WATCHING THE PAINT DRY

    Like I do when I write all my blogs, I have a feeling that this one may also be long and about as exciting as watching the paint dry. In fact, this blog post is exactly about watching the paint dry ! We are getting our house painted. In this blog post, I shall describe what happened and what I have learned from the experience. First, some background :

    The house that my uncle, mother, wife and I stay in will be 24 years old in March 2014 ! Our family has seen joy, sorrow, some sickness and its fair share of happiness in it. As spring settles in Bengaluru and the old trees in the roads and parks shed their leaves to don a new coat of refreshing green, it is apt that our house also has a new coat of paint both inside and outside ! My uncle stays in the ground floor of our house and it was he who pointed out that it was time for restoring and repainting our house.

    The standard disclaimer applies : I have avoided names in this blog as is my usual practice.

    I don't know how houses are painted outside India, but I am sure that it is not as labor intensive as it is in Bengaluru. I suppose that a lot of people just do it themselves. My sister-in-law painted her house once in Bengaluru itself. I am not adventurous and believe in leaving the job to specialists !

    My mother, wife and I stay in the first floor of the house. In 2004, we had built a new room, using the terrace area on the first floor. The first floor was painted then. My uncle painted the ground floor in 2006 just before my cousin got married. Since then, the house has seen heavy monsoons, 35 degree summers and refreshingly cool winters. I didn't realize it but our house did need a coat of paint !

    One of my other cousins had got her house re-done by a contractor. My uncle and my mother both liked the way that house was re-done. My uncle called this contractor and he came on a Monday morning. One problem that we faced in the first floor was seepage in a corner which resulted in an ugly patch inside the new room around 3 feet by 4 feet, roughly circular. The same patch also extended about 10 feet with a less ugly patch, above the wardrobe.

    The contractor is an experienced man with a lot of practical knowledge. He took a look at the second floor terrace and judged that the flooring and slope were not OK. He said that if the terrace flooring could be redone and a slope provided, the seepage would stop.

    A couple of weeks ago, he came with his team. They have been with him since the last 30 years. Clearly, the routine was well established. This team started early - and I mean early ! The contractor said that they would come at 6:30 a.m. They were here as promised, almost exactly at 6:30.

    That marked the beginning of a fortnight that has seen a lot of dust, to say the least. We had a similar experience in 2004 also, where it was worse, since a room was built while we stayed in the same floor. In 2004, after the workers had cleaned and left, my mother again wiped the floors. Still, when we walked barefoot, we could feel the dust and the cement - an uncomfortable sensation, to say the least. 10 years later, I experienced the same feeling, though it was lesser this time, since the workers were on the second floor terrace and secondly, there was no brick work.

    In 2004, I was sick with bronchitis and had to be hospitalized. In the back of my head now, I feared that there was a chance that the same thing may happen this time. Luckily, I am OK - so far, so good !

    The workers spent the morning with hammer and crowbars, removing the top layer of the terrace. The dust on the terrace was tremendous. Locally, the process of preparing the terrace floor is called making the "maddi". I don't think there is an English (or for that matter, a Hindi equivalent) equivalent. Unlike in 2004, this time a distinct slope was made. A channel was also prepared for the water to flow into the pipe used for rain water harvesting. Our contractor used Fosroc as a water proofing chemical during plastering. The workers moved the debris from the terrace on the second floor to our house in the first floor and deposited in the ground floor. The cement was mixed in the ground floor, near the gate and transported upwards in the same manner.

    If it had rained at this time, it would have been bad for us. We had chosen this period since there would be no rains. Murphy's law (a less popular version of this law states : "When you move from one checkout queue in the supermarket to another, the original one moves quicker.") spared us this time. I would have liked a little rain later for the curing process but it was not to be. We have an odd-job helper who cleans our cars, does gardening to some extent and also helps my mother in making sundry purchases. We requested him to also do the curing. He (and I, on a couple of occasions) took a bucket upstairs, filled water and sprinkled it into the newly laid flooring. My uncle re-laid the driveway for our cars too. Our helper did the curing for this area as well, in the morning. After I returned from work, the evening curing was my responsibility. Since it was night (around 9 p.m.) when I did the curing, it was an interesting experience. The night was cool and while the work was tiring after a day's work at office, it was also rejuvenating.

