bigchaz

Start the new crew to get a hand on all the waiting list. If you slow down after finishing the PMs you could always start the new crew doing the residentials to keep them busy until you get more PMs Buy the equipment and start the crew

Not to pick on you but the story seems a bit strange. You simple showed him some pics your work and he started getting mad at you? Or was their something else If he really just got that mad then they obviously have some serious issues dealing with other people I agree you did the right thing after all those people started making a huge deal out of it. Especially for the homeowner to call the company that originally did the work, thats just ridiculous.

Im bringing this topic back up since I cant seem to find good info Looking for a respirator to wear when spraying sodium hydroxide or precarb and oxalic. Also if it worked with oil based stain that would be a plus What I cant figure out is the millions of types they have. Dont really need to worry about dust or asbestos. Theres the basic kind that you can buy in a 10 pack for 2 bucks at any store. Then there is the kinds with the little pink circles on the ends. Seems like that would probably get wet when pressure washing so not sure if thats good. Dont want a full face one either. Also seen the kinds that have cylinders sticking out 5 inches from each end of your mouth How do I figure out what to get? Theres so many types of ratings (organic vapor, n95, n99, p95, p100, acid gas, prefilters?, cartrides) and im totally lost. Prices seem to range from 2 bucks to 200 also.

Yea whatever you do don't do composite. The worst hyped and ugliest product out there if you asked me. It scratches, looks ugly gray, takes just as much cleaning, holds bad stains much better (as in coffee and oil)

Whats in it? Oil? what type?

Just ordered 2. thanks for the info Jarrod

Fresh behr...not easily removed. gonna need more than one stripping Cabot is good quality, but you'll have the same problems with lapping and drips if you apply the same way you did the behr

Aight yall take a look at the website and give me some feedback. Got finals and exams and crap coming up now so I'm tired of working on it. Not as good as Id like, but for yahoo sitebuilder not too bad Someone give me an idea on the load time too. Lots of images in there so im worried it might take a while for some people Deck Cleaning, Powerwashing, and Staining -- Wake County, Apex, Cary -- Apex DeckSavers

Put him to work old man!! :) Have him operating the new branch division of deck-bright!!

For those of you with spray bottle, how long would stripper last in there? Figure if i mix a super strong mix, medium, and just a light cleaner in some quart spray bottles it should last a month or so. Will the product still work after being mixed that long?

It can be stripped and a semi put on, but not easily and not cheaply. Putting another solid on would def be your best bet. Your plan so far sounds pretty good. If you are familiar with Cabot, their cleaner is decent for something you can buy in the store. Give that a try. The best option is for you to throw down a primer. It is recomended for cabots solid stain. Its called problem solver primer. Put that on and then apply the solid cabot on top Of course the option of flipping the deck boards over is also a good idea if you really don't want the solid. Otherwise, if your budget changes, 1100 is a good deal for that amount of work. What was the company?

I would have told her if she was so interested in doing it herself to go ahead. Have her kill all her plants, burn her eyes, and probably destroy her roof. If she wanted to actually do it herself she would have. The fact that she was willing to hire you with a 100 dollar discount proves she was only using the info to talk you down. As for the article in the magazine about decks. If people are set on doing their own deck its going to happen. The people who use my services are ones who realize that A) its not worth their time B)they cant do the same quality of work To be honest if someone confronted me with something they read on one of these forums, I would tell her the truth: That the site is designed for contractors to share methods and work out problems with other professionals. If she is interested in getting into the business she can look forward to competing with my company until she goes out of business

Umm are you using this over wood tux or other stains? Clear sealers will never get 5 years. If you have wood tux on already, there is no reason to use a clear sealer over it. Are you a contractor or homeowner?

Exactly my point. As long as your are consistent thats the important thing. But as I showed in my very basic example, when you use such a specific measurement you're getting down to hundredths of a sq foot and tenths of a penny. Thats just ridiculous from a bidding standpoint, and probably looks equally as ridiculous from a customer deciphering your proposal

Heck no I wouldn't do the math. Would you seriously measure the length of every single one of those spindles? Id be making close to a hundred calculations to find the true exposed sq footage. For something like that I would just up my charge per linear foot on railings. That would be maybe 5 or 6 bucks a linear foot.

You could try a bleach/soap solution or a sodium hydroxide stripper if you have it available. Are you looking for some kind of chemical to order or to just use something you have?

200 is pretty low even just for cleaning Does it have railings? Is it off the ground? how many steps?

So for those of you who have these complex measuring plans do yall take a 3.5 foot tall spindle 1.5"x1.5" and calculate that? That would be 1.75 total square feet (3.5 feet times .125 feet(1.5") times 4) Then you have to subtract the wood thats not exposed (if its secured to a fascia or stair stringer) Assuming thats maybe 6 inches on one side you have .0625 sq feet. (.5 feet (6 inches) times .125 feet(1.5 inches)) That leaves you with a total of 1.689 (rounded) sq foot on a spindle. Then if you have 2x4 railing 8 feet long with three sides exposed do you get 4.33 sq feet? (3.5 inches times 8feet) plus (1.5 inches times 8 feet times 2)

he listed 2300 sq feet measuring every part of the wood. I don't waste my time calculating square foot on an inch wide spindle or id be bidding all day. sq foot on the surface, linear on the rails. Otherwise I could spend all afternoon making a 10x10 deck come out to have 1800 sq feet of wood surface

Almost went to vtech before uncw Scary stuff, could happen anywhere

Had Keith work up a card for me the other day. Quick turnaround! What do yall think?

O nd Rick no apologies necessary. Gave me a good laugh I appreciate yalls input on the fish though. I realize its probably a risk, but after thinking about it, I think its gonna stay. I think it represents who I am, and if people have a problem with, Ill be more than glad to talk it over with them...while doing the best dang job on their deck they'll ever get. Ill spare everyone my disagreements with the concept of tolerance and offending people. In short tolerance forces people to support the "live and let live" lifestyle without any semblance of respect. Makes having a moral character, a "crime of intolerance" Call it my last little stand against ever decreasing symbols of social morality in culture. Maybe I can get the ACLU involved. Thatd be a fun venture Uh o i probably already said too much Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciate it

Dang your right. Did keith do your label as well?

hahah Rick the fish question is probably the funniest thing ive heard in a long time!! I think i might actually play the fish off on people Customer: I see you have the fish on your card, glad to see your a Christian contractor Me: (redneck voice) Christian? Naw i just lovveeee me some fish Haha but yea like Jeff said its symbolic for Christ. He was a fisher and instructed his disciples to be fishers of men. I could go into the salvation story, but you get the idea. Its to let people see that they are working with someone who has principles based on the gospel. Anyhow on the card: Do you think the fact that I looks like cedar is a bad thing? Ive never done cedar in my life (not big around here apparently)

Best wishes to you Ken. Hope your feeling well soon!