When it comes to painting, masonry can be a fickle partner for painters. If it’s done improperly, peeling, cracking and efflorescence all can be problems that rear their ugly heads down the line. For homeowners and building owners alike, it’s extremely important to hire a painting contractor skilled at working on one of the more challenging substrates. A strong knowledge of proper product and surface prep is paramount. 

WT Kenney Co. is a fourth-generation commercial painting firm founded by Walter Kenney and based in Arlington, Massachusetts. For the past 82 years, the company has been successfully applying paint and coatings throughout New England. It completes over 450 commercial jobs each year and has 50 to 70 employees. Three of those employees have worked with the company for more 50 years each. What makes WT Kenney Co. special is that respect and celebration of those employees are at the very center of the company’s core values. “We realize that we must maintain a dedicated and stable group of employees to produce quality work for our clients,” states the front page of its website. The company hires and retains some of the best employees around by practicing respect, paying fair compensation and placing employees’ safety at the top of its priorities. The company has carried a Gold rating on its OSHA safety program for 11 years straight, thanks to its full-time safety officer. “We’re also very proud of our .86 insurance mod. but are committed to lowering it and having another year of zero accidents and no time lost,” says owner Tim Kenney. All of this means that customers can trust that WT Kenney Co. will get the job done and get the job done right.

Skill, product knowledge and perseverance all were required of the crews working on the 20 vertical masonry towers and 504 individual patio panels. Two aerial boom lifts carried two crew members each up to heights as much as 80 feet in the air working from June until November. The seven-story fluted block masonry towers required close to 1,200 gallons of paint and primer and the green and blue panels on the patios required a couple of hundred more.

First, each of the vertical masonry towers was pressure washed. Then, to keep water from seeping through the concrete, each was sealed with Benjamin Moore Ultra Spec Masonry Interior/Exterior 100% Acrylic Sealer 608. Finally, each was sprayed with two coats of Exterior Aura in Admiral Blue BM 2065-10. “Aura was chosen due to its excellent coverage characteristics with the saturated colors,” said project manager Eric Pacheco. Coatings were sprayed to ensure that paint found its way into all the nooks and crannies of the fluted block.

Each of the 504 patio panels was first degreased with Multi-Purpose Cleaner N318, primed with Corotech Waterborne Bonding Primer, and painted with two coats of Exterior Aura in BM 2061-40 Electric Blue and BM 2029-10 Basil Green.

The simple but stunning color scheme grabs the attention of all who walk by, and the promise of a quality and lasting paint job will bring years of comfort to the residents.