    Having seen the dust and the mud in the terrace, I could scarcely believe my eyes when I went up to the terrace after the terrace work was completed. The new floor was smooth. The slope came into operation when I poured the water for curing itself and it gives me hope that there will be no seepage this monsoon.

    Any way, the main reason I am writing this blog is because of the painting. I learned a lot about processes and management during the painting process ! It began from the next day, when the painters took over. The first floor was painted first, beginning with the living room. To begin with, the painting supervisor estimated a couple of weeks for the painting job, since there were 10 rooms, including both the ground and the first floor.

    In the living room in the first floor, the TV shelf, the furniture and the curtains were all removed. On that day, I had gone for work and the painters unexpectedly took up the job. When I returned the furniture had not been replaced yet. The living room looked like a cyclone had struck the house ! On the other hand, the walls looked like new ! Overall, the walls looked resplendent in the light of the Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) in the evening !

    I took a day off when the kitchen was painted. My wife and I had used the opportunity to dispose unused material in our bed room. There was a lot of debate whether to keep or dispose of some material. My feeling is that we became practical. The one exception for me was when it came to books. I found it difficult to part with them. The ones that I did give away were purchased after 1995. The comics and novels that I had purchased and which were presented as gifts stay with me. I don't think I am sentimental, but looking at those comics and novels bring back memories of childhood. I think that is why I keep them. Now that I have written these words, it seems trivial to me. I may give some of the comics or books up now !

    Three painters came on the day I was at home. I say that three painters came, but it was actually just two, to begin with. The lead painter took charge, asking his partner to mix the paint till the right shade of ivory white paint was ready. The partner was a frail looking man. Later, I got to know from my mother and wife that he had fainted the previous evening. His health is not good, but his dedication to the task was noteworthy.

    The third painter came later, a senior looking man with bloodshot eyes and a somewhat nervous manner. His eyes looked watery. The lead painter castigated the senior painter for coming in late. The senior painter defended himself by saying that the bus was late. The lead painter retorted that he and the frail painter had also come by bus ! Things cooled down gradually between them as they went about their jobs.

    They began the painting by changing into their work overalls, which comprised a badly stained shirt, trousers and a muffler to wrap around the face. All three of them began by using sandpaper on the walls. The process resulted in a lot of fine particles being thrown up. The muffler was certainly required. I followed their example and put on my handkerchief over my face while checking the progress. The three of them had brought a couple of tall stools.

    The next step was to put putty made of white cement into superficial cracks on the walls. They also put it on the edges of the walls, so that the edges all look straight.

    The lead painter told the senior partner to complete the sandpapering and started painting the ceiling. I found it fascinating to watch how all three painted. For example, the lead painter climbed on the stool and started painting from a corner. He would paint in square or rectangular areas. In fact, the center of the rectangle was his stool. I noticed that if required, the painters used both hands so that maximum area could be covered from one position of the stool.

    On the walls they used the roller to good effect. The trick was to define the rectangle using the broad paint brush, which was particularly useful when there was a window ledge or the edge of the wall. Then the roller would be used to fill up the area. The lead painter took up the responsibility of painting the ceiling and the high areas. The senior painter took up the lower areas while the frail painter was responsible for painting the doors and the windows. The painters' skills came into play particularly when they painted the skirting of the walls and the edges.

    It appeared that the frail painter also had a problem with heights. The lead painter knew this. He gave the frail painter the responsibility of the doors and windows and also asked him to clean up after they had finished a wall or particular area.

    The painting contractor came midway through the process. His courtesy when he spoke to my mother, uncle and me impressed all of us. He asked whether we had any problems regarding noise or improper cleaning. I found his concern and politeness commendable. He met his team and asked them to hurry up almost as soon as he entered. Here was the typical manager, I thought ! His next act was a revelation: he went to the terrace to check the quantity of paint. He asked the lead painter whether it was adequate for two coats of paints. On receiving confirmation, he went to the rooms and checked how the work had progressed. His experienced eye noticed a patch on the wall right near the corner where the water had seeped into my room. He told the lead painter to immediately put another coat so that the patch would disappear. His eye for detail was evident when he also observed excess paint marks on the ceiling and asked the lead painter to remove it. The lead painter himself put another coat in another room, following the contractor's example. I was impressed.

    This photograph gives some idea of the corner and the improvement made.

