RyanH

Sherwin Williams stores (once upon a time) had a wedge you could buy to place on a sloping hill to level an extension ladder. Maybe they still carry them.

Search for terms like: ipe deck ipe stain ipe strip ipe care ipe wood ipe new Or similar variations. Similarly, for various TLAs (three letter acronyms) you can stack your searches with other relevant words, such like WTW wood WTW deck WTW weather

Couple of points.... Looks like the bleach runoff lightened up about half of the roof just above the front door....I would have put more effort on that location to make it clean and uniform. Perhaps the customer didn't want to pay for it, but the green stuff remaining on the brick patio out back detracts from the good work you did on the house (unless you hit it after you took the pictures). How did the TSP do in the windows? I've etched glass in the past because I got careless with this stuff.

I'll be in Camden, NJ next week (across the river from Philly) for a few days. We'll give it a shot. Thanks! I was getting tired of eating at Chili's and Taco Bell. Is there a dress code? I'll be there for work and don't normally take "dressy" type things.

I have believed in evolution for a long time. I have also believed in God for an even longer time. I'd like to believe that God rolled the dice and we are the result. Humans are an inquisitive bunch, so how convenient for us that everything works in matches our observations and theories. Here is an interesting note.... Cosmologists have longed proposed that the big bang was not a singular event. The laws of thermodynamics (as have been argued to the point of near exhaustion for this type of forum) suggest that as the kinetic and nuclear energies or our universe are converted to other forms, gravitational forces will take over and eventually, like a large cosmic spring, everything will come back together. The potential energy will be converted back to kinetic and as all the matter rushes back together (it will accelerate to the origin point of the big bang), things will heat up again and slam together over time into a "big crunch" and (theoretically, mind you), explode again. Now, here is the "interesting" note of which I spoke: scholars of biblical text in the originial Hebrew have claimed that the famous "In the beginning, God created...." can be more accurately translated as "In a beginning, we created..." If it was "a beginning" and not "the beginning," can't we argue (not completely sound, but close) that perhaps there has been or will be more than one universe like ours? A book I once read titled "Frozen Star" mentioned that if you were to exist very close to a high gravity source (like a black hole), you would experience things happening around you at amazing speeds. You would see life on earth snuffed out, the sun would die out, entire solar systems would be created and destroyed in what you would perceive as seconds, but those involved would perceive as millions of millenia. Time is a funny thing, and our perception of things like "before" and "after" really tend to skew our perceptions of things.

Do a google search (I can't say "google it" anymore for fear of being sued) for "francisco money speech" and read on. In a one page write up you will get the general gist of Atlas Shrugged. Then, look at my signature line and you'll understand where I got it.

You are measuring static pressure, which is really only valid when there is no water flowing. Your pump is capable of compressing the system to 4000 psi until a valve is released. The properties of the valve determine the amount of back pressure you experience. The reason for your drop to 1800 psi is because the water is not only pushing on your gauge but also pushing through the orifice; the larger the orifice, the lower back pressure you will measure. Alternatively, the smaller the nozzle, the higher the back pressure. So, if you are showing 4000 psi at a no flow condition, i'd say your pump is performing properly. The 1800 is purely dependent upon your orifice type and some other minor factors if you are measuring near your nozzle.

Years ago my granddad and I scraped the barnacle shells off with a garden hoe or spade then scrubbed the residue with warm vinegar solution and rinsed. I remember this being a rather unpleasant smell to be around and it stuck with you for a few days, which probably explains why my grandmother didn't want us coming home until the end of the week.

Phillip, A few notes on potential business slowdowns (from my observations around Coweta)... It has been so stinkin hot that many people I talk to (neighbors, co-workers, friends, etc.) haven't even looked at the condition of their houses. They stay out just long enough to mow the lawn before scurrying back inside where the sun aint. Perhaps people just aren't noticing what they need. In Coweta (sister to Fayette if you listen to the Peachtree City crowd), watering bans have been placed and are so strict people are afraid to spit on the sidewalks for fear of being fined. Fines range from written warnings to several thousands of dollars and disconnection of service. Now, all that being said, have you ever considered or tried the Whitewater Creek area in Fayette? I rode through there last weekend just killing some time and noticed that 95% of these $800k+ homes have filthy roofs. For those of you up north and out west, $800k may not sound like much, but here those homes are HUGE!!! Easily 8 - 10k square feet. Perhaps you can target them a little more specifically. The lawns are all manicured and obviously are professionally done. These people use pros for their chores. Also, i noticed that the entrances had phone numbers for various services (lawn care, pine straw, etc.) I didn't see any PW ads though, so you might want to give advertising on those a shot. Nice decks too that appear to be neglected. I joked with Amanda about taking a month of vacation from work and pulling the roof cleaning equipment out to tackle some of them.

