JFife

....I rarely do decks anymore, but I've noticed a trend over the last five yrs. or so....these decks all use different kinds of wood. For instance, Paul in ATL posts a few pics of his Ipe jobs, but the have mahogany rails, cedar posts, and pine joists. Are the random mixes of wood for appearance reasons, or something else?? I can see if building an Ipe floor, you might use something easier on the rails, especially if you are painting them. What is the reason behind this?

Hey Okeef, ....cannot argue with results. That deck looks mint. I'll offer a few thoughts, perhaps they'll help. Your Titan 440 is perfect, all you'll ever need. Appearantly, you are using the SRD product. I think it looks nice, but is tough to apply an re-finish without leaving a film. It isn't a bad product, but there is better. I've had good results with TWP, others have other preferences. ..but, I am going back to Readyseal. I was mentored recently by a guy that does (was doing) around 40million a year in decks/wood (not a mis-print) and he offered me some advice to get better results with RS, I tried it, and was thrilled. RS is easy to apply, but HARD TO USE!!! Sounds contradictory, but it isn't. Prep must be good. Moisture must be right. Application must be adaquate, and done in a specific manner. Done right, it will wear like iron. I used it for a few years back around the turn of the millenium, had some AWESOME results, and some poor results. I've since figured out why certain things happened, and how to prevent it. Call Pierce if you want the best advice on RS use. You may not like what you hear, but at least you'll know what constitutes proper application.

LOL, funny! Sorry to hijack, but where did the 'coon a__" moniker come from?? I guess it is insulting, but heck, if someone was going to come up with an insulting name for me, I'd want it to be something like that, LOL.

Yeah....sorry I didn't get back, my service went out for a few days, that occasionally happens when you don't pay the bill, LOL. Who is carrying the stripping product?? Since you've described the customer THAT way, I'd probably do the same as you on a bad day, on a good day I MIGHT still try and fix it, just to make myself feel better.

Looks good, but may I suggest attending the Brasseaux School of Cajun Photography......you have the same problem as me, the pics aren't doing justice to the job. Drives me nuts!!

have you checked the "wear" yet?? ...On something small like this, assuming you feel responsible for this problem (i.e., you say it won't fade within a year), I just say, "I'll take care of it", go give it a light rinse and dust on a coat. Personally, I generally don't like talking to customers, so this would be easier than trying to determine "why" there is a problem, "what" caused it, "who" is at fault, etc. ...And if they call back in a year for re-do, bump up the charge a little for the work you provided, and bump up a little for the fact that she seems picky, and will likely have more problems.

Unless it is high numbers where I want to double check, I do it on the spot. "There is no better time to close than the present," -Ken Fenner, Professional Salesman

I'll say it...again... Big Mike, it doesn't matter that you were $600 above the other guy. What if you'd have been up $1600?? Maybe you still get the job?? It doesn't matter how HIGH or LOW your price is, if everyone is saying 'yes', you are leaving money on the table. I don't care if you are twice as high as your next competitor. Too many 'yes' answers=long booking. Many "yes" answers + $1500.00 extra = less 'yes' answers (and if not, you raise $$ again) Supply and Demand. There are guys I know that charge $8.00 per sq.ft. on decks. They have a rep, people want them, and they pay for it. Regarding being booked due to weather, the same principle applies. Everyone else is behing as well, a certain # of decks will get done in a year in a given city, and if you season is drastically cut into due to weather, the supply of contractors will be lower than the demand for decks. Hence, you raise prices to accomadate. Plus you need to make up for the downtime you had.

Ken, Why don't you allow them a certain # of shirts per year (i.e. 5), with the understanding that they take care of them, and if they require new ones they pay. Personally, I would'nt do this, I'd just continue buying the shirts.....they are spending enough money supplying their own shorts, pants, boots, jackets, etc. which are getting ruined by working for you. The inside of their cars probably stink. I'd chalk it up as an expense, maybe figure out a way to reduce it,

RAISE PRICES!!! Beth, at some point theoretically you'll level off and people would stop accepting your bids. If you are constantly getting "yes, yes, yes, yes" then raise prices until you are getting "yes, no, yes, no". It doesn't matter what your prices are--if everyone is accepting them they are too low.