    The emery paper used to remove excess paint and putty was a useful tool for the painters. The supervisor asked if the painters had enough emery and sandpaper and also about any other requirements. The senior painter said that thinner and acid for cleaning the tiles was needed. The supervisor asked them to continue and said he would bring the acid and thinner.

    When the painters stopped during lunch time, one bottle of thinner was near the gate, along with sandpaper. Here was a manager who knew that the right resources had to be provided to the team if the job was to be completed on time, with quality ! At the end of the day when the painting was done, the lead painter came to me and asked me if there was anything to be done. I pointed out a few areas, some of which were immediately touched up. He said that the others would be done finally.

    Before leaving, the painters cleaned the paint brushes and the rollers. Since they would use the same brush for different colors, this was essential. They also cleaned themselves thoroughly. The next day, they were ready for a new room !

    Did everything go perfectly according to plan ?! Of course not ! My room was probably the worst which needed the most effort. They told us that it would be done in a day. However, the painters were late in coming and then the scraping and filling of superficial cracks itself took most of the day. Painting my room took two days instead of one. One door that had to be fixed did not come as planned and hence that room could not be painted. The painters had a "mitigation plan" : they simply took up another room downstairs. It meant that some material and tools would have to be moved twice causing a delay, but that could not be avoided. The work hours were longer that day. On the day I took leave, I thought I had finished a hard day's work of supervision well, when my wife ruined it by asking if the kitchen shelves below the granite slab were painted. I completely forgot about this aspect, being absorbed in the process ! There is a quote attributed to Albert Einstein : "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe". On that day, I feel that my wife must have wholeheartedly agreed with a modified version of the quote : instead of "human", she would probably use the word "husbands'" !!

    After the first floor, the painters also systematically painted the ground floor. We are now almost back into the same state. I say "almost" since the staircase and the external walls are still to be painted. Anticipating more dust, we have not moved all items into our TV shelf in the living room. Similarly, there are a couple of other cartons that need to be emptied later.

    We feel that we are now living in a new house. Whenever I touch the wall, my wife shouts out a word of warning and if she does like wise, I also shout (though she may say that I scream !) ! I think that this will last for a month or so, if that ! Once we get used to it, the smudge marks will come, eventually.

    So, is the painting perfect ? No : I have noticed that the bathroom fixtures like taps and pipes have paint marks on them. There are excess paint marks in few places that I have observed on the walls. On the whole, I am satisfied until now. My main concern was in my room. There, both my wife and I feel that we are in a new room.

    Thus, I have picked up some important lessons from the experience that can be applied at work also. To summarize :

    1.) Plans can (will ?!) fail, but it is important to plan. When I saw how the painting supervisor said he would cover the painting of the house, I realized that he had other jobs and a delay here would mean a dissatisfied customer somewhere else. Secondary and important lesson : It is good to learn how to make up a delay by putting in the right mitigation actions. I suppose that is why it is also good to keep a buffer, for such situations, if that can be afforded. The paint supervisor did not have this luxury.
    2.) Tools are important. For the painters, this was about cleaning their brushes and rollers. It was also about keeping the emery paper and sand paper ready. In the software industry, it is about updating the operating system and development tools, keeping the drivers up to date and making sure that the features of the tools are used effectively. In the mechanical domain, the measurement equipment and the calibration of these equipment become important, for quality control.
    3.) Management of resources is all about building on strengths and covering weaknesses. The lead painter knew that he would be the ideal person to paint the ceiling, since his other colleagues were unwell and not as young. At the same time, there were other tasks that they could handle. One has to make the most of the resources that one has !
    4.) Processes are important. In painting, there is the scraping, the covering of the cracks and then the actual painting. However, there is also other related process like preparing the tint, cleaning the brushes, etc. For each process too, there are different methods. The painters painted in rectangular or square areas as I noticed. Others may different brushes for superior emulsion paints. In design and development of software and products, processes are just as important so that there is consistency and repeatability of quality.
    5.) The manager needs to keep the teams on their toes by challenging them continuously to better themselves. Equally important, s/ he has to provide resources and tools to ensure that the team can perform well. I learned a lot from the paint contractor in this aspect in the way he addressed the team's requirements.
    6.) One has to have an eye for detail. In one case, I lacked it, as my wife observed, but then the paint contractor compensated instead ! His experience was useful in detecting the excess paint. I used it when the painting was done downstairs.

    Watching the paint dry is supposed to be a boring experience, but the process at my house has educated me.