Big Bill

Maybe a wire brush will work. Good luck on this, I think you'll be wasting your time & his time also.

Dustin, Did you seal the awning? Without sealing, your beautiful work will not last near as long. Damn right, the customer should be happy with the job you did.

What the hell, 47 buildings & not one damn hose bib? How damn cheap can a property owner get? I have done lots of buildings, very, very few of them have not has hose bibs. How much could it have cost the property owner to have at least one hose bib, with a lock box, installed? Didn't that **** you off, Jeff?

Keith has done great work for me also.

Sealing an awning is basically using a product such as 3M Scotchguard. There are different products for vinyl, or fabric. I feel that the best fabric sealer is "303 Products Fabric Guard". Glen Raven Mills, the maker of Sunbrella fabrics, recommends only this product for sealing. It's not cheap, but it is by far the best I have found, & I have tried most of them. Also have a look at these products http://www.winsol.com http://www.awningcleaning.com

Good job jeff, as usual. Did you seal the awnings?

I have had the same luck with my hoses that Jim has had. I have 2 X 100' sections of Goodyear Neptune 2 wire hose on my reel that are now almost 3 years old. I use all stainless steel QC's, swivels, & fittings. I also use whips on every gun that I have, they are also almost 3 years old. One of the things that I have noticed alot of guys do is to pull hose using the gun. How hard is it to reach down a few feet of the hose with one hand & grab it & pull, instead of pulling on the hose with the gun. I am not sure that any of this is THE answer, but it seems to be working for me.

I have mine through Joe Walters, hits me about $1100 a year for 1 mil

Supreme Clean Pressure Washing, LLC Bill Hunter Serving: St. Tammany, Tangipohoa, Washington, Orleans, Jefferson Parish's

Use 3M brand respirator - part # 6100=small, 6200=medium, 6300=large 3M Organic Vapor cartridge part # 6001 3M Full Face Respirator = 6000 series (6900=Large) - you can also by lens covers for this mask (part # 6885 - 100/pack) This will help keep the Caca off your face

These awnings can be cleaned with a scrub brush & low pressure rinse, not the easiest thing to clean, more time consuming than you are used to. Do a test spot, use a little bit of chlorine in your mix with palmolive soap (thats what Sunbrella recomends). Sell them hard on resealing the fabric, as most of the sealer will be removed after washing. I can't think of the name of the sealer that I use, right now, but I will get back to you on it.

I have cleaned LOTS of awnings over the last couple of years. The best advice I can give to you is to research & learn about the different types of material used for awnings. Awning Cleaning is not really easy work, you have to use a scrub brush & rinse with low pressure.Some are vinyl, some are canvas type (Sunbrella brand) etc. I have used different chemicals. If you check out Sunbrella's web site, they have a recipe for cleaning. I have tried several of the cleaners on the market, like pw chems, some worked better for me than others did. The biggest sales point you need to make with awning cleaning is SEALING. Without sealing the fabric, the customer is only getting a job that is half done. Emphasize to the customer that after cleaning the fabric, there is no sealer left on the fabric, so deterioration of the fabric will be accelerated.

You can get those boots re-soled........well maybe not those boots

Jeff, consider yourself really lucky. I tried to get w/c here in Louisiana, not one single company will even write it. W/C here in Louisiana is some of the highest rates in the country. I have lost many thousands of $$$ because I don't have w/c. I lost several large $ jobs because I couldn't even get w/c on myself. Lawyers suck! General Contractors pay out the a$$ here in LA. My buddy told me that he pays like $28 - $32 / $100.

I did a big project last August. 11,000 sq. ft. of awnings, plus store fronts, and flat work. The sad part is that Hurricane Katrina hit 2 weeks later, had 9' of water in the entire complex. I busted my ass on that job. Because of all the crap going on, it took me 2 months to get paid, but man was it sweet $$$.

I really couldn't tell from the pics that they were vinyl. You should still be able to use the bleach like you were talking about. I would guess that you will be cleaning the building also? If you are, then just scrub your wash mix w/ a brush, and rinse, rinse, rinse. You will be removing most, if not all the sealer, so a good sealer will need to be used to help prevent further damage in the future. 303 Fabric Guard is not to be used on vinyl, so don't use it on these awnings.

I clean alot of awnings, but have never cleaned a light colored awning such as this. All the ones I have cleaned have been colored. One sugestion I will make is to do a test. These particular awnings look like they are made of quality material like Sunbrella. Using a little bit of Dawn won't hurt I don't think. Go to Sunbrella's website,http://www.sunbrella.com it says to use 8 oz. bleach, 2 oz. Woolite,Ivory Snow, or Dreft per 1 gallon of water. I use other chems & sealers for different types of fabrics, & they all work well. Use a soft bristle bush to clean, do not use high pressure to clean awnings. After cleaning the awning, the most important thing is to re-seal the fabric. For the best sealer, go to http://www.303products.com There fabric guard is the best sealing product I have used to date, it's not cheap, you get what you pay for. I let the customer know this before I give them the bid.

Most concrete cleaners are shipped as haz mat, which ups the shipping charge alot. I buy RPC 2000 in 55 gal. kit, the shipping charges are still there, but not as much. DR-60 ? Is that made by Dominion Restoration?

