Freshlook

Here's an update for anyone listening, I know ESI's bulletin has been posted on the page for 4 days or so, and I'm sure great things are going to come. However it's been over 2 weeks, been able to get ahold of somebody once, and then she told me she would have to check on it and call me right back, gave her the number, but she never did get back to me. Tried calling her back NO answer. Tried hr later NO answer. Tried next day NO answer.. Tried Today.. NO answer.. And according to the website it says that my order has reached it's final stages of processing for the past 6 days and does not allow me to cancel my order with them, or else I would.. Not pissed anymore, just ammused, It's like christmas without a date!!!! Never know when I'm going to get my present!!! In the meantime I purchased another product and having decent results with it, ordered it last wednesday, got it last thursday with standard shipping. Gotta LOVE THAT!

Yeah, I actually prefer the crappy decks and a good customer over an easy deck and a customer that may be hard to please. Consider the variances and ability to work on crap. It is just that "CRAP" and can only get better leaving you much more room for "awe" factor. I've found from my nice life lessons that yes the money is nice, but I take personal satisfaction from each job I complete knowing it's something I would like to have on "MY personal residence". Taking an old deck that's just plain bad, salvage what wood you can.. "Thanks to a Behr silicone stain I got to go purchase a 13" planer" and found by taking just 1/16 off you can take an old furry dino to a beaut if you take the time to. Personally after the deck I got burned on. I would LOVE to have the time to plane a lot of decks as the result and finish is SOOO beautiful. I'm so addicted that I even plane 1/32 off of spindles leaving them looking like NEW! no fuzzies and have found it quicker than sanding each spindle with the added benefit of the possibility of missing a spot, and finish the prep by just brushing the wood with a 120 grit sandpaper on an orbital sander and BEAUTIFUL. ANYHOW.. I don't turn any job down becuse of the severity of work, but I DO turn jobs down for a customer who dosen't want to pay for the work to be done.

Ok.. let's go over the necessary equipment for PW'ing Chem's - Check Water Supply - Check Pressure Washer - Check BIG A-- Hammer to fix PW - Check! was it 18 or 20 oz?

I would be a lot more forgiving if I wouldn't have actually called and they TOLD me that they were shipping it out? Now I hate assuming but wouldn't a honest buisnessman actually take that oppertunity to tell a customer it might be late instead of giving false assumptions? I know it's not the 1st time either. As thru PM's I've gotten a few people who have already assumed the supplier. And as far as myself is concerned, Yes I do typically have more than enough supplies on hand, But every now and again things happen, such as a FULL 10 lb tub of hd-80 that WAS your RESERVE STOCK getting saturated by a helper who neglected to to ensure the lid was on and then in the south we get these fun no warning showers.. well.. needless to say it's gone, and left a really clean concrete patch where the water ran off, and when I came back to check on him I had discovered that he just poured the rest out on the concrete and I then had to rinse the holy crap out of the concrete. Needless to say he's not working anymore but that does leave me with NO supplies to go with. I can understand your attempt to enlighten me to the other sides possible predicaments, However I am certainly not the type to get quickly irritated, or go off on a feckless rampage about a petty problem. My problem is integrity and honesty come 1st in my book. ABOVE ALL ELSE those are 2 things that everybody has and has a hard time providing.

Ok so I have found a deck that is testing my nerves and patience. a 18x16 deck no spindles but a wrap around bench on the lowest railing that has a red solid (NOW PINK) BEHR. I applied HD80 at full strength dwell time of 30 minutes and it didn't even phase this crap! Some came off but left patches of areas that just are stubborn. So I tried letting the stripper dwell long for 45 minutes, and NOTHING! I am working on getting the booster for the HD80 as I was told it would help, But for now I have resorted to a Belt Sander with 50 grit then finishing it up with 80 grit. This is just the floor area and I had to call it quits today, any suggestions for the outside railings? I am a few nerves away from removing each board and Plaining them down 1/32nd of an inch to remove this. I've encountered stubborn behr before but NEVER like this! Anyone have suggestions I had posted this on another BB and another member mentioned that I have encountered a Behr Silicone stain. if this is true, it's my 1st and what's the best method? or just to sand the whole deck down with 50grit belt sander then finish with 80 grit orbital sander?

