Doug Dahlke

Things slowing here too. I have a few jobs lined up but will probably be hitting the pavement next week looking to keep things going.

I am talking about a portable generator complete with motor for running lights and other equipment, not the burner. Thanks

I washed a stucco ranch yesterday. The house with the attached three car garage was probably 2,500 to 3,000 s.f. It was also pretty dirty on two sides with a long dormer above the garage and a chimney. Two 5 gallon mixes did the house including what I used on the front sidewalk that was about 50' long.

I x-jet houses and don't recall ever using a full pail per side. On an average house ~ 2,000 sf I would probably use 1 and a half to 2 pails depending on how dirty the house was. Two full pails for me would equal one gallon of Power House and 5 gallons of 12%.

I am getting some calls for residential quotes but the takers are few. I have kept my pricing stable and I think the high gas prices are hurting things here. I actually did more residential earlier in the year when gas was lower. We are also in a draught here and I think some people beleive they can't have their house washed because of water restrictions which don't apply to businesses. Thank God for the commercial stuff.

I think reliability is certainly a key issue. It is important in every market and I think a major issue with PM's. If I manage many properties and I call someone to clean a pool deck for a HOA that is opening the pool in 7 days and you don't show up, there probably won't be any more phone calls. People have enough problems these days and even if you are very good at what you do it don't mean squat if you don't show up.

A 16' extension, a 24' extension and a 10' step. Be sure to use a stand off so your ladder is not leaning against the gutter. Ladder Max works well.

Listen to Ken and call EacoChem. They have an extensive product line and the tech guys will give you help over the phone.

Sounds like you're in the ball park. I use figures similar to that. Just bid a ranch here at around $250. I am doing that house Friday. I local competitor just had an ad out for a $125 house wash for any home up to 2,000 s.f. I would rather wash one house and make $250 to $275 than do three and make $375. You will lose half of the extra hundred driving between jobs and using extra fuel in your pressure washer. When you try to sell them again down the road they will expect the same low price. That is a recipe to go out of business.

I have been at this for a year and a half now and thought this spring my residential business would really pick up. I have the largest Yellow Book ad in the county directory, I advertise in the local paper service directory, I am listed in Service Magic, I have a website, I send flyers and belong to a networking group. Commercial work is what is keeping me going. Is it high gas prices, low ballers, DIY, or am I missing something? I am not the cheapest guy around but I also have never had a complaint from a customer about my price when they saw the completed work. Is anyone else feeling my pain or am I just missing something?

Here is one I took today. This is at a large strip mall a few miles from my house.

Figure out what you need to make per hour and use that as your minimum fee. John said he charges $100 for about an hour of his time and that is a good figure to shoot for.

If this guy is doing 2,300 houses a year he should put a book together on how to get that many jobs, sell the info and sit at home waiting for the money to roll in. If he does a good job the 2,300 he did last year are probably still good to go so he needs 2,300 new customers this year. At a 70% closing rate he would need to be getting 9 phone calls a day 365 days a year. Sounds impossible to me.

This June will be 24 years for me. Marriage has its ups and downs but too many people nowadays expect everything to be great all the time. A little trouble and they want to hang it up. My Dad has been married three times. A lot of heartache left in that wake for a lot of people. Sometimes I wonder if he ever thinks life would have been better if he had toughed out the first one.

I washed a new house yesterday that had the softest concrete I have seen. I usually use a hydrochloric acid cleaner to handle the red clay here and an adjustable pressure wand. I used the cleaner on the rear concrete patio and a low pressure rinse but even at low pressure I could see some cream moving. Did the rest of the house with no chems and low pressure. This house had a large concrete entrance patio with a brick front. Of course there is mortar all over the concrete. Not big globs but more like a thin film that is spread all over it. It was still wet when I left so I couldn't see the finished look. I don't know how to get the mortar off without damaging the concrete. Acid will melt the mortar but it will also soften the cream. About 50 cents worth of plastic would have solved the problem but I have done enough of these now to know that won't happen. It is amazing what a mess these guys make of a house.