I have been audited by the IRS - before I had a small business. I was in my late 20's & it scared the crap out of me. I do my own taxes, have done them for years. i am involved in a few different, complicated, ventures that have been in my family for quite a few years. Some of these ventures are profitable, some are not profitable every year. I have also lived & worked overseas for a few years in the past, which was a great tax advantage.......tax free up to $80k. The IRS audits can be pure hell, cause you sleepless nights & lots of anxiety. The agents (2) that handled my audit were intimidating, ruthless. They came across as gastapo like idiots. In the end, I ended up owing them a little over $1k. I felt good about it in the end. Since I bought my first computer, I have used Turbo-Tax to do my own taxes, it has not failed me yet. KEEP ALL RECIEPTS. If you take a client to lunch, write on the receipt who it was, what you talked about. If you bought potential clients a dozen donuts for $4, keep the damn receipt. Also use the depreciation advantage on all of your equipment. There are so many tax advantages to owning a small business it is unbelievable. If I use anything for a deduction, I always have a receipt to back it up. My situation is alot different than most people in the pw business, as I only do this part time, so I don't think I know everything, hopefully I know just enough to pay only the taxes that I am required to pay, & KEEP THE IRS OFF MY BACK!

I have 2 registered chocolate labs. My male is 3 years old. His name is Roux Bear & his daughter is 1 year old & her name is Foxy Girl. Roux Bear is BAD AS HELL, but I still love him. He has created holy hell in my neighborhood, finds a way to get out of the yard, no matter what I do to prevent it. He got out one morning, the neighbors called & said he was at their house, so I jumped in my truck & went & picked him up, the dumb ass jumped out the back & broke his leg, after $3k later his leg is fixed (vet surgery is very expensive). Labs are great dogs, if you don't get the dumb ass of the litter, like I seem to have.

Do these boats have bottom paint on them? I have washed a few boats over the years, some with bottom paint, some not. I never used oxalic, but I could see how it would really brighten a boat bottom. With expenses rapidly rising in this business, seems like you could raise the price you charge to about $5.00 a foot. I hope you wear good body & face protection when using oxalic, the long term effects are not good.

I can understand your being a bit peeved about the little old lady, because it seems lately, that I have run into a few like her. In the last 3 days,I have had numerous calls from different ladies. One of them tells me that she needs just 2 sides of her house cleaned. I go & look at the house, the front definitely needs cleaned, the south side is not bad, the north side is covered in mold & algae. The back looks all right, but I can make an improvement. I call her, give her my honest opinion, give her a price that is really fair, $150 (its a small old house). She bickers w/ me on the phone that she doesn't want the whole house done, I say fine, i'll do 2 sides for $75. I can do this in less than 30 min. Second lady calls me from a referal. Her house is a M-E-S-S. I look at it, give her a price of $250. I even through in the carport pavement & the front & rear walkways. She tells me that my price seems really high. I told her that I do professional work, & I guaranty 100% satisfaction. Then I get the fixed income speech from her. I was very professional w/ her, explained to her that I am operating a legit biz...... She agrees to having me do the job, but then cancels a week later (I have been very busy, so I had to book her about 2 weeks ahead) That kinda pissed me off. I'll go by her house in the next day or two to see if she had some hack do the job. Got a call from a lady today who lives in a $500k house on the golf course in a gated n'hood. She tells me that her house is really not that bad. I knew right then that I was in for a doozie w/ this old hag. I get to her house, she comes to the door while talking on the phone. So while she is standing outside the front door, I walk to both sides of the house, have a look & I am astounded at how dirty her house is. I look at the front, it is atrocious. Her gutters have dozens of pine seedlings growing in them. She has the nerve to tell me that she doesn't want to spend alot of money on cleaning the house because she is thinking about selling it. I haven't even seen the rear of the house yet, & I want to leave. I am thinking to myself, you have got to be crazy, lady. Well, we walk around the entire house, I try to turn on the salesman in me & show her things that I can help her with (Lots of cleaning - gutters, siding, windows, cleaning the pool deck area, even selling & installing gutter guards to help her keep her gutters from clogging up in the future.) I tell her that I'll clean the house for $400 (it's a 4200 sq. ft house). The drive & pool deck is another $250. Now she starts to act like I am wanting to rob her blind. She starts telling me how she is retired ...blah blah blah. I am thinking to myself just get the hell out of there. In the garage, she has a brand new corvette, and a new Lexus. I got kinda cocky with her toward the end by telling her that the money I am asking her to spend on her house is probably less than she spends in a year on having her cars kept cleaned. That shut her up......I got the job......$1600 for about 2 days work, starting on next Wednesday.

You say it's blotty? Is the stain adhesion to the wood good, or is it discoloration type of blotty? What about the moisture of the wood when it was stained, did you test for that? I would have to go w/ what Shane said, probably not mixed well. Any more details or pics you can give? Suggestions for fixing this mess = How much HD 80 and acid do you have left?

I have cleaned copper & brass w/ lemon juice & salt. Works beautifully.

In Louisiana, the law states that the owner of a biz does not have to be covered by Workman's Comp. BUT, the property owner/paying customer CAN still require you to have w/c. It's there call. I called my lawyer about it, he said they can require you to have any kind of insurance they want. Around here, I am finding out that property owners are really just trying to protect there ****** from frivilous lawsuits. Workman's Comp. in Louisiana is very expensive, especially for construction/service biz like p/w. The rates are at about 30% of your payroll. It's hard to pay that when you're just a one man op. I know that in other states it's the same situation. It chaps my ass when I hear about & see unlicensed/uninsured contractors in any biz getting work. I had a tree cut down & removed about 3 years ago, three contractors could not provide me with the proper insurance papers. One smart ass guy got kinda hostile w/ me when he told me he had insurance, but when I told him to have his insurance co. fax me a certificate of insurance, he told me that they don't do that. I argued w/ him that they would & should if he told them to. Needless to say, I told where to stick his chain saw, get the hell out of here. Lots of companies show people insurance papers, but they have not paid their monthly premiums in months, so the policy has lapsed.......so beware.