Beth n Rod

Oil and water don't mix and even in hybrid formulations it takes some fancy chemistry to make the marriage work. Neither can be applied over the other. Rod!~

Alcohol. It works best on acrylic stains which are water-based. Rod!~

Ron, When did you get into residential work? LOL Look folks, hot water is the best for mixing chems, hands down. When you want to get soaps to foam up in your kitchen sink, do you use hot or cold water? Have you tried both? What do you wash your clothes with? Is it a warm wash and a cold rinse? Did you know that even the temps Rod mentioned will cool somewhat when traveling from the gun to the house? Cooler still when they hit the surface? Beth

You need a mild acid to neutralize with. (oxalic will work fine) Pre-wet the fence lightly, apply the acid, let dwell, then rinse thoroughly. The wood will return tot the natural pH. Beth

The 250 gpl voc for oil based stains is on schedule for a proposal this year with the limits going into effect January 1, 2012. This means it's being delayed another year. It means that those states not effected yet, have another year before this will affect them. I have this straight from an EPA contact. Beth

Not sure of the reluctance to use hot water here. As water is heated, it increases it's solvency and makes the cleaners work better, rinse faster and the results easier to obtain. We use 115* max on vinyl homes, and 150* max on aluminum depending upon what is being removed. Of course, we don't use High pressure either on homes. Just the soaps, brush work and thorough rinsing. In colder weather, we use warm water to wash wood with in order to help the chemicals do their job better. You folks may want to reconsider your position on heated water. Rod!~

John, Sorry my friend but I have to disagree with you. He was told by two bods that I know of specifically NOT to post that letter. He did anyway. The situation he made HE MADE HIMSELF. He walked out onto a limb of a tree way up high, started his chainsaw and cut the limb behind himself. He was told not to climb that tree. Is it a shame we lost him? After that escapade, NO. Do you not remember all the crap that happened in the past and how it hurt the org? This org had JUST turned the corner again and was beginning to look good in public AND to get members. They will get a new ED. Beth

Tony, I have spoken to a couple of BOD members, and the answer from what I can tell from conversations, is all of the above. None of it has been acceptable. Beth

I have been spending the past several days updating our employee hand book and thought to ask others what their thoughts were regarding "At Will" employment or 'Right to Work" and which is applicable in your state? In Maryland, "At Will" is the status quo in employment.:bullistic Rod~

From what I hear, they didn't all know and approve of it in advance. Beth

Doug, I discussed this post with someone today who I respect and prefer not to name, who had heard about the content and who was on the same page with the BOD members. They were aware of Mr Hillborn's desire to post and he was in fact told not to. I got on the phone this morning very early and did some investigating. As a former BOD I was an am livid and disgusted by Mr Hillborn's behavior. He needs to leave his position. Period. Beth

It should not have happened to begin with. Two BOD's told you NOT to post it and you did. Really? Why? What could you possibly hope to gain? What do you think should happen to you as a result of these actions? Do you realize the damage you have done to PWNA? The other day you and I spoke on the phone and you sounded so passionate, so determined to remove yourself from negativity and bashing. You wanted to take the high road and really help the PWNA. What happened to that? Years back there was another ED that did something very similar. The damage done by one particular incident was horrible. It has taken the PWNA YEARS to recover from it, and in one post you have dragged the PWNA back down into the mud. Do you know why? Because of perception. The PERCEPTION is that since you are the ED, you are a voice for PWNA, you have the blessing of the PWNA BOD,a nd lots of folks will not believe you acted on your own, because that's the way it is. People are dramatic. They speculate. You made a horrible decision and now PWNA will undoubtedly suffer for it. That's a shame. I am really glad I am not on the PWNA BOD right now but I can tell you that if I were, the discussions going on would be long and very thoughtful. They would not be easy ones to hold. As a former BOD and as a current member, I sincerely hope that the current PWNA BOD will think long and hard before taking this lightly and brushing it off. You actually traveled to Arizona and looked for him not just once....you STALKED him. If you were to ever do that to me, I would call the police. This is sad, and disgraceful. But the PWNA as an association is not to blame. YOU as an individual are, and if you really respect the PWNA then you need to make a tough decision of your own. Beth p.s. http://www.thepwna.org/aboutus.php

I have said for many years that non-members and members alike need to be treated with respect. So do the BOD of the PWNA. We are all in the same industry together. We need to all work together and be respectful of one another. What this industry does NOT need is negativity and decent. Thank you in advance for remaining respectful in this thread. Beth

I want to be clear to ANYONE posting in this thread, including the PWNA Moderator on behalf of Mike Hilborn. The conversation about threads on other forums STOPS HERE. The discussion about the fact finding tour STOPS HERE. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black, THAT was uncalled for. I don't care what part of it is true, or untrue. To dissect a person's business like that online, will NOT happen on this forum. If the PWNA wants to have a forum here, it will be based upon the rules of conduct on our forums. As an owner, I get to decide what is appropriate. We are members of the PWNA, and have been since 1999. I see no reason for anyone managing an office or sitting on the BOD to publicly discuss any company's business in that kind of detail online, member or non-member. Furthermore, I do not want to see any TGS member responding defensively, attacking, name calling or the like to this post. To the PWNA: You now have 24 hours to EDIT your post above to remove the inflammatory remarks. Otherwise I WILL edit this post. To be pointedly clear there will be NO overflow fighting here, I do not want to make this a place for someone to get the "last word" in. If you want to do that, do it on the *** battlefield. Beth p.s. the search engines INDEX this! Is this how you want to be seen?