I ordered one from Bob on Monday. If I remember correctly they should be back in stock on May 21st. The one I have is really tough to turn off and on.

I have been using F-13 Gutter Grenade from Pressure Tek. I was cutting it 4:1 but now that it is warming up 5:1 or 6:1 works. Brush it on and rinse off. For gutters out of reach of my 16' extension pole I x-jet it.

I would say 10% of the invoice. That is based on a rough estimate that you need to spend at least 10% of whatever gross sales dollars you are shooting for on advertising. If I am getting guaranteed jobs without advertising then I could afford that.

I just finished washing the entrance steps at a town house complex with about 200 units. They have asked me to quote doing all the driveways. I am going to include a separate price for the garage doors. I did not notice even one oil spot in any of the drives when I was washing the steps. Looked like just surface dirt and a little mold and mildew. Here is what I need some ideas on. The drives are small. Only large enough to handle two cars side by side. On either side are brick steps leading to each unit. I will have to use a wand to cut in the driveways. If I do the garage doors I will need a wand for that. I want to use my surface cleaner on the drives. Swithcing back and forth between the wand and surface cleaner will get old quick. I plan to use chems on the doors they are pretty dirty. What is a good plan to do the drives and the doors in minimal time? I have a ball valve that I use when I am switching attachments but it is a bear to turn off and on. I currently x-jet my chems but this could be a good project to DS. Any ideas?

I understand what Ken is saying with depreciation on new vehicles. For personal transportation I have not bought a new vehicle since 1987. When I needed a truck for my business I searched for a few months for a used one but prices for used trucks were so high I decided to buy new. My reasoning was why buy a used truck with no warranty, possible hidden mechanical problems, and high mileage when I could buy new for a few thousand more and know what I was getting. Even if you run a CarFax report and let a mechanic check it out there is a risk with a used vehicle. I am also logging about 2,000 miles a month so a vehicle with 80,000+ miles on it already that I am using to tow with just didn't work for me. If you maintain the vehicle and run 200,000 miles on it the depreciation over the life of the vehicle isn't so bad.

I am using a 21" BE. I've been checking out the Landa Water Jet with the adjustable heigth and attached wand. Right now the price is just too high. You're right about doing the cutting in and doors last. It will get dirt back on the doors. I guess just reverse what I said before and hit all the drives with the surface cleaner first then come back and cut in, do the doors and rinse.

Dave makes some very valid points. I screwed up quite a bit as a Dad but my son sure busts his tail and always has. We never encouraged video games and he never was really into that. He always liked to tinker with things and work with tools. When he got into high school we told him if he wanted to be in sports or other school activities we would help him out with a car etc. but if he chose not to he would have a job. He chose the job and stayed at his first one for three years. Last year he started his own lawn service business and still fills in gaps working other jobs. Last week he was in Iowa plowing and planting for a former employer, he flew home today and went straight to a new construction house that he cleaned up for a builder he knows and Monday he will be cutting lawns. I spent over ten years managing a textile plant and it would amaze me to see grown men with families quit a job simply because I asked them to show up everyday on time. There are good ones out there. They are just hard to find.

The way this place is laid out there is a main drag going down the center with 30 or so units along it. On both side of the main entrance there are roads running off with 12 to 20 units on each road. Everything is close together so I park my rig on the corner and run as much as 300' of hose down the street to the end units. I could begin with the units farthest from my rig, do the garage doors and cut in the driveway working back towards the truck. Once I am at the truck I could get the surface cleaner and head back down one side then up the other cleaning the drives. I am covering the same groung twice but I should be able to do the doors pretty quick. That might be better than constantly switching back and forth from the wand to the surface cleaner. I'll check with PT on a different ball valve.

Jarrod. Better make sure there are no pets on the property and the homeowners are gone when you start that new method. I'd check to see if it killed any insects too. You clould advertise combination house wash / extermination treatments.

I started out last year with a 4 gpm machine and now have a 5 gpm. I have noticed my solution seems weaker than it was with the lower flow machine. I need to try the 13 orifice and then maybe adjust my mix to a little stronger.