Firedkm

Ryan, Just make sure you flush out the pump after each use. I really mean after each use. I would not wait until I got home at the end of the day. There are replacement parts for these pump and if your not mechanically challenge it's fairly easy to do the repairs on them. If I had to choose wich one to buy first, it would be the X-jet and then the surflo setup. They both have there places in our toolboxes and both have pros and cons.

If its rust that should to the trick.

Brian, I used the redwood color of the Olympic and just was not thrilled with the color retention. Using the product was fine and not hard to apply. I just was not thrilled with how the color looked after it was applied. It may have been the sun that day when I applied it. It was in the direct sunlight but itr was only in the 80's that day.

Alan, The cover that was on the outlet was a "waterproof" cover. The owner told me it has been there since the house was built. He just forgot it was there. The wiring in the house was aluminum so that tells you how old the house is. At least now I will pay more attention to this and be more carefull about the outlets. I really dont want a situation like this again.

Nice work Paul. I love the looks of two tone decks, but I sure do hate doing them!:nerd:

If you are putting this inta a five gallon bucket I would try to fill the rest up with water and try it out. I use half gal. of citracleen, 1-2 gallons of 12.5 chlorine(depends on how bad the house is) some wet wax,rinse aid and some foamer into a five gllon bucket and fill the rest with water. I do however put my house wash into a 30 gallon drum mounted on a hand cart instead of carry around the fives around the house.:)

My price here NJ just went up to $10.50 for a 5 gallon container. I was paying 9.00. The guy I am buying it from is charging the "normal" person $16.50 for 5 gallons

Brian it was on a cedar deck. I just did a pressure treated deck yesterday with the Honey Gold Wood Tux. It look really good and the customer thought the deck looked brand new. I am going back tommorrow to finish the lattice work at the bottom of the deck. I will take pictures then. I would not use a solid color on a deck floor unless the deck was previsouly done in a solid. I have done two tone decks where the railing was a solid. The only thing that stinks about using a solid is most are a two coat process and some like cabot is three. Cabots you need a primer and then two coats of a solid(this is on bare wood that has never been done in a solid before). The deck below is a cedar deck with Cabots clear solution natural on the floor and Cabots white in the railings.

It will not effect it at all. Just dont go any longer with the hose. I feel that will effect the ratio if you do go longer. What is your housewash mix?

Travis, Just as Scott has said if it the cat or any other "imitation" x-jet it does npot draw as good. But as Paul has stated that is what you need to come out the end of your wand. You will probally have to figure this out yourself. If you were using the real x-jet I could help out a little more.:)

Steve,Since you have a 4 gallon machine and you want to change your pressure to 1000 psi. goto the 1000psi column and follow it down till you see 4.0 ( thats gallons per minute) Then look to the left side and see what size tip you need. In this case you would need a #8 nozzle to drop your pressure to 1000 psi

This is a picture of my wood tux sample board for the customers to look at. This is on a cedar board.

The clear solution if fine if you want a just a clear, with that said dont use the ones with a color. Clear solution is a Cabots product and the clear works fine. I used there weather gray last year, WHAT A MISTAKE. It looked horrible and I would not want it on my deck. Last year Everett and I were traveling together to Beths roundtable. I started to tell him about I deck that I had a problem with. Of course the customer was unhappy too. I told hom I used the clear solution and before I could tell him the color, he knew it. He stated "I bet you used the weather gray!" He had the samew problem and the other contractor (Jeff) who was with us said he had the same problem too. It looked very blotchy and uneven looking. Just a word of caution.

Travis, We need more info from you to help out with your question. How are you going to apply your house wash? x-jet, downstream? pump-up sprayer or a shurflo type setup?

On the new section of wood you may not have to clean it. Did you do a splash test and the new wood to see if the water beaded up or was absorb into the wood? If it beaded you will have to clean it to remove the mill glaze. The other consideration is the visual apperance to you. If it looks dirty or you are unsure just clean it to be safe. As far as sealer goes, Cabots has been rated number one for the last several years in consumer reports. I used the Olympic Maxium Redwood on a deck this year and was not that happy with it. Others have used this product and rave about it. I just dont like it myself. If I was to use an over-the-counter product I would go with Cabots. Ready Seal is a great product because its so goof proof but I hate doing two coats. I have and still do use it. Wood Tux has great color retention and its a one coat coverage like Cabots is and is almost as goof proof as Ready Seal. If I had the choice from all the above I would go with the California Redwood Wood Tux for this deck. Its a little more red in color than the Olympic your planning on using but its the closest match. As far as shipping and having it at your door step its probally about the same amount as the time you have just going to the store to get it. Besides, the customer is paying for it not you. I used the same excuse as you are using. I did not want to pay for the shipping but then realized I am not the customer is. Good Luck

Thank you Paul. Jeff post or pm me your email. I will send the original to you. As far as the clear is concerned, I talked to Russell and he stated it will start to gray out in 6 months however it's still protected from water. I feel the honey gold would be the best choice for you on this deck.

Paul B., Yes its a tadesman. Paul uk, This thing is great. Just place it right on the nail and push. It stops automatically when the nail is countersinked. You do have to be carefull though, the plunger that comes down to sink the nail will put divit marks on the wood if you miss the nail head.

Most of the decks in my area seem to be cedar. Probally a 70/30 mix between cedar and pressure treated. Occasionally I wil run across a redwood deck. I have never seen an Ipe deck yet. The composite decks are becoming more popular too.

Henry, You mean you cant survive on 41 bucks an hour?:rolleyes: Just because you may net only 50 cents an hour after all the expenses' I thought that was good money:stupid: I was at an apartment complex the other day and saw a company thats always in there doing apartment make readies. Well the were power washing using Home Depot chems. They were blasting away on some vinyl siding and the asphalt roof. I started to laugh because when they were done there was pieces of siding and roof on the ground.

Travis, I do my nail setting after I clean the deck. I also use a palm nailer to do this. Its much faster and easier than doing it by hand. Check out the picture.

Steve, Go visit some other stores! I live in South Jersey and I can get 5 gallons for 9 bucks.

I thought Mike got out of the business. At one time he was selling off all his equipment. I have had a debate with Mike in one of the chats on this board. He never did say how or what he used but kept insisting the X-jet is not the best way. :dunno:

I have a 30 gallon drum mounted to a handcart. I have only 35' of hose on that. Yes the 30 gal drum gets heavy but I can use the work out.:) Paul, I like the idea of the quick connect for the soap hose!:wave: I gonna have to try that out.

Yes it pretty strong. They do break if its cold and you throw it off the roof to the ground though:) I have several on hand and they only cost about 8 bucks a piece. I got mine from http://www.squeegees.net/maintenance.htm Just about any window cleaning place on the net will have this.

Awesome job Mike. Yes using the right soap will help out you cleaning tremendously.