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Jeff

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Posts posted by Jeff

  3. Posted · Report reply

    i builtm my own garage . the end is new this yesr and the other three doors are 13 months new added on to my home the end is door height 13 ft for center counsel boat.think my garage is big .my house is 6500 sq ft heated and ac

    Hey Steve looks like a heck of a home, lets see some more pics.:lgbugeyes You get all that from spraying water for a living lol

    Ive read and my accountant has told me taking home/office expenses is a red flag for the IRS and a better chance of getting an audit. even if you are charging off the right amount on taxes. For the little I would gain from home/office write off I pass on it. Who needs the hassle of an audit IMHO

    I also read or heard something about when you sell and you've been claiming home office it can effect what you can write off on the home sale or something. I forget what it was maybe someone knows how it can effect home sale & taxes

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Usually around here if you have a wood fence or any wood surface that hasnt ever been cleaned in years and no kind of stain, it will have a good amount of mold/mildew. I Xjet RPC Roof magic, not a long dwell time clean then Oxalic. For me its quicker & easier with great results. Precarb Ive only done once and It took longer. Ive also used 12% it also for me takes longer than SH based products. 12% would be alot less chem cost, I would think, but I would still use SH product. I dont think it would be over kill on an old moldy untreated fence

    1700 lin ft. Thats alot of fence. Did you get the job and if so how do you think you'll clean it?

    good luck

    JL

  9. Posted · Report reply

    Hey Ron, I personally wouldnt give a gift basket to someone who hasnt given me work, i wouldnt want to waste the money. Now what I do a couple times a year to companies Im trying to get is I'll drop off a dozen or2 of donuts at their office with biz cards attached, its less expensive and I think you'd get noticed a little more. If you give it at Xmas it might just get mixed up with other things they recieve at the holidays. These same companies I also fax and write letters to them, to keep my name in front of them, I do that every 2-4 months

    JL

  10. Posted · Report reply

    I did very well this year. I actually did a little over double of what I did last year. I figured what I did this year would be where I expected to be in the end of2006, so im real siked.

    I have many goals for 2006, some are goals i did not do this year, such as organizing my office computer and which has been a major problem for me. I have one of my workers coming in in Jan. to help with all this. He has a great knowledge of computers and we are going to get it together so even I know what thee heck is going on.

    Some of my other goals are to get more regular contract work monthly quarterly etc etc work that i can rely on. 2006 I have already 4 months basically booked but i want to have 12 months booked with in the neext couple of years.

    I will continue to target Property management companies as always, but want to go after more shopping malls, retail, hotel & office properties.

    My future, I would like to be the most respected, largest & profitable PW companies in the area. Along with not having to pick up a wand with in the next 5 to 8 years, 5 years hopefully. So everything I do in 2006 is to work towards that goal

    By the end of 2006 Id like to offer my fulltime employees health care.

    Like Ive said in the past I never figured Id be where I am now in the PW biz , I started part time in late 2000 and went fulltime in March 2004 and 2005 been amazing. i want to continue to grow and still offer the best quality work in the area and stay one of the most reliable contractors in the area.

    Ive joked many times about being The Pressure Washing King of Myrtle Beach in the future. THAT IS MY GOAL

    JL

  11. Posted · Report reply

    Firewater, My 1st 2 machines were Lowes and i built a nice biz with those machines

    I suggest getting at least a 4GPM machine so when you can purchase a surface cleaner you can use it. Shop around

    You can do anything in this PW biz you want as long as your reliable , willing to work hard and have drive. Its a great biz and you can start out small and do it part time or make a nice living off it.

    JL

  16. Posted · Report reply

    I do several things. To about 8 or 9 property management companies last year & this year I'll give them a pastry tray for the office. I go to a great Italian bakery here and for $20 i get 24 mini italian pastries per tray,canoli's, neopolitians etc, people love them on the tray I have a holiday postcard with a thank you & co. name. Then I also give about 8 gift cert for $40 to nice rest. to prop managers that give me the most work, and also this year Im giving about 25 of my company T-shirts to prop managers. Everybody gets a company Christmas card. I give cards to everybody even people I buy supplies from

    The tray & T shirts I hand deliver and try to see them personally to thank them

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Cannot even get a $1 a sq. ft. in my area. I am forced to do a super fast job and use cheap stain. I tried bidding at $1 a sq. ft. a couple years ago. Out of 30 bids I got 0 jobs. I tell people up front what I will be doing and they are fine with that. I will do no sanding. If stain doesn't come off first time I will just go over it unless they want to pay for a second stripping. I have to use stain that is less then $20 a gallon. I give them the option for better stain and the have chosen that 0 times. It is either do that or lose a lot of other work. Most people want the house and deck washed. I lost a lot of houses because I priced the deck so high. So now I price the house a little higher. I am in a real catch 22 because I would like for once to do a deck the right way. I have noticed that in my area if I go over 80 a sq. ft. for a wash and stain I will not get the job. I also tell people that with cheap stain it will fail quicker but yet they still don't care. I guess what it comes down to is if they are happy I am happy(kinda).

    I know people think I am crazy for taking on that work but being in Michigan and only being able to work 7 to 8 months of the year, I have to accept most jobs. Everything else my dollar per hour is where it should be and even higher on some things. What else can a guy do?

    Its tough, around here there isnt that many decks because most houses are built on slabs or are just painted. some of the stilt homes have stained decks but most stilt home neighborhoods you can drive around and see that well over 90%-99% just let the decks weather and at most put some crappy watersealer on them. I just cant be bothered with them much at all, you have to make 2 trips to do these decks and it just not worth doing them, for me.