What if you stained every other board on the first day and ask them to step on the unfinished boards. The next day, when the first batch has dried, go back and do the unfinished boards. These look like 2x6's.....should be wide enough to side-step across. As for the stairs, do one side one day and the other side the other day to give them an avenue in either case. This should be less noticeable than a dry line down the center.

Hail is ice, right? How can it stain? Or is the stain in the dents caused by the hail? Probably just an accumulation of dirt in the dent pockets, kind of like black heads or zits on a teenager. Your regular soaping solution should work fine.

Not exactly "Anti-chinese" but still focused on America: http://www.madeinusa.org/ Look at the prices. You'll see why more people buy from foreign companies. My concern is that we import more than export (if not currently then soon). You can trade wealth within a country all you want, but the country as a whole does not get wealthier with this. If you export, the money comes in and the country gets wealthier. If you import, the money goes out and the country gets poorer. As our country gets poorer, we lose economic advantage in the international marketplace. China becomes a superpower. If they were capitalist by nature, that wouldn't bother me. But the fact that China is still a communist country and is quickly becoming the economic superpower (despite the capitalist drive by the companies) is a scary thought. America stopped allowing trade with Cuba and look where Cuba was left. Imagine if China--after the government has made enough money off American interests to coast on for a few years--decides to halt trade with the US. We would be incapable of producing anything for ourselves quite awhile. We also lack the skills.

Not quite. The 2.5 gpm most likely is a nominal value with very few constraints. The Xjet operates like this: As your water (pressurized from the pump) flows through the Xjet, it passes perpindicular to the draw tube port. Without going into too much detail, the fluid creates a low pressure area at the port opening. To verify this, put your finger over the port inlet on the Xjet while the wand trigger is pulled and water is flowing, you will feel the port "sucking" on your finger (actually, it is the hydrostatic pressure of your bodily fluids pressing towards the low pressure opening, but whatever). This low pressure area is at a lower pressure than atmospheric pressure. From this point, the Xjet functions exactly as a straw in soda. The pressure differential is such that fluid (water, air, bleach, etc.) will flow from the area of "high" pressure (the atmosphere) to low pressure (the port inlet). If you attach a hose to the inlet and drop the other end into a bucket that is open to the atmosphere, the Xjet will "draw" the chem in. Here's the kicker: the low pressure point created by the flow is determined only by the fluid velocity (at 5.4 gpm through an Xjet orifice of 3/16", that's a velocity of about 45162 in/min, or 43 mph. This velocity is constant. The pressure is constant. Atmospheric pressure is constant. The difference between atmospheric pressure and the low pressure in the Xjet is a pressure differential. This is constant. The flow of the fluid through the tube is dependent upon several things. Among these are: the pressure differential, which is constant fluid viscosity (water, bleach, soapy water, etc. all have different viscosities). 12% bleach will be more viscous than water and will flow at a lower rate. XJet tube properties (inner diameter, wall roughness, length, number of turns, bends, height, etc.). This directly affects the friction on the flow of the fluid, which is related to the viscosity. The more constricted the tube is (smaller diameter), the harder it will be for the fluid to flow through it. The more bends in the tube or changes in direction the fluid has to flow, the slower the fluid will flow. Changing the exit height of the tube (up on a roof, for example) will increase the gravitational resistance on the fluid. All of these resistances to flow add up to an overall "pressure drop." Try blowing through a coffee stirrer and a 1" PVC pipe...which one is "easier?" Your lungs create the same amount of force, but the stirrer will create a larger pressure drop and reduce the flow dramatically. When you create pressure drops, this affects your differential pressure. With no pressure drops, you get ideal flow. With lots of them, you get no flow. All of us operate somewhere in between. So, that was a long way of saying that your draw will never be constant. You will affect your flow by changing your Xjet hose length, wrapping it in a coil, etc. But changing from a 3/8 to a 1/4" hose will offer the greatest change and will guarantee that you will not get the same flow from a 1/4" as you would a 3/8". The recommendation of pulling from a bucket into a barrel is the best.

