Often times we get calls from folks who ask us what are service is referred to the most. We hear things like Line Painting, Line Striping, Parking Lot Striping, Stall Painting, Line strip painting, Car Parking painters, and many others. The fact of the matter is From coast to coast in my experience the official industry is actually Parking Lot Marking or Parking Lot Striping. Whatever you want to refer to it as doesn’t matter to us. We just love doing it. At Trueline Striping we have been Line Painting for over 18 years. Line painting is in our blood and our its how we feed our families. Because of this we take every line painting project very serious. If you have a line painting project and you want to get a proposal from us give us a call or email and we would love to help you today.

Part 1 of 3 Warehouse Striping

If you are a decision maker on a large warehouse line striping project then you are going to want to look at this three part check list. Over the next week we will take a look at the most important factors to consider when hiring a striping contractor. Hopefully, this list can save you headaches and hassles from making the wrong choices.

Line Striping in a Warehouse California.

1. Contractor License:

Most states have an online tool to verify the status of a contractor’s license. Our license’s status, for instance, can be confirmed on the CSLB at http://www.cslb.ca.gov/. On this site, there is a license status check as well as the ability to check current bond, insurance, and workers compensation information. A national list of links to state licensing boards can also be viewed at http://www.clsi.com/state_contractor_license_board.htm

2. Insurance and Workers Compensation:

This is probably the second most common trap customers encounter. They hire a licensed company that has allowed their insurance to lapse or simply never had any in their company’s history. This leaves companies with huge exposure to medical claims and lawsuits. I have personally been an expert witness on cases where large companies hired small and uninsured contractors in order to save a few hundred dollars only to end up paying millions from the litigious situations they create. To avoid these pitfalls, only do business with licensed and insured contractors.

3. Legal Paint Selected:

When it comes to warehouse line striping, there are many companies claiming they are qualified to execute warehouse striping work when they actually are not. A great question to ask your contractor to help you assess their qualifications include, “What are the laws regarding air quality and my paint choices?” Good contractors are familiar with the current state laws addressing which paints are legal and which paints fall short of environmental and air quality requirements. First time fines for the use of an illegal paint can fall in the tens of thousands of dollars. There are many great products sold by national paint manufacturers that will last a long time. So take some extra time to make sure you are covered with paint products that meet state codes and requirements.

There are many important decisions to make when planning and managing large warehouse striping projects. Look for part two next week when we continue our report addressing the main questions to ask a striping contractor for warehouse striping and painting projects. Check back next week when we look at the next three issues. Timing, Experience, Guarantees.

Trueline Striping has started offering a new service this year. Its called Truncated Domes. They are also known by other names such as Detectable Warning Mats, ADA Mats and Truncated Mats. Truncated Domes are designed to help the vision impaired by warning them that they are entering into a traffic area that has vehicle traffic.  Truncated Domes come in several form and shapes including Mats, Tiles and the Button Style.  These systems have many similarities but some important differences. One major difference is the system we install can be repaired and repainted. Making these domes very easy to maintain over the course of time and saving you money. the system we install is called Safety Step. It comes in virtually any color and is easy to conform around curves and radius layouts. Give us a call if you need any advice on your next Truncated Dome project.

Did you realize that how bright your parking lot striping is done directly affects those who are driving while talking on a cell phone? Talking on a cell while driving is not advisable under any circumstance, but you’ve always got those people who believe that they can safely talk on a cell. The majority of the time people are getting on, or off, their phone when they’re either exiting or entering a parking lot, making the parking lot striping very important if you want to help those people to avoid getting in an accident.

Parking lot striping that has been neglected for a long time will be worn down and will be hard for drivers to see. This makes it easier for someone who is driving with their cell phones or blue tooths on to get into an accident. If you have had your parking lot striping done recently and it is brighter, it is easier for the driver to stop focusing on their phone call and start focusing on parking properly. It calls the attention to their eyes, allowing them to change their focus where it needs to be instead of on the phone.