    Its nice when you see someones house that has a nice stained deck that is maintained, its just a rare sight around here

    JL

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Im lucky to get $1/sf here. there are too many painters willing to do it for $.45/sf The only people willing to pay that are transplants from up north. Guess there used to higher prices

    I charge $1 to $1.25 a sq ft and only get maybe 20% of my estimates, I dont even try to get wood jobs really any more, people are just to cheap and just dont seem to care, even after I explain what I can do , show pics etc. I gave up. These decks are horrible sometimes and they say oh I dont want to spend that much, I tell them they will when they have to replace it when it rots. But they 'll hire a guy to blast the crap out of thier decks for $50 or $100, they can have it

    JL

  19. Posted · Report reply

    BELIEVE IT I GOT ALREADY 37 HOUSES WASHED IN THE SAME SUBDIVISION AND MORE COMING.IM SUBBING A LOT OUT .THERE ARE 350 HOUSES IN THE SUB THAT ALL NEED CLEANING.GETTING A GOOD PRICE FOR VINYL WASH .QUICK $$$$$$$ 1.5 HR EACH

    MOLD IS MONEY:lgmoneyey AND ITS ALL GREEN

    Got to love the southern climate

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Rarely, but I also have had the same problem, there a lower grade of gutter. I usually juice up the mix alittle and make sure Im not taking the finish off. It always reduces the the streaks but not always removes them

    ALSO in cold or colder weather the Gutter Zap & Gutter shock isnt as effective, you have to go a little stonger. warm weather no problem

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Check out Watercannon in Orlando for machines, belt drive would be best and I would rather save for that, but they have some 4 gpm machines direct drive that are less $$.

    Also i know nothing about Ebay, but I know alot of guys who buy equipment off Ebay at great prices

    Good luck & yes remember Quality Work, Competitive Rate & On Time Service will get you the work

    JL

  22. Posted · Report reply

    I dont know to much commercial work that is like residential work, so I would say you definitly have to charge different.

    Commercial concrete around here could go for $.05 - $.15 sq ft sometimes more with alot of rust stain removal. On large residential driveways i figure it at $.10

    Now doing buildings like condos, I think I should be able to charge a big price, but the market around here doesnt allow it. Ive done homes for $500 and then Ive done condo complexes with several buildings that are twice the size of that $500 house wash and I only say charge $400 for each condo building and add cost of lift if needed. If I tried to chrage say $500-$1000 a building I would never get the work. Ive had the chance to see compitions bids and Im usually right around the right price. All the larger project I do with at least 2 machines up to 4 machines and we can fly thru a complex and I can make anywhere from $500 - $1500 a day after all expenses.

    What Im try to say is you just cant price commercial the same, You have to figure out what the market in your area will bear

    I figure alot of jobs by time , labor & material and then what I want to make per day, it works for me, theres no set price on alot of the work we do. Ive made $300 aday and Ive made $2000 a day, it really depends on the job and how you do it

    God luck maybe some of the other guys can help with pricing

    JL

  24. Posted · Report reply

    Im a Pats fan, but they have to much against them this year. So Im hoping the Colts do it. Ive been a fan of theres for years , since my brother in the 80's was in charge of all food at the Hoosier Dome. I was able to see quite a few games there for free. Indy's a great town . I hope they go all the way, with a perfect season

    Go Colts!!!!!!

  25. Posted · Report reply

    Steve Rowlett, of RPC in Tenn. uses Chesterfield Finacial for leasing company

    I like enclosed trailer in just the few months since Ive had mine, Ive had several people ask for estimates and comment on my trailler. Just today I was doing a high end house and someone stopped for an estimate and said they saw us working and my trailer and they said I looked professional, I got that job nd another in same neighborhood

    As for Yellow pages I pay about $3700 a year total for 2 books and Ive done about 40K-45K worth of work from YP calls.

    I think some of the best ways to get work is hustling the work, start a campaign targetting what kind of work you want, I like the condo work so every 2-4 months I send letters, faxes, call property managers. Ive been doing it for over 3 years and Id say at least half of the companies I target have called me to give bids and a few of them call me for all or alot of there work. Up until this year I also targetted alot of residential, with ads, newsletter advertising, post cards etc. Any type of work you want you have to be persistant. You have to send them things several times and keep sending, I figure more than one time someones called because they were sick of me writing them.

    Go after the work and dont give up even if you dont get a great response at 1st. I also ask all the property managers to tell others about my company. As soon as you get one job and complete it ask for more work, I believe Quality work , Great rates and On time service can and will make me a one of the most used PW contractors in my area.

    Just this month Ive mailed & faxed over 3 dozen different property managers fliers for gutter cleaning & concrete cleaning, Ive already have gotten over 5K worth of work for what 5 hours of sending letters & faxes & calls. I have doubled what I did in biz last year so I must be doing somethings right

    Hustle hustle sell sell sell

    I love this biz and just getting the work from my targetting is exciting and fun. I really believe that with in 5-7 years i wont have to pick up a wand and I project Ill be doing at least 350K to 500K+ a year at least worth of biz. Im no great business man, very little schooling, not all that machanical, learned and did alot of things the hard way at first, but I am persistant and now as I see what I can do, I keep doing it and more.

    I think anyone or most who have a good work ethic, the drive and the time can become successful in the PW biz, its a little easier in and area like mine where everything has to be cleaned becuase of climate , but any area always has room for a great contractor.

    Well enough of that good luck and go get it:lgjump:

    JL

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