The overnight schedule
From closing to the moment you unlock
Every job gets a one-page night plan with times for your shop. This is the order it follows.
- Planning
Step 1: Before the first night
Walk-through, written plan, certificate of insurance, key and alarm arrangements, and a call with your opener.
- 9 p.m.
Step 2: Closing
The foreman meets your closing manager. You point out what is fragile and what is yours to reset.
- 9:30 p.m.
Step 3: Protection
Glass, signs, hardware, plants and sidewalk are covered. Lights are set so the work can be seen from the street.
- 10 p.m.
Step 4: Prep
Rinse, dry, scrape, sand, treat rust and caulk. This is the longest part of the night and the one we don't shorten.
- Midnight
Step 5: Prime
Bare spots and patches are primed. Primer is given its cure time before any finish goes on.
- 2 a.m.
Step 6: Finish coats
Two coats on each surface. Rain, wind or damp air can hold a night; the foreman calls you.
- Before you open
Step 7: Handback
Tape off, sweep, wet-paint signs where needed and a short walk with your opener.
On site
Quiet tools, a clear sidewalk, one name to call
Night work in Honolulu usually sits under apartments or beside neighbors who are asleep. We bring lights, not noise, keep a path clear past the front and leave a name and number on the door for anyone who asks.
The night foreman's line is on the plan. He answers it while the crew is on site; the office answers by day.
Work lights set so the front can be seen from the street
A named foreman on site and a phone that is answered
A rain call, so you know before you open
Trash and paint cans cleared each morning
Agreed in the plan
What we settle before the first night
Nothing here is hard, but each one is a surprise if nobody asked.
Keys and alarm
Who holds what, who sets the alarm and who we call if it trips.
Power and water
Where we plug in and rinse, and what we bring.
Parking and loading
Where the crew's van sits and what permits a lift or closure needs.
Neighbors
Quiet hours, notices for upstairs units and a number to call.
Rain and delays
When we hold a night, who calls you and what moves.
Handback
Who walks the front with us and signs it off.
About the night plan
Will we be able to open on time?
The plan is built backward from the hour you open. It names which surfaces are dry enough to use, which stay behind wet-paint signs, and who walks the front with your opener. If a night is lost to rain, we tell you before you open, not after.
Does night work cost more?
It can. Crews working nights are paid differently, and the estimate says so in a line of its own, so you can compare it with a daytime price.
What happens when it rains?
We don't paint wet or salt-damp surfaces. Rain moves a night; it doesn't shorten the prep. The plan lists the nights we hold and who calls you.
Who is on site at night, and who do I call?
A foreman and crew, named on the plan. The night foreman's number is on the plan, and he answers it while the crew is on site. The office answers by day.
Do you need a key or alarm code?
Only if the inside is part of the job. For exteriors we work from the sidewalk and entry. For interiors we agree on a key, a lock-up routine and an alarm contact in the plan, and write down who holds what.
Ask for a night plan
Send your closing and opening hours. The foreman will build the plan around them.