone the following month. They can look professional, have phone numbers and clean contracts. The key is doing some home work and being proactive before you start your next project.

Call us today if you have any question regarding this article or any Warehouse Floor Striping Project questions.

If you own a warehouse, you know that having the proper warehouse floor striping done is important, not just to keep your workers organized but to help those who enter into the warehouse to know where to step and where not to step. It can, however, be tricky to figure out when to get your striping done in your warehouse. If you have it done during the workday, you risk making it difficult for your employees to get around and do what needs to be done.

The easiest way to get things done is to have your warehouse striping done at night. Unfortunately, not every striping company will allow you to do this. Before you hire anyone, make sure you’re getting a company that will work around your schedule. Warehouse striping can take a bit of time if done properly, as the floor has to be properly prepared. The easiest way to do this without wreaking havoc is to hire a line striping company that is willing to come in and give you an estimate during the day while actually doing the work at night, or whenever it is that your employees are the least busy.

If you own a business, there are a lot of balls that you need to keep juggling at all times. You need to know how much inventory that you have to keep and how to make your business successful. Sometimes things slip through the cracks, such as parking lot striping and updating your parking lot using truncated domes. Some business owners wait for parking lot striping companies to contact them in order to get the work done, figuring that one company is as good as any other. The truth, however, is that they’re not.

A parking lot striping company that is contacting you is actively looking for work, which means that they may be just beginning in the parking lot industry. A parking lot striping company that is established, however, often has enough clients to not have to worry as much about trying to find work. If you wait for a company to contact you in order to insert your truncated domes or to get your striping done, you risk having to pay a much higher price for your parking lot striping and having it done by a less experienced crew then if you actively hire a company yourself.

Are you worried about the financial situation as it pertains to your small business? You’re not alone. Prices that have risen have stayed high even though the oil prices are lowering, and there is no sign as to when things will change. This is the time when little expenses need to be cut back so that the larger bills can be paid. Some companies are choosing to ignore the parking lot striping that needs to be done on their lot, but this is definitely not advisable, especially if your lot is already in disrepair.

Yes, it costs a lot right now to get your hands on the stuff you need to have to fix the cracks and breaks in your pavement, which is why lots of owners are choosing to allow their parking lot to stay cracked. This doesn’t mean you should avoid having your parking lot striping done. Often simply having parking lot striping done can help to make the parking lot that is worn down look newer than it did, allowing your business to retain beauty and attractiveness to the customer without sacrificing your revenue. Then, when the times are better, you can repave and can restripe again.

The real estate market is a tricky one right now. With the financial situation continuing to slow down, and no sign as to when it will spike back up again, many people are rethinking purchasing properties to resell, no matter how cheap the properties may be. There are, however, some tips that you can do in order to sell your property.

1. Look at the inside of the property and see what can be done cosmetically inexpensively. Things like paint and paper can go a long way in making your property look better.

2. Getting the outside of the house finished with siding properly is great, but can be more expensive than necessary. Instead, try painting the outside of the house. It won’t last as long, but it will look fine for a few years, giving you time to recoup some of your money.

3. Look at the parking lot situation. Is the parking lot striping faded? Is there any parking lot striping? Having a good looking parking lot can help to sell or rent the building faster than you’d ever believe.

If you’re trying to get money from your property, make sure you don’t over think things, as it can cause serious problems financially.

What are my Choices for Warehouse Floor Markings?

We often get this question.  Some of our customers will ask, What product should I choose for my Warehouse Floor Markings?  When we hear this question, we typically ask several questions , so that we can advise them the best choice based on their situation. Here are a few case studies, we have come across.

#1. Short Lease or eventual liability : If a customer has a short lease on their building or they have an eventual liability for changes they make to their warehouse floor, then they are probably looking for something a little less permanent. In this case, we would steer our customers towards a water based floor paint or a floor marking tape system. However, with out shot blasting the customer runs the chance that the paint will flake or peel. Both products are easily removed and can also save money in terms of overall cost for our customers. Tapes are good, if you don’t have forklift or rough traffic through out your warehouse. But overall, typically fail due to exposure to mopping, scrubbing, and heavy traffic.

