RyanH

I had a problem with mine not starting. I traced the wires and they were all going to the right place. Problem ended up being a dodgy ground in the switch itself. Not I have to torque the entire switch slightly to make contact with the frame. Sometimes it's an effort to make the ground, sometimes it just happens to be in the proper place.

This job was shurflo only. I never even started the pressure washer. The weather called for rain the next day, so I wasn't concerned about rinsing. Before I invested in a shurflo I used a 3 gallon backpack sprayer. It worked fantastically but I had to keep getting off the roof to refill the sprayer and that was a pain. Also, the backpack isn't a good idea for roofs that are steep. I paide $20 less for the shurflo pump than my $90 backpack. I added a brass extension wand from Northerntool to both for about $40 (this was a MUST for me to get good spray coverage). I bought $100 worth of hose for the shurflo, found a 20 gallon vertical tank, and bought a $40 handtruck. I tried Xjetting on a roof and it just didn't give the results *for me* as quickly as I needed.

I remember this thread, but now the link I remember being there...I can't find. Thanks for the post spacing info. I realized yesterday while going over my plans that there is a high concrete retaining wall on both sides I can use as a backbone for the centerline of the hottub. As for ipe, I'm in love with all the pictures I see of it. I see places like ipedepot.com advertising it. I'll check them out. Thanks again.

Still a result of the low oil switch. The oil gets away from the switch, the machine "thinks" that the oil is low, so the circuit is not connected.

I intend to do it on my own. I may get my brother or a coworker's son to help with some of the physical lifting, but the design and primary construction will be all on me. I love doing this stuff and can't wait. I'm not one for television, and I'll primarily be doing local washing on the weekends, so this will be my passtime. I also want to put an underdeck waterproofing on it so that the underside can be used as a pavilion. Hey beth! Still waiting on those pics of the hottub support :) I'm thinking of having it near the stairs (concrete wall there can lend a supporting hand). Sorry I diverted this thread away from the original intent, which was to discuss cleaning of composites.

I love the look of wood that is stained or sealed, especially the hard woods. I'm not a fan of the weathered gray look....more of a redwood or cedar. I don't even know where to get ipe around here (GA). I'll have to check into it. My primary reason for looking towards composite was the low maintenance but also because it seems that southern pine is the wood of choice in the south and I really have not seen any pine decks that look good after more than two weeks. Here is a picture of the what I plan on doing. The house is actually going to be white after it's painted. I threw the drawings together with PowerPoint, so they aren't the highest quality. The deck will be about 16' x 50', so understandably I don't want to have to strip and finish this thing every year or two, which was my reasoning for composite. But, if composite is going to look like crap in a year or so and will require maintenance, then I'll just put the money towards real wood and good stain (assuming I can find quality wood here). PS---I kind of got the idea for this color scheme from a picture Reed put up awhile back. The main difference will be the brick columns over the wood. Brick will match the brick on the front of the house. I'm open to criticism on the design if anyone has other ideas.

Anybody have some pictures of these decks after 1,2, 3+ years?

I'm interested in hearing more. I don't look to service these professionally but I was very seriously thinking of installing it at my house. Hmmm....read more on ipe I shall yes.:yoda:

They've been advertising on his show for as long as I can remember (10 years?). I'm sure advertising aint cheap...whatever they're doing it must be working.

People with this line of thought (myself included) should realize that they do have some power in this battle. I've read some people here and many people all over the country crying about doing things because it's the law. People tout the "it's the law" banner like it's an absolute. Listen, people. Just because a group of men (and a handful of women) get together and in the name of personal satisfaction decide to put a preposterous rule into law doesn't mean that it's right. Giving other men guns and the charge that they should defend this new law doesn't make it right. It only makes it words on paper that some group of people thought should be a standard. Some of those words on paper are necessary and useful, most others are not. If a law were passed tomorrow requiring me work at a specific task or to hand all of my income, I can say that I would not follow that law. I also will not pay for things with which I do not agree. I don't voluntarily give my money to evangelists who drive super-luxurious vehicles. I don't voluntarily open my wallet to every person who decides to not be productive in life and instead asks me with pity for money in exchange for nothing. So why, then, would I voluntarily hand over money to a government that will pass it on to the same people I wouldn't voluntarily assist in the first place? Because they have guns? Because those I refused to help vote people into power who will take it from me and remove my personal choice from the equation? The fact is many politicians are there for special interests and not all of those interests are things with which I agree. At that point I'm not being represented. I'm being targeted if a law is passed which affects my personal freedoms in a negative manner. A politican should act to protect personal liberties and freedom and not be biased towards one segment of the population or the other. Taxes should be consumption-based, not ability-based. Simply because I *can* pay more doesn't mean I *should*. I'm not about being forced into doing things in the name of helping society. If I want to help society, I'll do it on my own time and dollar. And if I feel that only 70% of the taxes the government collects goes into things that are good for ALL Americans, then I might be obliged to pay only 70% of the taxes they say I owe. If the government isn't making enough to sustain itself, then it needs to trim expenses like every American or business out there. Start with social programs. Stop sending taxes collected in the south to provide heating oil for the poor in the north. Stop using taxes collected in the north to provide for public transportation for the south. The distribution is not proportional and THAT is what's wrong. I'll freely break laws if I know that my disobedience will not cause anyone else loss of life, liberty, nor property. And out of a moral commitment to the Golden Rule, I will not do unto others as I would have done to myself. If you own property, I won't steal, vandalize, or tresspass upon it. If you want have purple grass in your yard, I won't protest against it unless it decreases my own property value. And if you look at me the wrong way, I won't hit, kick, nor kill you. I may, however, fart just to get a reaction from you :)

Whoa!! YOU were the SysOp for Chaos??? I used to use a BBS by the same name. I also remember that one of the BBSs I used was in Fayetteville. Now, it's been so long ago that I don't remember if the two were one and the same, but how cool is that.....to think that 10 years ago I could have been using your board. I was cosys of one named Oasis or Digital Oasis....can't remember now. Ah, those were the fun days.

