Elevator and Corridor Doors: What Condo Boards Should Know Before Refinishing

Elevator doors and corridor doors are among the first things residents, tenants and visitors notice, and among the hardest surfaces in a building to keep looking good. Moving-day carts, strollers, bikes and delivery dollies all leave their mark. Refinishing them with electrostatic painting avoids the cost and upheaval of new elevator entrances or new doors, but it is still work carried out in a building full of people. This guide covers what a condo board or property manager should think through before the first door is sanded.

Start with an inventory

Before any scheduling conversation, it helps to know exactly what is being refinished. Count the elevator cars and the floors each one serves, since every stop has a set of landing doors and a frame. Decide whether the cab interiors are part of the job. For corridors, count suite entry doors, stairwell doors, service room doors and their frames, floor by floor. Note which doors are fire-rated, and take a few photos of typical damage. A contractor can give a much clearer plan from an inventory than from a general request to "do the doors."

Elevators: one car at a time

In a building with more than one elevator, the usual approach is to work on one car at a time so another stays in service. Landing doors on each floor are refinished from the landing side, and the car may need to be held or taken out of service while the doors at its stops are prepared and coated. Some buildings involve their elevator maintenance company in that planning, so check your service agreement and ask the contractor how they handle it. Single-elevator buildings need extra care: the work can be planned for quieter hours, and residents with mobility needs should hear about it well ahead of time so they can plan around it.

Odour and ventilation

Residents' first question is almost always about smell. Coatings for metal refinishing vary, and low-odour options exist for occupied buildings. Ask what product will be used, what it smells like while it is applied and while it cures, and how the work area will be ventilated. Corridor air supply, open stairwell doors and the time of day all make a difference. Residents with sensitivities appreciate knowing the schedule for their floor in advance, so they can arrange to be out if they prefer.

Masking and protection

Electrostatic painting produces much less overspray than conventional spraying, because the charged paint is pulled toward the grounded metal, but careful masking is still essential. Expect a good crew to cover flooring, carpets and walls around each door, and to mask call buttons, position indicators, door sills, locks, closers, door viewers, unit numbers and signage. On fire-rated doors and frames, the rating labels need to stay uncovered and legible, so they should be masked rather than painted over. Ask how the contractor protects these items and how each work area is left at the end of the day.

Notices and access

Residents need to know when their floor and their door are affected. A clear notice says which days, which elevator, which doors, roughly how long a door needs to be left alone while it sets, and who to contact with questions. For suite entry doors, decide early whether only the corridor face is being refinished or both faces, since the inside face means arranging access to each unit. Doors should carry wet paint signs while the coating sets, and the notice should go up early enough that anyone with a move or a delivery booked can adjust.

Colour and consistency

Refinishing is a chance to unify a building whose doors have been touched up in slightly different shades over the years. Choose the colour and sheen before work starts, and approve a sample on an actual door rather than a paint chip. Elevator doors are often a different finish from corridor doors, and a board may decide to change one, the other or both. Whatever the choice, put it in writing so the last floor matches the first.

Budgeting and phasing

Not every building refinishes everything at once. A common approach is to start where wear and visibility are highest, usually the lobby and the elevators, and phase the corridors over later budgets. Because the colour is recorded and the process is the same, a later phase can match an earlier one. If phasing is likely, say so up front so the contractor can quote each phase separately.

Questions to ask any contractor

• How is each surface prepared, and what primer is used on stainless steel or on previously painted metal?
• Which coating will be used, and what are its odour and curing characteristics?
• How will elevator service be maintained, and how long will each car be affected?
• What gets masked, including fire-rating labels and elevator controls?
• How is each work area left at the end of the day?
• Who is the on-site contact for residents and building staff?

Clear answers to these questions are a better guide than the lowest number on a quote.

Refinishing elevator and corridor doors is a scheduling and communication project with a painting project inside it; plan the first well and the second goes smoothly.