Facilities managers often assume spraying means the whole building has to be cleared, but with the right containment, timing and communication, one floor can be sprayed while staff continue working elsewhere in the same block. The plan has to account for shared risers, stairwells and air handling that connect the floors, not just the floor being worked on.
Air handling units, riser cupboards and stairwell doors that connect the sprayed floor to the rest of the building are identified and sealed or isolated before work starts, since these are the routes overspray and odour most commonly travel through a multi-floor building. A floor plan review before mobilisation catches these before they become a problem mid-job.
Where the floor being sprayed is directly above or below occupied space, work is often scheduled for early mornings, evenings or weekends to reduce both noise and any residual odour reaching staff below. On lower-odour water-based systems this is less critical, but the choice of product itself affects how tightly timing needs to be managed.
Staff on adjoining floors are told what is happening, when, and what to expect in terms of odour or noise, which reduces the number of concerned queries during the work far more effectively than silence. A short notice with a contact name for concerns is usually enough.
Solvent-based coatings, larger fire-rated systems or anything needing significant extraction usually still call for the affected floor, and sometimes the one directly above or below, to be cleared for the duration. Being upfront about which coatings force this is more useful to a facilities manager than assuming everything can be worked around.
Often yes, particularly with low-odour water-based systems and proper isolation of shared risers and air handling, though some products still require wider evacuation.
It depends on the product and how well the shared systems are isolated. We choose lower-odour coatings and seal connecting routes specifically to minimise this.
Not always — usually just the sections connected to the floor being sprayed, identified from the building's services drawings or a walk-through before work starts.
Send us your floor plan and occupancy pattern and we will confirm which coatings allow the building to stay open.
Spraying can often proceed floor by floor in an occupied building, provided shared systems are isolated first.
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