Big Mike, ...With respect, I'd like to offer a suggestion that I think trumps the afore mentioned......RAISE YOUR PRICES!! My prices go up and down depending on workload. ...And you'll be a better salesman too because you won't necessarily care if they hire you. Either take the best, or leave the best, it is up to the customer. For decks, I'd say you need to stay NO MORE than one month booked up. Plus, you want to be able to "squeeze in" those special jobs, a really high job, or a job for someone that increases your clout. For instance, say Minnesota-native Prince calls you to refinish his deck. I'd wanna squeeze him in,

Looks great! And I like the color.

Nice!!! Merriams, sure are pretty. No luck yet thus far in Missouri season, I'll post again in a couple days when I have a few minutes. thanks for sharing!

...so does the EG make the product hotter, as in more aggressive?

We did a job in backwoods Georgia once (read: Rich Littlefield's stomping ground. I can still hear the banjos.....:) Ned Beatty-town) and the homeowner INSISTED that we sample his moonshine. I dry-heaved from the smell, literally. Wish I had a jug now!

LOL, that's funny! ...I am imagining a guy so impassioned about a truck that the Mod's have to kick him off....must have been some good stuff:) Interesting about the Titan. Word of advice.....don't get a diesel unless you never, ever want to go back. Hopefully, in the next couple years Ford will get with it and finally put a 4.5L diesel in an F150, they'd distance themselves further from competitors. Is your Titan lifted, or is that just the max tire size for the truck?? really fills the fenderwells nicely, really good look to it.

Great tips though Rich, and a good idea for an employee handbook.

The "concrete cleaner" foams up good enough out of the box, no need to add antifreeze as a wetter. Besides, what happened to all of our EPA and OSHA watchdogs that were so adamant about adding/mixing on your own, when you should let a "professional company with experienced chemists" handle this?? Why not just add EG at the 'plant'??? Sorry if I sound cantankerous, I just lost (kinda) a seven digit deal. A "Heiniken Cellar" sounds lightweight right about now:)

Hotshot, I check out www.fordtrucks.com a lot, mostly regarding Superduty's and diesel info. The new Superduty comes out next year, so the site is really hoppin'. What sites do you browse?

My initial thoughts: 1) Looks ALMOST as good as Shane's--probably a "getting used to" thing. 2) That "applicability" is an employee-friendly characteristic, unless you brush a lot, then it is time consuming. 3) does it come in metal or plastic? 4) Hard to mix? 5) Maybe the only thing keeping the floor from being PERFECT like Shane's are, is that you used a brush rather than pad. ....Or like you said, 08' will be the banner year for this deck.

Don't see your point?? We aren't talking about IMMIGRANTS, we are talking about illegal aliens. Was it illegal for people to come back then?? I guess we could all consider ourselves Iraqi citizens since we all descended from Adam and Eve. That argument sounds good enough to me to take their oil, quite frankly. Honestly, I cannot think of EVER hearing someone complain about legal immigrants. This is about people willingly breaking the law, milking our system, and our turning our heads to ignore it. When large cities are being made up of 25-50% illegals, I'd say we have a problem. And since the term "condom" is foreign to them (no pun intended), it is becoming a locust-like plague of Biblical proportions. ...And since French, German and Asian illegals probably make of 1% of all illegals, that is why you don't hear much about it. Splitting hairs.

....Then you should prepare for mouth-to-mouth, or pass on the job. Three stories high?? That is tough. Not only dangerous, but difficult and slow. Jeremy--don't buy the whole "poor Southern" thing. I used to live in TN, and I am quite sure the area you are in is not a lower income demographic than where I currently live. Fact is, doesn't matter if you are in PA, AL, or NYC, there is a certain "value based on expenses" a job has. If you are unable to get it, you should find other work, simple as that. That is called "perceived value", and if people in AL don't want to spend 6K on their deck, it doesn't mean you should try and take care of them for 3K, and figure out how to make that work because of your demographic. If you are rural, you probably won't get many people to pay for a cosmetic service like deck refinishing. You'll probably get more hits on cheaper, more visible services like vinyl washing. Another thing--in the South, there is a far greater margin between the rich and the poor, as opposed to Unionized areas like the Upper Midwest, some parts of the East, etc. Yeah, the poor are really poor, but a lot of the rich are really rich, and appearance will mean a lot to those people. I'd tailor your marketing to seduce that type, and it shouldn't be that hard to do.

Dang!!! I wonder if your painters would be willing to sire some children for me. What kind of stain is being used?? That would make a big difference, how thin it is/how much it penetrates.

".....Least of harm to these old abused set of bellows." --another one for the archives, Rick. Very funny!:)

...you never have the mist blow into your face?? (maybe you wear a dustmask). ....or maybe it is just my collagen injections:)