Reader, In a past life, I worked as an estimator for a painting company. Our focus was repainting large multi-family properties—townhouse complexes, apartment buildings, and hi-rises. As an estimator, a big part of my job was traveling to those properties and assessing what would be required to deliver a successful repainting project. It wasn't just a quantity survey, though. Yes, I was responsible to measure up the buildings, primarily to ensure we allowed for enough paint. However, the...