Patrick at HMSGA

Sure beats what a lot of us seem to do when we get busy - "There a place for everything, and everything is in here someplace"....lol

Like I already said in post#2 of this thread - when you mention HVLP so many people first think of Graco, Titan, or Devilbliss, and they cost LOTS more than these little Wagners... But for what you would NORMALLY use one of these for, can you really see, much less justify the difference in the cost between these and more expen$ive ones? Great little sprayers, aren't they? If I didn't already have what I needed before I found out about Ken's deal I would be ordering one too! I am not trying to be a shill for Ken - I just think that they are plenty for what we usually need to do - so you can go spend the diff. between these and the high priced sprayers on something you need more than to have $1,000 invested in an HVLP sprayer...

She has you do work for them that she obviously KNEW AHEAD OF TIME that they have NO MEANS with which to pay you??? Did she mention this ahead of time, express any concerns about the price you would be charging, ask you about making payments or anything like that? Maybe she was intending to cheat you all along... At the very best totally unethical and extremely poor business practices... You did all this hard work for them, and her knowing all along that she was gonna cheat you??? You deserve to get paid, NOW! and NOT in delayed payments unless YOU agreed to that beforehand. I would go to HER boss, then their boss, then theirs... "Largest Property Management in the State" huh? No reserves, or anything like that? Doesn't appear to be very sound financially, or else they are just intentionally cheating you. Next time get a deposit for any large project, at least you won't be out for expenses. From now on - set up a contreact that calls for a deposit and a draw. Get the deposit, do some work, finish 50% of the work, draw 50% of the money. 75% - ditto, then all you would be out was a little at the end, or would know to not finish the work if they are not paying you promptly.

Sometimes the same pump will give you different pressure ratings if the HP of the motor is different. 20hp might be 3,500psi, while 24hp might get you up towards 4,000psi running the same pump. For most pressure washing, I don't see much need for any more than 3,500psi unless you are cleaning concrete. Hot water is also nice to have, as well as necessary if you ever plan to be doing any commercial work. 4.0 gpm is the minimum you would even want to consider for almost anything you would do in our exterior pressure washing business. You wouldn't believe the difference you will get by going with a higher flow setup. 3,500 psi @ 4.0 gpm is manageable, you could normally even control it with one hand if you were so careless to do so, but when you go to 3,500psi @ 5.6 gpm and you have a firehose that you need to hold with TWO hands at all times.

What trade are you searching for a BB for?

I grew up in Ft. Lauderdale during the 1950's - 1960's. Back then it was a GREAT place to grow up, I don't think there was EVER a better time to do that and to be that age. Good schools, GREAT music (Rick Shaw - WQAM), neat cars, a 14 year old could legally operate a motor scooter or motorcycle (REALLY!), most families had both parents who had time for us, what else could a kid need? Even when we were like 8-10-12 years old, we used to go out right after breakfast, we knew the boundaries we were allowed to stay within and those we dare not cross, and were pretty much told to "Just be home for dinner". Nowadays - NO PLACE IS SAFE FOR KIDS without adult supervision!!!! The world, and society has changed, and not all of it has been for the better...

Just because THEY say the parts are interchangeable with a Honda, doesn't mean that they really are. I would rather have a REAL Honda motor even if I got a used one at a pawnshop for about the same price as this (by the time you also add shipping costs). I did get a Honda 13hp with electric start at a pawnshop for $275.00 awhile back.

I already sent one through the "TGS" email message process. Must be lost somewhere, and doesn't give me option to resend it. Won't even try sending an email that way again... Will re-type and send you another one now that I have your email address.

Blackjack - Check your email. I have some info for you that I don't want to post in such a public place as here.

Like I said earlier, it's gonna be like an "E" ticket ride - Good Luck and hang on!!!

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love said to me - “Take out the garbage, Clean up the basement, Go get a haircut, Then get the oil changed, Throw out that old shirt, Pick up your workbench, Go by the cleaners, Then, wash both cars, Spend more time at home, Don’t complain, You are getting fat, Not tonight! Dear, I have a head ache!”

PLEASE go back and read my post again - I'm on YOUR side....