Some people love to be organized, while others do not. Those who are in charge of a warehouse, however, have no choice but to be organized. If you’re disorganized when you’re running a warehouse, your entire stock and employees may get mixed up. This is why someone like Federal Express needs to have warehouse painting done, and they chose to contact Trueline Parking Lot Striping in order to have some of their striping taken care of.

Federal Express contracted Trueline Striping recently in order to have a small parking lot project taken care of. They made great decisions as to their warehouse striping, including choosing two part epoxy for their painting needs, which results in a longer life span, and organizing their area by using numeric stencils. If Federal Express realizes that they need to be as organized as possible and knows that warehouse striping can help them to get the many packages to the correct places on time, then most warehouse owners will also see that warehouse striping is not superfluous, but instead that it can help you to get your items organized and your employees working together in harmony.

There is a common misconception that you have to have your parking lot painting done the same way every time. Most businesses believe that they need to have their parking lines done in yellow and anything else done in white. This, however, is completely untrue. In fact, there are a number of parking lots that choose to change the color of their striping every time they get it done, and others that choose to paint the entire parking lot to celebrate a specific holiday or to bring awareness to something, such as breast cancer.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and some businesses have chosen to call awareness to the situation by changing their parking lot striping to pink, which is the color that National Breast Cancer Awareness Month chooses to use for its awareness causes. Others have chosen to have their entire parking lot painted pink, making a bold statement and bringing in tons of positive attention to their business. If you’re going to be getting your parking lot painting done, know that you don’t have to stick with the old classics of gold and white, but that you can color it any color that is easily visible by drivers.

Q: Are truncated domes heavy?
A: Yes, they’re fairly heavy. They average between 2 to 3 pounds each.

Q: What are they made of?
A: Truncated domes are generally made of a polymer composite that allows for protection from the sun and is built to last for a very long time.

Q: Can I install truncated domes myself?
A: Yes, you can, but you may find that it is fairly difficult. There is a process involved in not only getting the truncated dome to the right height, but in figuring out where it would best be placed in order to adhere to ADA guidelines.

Q: Do they come in different colors?
A: Yes, you can get truncated domes in different colors if you are looking to match your décor.

Q: Will they last in a wintery area?
A: Yes, truncated domes will survive in a wintery area. They may need, however, to be replaced before one that is placed in a sunny area would, and you will have to keep them cleared, but they are designed to last for a long time.

It’s easy to see that the high cost of oil has changed how we all think about gasoline. Consumers are realizing that they can’t just go to the pump whenever they’d like and are trying to conserve their energy, and their money, by getting gas only when they can’t afford to go without. The oil prices are also affecting other industries, including those who do parking lot striping. These companies have to drive to and from the worksite and also have to pay higher costs for the materials that they need. This unfortunately means that there are some parking lot striping Los Angeles companies that are being forced to go out of business or to charge higher rates.

Businesses are loathe to pay higher rates for their parking lot striping to be done simply because they are feeling the financial pinch too. There are, however, ways that you can have your parking lot striping done without having to pay a great deal more. Some parking lot striping companies will allow you to do a multi-month deal, where you pay less in order to get the lot striped a few times a year, thus allowing you to get your parking lot striped while also saving a bit of cash.

In the business world there is never any certainty. It can be difficult to know when to buy certain stock and when to have a sale. The same thing holds true with your parking. When is it time to adjust your parking lot? When should you add onto your parking lot? If you add on too soon, you’re likely to risk paying money for something you don’t need, and in today’s economy that is never a good idea. If you wait too long, you’ll deal with disgruntled customers. There are, however, some ways you can know if you’re ready to add on to your parking lot and to have your parking lot striping redone.

1. Listen to your customers. If they’re complaining about not having enough space, or about not being able to see the parking lot striping, it’s time to change things.

2. Watch the parking lot. See how frequently it is filled. If necessary, make a chart so that you can follow how busy your parking lot gets.

3. View it for yourself. Go out after closing or before opening and take a look at the striping that is there to see if it is breaking down or not.