I can't really say much the application that I currently use is with a 4 ft long hose, it really depends on what your setup is, some use a dolly with a 5 gal bucket so I would say a 15 ft hose may work, some use a much longer hose, others say the heck with the x-jet and just down-stream everything. just figure out where your chemicals are going to sit while doing a job, using an x-jet usually requires the chemicals to be mobile, and then your going to have to figure out a way to transport the chemicals, using a 5 gal bucket does work, however everytime I got going on a job the dern basket screen filter came flying out , so you may have to band the hose into the bucket by the handle or by taking the top of the bucket off removing the screen from the hose, feed the hose thru the lid opening and then reattach screen filter, then I just suggest getting a rubber grommet to seal the opening to prevent spillage. Everyone has their own likes and dislikes and it all determines what suites your needs. I have a lot of setups I have played with and seen drawbacks and benefits to each.

I believe the last time I checked their silicone based product was supposed to last 7-10 years, unfortunatly it fades WELL before then usually 2-3 years. The deck I am working on was orrigionally a brick red, now 3 years later it's a nice pretty pink. Update: ok. after $150 worth of sandpaper and 2 days just trying to remove the stain I did a droplett test and the water JUST POOLED!! so I have convinced the client to apply a latex based product, and eventually replace the wood with a reface. I'm strongly upset that I wasn't able to get her what she wanted, however I can only go with what I'm given to work with. The funny part is that not 2 minutes later she asked me if I could get her some decor gravel for her flowerbeds, and clean out her gutters. So I'm happy she wasn't UPSET WITH ME, but she wants a glossy finish on her deck and without using a pool and spa stain I've never been able to achieve that GLOSS look.

I have found when doing any type of sale it's a matter of customer perception. This can be found directly in the automotive world. Why would someone pay 50k for a car that is intended for 1 purpose "transportation" instead of buying a car that's 20k and serves the same purpose. It's "PERCEPTION". I have found that a VERY strong selling point is my approach. I don't use any gimmics or run arounds, I evaluate the condition of the deck, Let the customer know exactly what I have to do in order to achieve their desired outcome, and assure the customer about 1 thing " I never consider a job completed until it's to the standards I would like on my own house". This lets the customer know that I don't just come by with a TIME is MONEY attitude and possibly leave a job not finished properly. I have even gone the extra mile to repair a deck at "NO COST" for a simple $10 repair I was able to turn into $3K worth of referrals. I typically charge $1.75 sq/ft - $2.25 sq/ft and never charge by the hour as 90% of the time the customer is looking at you as if your milking the clock. This may not be true, but it's a perception of reality weither it be true or not. It's not about selling a job it's about selling a service.

Ok.. so I have just finished a job 7 days ago on a 26x12 deck hasn't been taken care off in 7 years and then it was treated with a Behr something, I could hardly tell, because the deck was underneath a tree line and had mildewed so bad that when wet became a litteral slip and slide. (Oh I felt as if I entered the twilight zone).( I merely took the job for a GOOD learning experience ). Well after 2 solid days of work noon to dark 8 or so hrs each, the customer was VERY HAPPY with the results of the stripping and brightning alone. I then had to replace 12 1x6's and 2 2x4's due to excessive chipping. The new wood was replaced using wood I have stored for 4 months. So. I then sand down the new boards and use a light stripper and brightner coat to remove anything on the boards. So.. after those being installed time to wait to stain.. All is well. 3 days later I get a 9% moisture reading and decide to finish up this disaster. 6 Mil plastic sheeting I cover the house butting up to the deck 3 ft high from the deck. Ok... so to make a long story short I now have finished the deck a week ago now the customer calls me and mentions that there is stain on his siding. OK.. so I know there wasn't any when I left due to my final inspection, but I didn't have my camera to proove otherwise.. SO. I Strongly suspect that the customer went back with the qt. of stain I left him for touchups and decided to play Bob Villa and got the siding pretty good, Even thou I told him there will be some natural color variations between boards due to the fact that some are new, and the conditions of each individual board WELL before I started this job. Now the questions. I typically just use a wet rag with damp mineral spirits to remove any possible markings on siding **although I usually don't have any due to the plastic** but I've never encountered 7 day old stain after it's given time to penetrate and dry on vinyl siding. So.. any suggestions, I was considering a 1/2c - 1 gal mix of hd80 and wiping on with a sponge. Any other suggestions, he won't fess up to it and I feel due to myself not carrying my camera with me on that particular day I am somewhat responsible because not being able to proove otherwise. And needless to say YES I did get paid, $950 and to be honest I wouldn't do it again!!!