Why would a p/washer from Lowe's or HD where what they sell is usualy geared towards a d-i-y'er, but still sold with a Honda engine last only 200 or some other small # of hours, while a Honda engine on a commercial-grade p/washer (even with the same hp ratings) run for thousands of hours if it is maintained properly? I don't believe that Honda is ever going to intentionally build anything that is intended for such a short life, and that their overall reputation is worth more than that to them. I agree that there are places we really need heavy-duty hot water skid mounted equipment, like for commercial use or flatwork, but for residential work, house, deck, even driveway, anything more than 3,000 psi is more than one would normally need for most residential work. You can and maybe should p/wash houses and decks with a lot less pressure than 3,000 + psi anyway. Let the chemical do the bulk of the work, use the machine to apply chems and rinse and detail. I think that most of that is marketing. Remember those 10-15-20 water heaters, when the ONLY thing different between them was the price??? All marketing. It would have been too expensive for them to produce so many variations of the same thing. Get what you need, sure, but most residential work can be done with a nice (and preferably belt-drive) 3,000 psi machine. Maintain it properly and it will last for years. The first thing to go bad will probably be the unloader or pump, and those are affordable enough to buy another one, or rebuild the bad one if you are handy enough. I have small both direct and belt drive Honda (I like their 13HP and less) machines that I have had for close to 10 years, and they still run just fine. For commercial work I agree that hot water and higher psi is a must, and nice to have for all the time, but for residential work (where ALL of us should start off anyway) an affordable machine, and some well-spent $$ for marketing should help you get started. As you progress and can and should buy better equipment, then these little cold water machines are great for backup use so you are not totally out of business when your big machine is down. Many people are terribly underfunded to begin with, maybe to the point they should not even try to start a business, but that doesn't stop most of them. Try not to be so strapped financially just trying to get into business that you cannot afford to stay in business until business picks up for you and you are profitable and successful. I have also seen many nice machines at reasonable prices at your local pawn shop where someone else was maybe underfunded and didn't make a go of it. Maybe not new ones, but once you know what to look for goof machines that will last a couple of years for a tight price are plentiful. You can also find reposessed equipment at finance places... Just one (very practical, sometimes maybe too much so) man's humble opinion... Happy P/Washing!

I didn't say I cleaned drives, although I was referring to cleaning concrete. Yeah, that works too. I do pre wet-too, but don't always use bleach, or enough of it to remove these kinds of stains. Neither Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide will totally remove berry and leaf stains, but bleach will. My work is 99% commercial, and mold and mildew aren't what I am focused on cleaning off the concrete. I mostly clean restaurants, use hot water, and remove things like oil, grease, gum, tobacco spit, crayons, throw-up, etc. Bleach wouldn't help any of those appreciably. I clean off the other stuff, then go back to get leaf and berry stains if there are any. I wish I could post a sign for customers to read - "When you are finished with your chewing gum, cigarettes, and crayons, if you cannot dispose of them properly, will you please be so kind to swallow them?" Haven't done any residential concrete in years. I do some wood cleaning and refinishing when people are willing to pay my prices for it. I think that I am pretty good at it, but definitely not cheap. I didn't mean to mislead anyone, and I don't strip topcoat off concrete either, unless it is intentional.

In Georgia, we get a LOT of leaf, berry, acorn, and other similiar stains left on concrete that will not come off with most cleaners or pressure. Bleach gets almost almost all of them almost every time. I keep a pistol grip bottle with 6% full strength Clorox. After I have cleaned a concrete area, go back with sprayer and spray stains. By the time I get back to rinse they are usually completely gone. Almost kinda hate to tell the customer that they are so easy to remove.

That's what I understood when I read the post. Interest isn't exactly sky-high right now, so leasing might be a cheap loan WITH tax benefits. Use some of the cash money to kick your advertising and marketing up a notch, keep that new equipement BUSY....lol

I know, but I thought you were wanting to seal something specific, maybe I didn't read the post closely enough. You are just looking into this for additional service and income, right? I also have a coatings business, and there are a couple of these coatings that are VERY good products, some others are total crap, and most fall somewhere in between. I would not recommend these types of coatings for concrete and Masonry. In my opinion you will not find anything better than what V-Seal (Tara Distribution Group) already has to offer. There are maybe 20 of these coatings I can name if I thought for long enough, but I like the one I use best of any of them. It is not even available to the general public, only to contractors they have approved and know will prep and apply and use it properly. They are more interested in the integrity of their product than they are in making tons of $$ selling ,ass amounts of products to the general public (that may not be applied properly, but it will reflect on the material, and not on the person who applied it because the d-i-y'er didn't know what he was doing). Many people will tell you these coatings are no good, and that they cannot last or do what they claim, mostly because THEY haven't ever heard of them. That is NOT the case! I am not even going to mention any coating I use here until I get permission from Beth or Rod. You will have to go to my website to find out more about it. I haven't heard that much about this one, but give me a few days to check it out and I will be happy to let you know what I find out - IF you want for me to. Things to ask the guy you are dealing with - How many steps does it take to use the product? Most of these, to do it right, are really labor intensive, and most of the time/labor comes in the prep process, like 3 hours to prep, 5 minutes to actually apply coaring, for example. If you do not do the prep properly you may not get the results you hope for. Please keep that in mind up front. The prep can be VERY time consuming, the application is rather easy. You want a coating with a two-step process, step one is to clean/prep, and step two is to apply the coating. When applying to metal you will think youself an auto detailer, sometimes using "Q-tips" or even fingertips to clean oxidization from little nooks and crannies in the metal surface. You have already read comments where people gripe about the cost as some of these run up towards $200 a gallon, but you get 1,000 - 1,200 sq. ft. coverage per gallon. It applies very thin, so your costs to use are not that high at all. Expensive to buy, but not so expensive to use... Still, at that price I would not use it on something so porous as concrete or masonry unless you seal with something else first... How long does it last on average (normally will last longer on metals, and will last for a shorter time on fiberglass.) What is their guarantee to you, or will they just blame you if applied coating does not last as long as you warranty it for? How can you warranty a product to a customer if Co. will not back you? Is the same material applied to all surfaces (metal, wood, cementitious) like are they trying to be all things to all people, or is it different but similiar formulations? Do they offer cleaners and other material to use in the prep process designed to be used with the coating? (like in a "system") Do they offer materials to clean and maintain a coated surface after coating has been applied? How is it applied? How is it cleaned and maintained? Can it be removed of one chooses to do so? What is the "flashpoint" of the material? I know of one offered by another online distrbutor that is a more than two step process, then on top of that it has a flashpoint of under 120' F. That puts it into the hazardous material category, both to ship and to even handle. NOTE: you will find this to be a "niche" market. You will drive all over seeing potential uses for this material. It is really neat stuff, any you will get many people who see it and say "nice" when you demo it, but fewer will actually spend the bucks$ to have you do it. There is a trick to marketing this type of material... Hope this helps somewhat... Good Luck! Patrick

