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jeffex11

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Posts posted by jeffex11

  1. Posted · Report reply

    we just started a big job today and I started the pressure washer for my wife and as the pressure built it blew the hose from too much pressure. My guess is the unloader valve failed to relieve the pressure . This rig is 10 years old . 3200 psi 4 gal. 11 hp honda. I'll order a whole new pump instead of just the unloader valve since its 10 years old. It was just a bad time for this to happen. Luckily I was close enough to a store to get another one. Oh well there goes the profit on that job. 3750psi 4 gal. 13 hp honda back in business. anyone else have this happen?

  2. Posted · Report reply

    it looks like mold but the bleach would have killed that. It may be shotgun mold that bleach won't kill. Cleaner Times Magazine

    I usually see this on vinyl siding near mulch beds or wooded areas. VERY hard to get off at all. Degreaser worked some. I actually used gasoline on vinyl because I had no paint thinner available the first time I saw this stuff. i thought it was tar from the new roof they just had installed. do a test spot of course ! power washing will remove some of the outer wood on a deck but on a house this stuff should replace the shuttle tiles that fall off . its HELL to get off but it usually individual dots . this has bleed lines like mold. It could possibly be iron stains from your lawn fertilizer? power wash it whatever it is!

  3. Posted · Report reply

    WOW is that F-ed up . we all have our nightmare story but yours takes the cake. go talk to the guy . knock on his door and try and settle with him. you have gone WAY out of your way to show effort even though the results were not the best. threatening letters and the like may not get your money if you did not have a signed contract. reasoning with him and his wife both present may resolve the situation. sounds like 3 parts of guilt on this one to me. the people at sherwin williams should have properly told you to strip the clear first but they may have assumed you were doing that. this will be the lesson learned . resolving situations with the least blood loss and satisfying a PIA customer. best of luck knock on his door !!! $800 + is too much of a write off to sit and wait for a check in the mail.

  5. Posted · Report reply

    10 min. or so to hammer nails is no extra charge. Especially if they are home and see the extra service. I have charged $50 extra to take care of a more severe deck but I simply include it in my original estimate and point it out to the customer. "that price includes wash , stain , and hammering in your excessive loose nails." I never itemize, just one price for the finished product. If they wan't to save money by hammering the nails in themselves I offer to knock off $25 and most just say "oh we'll you can do that". Pricing and selling is a game. Play to win!!!! As far as removing nails or screwing in boards that is a onsite call for your own situation. I preferr to hand off all but minor repair work to a friend who also networks with me for cleaning . I make sure my handyman is prompt and considerate and it just makes me look like a good source to go to without getting bogged down with services I choose not to offer. I can get a higher rate for cleaning and staining than repair work so thats what I do. The sound of my power washers running is music to my wallet. I realize many have their own situation and like to be the one source for total deck care and that is great.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    matte finish. If you over apply if builds up and layers on top. I padded my own deck because my railings are solid stain and I noticed some filming under the railings where it puddled up. I just used some stripper to thin it back to the matte finish. I am impressed with the uniformness of the finish when sprayed for a soap and water cleanup product.

  9. Posted · Report reply

    all they need to know is my phone #!!! I won't even tell my brother-in-law what products I use to clean decks or staining techniques. It ticks him off but I say Coca-Cola has its secret formula , I have mine. I believe in letting pictures tell the story. Just look at Beth n Rods website. One of the best I've ever seen. Pictures , pictures, and oh yeah, more pictures.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    I always strip off the old stain unless a customer is looking for regular maintenance[yearly] then you can clean without stripping and top coat with the same product. If I recall , I only have one or two customers who want this type of service. The one that sticks out the most is a lady whose deck is WAY up in the air and I priced her restoration accordingly. 2 stories up with a drop off back yard. I then sold her on the idea of just getting the floor and top rail done the next time to save some money. I realy just didn't want to do that high wire act again any time soon. She went for that the next two times but is due for a complete strip and stain for the entire deck again. I may rent a cherry picker this time !!! I would love to have a atv towed aerial platform to use for cleaning and staining as well as houses!!! I'm getting too old to do the high wire acts on ladders and roofs. I looked at a trailer mounted genie lift but it was $30,000 . I have even considered a pump jack system like used by siding contractors. I drew some designs for platforms that could hang off the deck and give you a movable walk board for stepping over the railings and easily washing and staining . You would have to use a hand held gun with no extension as your opperating fairly close to the deck. Maybe its already out there but I will need something like this in the furture to keep up with the physical demand of this type work

