RyanH

Tony, I appreciate the scrutiny. I was a little concerned after seeing the condition. I'll be powering it up this evening for some better tests. He did say that it was run hard but that the maintenance on it is good (I saw his shop setup....he knew what he was talking about on maintenance). From what he's telling me the ceramic plungers are new and the head has been rebuilt. Hopefully it's not a lemon.

I heard the same thing. I would have given my vote for Rice but she says she's not running. I think I'm going to throw my vote towards the libs (libertarians) again. The republicans still aren't making too much progress as far as I'm concerned when it comes to the tax situation and the dems, well, just damn. But given only a choice between R and D, R.

If you are replying with quick reply, click on the "Go Advanced" button below the quick reply box. This will get you to the screen Mike mentioned.

Glad it worked. Something else you can try is to mix with a little greased lightning and water. I've found that they work very well together with the PP and GL in a 1:1 and then that mixed with water at about 1:3 cleaner:water. If brushing it's wunderbar!

My 30 seconds is with a more concentrated amount and like tony said, it will dry to the point where it is ineffective after too long. With brushing, you don't really need to let it dwell. The 30 seconds is kind of a time limit you don't want to pass to ensure that you don't take the paint off or weaken it. I prefer brushing if I can, but on high gutters where I don't want to wave the brush far above my head (drips) I just apply then rinse. Oh, and talk to the guys at autozone/autoparts and see if they'll order you a 2.5 gallon or 5 gallon pail if this is something you are going to be using on a regular basis. HD sells Zeps version but I'm not as happy with it.

Pressure, It was more tongue in cheek, but I am in favor of *trained* citizens carrying. Scott, I have scoured the entire O.C.G.A. (valid only in GA, so others may not be interested in this) and can tell you that the weapons law is left intentionally ambiguous. This is one area of the law where the incident is solely up to the discretion of the officer and judge. "Public place" is precisely defined as a place owned and operated by the public; in the case of GA, the "public" is a government owned property. Grocery stores do not count. Malls do not count, etc. I have taken mine into every place except sporting events, government buildings (except post office where I'm not too concerned), and bars and airports. I've taken them into movie theaters and spoken with the officers there and even though the law *can* be interpreted to prohibit them there, they admit that they don't blame me for having it and as long as I don't start waving it around then they have no problem with it. Private property (business) owners do have a right to prohibit it on their property. I've spoken with police, judges, lawyers, city officials, court clerks, etc. and have a very good idea of what you can and can't do. Call me sometime if you want any info on our state.

prewet. usually I can get away with spraying on, dwelling for 30 seconds and blasting off, but occassionally I do scrub. If the gutters are grayed overall (the streaks look old and more blended instead of well defined, like they have been accumulating the nasties for some time), then I would scrub. If you are going to scrub you might want to dilute 50:50.

I own several. I hate hunting (don't like the mess of cleaning up afterwards). I carry mine almost all the time (concealed weapons permit) and never has it jumped out of my holster and shot a store clerk. I'm sure that it has been a deterrent to others who might have wanted to, though. Just think, if EVERYONE had a gun and it was legal to shoot people committing crimes, there would be no public crime.

On the courthouse steps protesting tort reform.

ok, I might take the bag itself to the police station and see if they can pull a viable fingerprint off the zipper or bag and identify the last person to handle it. Of course, there are some assumptions made there, but there's a high chance that the owner of the bag will match up to the prints. As a side note...this is a good example of a biased schema. The whole time I was thinking money bag as in a cloth sack full of money, not a deposit bag that businesses use.

conduit bending tools are available at hardware stores for around $30 for the size you'll need. Heck, if you can find the conduit in the hardware store, bend it before you buy it and save the cost of the tool itself! Just make sure to know what your dimensions of the tank are.

Your premise is that people value money above all else and , while the argument is logical, it is not sound. I've actually thrown away checks and returned cash given to me by people from whom I didn't want anything. Who knows...the person who threw it away could have won the lottery and encountered endless badgering from friends and family about how he should spend it or give it away. All he used to love is now demeaned by this thing called money. Consider: if every relationship you cared about was destroyed by something, wouldn't you want to part yourself from it? Perhaps you can think of something better than a dumpster (charities, like Beth suggested), but in a depressed state, can you think of a more symbolic way of cleansing yourself of such a burden as to "throw it away?" :yoda:

Yikes...you were a friggin legend on another message board I used before I found out about TGS. Everyone respected your input and lost a great asset when you gave your final farewell. Belated "thanks" for the help you indirectly provided me.

I've been toying with the notion of making my deck (to be built late this year hopefully) into a pavilion with roof on the underside, keeping the patio below dry. I've come across several vendors who sell the systems and was wondering if anyone has ever encountered these while either cleaning a house or finishing a deck. Most companies will sell the stuff to install yourself (there's not too much to it). What do ya'll think? Good idea or no? a few sites: http://www.undercoverdecks.com/ http://www.belowdecksystems.com/ http://www.decksandthings.com/vendors/underdeck/ud_overview.htm Looking forward to some input.... RyanH.