Sometimes the hardest part of what we do is not in the work itself. Very often it’s related to the hot buttons that each customer seems to have. These hot buttons vary from customer to customer. Some are easily addressed while others are not. What follows are a few of the hot buttons to look for, and some tips on how to address and avoid them. Please note that if you have bad habits in any of these areas and are not willing to work on them, then merely giving the response and not being true to your word is likely to absolutely infuriate the client, and cost you future business. Simply put, don’t go there. Do it right. Hot Button: I could never get the last guy I hired to return my calls. I had no idea when or if he was going to show up to do the work. Response: You’ll receive a call from our office to let you know when we’ll be out to perform the work, and any calls to our office will be returned. Hot Button: The last guy I hired got over-spray all over the back of my house and never did come back to clean it off. Response: We’ll protect your home and surrounding vegetation with plastics and drop cloths to protect your property from over-spray. We’ll double check before we leave to make sure we didn’t miss anything. Note: If you say you will do this, then do it. Don’t say you will put up plastic and use drop clothes and then not do it. Do you think the customer is not home? Maybe the car is in the garage and they are peeking out of the window. It’s also possible that their neighbor is keeping an eye out for them. Hot Button: I’m not happy with the way my job turned out. The color doesn’t look like I thought it would. It’s too dark. I want you to redo it at no charge to me. I know a lot of people! Response: Ok, this one is tricky. If you guarantee 100% satisfaction, consider redoing the job. However, the client did choose the color so giving in completely may not be necessary. Try to negotiate gently. Only you know where to draw the line. Hot Button: I think my house should have come cleaner. I want you to rewash it at no charge. Response: We’ll be glad to come back out and take a look at the house to see what needs to be addressed. If we agree, we’ll be glad to rewash it at no additional cost. Hot Button: I can’t pay you the day the job is done because I don’t get paid until Friday. Response: I’ll be glad to move your date to Friday for you. Hot Button: You killed my wife’s azalea plant. How could you be so careless?! Response: We’ll be glad to replace it for her. What color were the blooms? Hot Button: My neighbors called me to complain about the noise of your pressure washer! Response: We’re terribly sorry about that. If you could give us your neighbor’s house number and name we’ll be glad to send a letter of apology. Hot Button: You people never returned my call! Response: This one is tricky. If you left it on an answering machine, try asking who picks up the messages off of the machine. If you left it with a person tell the caller the name of the person you spoke to. They’ll still be upset, but hopefully not at you. Ask if there is another phone number where you can reach them directly. Hot Button: There is over spray on my house and you didn’t clean it off! Response: If you did do it, go out hat in hand and apologize and clean it up. But, very often it’s not ours, is it? It’s existing over spray from a prior job. In that case, note on your proposal to the client that there is existing over spray and that you cannot guarantee removal. That way if they do call, you can refer them back to the proposal that they signed, noting the prior conditions. But be gentle when you remind them, always leave them with their dignity and never, ever, make them feel stupid. Hot Button: The last company I hired didn’t explain anything to me. I don’t know what they did to my deck, and I have no idea what sealant is on there. Response: Explain your methods, and all the precautions you take on their property. Give them any company literature you have, and any product brochures or color charts. Tell them about the products you suggest. Customers love to gather information and to be kept informed. Begin to do this when you prepare the estimate. Hot Button: Someone was supposed to come out from your company to wash my house today, and they haven’t showed up yet. You said they would be here this afternoon. When will they be here? (let’s say it’s 3:30 pm) Response: Let the customer know how far out you are. For example, if they call the office, have the dispatcher call the crew in the field. Find out approximately what time they will be arriving. Call the client back immediately with that information. The cherry on the Sunday would be to call about 30 minutes after the crew is due to arrive (mind you, you already know the crew is there because you spoke to them on the radio) and follow up to make sure they did arrive. Ask if there is anything else you can help with. In a case like this you might want to call after the job is done to see how they liked the work too. Three letters here, TLC! Being courteous, polite, prompt and professional goes a long way in keeping customers happy. By treating customers this way hopefully you’ll avoid being labeled as just another contractor. These are just a few of the hot buttons you may encounter. You’ve probably thought of others while reading this. Take a few minutes and consider how to address the hot buttons you encounter most often. Before you know it, you’ll be able to handle even the most difficult customer with ease.

Jim Foley is the guy to talk to. I believe he's done lots of these. Beth

Pau Lope Deck, Ipe, in Chicago. Strip and seal. Remove failed Penofin. Send me a PM for the contact info. Beth

Not so much a fan of AC's toners. But the semi-trans and semi-solids maintain color well. The amount of non-drying oils is sufficient enough to moisturize and also, when you apply wet on wet, you will get more of the non-drying oil into the substrate, and the drying oil will cure closer to the surface. I have never seen AC shine or film, and anyone who is adept at application, will know to not let any product puddle...... Our PT Pine clients - happy. Decks look good. Our Cedar clients - happy. Decks look good. Our Ipe and Teak clients - happy. Decks and furniture look good. Beth

Responses in blue: Armstrong is an easy to maintain product. No worries about it going darker. When cleaning with any type of alkaline cleaner, much of the color will come off. Remember, there is no significant resin to hold it in place like before the VOC changes went into effect. Plan on coating it with the same pigment level as before and it will look just fine each time. Rod!~

Generally, we use a grinder to get in between but under the hand-rail caps, forget it. If you didn't get it with the strip, there is no machine made which will get in those spaces. I would break out the stripper again and concentrate on those areas. It is much easier this way than to sand. Rod!~

If they are truly old and nasty, you might also consider replacement. Beth

Send info to: beth@seedirtrun.com Beth

To me it looks like you didn't coat that floor with enough the first time. We had that result until we began to apply a heavy second coat, and then to touch up extra thirsty boards as needed. I'll also add that the mildew growth we have seen has been on top of, not in or under the AC. Beth

This thread is from 2006.

....it's about time! :lol: Beth