One Contractor, the Whole Envelope,
With the Building Still Open
FAIME Construction ran this Vaughan commercial building as general contractor, start to finish. We covered and protected the site and put up scaffolding, then repaired the stucco and brick damage. We removed an old hose bib, redundant wiring and an old light fixture, cut out and redid the joint sealants and window caulking, and applied a Venetian finish wherever the wall needed it, using the same finish for the parging. The quoins were replaced with Canamould stock. The roof metals, entry plaza doors and railings, metal stairs and dock-door edges were painted, and the whole building got two full coats of Benjamin Moore 1602. It took 7–10 working days, and the tenant stayed open the whole time.Commercial envelope & finishing · Vaughan, York Region & the GTA · WSIB Active · $2M CGL · 2-year workmanship warranty
Project Overview
This was a large commercial building, part single-storey and part two-storey, with an office front, a long blank rear wall, a brick section and a loading dock. It was not one repair but a whole envelope that needed putting right and then refinishing in a new colour. FAIME held the whole job: the repairs, the sealants, the finish coats and the paint. We also coordinated the site so the tenant kept working and the other teams on the building could do their part. Every stage below is shown with photos and video from this job.
What We Found on the Walk-Around
From across the parking lot, the building just looked tired. The problems showed up up close. Stucco was damaged in patches along the long walls. The corner quoins were stained and worn. Brick joints and control-joint sealant had opened up, and the caulking around the windows had dried out and let go at the sills. The walls also carried decades of leftovers: an old hose bib, wiring nobody used any more and an old light fixture, each one a hole in the envelope.
That is why this could not be a repaint. Paint over open joints, failed caulking and cracked stucco looks good for one season, then the water finds the same gaps. The order of work on this job follows from that: repair and seal first, then finish, then paint.
Stage 1 — Cover-Up & Scaffolding
Before any tools came out, the site was covered. Walkways and paving got drop sheets, windows were masked, and dock doors and entrances were sheeted and taped off. Scaffolding then went up along the elevations. On an occupied building, this is also the stage that keeps the tenant working. Entrances stay usable, routes stay clear, and the dust and overspray stay on our side of the tape.
Stage 2 — Stucco & Brick Repairs
All of the stucco damage was cut back and patched, and the brick repairs were done across the whole building. Damaged joints and units were made good so the wall was sound before any finish went over it. This is the stage the colour change hides, and the one that decides how long the finish lasts.
Stage 3 — Removals
The old hose bib, redundant wiring and the old light fixture came off the walls, and each opening was patched and closed. Every one of those was a penetration letting water behind the finish. Taking them out before the new coats went on means the finished wall is continuous, not painted around old hardware.
Stage 4 — Joint Sealants & Window Caulking
The existing joint sealants and window caulking were cut out, not caulked over. New sealant was run in the control joints, and every window got a new caulking line. New caulk over old, failed caulk has nothing sound to bond to, so it fails along the same line. Cutting it back to clean surfaces is slower, and it is the only way the new bead holds.
Stage 5 — Venetian Finish, Parging & New Quoins
Where the wall needed it, a Venetian finish was applied over the repairs so the patched areas and the original wall read as one surface. Fibreglass mesh went in wherever the substrate needed reinforcing. The same Venetian finish was used for the parging at the base, so it matches the wall above. The old quoins at the building corners were replaced with new Canamould stock.
Stage 6 — Metals, Doors & Dock
The metals at the roof were painted, as were the entry plaza doors and railings. The metal stairs were painted completely black, and the dock doors and the metal edges around them were painted too. On a commercial building these details are what visitors and delivery drivers see up close. A new wall colour next to a rusty door frame still looks unfinished.
Stage 7 — Two Full Coats, Whole Building
With the repairs, sealants and finish coats done, the whole building was painted in two full coats of Benjamin Moore 1602, the colour the client chose. That took it from faded cream to a deep grey, with light trim around every window. Masking came down, the site was cleared, and the building was handed back finished.