Your writing style is similar to Lewis Grizzard's or Andy Rooney.

Thanks! I've never put a pressure gauge on mine, so I was never sure what the different tips were doing to it.

Look around the gutter downspout exits on the houses that were hit hard and see if you see granules from the roof scattered about. A rule of thumb I'm using when doing roofs....if I'm getting wet from the spray of my rinse, then I'm hitting the roof too hard.

How do you measure this pressure? I'm just curious because I see many people saying that they drop their pressure 800 psi or 1000 psi and I would really like to know how exactly they measure what's coming out of the tip. I've been doing a lot of thinking lately on what happens at the business end of the wand, and I'm beginning to think more and more that it isn't about the pressure of the water coming out but rather the momentum of the water (velocity and actual amount of water), which is completely different than pressure. If I knew how you guys measured the pressure at the tip it might clear a few questions up.

Can't help you on wood....not my bag. I don't have the patience for it. Do some searches for Ready Seal, Wood Tux, F-18, or HD-80 and read what others have said about stripping and sealing. You'll find that it isn't a quick-and-easy deal. There are some wood pros all over this board that can tell you *exactly* what you need to do.

eastern. additional characters to be accepted by system

On the flip side.... I have noticed that some people who are like are looking to be proven wrong. They have a perception of an industry (usually caused by a previous bad experience) and are wanting to make you explicitly aware of their perception. Their reason for acting this way is in hopes that YOU will be the one exception to their perceived "rule" and will be stellar in performance. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it works. I use a similar technique when buying cars and have used it in building my house. The idea is to tell the salesman/contractor that you know from experience that the sales guy is trying to screw you out of money unneccessarily or that the builder will try to cut corners. The sales guy/contractor, knowing that you expect this, typically goes a little farther than normal in working with/for you to make sure you are satisfied so they will be the ones you think about from now on (or, they'll let you walk and lose the sale, sometimes it backfires). When I did this on my truck, I beat them down several thousand on the cost of the car then turned around at the end of the deal and bought several upgrades. BUT, because the guy took my crap, I knew he was comitted to the sale and recommended the dealership to others. Just a thought.

I've heard of videos that give "instruction" but they were primarily supplements to "start your own pressure business" kits. From what I've read (and in my opinion, which may or may not be worth a rat's fart), the instruction method isn't that hot and is very basic. I can give you some ideas of things I learned early on (mostly learned from mistakes and inefficiencies) if you'd like. Give me a call this weekend (saturday morning around 9 am would be fine) if you'd like @ 770-490-7610 Hmm....hey Beth! Perhaps this video thing is something you can do....weren't you working on a magazine? Put together a training series featuring REAL professionals who really know their stuff.

The short answer is "just enough to apply the chems" and "just enough to rinse the residue." With vinyl you shouldn't need much in the way of direct pressure. You're going for a wide coverage area on this type of surface, not a directed high pressure stream....let the chemicals do the work of cleaning.

A concrete patio? Powerwash with a surface cleaner. I assume the patio is concrete or some type of tile (if it's wood, we call it a deck regardless of the configuration in the south, so I could be wrong on this issue). If you have to seal the concrete, just get the seal in a 5 gallon bucket, put it on a small dolly so you can roll it easily, and apply with a lambskin pad and long handle. I put 6 coats of sealant on an 8,000 sq. ft. warehouse floor in two days. I was moving at a rate of about 3500 sq. feet per hour with liberal coverage on the first two coats....it went much faster after that. I tried using a sprayer, but found it to be too cumbersome and abandoned it for the applicator. I went through 4 or 5 applicator pads.

cool! I'll be doing the structural design on my deck soon and am curious to see how it's done in practice.

Beth, Any chance you'll be making your way back over to that house? I'd LOVE a few pics of the structural support they used under that hottub (type of beams?). Or if you run into any other raised hottub decks, perhaps you could snap a shot or two? Many thanks, RH

My brother played on a "special needs" team for several years. He has a genetic defect that gave him an extreme case of knock-knees and weak hips...pretty much limited his running ability. I helped out the team on many occassions and I can tell you that the humanity displayed by the good people helping out these kids was awe-inspiring. These kids had severe handicaps ranging from down syndrome, cerebral palsy, LHS, etc. and they were out on the field enjoying it more than any "normal" kid I knew growing up. Of course, many of them needed a helper to maneuver the wheel chair (stretcher in one case) or to handle the ball, but man it was awesome to see and be a part of. It's funny....parents hope and pray to have a "normal" kids, but after seeing the love these kids had for life and affection they showed to anyone who paid even a little attention, I don't see how anyone would want a snot-nosed stuck up brat like these panty-wastes I see walking around the mall nowadays. Good story Alan.