  15. Posted · Report reply

    time will tell indeed! this is a new formula than the old cwf that was crap. that stuff faded in 3 months. This is my experimental year to try several products. The new stuff has held up so far on my deck this year from the dogs and heavy foot traffic. I just came in from powerwashing the grill and rinced the deck off and it looks great but 2 months is no test.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    I used the cedar on 2 decks in the spring and it was too dark for my taste but the customers picked the color. I just did one with the honey gold cwf uv5 and even my own deck. I'll try and post a picture If I can get my camera working. It looks great. The color looks very even for a water based stain and the coverage is very good per gallon. It is a thick stain . Anyone else use this product? I will add the honey gold[looks more like oak to these eyes] to my choices but not the cedar. I find the olympic cedar to be less red than the cwf. Just my 2 cents.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    OK HOW DO I ADD A SIGNATURE . Dropping an inflated price is part of the ART of pricing and marketing. I've been blessed with too much work at this time and have even given some leads forward to others. Networking works both ways. My stratedgy is to let price slow the work down and when things settle down go back to normal , pricing will follow. the context of lowering a price back down $100 would be on a $6-$800 deck not a $2-300 deck. It is call an oppertunity cost or fee for putting yourself in line for service. If they go somewhere else so be it I can't get to them anyway. Nothing ventured , nothing gained! supply and demand Economics 101.You got your way and I've got mine. I never pretend to tell anyone how to price or practice thier business. This is a discussion board and I simply am sharing a pricing stratedgy that works for me. I heve gained new info on this site and hope I've offered some.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    I used the olympic honey gold this week and it looks great . A very natural color looks more like oak kitchen cabinets to my eyes. Customer loved the natural look. My camera is not very true on color or even focus but there is some pictures on my website under the olympic stain on nav. bar. DECK DOCTOR PRESSURE WASHING I got to sneak my wifes camera on a job because hers takes very accurate color shots!!!!

  23. Posted · Report reply

    I'm drinking my coffee getting ready to do a big job today and reading all the posts. I'm charging my laptop so I can check the radar before I make the decision to go ahead and stain today. Its clear that pricing is regional. I've found over 16 yrs. that using a sq. ftg. measurement to price services is the way to go. Another benchmark for me has been the realization that in my market the price you can get for washing a house is a simple formula. For a $300,000 house [value from zillow.com] you can get $300 to wash. It allows me to give ballpark prices on the phone to qualify a customer. If they are still interested then I do a site inspection and give a final price. I price decks per sq. ft. and add for height, ease of access, city or well water, and other time adding issues. I measure the deck floor sq. stg. to make my price. 10X20 deck =200 sq. ft. X $x.xx per sq. ft. Many times I do a drive by price if I'm busy and try and push the threshold of what I can charge. I like to get 3 of 5 bids. Throughout the season I adjust my pricing to keep bookings 2 to 4 weeks out. Right now I'm booked out 6 weeks so I gave a drive by price for a deck and ranch house at about $100 over normal rates . I can always call her back later in the season if she balks and drop her price $100 [back to normal] and reel her in if I get caught up. Pricing is an art if your busy and a science if your competing for work.

  24. Posted · Report reply

    RPETRY combine the network marketing of referrals and customers who keep comming back every 1-2-3 or so years and YOUR an established business !!! Toss in a few who call and" ASK " if they can give your number to a friend,neighbor, family member, and they feel like part of an exclusive club. It keeps me small time but low headaches at max profit with no advertising overhead. Finding your niche is key ! volume dealer vs high end customer service or something in between.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    my business model is simple . Get in and out and get paid. I have been doing wash and stain in a day jobs for many years . I use water based stains and have good success [except deckscapes last year] with 2-3 yr repeat customers. my customers are aware of the finish that water based stains give. These stains simply fade over the years but don't turn gray. I make NO claims of warranty on the stains. I simply tell them my experince. This yr I am using olympic maximum. 2-3 yrs from now I will be able to tell them how it does. I can however, tell them of some of the experiences pros have had with this product and why I am using it. It fits my model that they were used to in the past. My performance is in the actual work, thats mainly how I am evaluated. Their decks looks great and no stain on their house. SIMPLE! Customers whose decks I used Deckscapes on were dissapointed in the STAIN not me. I'm prompt, professional, return all calls, and dependable. Thats what I sell. I don't pretend to be a "woodie" or expert of any kind but my repeat customers tell me their glad I'm still in business when they call. "me too !!!!"

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