Classic, I'm VERY interested in knowing how it turns out for you. I'm thinking about our house and the only thing I'm really excited about is getting to build and finish this deck. I don't want to become a contractor for this (unless the deck actually turns out to be really nice and I enjoy it enough!!)....will they sell to individuals?

Turn it in to whom? I might place a small ad in the classifieds saying an undisclosed sum of money was found in an undisclosed area. All who have lost any call with exact description of both. If none came forward within 30 days, I'd be off to Jamaica or Gulf Shores, AL.

I usually keep in mind that I'm there because they called me, the premise being that they need a cleaning service. Perhaps they had a different price in their mind when they called, so it's up to me to change their perception of value. I usually tell them that I provide the same *value* as everyone else if you define value as price per quality. My difference is that I give a higher quality, so resultingly there is a higher cost. I've come right out and told customers that if people want a cheap job with "at-a-glance" results, then they call someone else because I'm not about that. Set up scenarios: I tell them that I want them to be standing at the kitchen sink and look outside at their beautiful yard not having to look through the streaks left on the windows by a cheaper service, or the dirt not removed because the cheaper guy didn't bother to clean the windows with anything but a high pressure stream. I mention how I realize that they don't like seeing spider webs and dirt accumulated on the window sills, and I understand that they don't want their friends or family over and seeing clean siding but streaky gutters or a dirty roof; I understand this because I realize they want a completely clean feel to the house, not a superficial rinse. The point is to make it seem like it is their idea to have complete quality and not superficial cleaning and that is what and why you provide. If that doesn't work, you can always resort to the liability issue: when they ask why I have to climb on a ladder to clean every window and why I can't just do it from the ground, I tell them about the lady with bleached carpets because her last guy tried that and forced water under the sills. Even if he did have insurance to replace it, it's still an unecessary hassle to arrange the replacement. Oh, and yes, it can be handled tactfully and almost always with positive outcome. And if they dismiss you and say they are going to try another company, just tell them a few things they should listen for in the next person they call. As a side, I never justify my cost as a breakdown since this liberal society of ours tends to think that it's a shame to actually make a profit. And if they find out you are profiting $80/hour, they're gonna crap and try to find some punk to do it not realizing that the thousands of dollars in equipment is also necessary.

Don't care much for TV, but I do like The Apprentice (used to....the current group is a bunch of whiners!). Wife is hooked and is getting me into the HGTV shows and various home makeovers (primarily because we're building a house). I also like Newlyweds just because Jessica Simpson is so damn fine but rarely watch it anymore (can't sit still that long). And Pimp My Ride is amusing for about 15 minutes.

Eric, The general rule of thumb is 1/4" fall for every three feet of deck to ensure proper drainage. I am REALLY looking forward to getting outside and starting this project. Hopefully it will be before the end of this year. With the underdeck system and the lights Reed mentioned in another thread, I'll have my own version of "pimp my deck." I will definitely be posting updates and asking more questions, mostly related to staining. Now to just find a good redwood or cedar dealer in the area for the decking........

Reed... I noticed on the mfg site that resellers can get a comission from sales...are you in on this? Seeing as how I heard of these through you, and I'm now wanting them in the next year, could I order them through you for you to get some benefit from it?

Reed, Do you mean the vinyl "siding" underneath the deck or the individual components (as opposed to aluminum, for example)? This is a really cool concept and I think I'm going to go ahead and do it. I'll have a baby deck (10'x10') that comes with the house...I"m going to practice my staining techniques on it. That'll come down and I'll be building a 16' x 40' or 50' deck reinforced for a hottub. Can't wait! Thanks for the tip.

Petzl Grigri Belay Device $77.00 Item 471023 : http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?storeId=8000&catalogId=40000008000&productId=977&parent_category_rn=4500695&vcat=REI_SEARCH I've been very satisfied with this. Used with a body harness and quality rope, it provides excellent hands-free fall protection. I tested it out by jumping off the porch and it grabbed with no problem. You can rappel with it once your fall has been broken. Choose rope with decent elasticity to prevent your back from being snapped if you do take a long tumble....the guy where I bought everything said he's taken falls as far as 50' (mountain climber) and hasn't had any problem with it safely stopping his fall at the end. As for harness, a basic one will work just fine if worn properly. I think the rope I bought was around 10mm and made to function well when wet.

http://daysite.net/silly/concentration.html My grandad sent this to me. Good ol' grandad. WARNING!!!!: This page has mild humerous nudity but shouldn't be offensive to most.

Normally I like to take my time and make sure everything on a house is spotless. For discriminating customers, this is the best way to make a positive impact. Sometimes, though, you get the call from the customer who has a pressure washer and can do their own property, but the grime is just a little too high or too thick for them to handle. And in the walkthrough, they make sure you understand that they can clean this or they can clean that on their own. In that situation....out comes the Splash 'N Dash :lgmoneyey. Nothing like easy money and a clean conscience. I gotta say it was a good day.

Scope of work defined, as Rod said. Also all brick house, so not too much they can do aside from damaging windows and soffits. A camera helps to reduce that liability. I figured *somebody* was going to get the job, why not take it myself. I still hit my $100/hour, so I wan't concerned about anything.