Here in TN I've yet to run across a bid for a cedar deck. So I don't have much experience in dealing with them.. I swear I would love to do a worker / Knowledge exchange program where I go see the odds and ends of the diff parts of the country..

yes it was a ready seal medium red, Cleaned off VERY easily using some grafitti remover **LOWES didn't carry the krud Kutter** I had to get a diff brand. Thanks for all replies.. Most appreciated. next time.. camera goes in the truck at all times, but I'm also one to go back and touch up so a 10 minute effort to regain the customer is well worth it.. my fault or not.. it's good buisness

It all depends on what she really want's by the definition wash. A simple rinse? A Brightning? Mildew Removal? The list goes on.... I would figure out exactly what she wants done exactly to her deck and then tell her you need to get the appropriate supplies to do the job, AFTER figuring out the current condition of the deck and what exactly is her definition of wash.. If you see that her deck is in need of some tender loving care, you may be able to upsell her a strip,brighten,stain. Just do a great job, pay attention to detail, and always do what you say you can do **Set your customers expectations** Try using the search function after you figure out what she's asking, My guess is she's got a little dirt on her deck or mildew, you may be able to get ahold of some pericarb and call it a day I try to stay away from bleach due to it leaving the deck looking almost white, not to mention that yes it does cause damage to the deck and if left on for any extended ammount of time will cause nail / screw heads to rust if not properly coated. **laughs** hey everytime I wash something it involves soap and water. Speaking of which, I need to get to the dishes in the sink!!!

Personally I would steer clear of using a PW on any monument, it's easy to break and not worth the money to have to replace it. Seriously look into getting a soda blaster. It's very effective in removing and renewing surfaces WITHOUT DAMAGING the underlying suface. I'm in the process of working with a dealer to pick one up at a reasonable price. It's also the same process that the statue of liberty was renovated with. Hit glass with it.. NOTHING HAPPENS, Also being gentle enough to strip a COKE can without damaging the can itself.. I was impressed. I've ran one of these machines and was marveling at it's effectivness and softness. Some historical preservers have a conflict with this process as it is an abbrasive cleaning and thought to accelerate growth of moss and mold. and yes.. a very very small amount of the masonry will be affected.. but I'm not going to run the risk of damaging one or even worse They make small blasters which hold less medium and you should be able to pick one up for around 300.. only thing is they require a great deal of CFM's so your going to need a good Air Compressor to use it effectively. However I'm aware they make kits for power washers to run the process. I'm quite skeptical thou.. but if this is for family and a 1 time deal.. hey.. why not.. but if it's something your looking at offering as a service.. I would go ahead and purchase a small unit

spillage was taken care of by using a rubber/epoxy to completly enclose where the hose is inserted into the top. there is also a rubber seal in the cap where it meets the container, I am not affraid to use this applications process over and over again due to the fact that "user error can be corrected by common sence".. After every refill i ensure that the top is completly sealed by tipping it if i ever see any chem's comming out. well..i'm sure not going to be dumb enough to ignore it.. but I've used this for over a month and not 1 problem yet, I am actually considering based on your post to use a rubber grommet on another one instead of a hole with epoxy.. but actually I'm thinking the epoxy is a safer seal as it totally encloses the hose and hole. when in doubt one can always wear a rain coat!!! =) .. I tried the dolly but it was way too big and gawdy.