What kind of surface are you trying to use the sealer on?

Cash is king if you can afford to do it, not having any monthly payments to make on equipment is really nice, but the amortization is still taken over a long period of time so your tax benefits are spread out over that time. Do they still have those leases where you make the lease payments, fully deducting them as expenses, then at the end of the lease period you can still buy the equipment for like $1.00 ??? Monthly lease payments are fully deductible so you can take advantage of that and get a bigger write off amount taken over a shorter period. When you buy the equipment for the $1.00 isn't that the only expense left that you would have otherwise had to amortize over several years? Surely they will let you go ahead and take it all that first year. Please correct me if I am mistaken.

When I was a youngun my grandfather gave me a birthday card with a handwritten note containing these words- "You won't understand this now, but I hope you keep this until you get older when you will understand better - Life is too short for you to spend it doing something you don't like to do, so find something that you like to do very much, then go figure out a way to be paid for doing it"

Delco sells the plumbing. See their "Wats Blaster" (I THINK it is called) catalog, either in print or online. You also have to have compatible unloaders on BOTH machines. This would apply mostly used to run one flat-surface machine with increased gpm to get better cleaning out of it. You will also have to adjust your tips appropriately. Happy washing! HANG ON!!!!!!!!! It's an "E" ticket ride.....lol

Do an internet search "uses for WD40" and you will get hundreds of search results. Not all work or the best thing to use, but many do when we wouldn't have expected it to work. I have been using WD-40 creatively for a long time now... Just for an example - here is one called "2000 uses for WD-40" http://www.twbc.org/wd40.htm

I am happily married for 33 years, none, well few of these, come from personal experience, but I still think they are funny... Marriage is very much like a violin; after the sweet music is over, the strings are attached. Marriage is love. Love is blind. Therefore, marriage is an institution for the blind. Marriage is an institution in which a man loses his Bachelor's Degree and the woman gets her Masters. In a successful marriage, for him - the man tries to earn more than his wife can spend, and for her - she finds that man. Marriage is a thing which puts a ring on a woman's finger and two under the man's eyes. Marriage certificate is just another word for a work permit. Marriage is not just a having a wife, but also worries inherited forever. It is true that love is blind but marriage is definitely an eye-opener. Getting married is very much like going to the restaurant with friends. You order what you want, and when you see what the other fellow has, you wish you had ordered that. There was a man who said, "I never knew what happiness was until I got married...and then it was too late!" Love is one long sweet dream, and marriage is the alarm clock. They say when a man holds a woman's hand before marriage, it is love; after marriage, it is self-defense. It's true that all men are born free and equal, but some of them get MARRIED! Married men lived longer than single man, but married men are a lot more willing to die. A married man should just go ahead and forget his mistakes, there's no use in two people remembering the same thing for the rest of time.

A man staggers into an emergency room with two black eyes, a five iron wrapped tightly around his throat, and with a big lump on his head where a driver was busted across his skull. He still had remnants of what looked like a torn up golf bag hanging from his tattered clothing. Naturally, the doctor asks him what happened. "Well, I was having a quiet round of golf with my wife when she sliced her ball into a cow pasture. We went to look for it and while I was looking around I noticed one of the cows had something white at its rear end. I walked over and lifted up the tail and sure enough, there was my wife's golf ball, stuck right in the middle of the cow's butt. "That's when I made my big mistake." "What did you do?" asks the doctor. "Well, I lifted the tail, pointing at ball stuck in the cow's rear and yelled to my wife, Hey honey, this looks like yours!"

Whaddya get when you fall off of an inferior ladder? A crooked contractor.........lol