When it comes to providing a city of people with clean drinking water, you want to do everything in your power to ensure the safety of your water supply. The average water tower holds approximately a day's supply of water, or one million gallons of water, which is 50 times the amount found in a standard in-ground swimming pool.
Whereas the outside of a water tower can be painted to display pride for your town or city, the paint requirements for the inside of the tower are vastly different. You must hire a professional company that is familiar with federal requirements to effectively store water safely for your townspeople.
Guidelines and Requirements
The inside of the water tank should be dry. Moisture can negatively impact the application of paint to the inside of the tank. Therefore, it is recommended that you have the tower drained several days or even weeks in advance. In many cases, the tower will be tented to help keep moisture out once it is dry and prevent debris from blowing into the city from the job site.
Keep in mind that the inside of the tank will have to be sandblasted to remove any traces of paint that currently exists, as well as dirt, debris, scale, and other foreign matter. After the interior of the tank has been sandblasted, the painters will apply a prime base. Primer assures that the tank is prepped and ready for the coats of paint that must be applied. Several coats of paint are often applied to the inside of the tank. The paint itself will have to meet federal requirements to help prevent rusting so you can ensure that you provide a clean supply of water to the people of your city.
The tower painters will do their best to accurately plan the job around the moisture level in the air. For instance, the tower cannot be painted if the relative humidity is expected to rise above 85%, such as when it rains, snows, or is foggy outside. The relative humidity should also not rise above 85% within 12 hours after the paint is applied to the inside of the tank.
Timeline and Work Standards
Keep in mind that tower painting is no small task. The job starts from the inside out. Workers stand inside "bird cages" or platforms with metal bars that help keep them safe. The platforms are suspended high up in the air using ropes that are anchored to the ground below and the top of the tower. A team of professionals will work for days or even weeks to get the job done.
Although it is understood that you want the job done as quickly as possible, keep in mind that the project can take time, particularly depending on the size of your tank. For instance, it will take longer to paint a tank belonging to a larger city than that of a smaller, rural town. Whereas a rural water tower may only take a week or two, a larger tower may take several weeks to finish.
Work standards can also add to the timeline. Workers must ensure that they adhere to federal guidelines, so they may have to pause on their work if anything unforeseen interrupts their progress. For instance, incoming bad weather can put a halt on the painting progress. You must account for unforeseen risks when it comes to your timeline expectations.
In general, a team of professionals will provide an overestimation of the timeline that they need to complete the water tower painting project. The overestimation protects them in the event of unforeseen risks and interruptions. Overall, it is best to allow the workers some wiggle room in their timeline if needed. The safety and security of your city's water supply are far more important than trying to rush the completion of the project.
