Beth n Rod

Might be an acrylic. Boost the HD-80, reapply to the remaining areas, wash, and neutralize. The alternative is sanding. Beth

I think it was Rick Petry who said he throws them over a handrail and washes them.... Beth

Have you tried Bix? Beth

Drape a sheet of plastic over the pond and weight down with stones. Wash as usual but bring a large paint spray shield for use around the plants growing close to the fence. Wash with a percarb should be sufficient. Stain/sealer application will be similar but using tarps and pegs to support the weight over fragile plants. Rod!~

Great suggestion! :) Beth

Rick, :lgbow::lgbow::lgbow: WOW! Beautiful work. Beth

Also spend some time reading the marketing threads... Do you have a logo yet? Do you have a website? (they are easy to build) Do you have before and afters? Beth

760 is a degreaser. A very, heavy duty, degreaser. Beth

Whoah....calm down. Deep breath. I don't know what you do or don't have, and I only mentioned it because I felt that if you were part time, you might not have it. If you do, that's great. If your local newspaper has a Service Directory Guide, or something like that were contractors have small ads ( we are talking 1x1 or 1x2 column inches) I would begin there. You might also look into your local BNI chapter, see if they have a PWing company or not and if not go network with them, that might be a good source too. Beth p.s. Please fill in your signature. :)

Given increased fuel prices, increased food prices, and with different news outlets reporting that we might be in a recession, are you IN REALITY as financially stable this year as 5 years ago? Would you comment on your assessment for the future? Beth

Please add your signature :) And put an ad in your local paper....and make SURE you have insurance! Beth

Well, you just have to be careful how strong and how long you leave them. We use it. Call Rod on 240-876-0693 and ask him how strong he mixes and how long they soak. I know when the sealer is fresh, it's not a huge deal. Beth ps you need the NaOH to strip the sealer...

Degreaser.... Do you have some of Tom's 760? Beth

Thanks for sharing! :) Beth

There is a huge push on Green efforts. Everyone...seems to be going green. Environmental awareness is on everyone's mind. What is your company doing to go green? Beth :groovy3:

What does it mean for us as contractor to use "green" methods? How does it impact our bottom line? What is the perception of the consumer? What is the impact on our business if we don't? Beth

How is your cash flow this year compared to last year the same time? Beth

How is everyone's cash flow compared to last year this time? Beth

How is your cash flow compared with last year this time? Beth

Telescoping wands can be hard to control at times and can cause back strain. We rarely use them anymore, but occasionally we do. Use a back brace when working with them. A lightweight aluminum lance is soooooo much easier to control with an x-jet on the end. You might want to pick up a soft bristled truck washing brush and a long aluminum pole (they are two sections and retract - go up about 12 feet, look in the window cleaning isle). They come in handy for agitating areas you have applied house washing mix to, and it is safer to do a little brushing from a ladder (or at least it feels that way to me) than pulling the trigger on the gun is from a ladder. Simple cherry makes the house smell nice! :) Beth

Rob, One of our machines is 8 GPM and our x-jet shoots up to 60 feet with no wind. The GPM of the machine will play into your range. Also try getting an inexpensive aluminum lance (5, 6, 8 ft take your pick - they also come larger and you can connect two etc) and put that on the gun, and put the x-jet on the end of that to extend your reach. With our other machine, which is 4.6 GPM we get about 35 feet, so you are in line with range based on your machine. Try an aluminum lance. Hope that helps, and remember better the x-jet than washing on a ladder any day. Wind, is your biggest issue.... Beth

Rob, Please upload your attachment rather than copy and pasting it. It throws the formatting off..... Good luck with the deck. Beth

Next time, increase the dwell time to 45 minutes, keep it wet and do not wash until you see the entire deck go black. Each time you wash and reapply you are diluting your solution. If it dries before the color change, re-apply. Rod!~

Take this post for what it is, help. I don't know how far you have gotten or what your knowledge base is regarding business so I will start with the basics. This of course is based upon wood restoration and will vary depending upon which facet of pw'ing you are currently focused on. House washing for most is pretty cut and dry as they measure by sqft/stories or by the type of house and siding they will be cleaning. The following will give you reference and transcend into other pw'ing based upon what you have already learned to do. Charging by sqft -vs- hourly. Well, you need to have a handle on both as I will explain before you can present either. Charging by the hour is a good measure but in order to determine your rates, you need to first determine your productivity rate...ie sqft/hr. Once you have a handle on this, you can be more accurate on your pricing without losing money and still maintain your margins. Solidify your methods for each service you provide. Time yourself or your workers to determine how long it takes under normal circumstances to complete each service (washing, stripping, neutralizing, sanding, defurring, staining/sealing, etc.) How long does it take to do 'X' sqft of ... You must establish a benchmark not only for pricing purposes but also for tracking employee productivity. As you gain experience with this, you will also be able to account for difficulty factors and compute them more accurately into your pricing. Now, let's go hypothetical for a moment. Let's say you want to get paid $50/hr for one man to perform a service. Let's assume that your worker can wash a deck at the rate of 100 sqft/hr and the deck including rails is 250 sqft. Given these variables your formula would look something like this: 250sqft / 100sqft/hr = 2.50 hours 2.50 hours X $50 = $125.00 to wash Now for staining it takes some a little more time and should include prep and in that figure the total time should be averaged based upon when you arrive and start till all is packed up and the job is finished. -this may not be in the exact order but the typical services are here- Set up time = :30 Light sanding the handrails = :20 Application time 1:15 Break down time = :15 Total job time = 2:20 2:20 X $50/hour = $110.00 Carry forward the wash price of $125.00 + $110.00 to seal = $235.00 Now remember, the figures here are just for example. You can plug your own actual numbers in to come up with something more realistic. This is the most basic way to price a job and once it is based upon real time productivity will give you insights into your labor costs. This does not however include prices for products, fuel expenditures and supplies which should be a part of this equation. To determine them lets start by asking these questions: Depletables: -How much plastic will be required? -How much tape will be required? -How many brushes, stain pads/handles? -How much product will this job require? -How much Sand paper will this job require? -How much fuel will the wash require? -How much stripper/cleaner and neutralizer will it require? etc... Tools: Pump sprayer cost? Sander cost? Ladder(s) costs(s)? etc... Most will assume that the tools are already bought but the products and supplies to complete the work will be consumed or disposed of after a few jobs depending on use and durability. But the costs associated with them needs to be included in your pricing. Once you have been able to make a list of all the necessary implements of destruction you need to perform your service you will have the costs that go into your service to plug into your formula based upon which service they are a part of. I'll stop here before I write a book and have to charge everyone who reads a plug nickel for my carpal tunnel syndrome. :) Rod!~

Should have been an easy strip. My questions are: How strong did you mix the HD-80? How long did you let it dwell before rinsing? Did you neutralize? How long did you let the neutralizer dwell before rinsing? Beth