In light of my previous post, I think I should make this distinction. I am not and do not consider myself to be "rich." I make much less than many others on this board. As a member of the "middle class" I would have to agree that many of the tax laws benefit me. I am still getting screwed, just not as much as others. My only gripe is that we should not toss around this idea of "fair" when in fact it is wholly unfair. And I would still vote to empower the thinkers and drivers (HINT: having a degree does not automatically make you a thinker or a driver, there are lots of stupid people with education walking around) of this nation and to make EVERYONE individually responsible.

First, I will state that I am totally against the concept of "From each according to their ability to each according to their need." The concept of "fair share" typically alludes to "you can afford to pay more, therefore you *should* pay more." What a crock. My efforts to earn more are driven by my desires to have more. Why am I punished for that? Consider this. By having a higher income, I have more purchasing power in the marketplace. I can afford to eat out more, I can buy more gadgets, I can buy a new car more frequently than otherwise, etc. Basically, I have the financial power of providing more people with jobs to provide these goods. It usually turns out that those providing these goods (restaurant servers, factory workers, etc.) make a lower wage. It is usually this "class" that will attack the "rich." How ironic that the lower income class will attack the earned efforts of those who support them in the first place. Just try to have goods and services without someone with the integrity to provide them. When an airline goes under and thousands of people lose their jobs, you don't see the mechanics independently starting a new company, they run to another person who set it up. They run to the rich CEOs they so vehemently put down because deep down, they realize that the rich CEOs and executives and entrepreneurs are the engines that drive our world and they themselves are the gasoline that helps it to run. Try to haul a load of cargo with a bucket of gasoline and no engine. Try to pressurize a water stream without a motor. Without an engine, the only benefit of gasoline is to provide a little warmth. Everyone wants to ***** about the oil companies making profits, but try to look at barren soil and pull the oil out of the ground with desire alone. Try to convert the crude into useful fuel for our daily lives. It takes will and determination and effort to make that happen, and the man who posseses those traits should NOT be punished and browbeaten for his acheivements to make it happen. If it were not for the promise of profits, there would be no incentive for him to do this. Why do we attack "rich" people? Why do we make them pay more in taxes? And not just more in the way of actual payments, I mean a higher tax percentage rate. Why should I have to pay 30% and the next guy pay 5% of his only because he tried less hard in life? Don't give me the crap about him being "unfortunate" or not as "lucky." I didn't have a silver spoon growing up. We didn't have a television until I was 5 and then it was an 8" black and white. I was 5 or 6 before my meals grew beyond instant mashed potatoes and canned green beans that could be bought at the rate of $0.10 per can. No meat for me....it was liver pudding and frozen fish sticks. My Christmas gifts consisted of Golden Books and dollar store cars. The only vacation I knew of was a birthday at Showbiz Pizza (now Chucky Cheese). And I'm in my mid-20's. Essentially, we were poor. Mom was making $55 per week and paying for daycare and apartment rental. Father wasn't around. No welfare check in our mailbox. Later, she remarried to someone who wanted better for himself, had gone to college, and could afford to give us a house. He tought me the concept of individual responsibility. There was no talk about a government stepping in to save me from my bad decisions. As I grew older, I worked for what I had, paid my way through college, did various jobs along the way (including pressure washing, which originally drew me to this board). And now that I am working to have a better life for myself and my future family, some schmuck wants to come along and tell ME that others DESERVE my money more than I do. Pardon my french, but F*CK that! I've worked too damned hard in life to have some parasite come along and demean my efforts. And you guys here who have really grown your business and make $500k each year, how does it feel to be made out to be the bad guy in our country? As an American, I enjoy the freedom to travel on the roads. I enjoy the freedom to speak my mind. I have the US Military protecting our interests. I can go out and find a job, I can work to get good grades and make it into school. My rights as an American are no different than any other legal American citizen in this country (well, OK, gays can't take the tax advantage of "marriage," but that's about the only exception I can think of), yet for some mysterious reason, I'm expected to pay more for my benefits of being an American. Let me tell you what's wrong with this current tax scenario in our country. People inherently like for things to be easier. For lazy people or people who don't want to better themselves in life, it is easier to have someone else give them money each month. It is easier to have someone else pay for and plan their medical stuff. It's easier for someone else to pay for the government housing they live in, or to cover the cost of those WIC checks. Politicians realize this. They realize that if they can make things easier for people then they are more likely to get voted in. They also realize that these people generally have more time to vote than other people who are "bothered" with the nuiances of working. So they take from those who have and give to those who have not. They label the rich as "greedy" or "evil" in ways that set up a straw man so that every person who wants to take from this money pot can knock it down and not feel bad about doing it. Failure in this country is rewarded. So now you know why I am not inclined to pay what the takers want to classify as "fair share." Those who make the laws and--to a greater extent--those who put them into office have more to gain from raping me financially than I do. Their are more people in this country (increasingly more) who would fight to take my earnings for their own use than there are people who will actually provide, and that's why the laws exist. If a hundred people vote to have me executed because I don't have blond hair or blue eyes, does that make it right? Nope. I would hope that the man who says that abiding the law absolutely would not allow a firing squad to put him down simply because it is the law. Now, I shall step of my soapbox and get back to work. And jeff, I don't care what you claim. You are not a democrat, atleast not in the current text of what democrat's represent. Maybe a democrat of Jefferson's day (which is where I would place myself), but not current day. I can tell from your previous posts that you realize the benefit of work. Doesn't it bother you that the party to which you claim to belong is constantly acting to destroy your efforts and tarnish your name? Repubs aren't any better either, imho.

