
Why Hiring a Painter Experienced in Containment, Over-Spraying and Sandblasting Is Critical
Posted Oct 19, 2020 by Dave Scaturro

Sometimes painting and sandblasting won't be the most complicated portion of a job. In many cases, accessing certain areas on the site and preventing exposure to the surrounding environment is more difficult than the work itself! By this, we mean specialized scaffolding and containment. Projects that require this kind of preparation include tank and tower coating, church steeple restoration, exterior high rise renovations, heat stacks, bridge painting, and more. Changes in temperature, the movement of dust and debris, even shifts in humidity can spell doom for these sensitive projects, and that's all the more reason to hire an expert to ensure it gets done correctly.
Rigid Scaffolding and Containment from the Professionals at Alpine
Here at Alpine, all our rigid scaffolding and containment systems are stamped and approved by a professional engineer. OSHA scaffolding safety requirements ensure worker and public safety. For example, their regulations specifically state: 1926.451(f)(8): employees shall not work on scaffolds that are covered with ice or snow and 1926.451(f)(13): debris shall not be allowed to accumulate in quantities to cause a hazard. We adhere to these and all other requirements to protect ourselves as well as your investments.
How the Experts Do It
By following the correct safety standards in containment rigging, we can work in high winds with the guarantee the integrity of the structure will not be compromised. Using a containment system also allows us to keep elements such as ice, snow, leaves, and rain away from our projects. This also stops dust, debris, and even lead from escaping into the surrounding area. Alpine utilizes environmental monitoring systems that give us live feedback of many weather conditions along with a containment system. These include windspeed, wind direction, temperature, and relative humidity. This system is extremely beneficial for monitoring both quality and safety.
Containment Systems Equal Cleaner Air
When sandblasting a tank, the used abrasive, many times including lead paint dust, is suctioned out of the containment with a dust collector. A dust collector is essentially a giant vacuum cleaner, but instead of picking up dust off a floor, it uses a large hose to suction dust out of the containment. By suctioning air out of the containment, we create “negative pressure” inside. This means that the air outside the containment is at a higher pressure, so there is no free air movement pushing the dust and debris out, polluting the surrounding area. We then create vent holes toward the top of the containment, because without holes, the pressure difference can become so great that the entire containment can collapse.
Containment Makes Coatings and Seals Stronger
In conjunction with our containment systems, we also utilize heat or dehumidification equipment and other engineering controls to finish large projects within very tight time frames. This equipment is used to keep the coating system at the right curing temperature, even in very cold or humid climates. In regards to quality, environmental conditions need to be just right. The steel temperature can’t be too cold, or otherwise the paint won’t cure properly. It also can’t be too humid because too much water in the air will keep your solvents from evaporating correctly, and water can form on the surface.
Whether working on small, private projects or high profile, public-bid projects you should never ever take shortcuts as a contractor. The lives of your workers as well as the people and the surrounding environment, depend on it. “When safety is first, you last.” This goes for your company as well. A contractor that practices safe working habits has happier and healthier employees who are more likely to produce better work standards. With that being said, a safe contractor tends to be hired again and again.