Ken what Os Brush composition exactly do you use. I used to live in Youngstown Ohio and my father used to work in the mill and got a lot of their brushes after the mill closed down. I might try my hand at it on my own stuff until I get the hang of it.. I have a small section of fencing just laying down hoping to grow the nastiest and funkiest stuff to get my hands dirty with different situations.. 1 board painted with latex paint, 1 nearly rotted board with Behr yick stain!! and so on and so forth.. I purpously scuffed 1 board with running a 15 degree tip on my 4000psi 4gpm machine to see what not to do!.. now that's a board I'd like to see if I can't do a little work to.. I'm eager to try new things, but I always work on something invaluable before I'll try something new on a job

Ok.. so casting a forward idea I just wanted to see what everyone thought of this idea. I currently have rigged up a bronco of mine with a 300 gallon water tank with an intank heater able to heat the water to 170 degrees farenheit. along with the tank I have a 10 gallon tank with 1 in inlet and 1 in outlet which I fill with water softener salt and 3 cans of normal ionized salt. a small pump which circulates the flow between the 300 gallon tank and the 10 gallon tank.. "I wish I had a camera.. it would be easier to explain"" from the large tank then which is at a pretty heavy concentration of sodium chloride. Now.. from the large 300 gallon tank I then have plumbed a 5 GPM inline water pump running to a 5ft adjustable to 12 ft spray bar on the back of my truck supported by brackets located near the bumper and a v brace located on the cab. I've tried this last year with great results as the heated water melted the ice and the sodium chloride solution worked great for inhibiting any new formation of ice, and melted any ice that the hot water didn't. The only downside is having to run slow to get adequate coverage, but I was able to do 100yd x 10ft driveways in 15 minutes and get great coverage. I charged them $300 for up to 3 applications and $75 for each application after that.. now for the negatives --- to get the heated water i had to wait for the electric heater to bring the water to temp. typically 45 minutes- 1 hour. --- running out of solution in freezing temperatures isn't exactly fun because most faucets are frozen and i usually had to resort in going back to my garage where I would fillup using my garage faucet but the (+) side is during the drive the water would heat and mix into solution very well. the sodium chloride solution leaves nice residue all over the place, not to mention that long term reliability of parts with saltwater running thru them is what I'm questioning. Like I said i just tried this out this past season I just wanted to get a few suggestions and seen what everyone thought about it..

yes I am pretreating before ice/snow hits with the solution I ensure complete coverage not pellets I tried that with my father before and it looked like a chineese checkerboard with holes just merely melted in the ice not what I want.

yes I've only done driveways in the past and once done I would get out take a slow walk up the driveway to ensure complete coverage and de-icing. On the bronco I have a rancho suspension with the rear being able to be adjusted on the highest setting i'm able to have 4 people jump on the thing and it barely budges, so I took everything I had gathered and devised this.. all together it cost me $350 because I was able to piece everything together mostly from what I had. I'm skeptical about doing ANY commercial property due to the whole liability thing. I would have to have one "HE__" of a disclaimer covering everything immaginable, requiring one of those expensive people called lawyers to draw it up. Wouldn't the same policy apply for people plowing snow? or even salting a parking lot thou? I never had any problems with the weight in the ice or snow due to the added traction from weight and 4x4 capabilities. 1 terrible downside is the nice decrease in gas mileage i see. woo hoo.. a wonderful 7 MPG HOWever I did have 1 slight problem which i had to back up a driveway while applying the solution it was nearly 1/4 in thick of ice but at a crawl it melted and I was done with a 150yd driveway in 25 minutes:lglolly: I mainly do exterior washing; decks and flatwork, however during the winter months nobody cares much about the above mentioned 3.. so just looking for ways to expand

for my next idea I'm working on using a simmilar setup but being able to use 2 flexible chemical bladders each with a 1 way valve going into a 2-1 selection connecting valve and using the stock sprayer and a dial being able to select between the 2 chemicals such as a gutter solution and a general purpose pre-treater or whatever you like... as long as the 2 chemicals are compatable without deadly or harsh reactions due to the possibility of a bladder leaking or bursting. As long as I allow for adequate flush between chemicals it would allow me to have more of a choice when selecting chemicals on the fly, hence leaving me with less walkback time

Ken I don't know if you remember me or not, but I've spoke with you a little bit on another forum "PWN". Your guidance has been wonderful and look forward to learning more. Yes I've found by mixing my solution stronger I can usually get by with 1 fill, on a moderatly dirty small house. yet I also make the batch in a 5 gallon bucket and leave the bucket on site with me not too far away to eliminate going back to my vehicle to refill.. so it's not terribly bad..