With write offs, you *should* be able to write off anything outside your normal course of living that is directly responsible for your income. You see, if the government is going to penalize acheivers with a higher tax base, the only thing keeping the acheivers from a full-blown tax revolt is to allow them to deduct the expenses that allowed them to earn the money in the first place ("them" being acheivers; government doesn't "earn" money, it takes it by force). One could very well argue that part of being a successful salesperson (as most of us have had to be as self-employed individuals) is presenting a positive appearance. If strippers can write off breast implants as a job cost, salespersons should be able to write off personal enhancements that improve their appearance, such as haircuts, physical fitness, clothing, etc. Technically, you should only deduct the percentage of your expenses that are used for your business, though. If you see customers for 8 hours of the day, one could argue that your haircut is only helping you on your job for 1/3 of the day, so you could only deduct 33% of the cost. Same with other personal expenses. You can deduct a percentage of your personal vehicle expenses if you use your personal vehicle to travel to jobs or proposals. For some reason, however, this does NOT apply to driving to your daily place of work (if you work in the same place everyday). You can deduct fees for preparing your taxes (the cost of the TurboTax program, for example), a portion of your internet cost if you use it for business. I don't think you can include meals though unless you are taking potential clients out and have reasonable expectation to gain future business from that meeting. Of course, I guess it can also be argued that being alive is a requirement to work, and that eating is a requirement for living, so eating is a requirement to work and is a deductible expense. I read somewhere that a test was done where identical tax information was given to a number of tax accountants/IRS accountants and every one was done DIFFERENTLY, so I'm betting the auditors who come to your door won't know with absolute certainty the legitimacy of this type of logic in your deductions. As for Matt's comments regarding my willingness to pay taxes...how do you define "fair share?" Personally, I feel that every American *should* receive equal benefits from having a government. Military protection, FDA protection, etc. However, as it stands, those who earn more are penalized with a higher tax base. In the name of political correctness, my money is taken from me (by force, mind you) and given to others. Those hurricane victims? I'm all for helping to rebuild the devastated area and providing assistance to the area. I voluntarily gave a very generous porion. But when some of the displaced get lawyers (who pays for the lawyers if those who hire them can't even afford housing???) to prevent the government from withdrawing funds for hotel rooms after 6 months, I'm sorry but my spirit of giving diminishes. And when the government caves in and extends the stay, then I feel a little less like giving into that system. Just because the law says I *should* pay a particular amount doesn't mean that it is *right* and as long as tax payers are complacent the burden will increase.

That's why my party rally for the next elections will be "Anybody Fairtax."

You decide what you want to portray about your company, you include the scope of your services and you update it according to what services you add/remove or specials you decide to run. You want something that is aesthetically pleasing. If you can't come up with such a design, flip through the yellow pages and mimick something you find appealing (doesn't and shouldn't have to be in the same field as you work). You need to identify your target audience and play to them.