Pros: Tape is easily repaired, comes in a variety of colors, Water based paint is relativity inexpensive & has faster curing times.

Cons: Tapes can be expensive, Tape can create trip hazards, Water base paint can fail very quickly depending on the surface its painted on. Also, Water base paint can attract dirt and scratches easily.

#2. Long Term/Heavy Durability : Many companies are looking for Warehouse Floor Markings that are going to last longer than a year or two. These companies have often ran the gambit of tape and  water based paint and are more interested in a product that can perform and last. In these cases, we would recommend a two part epoxy system for interior warehouse work or a two part urethane for exterior warehouse and dock painting. These paint products combined with professional floor preparations such as shot blasting can have an amazing durability and lifespan. With all products, there are variables to consider and concrete has a way of being hard to predict exactly how a product is going to perform. Test spots are always recommended on larger projects and the cost is always refundable if you choose Trueline as the contractor. Overall, yhis system is your best bet for both longevity and minimal maintenance.

Pros: Long lasting, High sheen finish, Durable, Low Maintenance, Can withstand heavy forklift traffic.

Cons: Dry times up to 24-48 hours, High end paints are more costly with shot blasting projects period almost doubles.

#3. Medium Duty: Some of our customers are looking for something middle of the road. In this case, there are other options.  One option to consider is an oil based paint, which is more durable then it’s water based cousins. Oil base paints are also more affordable then it’s epoxy and urethane cousins. They can be sprayed in a faster time period and dry faster on the ground and these are very important factors to consider. Unfortunately they have a low sheen finish which allows for dirt and grime to build up on them like the water base paints. Also, with out shot blasting the customer runs the chance that the oil base paint will flake or peel. All paints can be sealed with a clear sealer as well but the cost to add these services all together can add up fast.

One scenario where an oil base paint might be a good choice, is if you have a small warehouse and your looking for a paint that’s going to last about a year. The paint may flake or peel but ultimately its going to serve its purpose to organize space and create safety areas. If your not to concerned with what the striping does as far as flaking and failure. Ultimatley the striping will serve its purpose which is to help organize and maximize space in your warehouse or create safe areas for pedestrian traffic.

Pros: Faster dry times, Oil base paint is less expensive, Oil base paint will be easier to remove when necessary. Can perform well in low traffic areas.

Cons: Paint may require more maintenance or touch up, Paint may flake prematurely, Paint may get dirty easier.

At Trueline, we know that no single product is best. So we don’t just sell one. We offer many choices  when it comes to Warehouse Floor Markings. From water based paints and tapes for shorter less permanent lifespans to extremely durable two part epoxies that can last for years and years. If you need assistance on a warehouse floor marking project, please feel feel to call us with any questions you might have.

Have you ever been to Disney World in Florida? In Florida, Disney has their own little highway system. Those who are going to visit the wonderful world of play are able to jump off of the state highway and onto Disney’s own interstate in order to easily go where they’re supposed to go. The lines are all striped perfectly, making it easy for drivers so that they can not only look at the signs beside the road, but at the signs marked on the pavement in order to know exactly where they’re going, no matter whether they’re driving to their hotel or to one of the amusement parks.

You can adopt this type of a situation in your own parking lot. You may not need as much organization as Disney World does, but a little parking lot striping done in your parking lot can help your customers to know where to go and to get there without getting into any accidents. Having your parking lot striping done a few times a year is essential if you want to keep things looking great, and especially if you want to make sure that your parking lot looks as great as Disney World’s does.

Curb painting sounds like an easy business to get into, but there have been those who discovered that it was not as easy as it looked. In 2006, residents of Oakland, CA, discovered that they were lucky to not be in trouble. They received fliers in their mail boxes by a company that was offering to repaint curbside house numbers. Something, however, seemed strange, so the residents contacted the local police, who said that they were right to contact the police.

The fliers that offered the curb painting services was not from a genuine curb painting company, but was instead from a company that was looking just for money. The flier asked residents to leave a donation by the curb and that the curb painting would be done and the donation picked up. There was no contact information and it was discovered that, in Oakland, you needed to have a special permit in order to paint the sidewalk. This is why curb painting is not something that just anyone can get into, and needs to be done by a qualified company.