RSuds

You need to learn to charge on time and money. Since they are giving you some of the chemicals (money) then go with the time. I would say 1 day to clean (really half a day) and 1 day to caulk and paint. You need to make sure that the chemical they give you is good stuff, so you do not need to put pressure on anything and that it will remove the stains. I would say 2500-3000.

I know that a lot of guys will not like this but after doing it all ways I found that the best way is to put the soap threw your pump and turn a valve on and off. You can have 400 feet of house on your reel and we now have 2 valves (1 at the pump so you can turn it up or down for less or more chemical, most of the time it is in the same spot) and another one to turn on and off. You can put the chemical on with pressure so reaching high spots with a 30 gal or 40 gal 0 is easy. we have a lot of diffrent machines all CAT PUMPS (seals last the longest and best pump around) but the 10 gal. pump will do jobs so great and fast. I do need to replace seals 1 or 2 times a year but it is so much faster it is worth it. We do a lot of town houses and building also so I could not get away with out having at least 300-400-(500-1000 added to the lines for bigger jobs) feet of house on each reel. If you tried it I think you would like it.

I agree with Ken, why waist more time.

We have done some of these jobs and they do suck. We did this one and it took a long time but the best was to use the striper strong and let it sit on the deck for hours. We would keep it a little wet but it takes a long time and then sand.

I think that you should have more pressure so you can use bigger nozzles (gal.)to get lower pressure and more water flow is better. I have alot of machines but when we put a 30 gal 0 nozzle in my 10 Gal. 3200 psi machine it will go 4 stories high with a 7' lance.

Has anyone stripped a deck with Sikkens Deck base or cetal deck(2 coats shiny look). I have a large deck that needs it all off and I would not like to sand all the rails. Tom(ACR) and I are trying a couple of things but would like to know if anyone else has had any luck with something.

Thanks, I new that we had to do some sanding but I was looking to find something that would help with all the rails. The deck is also raised and will not be fun sanding on latters.

I agree, change when they burst and you can also use the reusable fittings.

I mix my chemical a little differently then most but add the soap to the bleach and it will come out clean with little effort. Be careful of the soap, ask Tom at ACR he used me for a couple of experiments and I can say you do not want to use certain soaps. Also do not use to much Bleach it will kill flowers. So good Luck!

I will be at the event and hope to meet some new people and learn some things.

I had a lot of problems on cedar decks it will peel, Funny on most pressure treated decks it last and looks good, I will not sell it any more-Stay away.

I like the name Douse a House unless you are going to be getting into big jobs, it may seem like you only do houses. We always here that we deliver Beer or we are the Rolling stones, Rolling studs. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds Inc. Mobile Power Washing

Thanks John, I do understand what everyone is saying and I will try agian and compare as soon as the weather breaks. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

Sikkens Cetal Deck is great for splinters and you need to recoat but it does peel over time with the water. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I turn the valve on for soap and turn it off for no soap. Use any nozzle I want and can do houses with the right mixture with no problem. Only need to scrub stain areas and gutters. May need to replace seals 2 times a year but can do houses faster and that saves on man hours. Brian Wendling Rolling suds

Sorry, meant 250 ft of hose. How do you get 45-50 feet? I can get about the same with extension poles and 0 tip. If I can get that with downstreaming then I will try it. Windy days are tuff. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

We do not use the chem that strong that we need to worry about plants or windows, we use around the same as you are saying. I do want to get a new downstreamer and try it. I do want to find out how you can get a 25 tip to shoot 35 feet high. I'm willing to find out what is going to work best. I guess you can also run it with 250 ft of house? Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I'm with John T that we do a lot of houses and I found that if you have a tank or get a flow restrictor and put the chemicals thru the pump it is so much faster and better to leave everything in the truck. I know that after 3-6 months I need to change the seals in my pump but it save so much time, and I can put the house wash chemical on with pressure to get up high with a zero tip. We put a valve at the hose input and just turn it on and off. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

Can it suck the soup thru 250 ft of hose. Everything is left in the trucks. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I would like to know if anyone has found a good way to save on Gas. I use some credit cards now that will give 5% back and I thought that was good.(thinking 2.50 is more like 2.37) After doing my taxes and realizing I still need to save a.m.a.p. I thought that I might get some help. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I ran car washes(White Gloves) and then started to do truck washing(hard job) then a detail shop and after a year of that realized it was easier and more fun to do houses and stuff. Looking back I remember thinking at 22 should I stay at the car wash thinking I was making a ton of money, buy a town house or move back with my parents, save money and start this so called business. Funny when you think of how you could have gone. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I have been at the job myself told them my standard line(we will try to seal your deck within 2-3 weeks after we clean them WHEATHER is a factor) and most are good but they still call. We have a minimum of 125.00. Stripping should start around 200.00 . I agree 50% or higher, higher baby and don't ever come down. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I'm not far from you and I would say that doing the houses and commercial jobs are the best. We do a lot of decks and I got a couple painters that help seal them and it still seems hard. You can not start till april and then we get some rain and then I will have 32 people call me on the next nice day and ask why I was not sealing their deck. We can do 5 houses a day, get the money and everyone is happy. You do need to do both but commercial work will keep you going. Val Pak also will put 3 or 4 other P.W. in the same pack with you try Money mailer or United also. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds

I have been doing P.W. since 1990 and have been thru a lot. I love this forum, I was told about it just 3 weeks ago and I think that I will learn a lot from it. I have been thru a lot and think I can help as well. I would like to find some info on extension poles that are not heavy. We do a lot of Management jobs that have 2-3-4-5 stories and holding them up all day is not fun. I know about the belts, but would like something that is lighter. I'm 6'-4" and 240 so I'm not a whimp but when I got that new pole last year it was not fun doing just a house. I also se that a lot of people use downstreaming and the E-jet. Why not put the chemical thru the pump aand spray it on with pressure with any nozzle. We have tanks in our trucks with 2 machines and we have a valve that goes on after the hose inlet that we turn on and off to get Chemical. I know that after a 2-6 months I need to change my seals but it is so much faster and easier. You may have to put a flow restrictor on the hose but you have a tank it is the way to go. Thanks to everyone for sharing info, I know I still have a lot more to learn. Brian Wendling Rolling Suds