I would write off anything you purchased during that year that is directly applicable towards your business. You just can't write it off before you've used it to make new income. For example, if you buy $10,000 worth of equipment in December 2005 and don't use it until January 2006 to make your first dollar, you can't write the equipment off of last year's expenses because it wasn't an expense for your 2005 revenue. Granted, I *did* do this, but I doubt it was 100% correct. If you couldn't write off equipment you purhased before you ever made the money, how could you purchase it to begin with? Equipment is an investment for your future earnings. I'm not tax accountant, but I would imagine this is how it works. Not being a big proponent of the current IRS structure, I tend to interpret the tax laws as a "common sense" basis.

Perhaps they should invest in better baghouse filters to prevent the problem in the first place?

chemist1, I think you have underestimated the professionalism of most people on this board. You may be spot-on for many who "do" pressure washing, but as for those who are in the industry as a profession, they know their stuff. They know the precautions to use when handling these chemicals. They know the dangers of mixing various types of materials. The site admins have posted several links to sites containing hazard information. Don't think for a moment that users here are ignorant in their practices. Perhaps you should spend more than the better part of a day reading. You will see that many have done their own tests (experiments, if you will) on the effects of NaHOCl on shingles. They have placed shingles in buckets of the stuff for days at a time. They have sprayed them down and allowed them to dry in the sun. Surely you know that this is the best way to produce radicals from the Cl and Br (as you say exists in these products) and to display the fastest possible degradation of the materials. Guess what? Tests show no adverse effects when using these chemicals responsibly as they do. Nobody sprays 12% NaHOCl into the air. If you've ever ordered chemicals (those ugly brown bottles from Fisher Scientific, for example), you've most likely elected to order the highest molar concentration possible and dilute as required. Otherwise, you'd be paying huge money for shipping water. It's more convenient to carry a container of 12% and use the proper proportioners on their injection equipment to adjust the concentration, usually down to the 1 - 2% range upon application. These guys know about this stuff. Their business is to make money and providing a service is the means by which they do this; it is in their best interest to know the facts and to act accordingly. You'll find (as you continue reading) that there aren't many "weekend warriors" here. And by spouting a few assumptions---and offering opinions without backup---you'll get what the modern urbanites refer to as "schooled." Welcome.

...Then there was the time I told that cop that the sign read "SPEED zone ahead"......

Unlike many users on this board, I am not in the situation of having an overabundance of pressure washing competition in my area. Most competition is in the form of part-timers, not full time companies. Currently, I would still consider myself to be part-time, but am quickly working to change that. I have only had a few dozen residential and a few commercial jobs, but have spent almost every dollar I have earned to put back into my setup. I have invested hundreds of hours experimenting with various pieces of equipment, reading up on other techniques, buying / building better equipment, etc. I am still using an off-the-shelf commercial pressure washer (around $1100 new), but manage quite well. All of that for this: why does it seem that the competition I see on the streets pulling their trailers around do not use many of the tools I consider to be necessary to do a good job? For example, most cleaners I see have a fresh water tank, a pressure washer, some high pressure hoses, and not much more? In addition to these things, I carry extension lances, a ladder (rarely used, though), dedicated backpack sprayers for various purposes, extra water and pressure hose, various boxes of chemicals, an assortment of tools, stuff to clean windows (chemical, squeegee, sponges, extensions, etc.). Am I overdoing it? Are there ways of doing jobs without all of the stuff I use? My customers have been extremely impressed with my setup, and it doesn't even look as neat and professional as the competition carrying only a washer and some water, but I seem to have everything on hand to do a very good job everytime. What gives? Are they, despite the nice washers and trailers, not as "professional" as I aspire to be? I would appreciate in help, encouragement, opinions, etc. on this. Am I trying to reinvent the wheel with all the stuff I use, or am I just more thorough? Thanks very much. Ryan Holbird

As counterintuitive as it may sound, try speaking to a mirror. Keep eye contact with yourself and say what you have to say. A large part of the public speaking "jitters" comes from translating your information from thought to speech. It's different when you are engaged in a conversation....you have time to arrange things. But when you give a speech from beginning to end it becomes more difficult to pace yourself because you have nothing against which to gauge yourself

Do point. I have a friend who would like to use this for his Bobcat. Diesel around here is still almost $3 per gallon. Have you tried diluting your mix with a solvent to reduce the viscosity at the lower temperatures? Naptha may work well for you. Or, start your burner up with regular diesel fuel and pipe the exhaust gas through your biodiesel container to warm the mix until the viscosity drops to the point that it will be useable.