N.B. DECKS

Ok so I've been purchasing most of my supplies at lowes or Home Depot and I was curious where most contractors were purchasing there stuff. I'm mainly talking about brushes, tarps, sand paper, plastic...things like this. I want to get a roll of material I can use for tarps. Any ideas? Thanks

I usually have a set price for whenever I'm doing an entire wash and stain job. I've seen some contractors charge per square foot for washing. if they only want a wash I would simply charge by square foot. If they want a complete wash and stain job I would charge a set amount.

I was wondering if any of the contractors here have gotten involved with any home owners associations or with any Property Management Companies? I am looking to try and expand my business through the use of strategic alliances and I thought these 2 areas would be a good way to start. I am kind of at a loss for how to get into this, any suggestions would be great. Thanks

Hey Guys, over the past year (2007-2008) I was looking for a way to help me become better organized with some of my business finances and protection. I was working with a financial planner who showed me a really cool tool that has helped me tremendously and I feel a lot more at ease knowing I have a lot of things worked out I never thought of before. You should check out this website. www.livingbalancesheet.com give me a call if you have any questions.

Ok, so my deck work will be coming to an end in about 3 months and I need to do something for the next 4-5 months. Any suggestions? One more question. What is the average number of decks you do per year. My number has been steadily climbing but it's not at the amount where I don't need to do anything in the winter.

wow, Isn't it great dealing with someone in a head position that is barely out of highschool? I am trying to get some commercial work up here in PA, but of all the phone calls i've made i get the secretary, who won't transfer me to a decision maker, telling me they don't need my services. I hate dealing with people who don't know anything.

Thanks for the imput:lgbounces however I need to make money during the 4-5 months of winter up here in PA, So Hawaii is my last option. I currently do between 40-60 decks in a season.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get white overspray off of a black weber grill cover? I've been using goof off, anything else better? Thanks

Ok I've been searching the internet for hours and can not find 1/2 sheet pre-cut sand paper for my Milwaukee 6010-6 1/2 sheet Orbital Sander. Does anyone know of a site or place that sells, in bulk, 1/2 sheet sand paper? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks.

I am up in the air about hiring help. Right now I have plenty of work to hire some help, I just don't know if it's the right time. If I do the work the work myself and with one other guy I make more profit, But if I hire 2-4 people to do the work and I spend my time on doing estimate (which is my ultimate goal) I make less but get the work done quicker. I guess I was wondering how long into your businesses did you higher workers, how many you started out with, and how it helped or affected the bottom line?

Just wondering what everyones method is for locking down a job. Do you require your customer to put 50% down b/4 any work is done, or do you wait until the entire job is completed to collect the $$? My method is to collect 50% when I do the cleaning of their deck and then collect the final payment when the job is completed.

so far 2008 has been a little confusing, I've had a lot of repeat customers, which I love easy $$, a lot more new customers, raised my prices and closing about 75-80% of my customers. The rain has been killing me this year, most people have been pushed back about a week, but other than that a great start to my season.

Holiday lighting is a very profitable business. I just started a Xmas lighting business up here in PA and we did pretty well with it. I will say it takes patience and nerves. We did a lot of homes that wanted there roofs outlined, and being highend homes they were about 25-30ft off the ground. Not to much fun on a 40' ladder with gust of wind at 20mph. I went through a company called wehangchristmaslights.com, they are very good and very helpful. definitely worth looking into. As far as advertising for this business, yard signs are the best. We started advertising in November just b/4 thanksgiving and in about a month we did 40 estimates, landing about 1/2. average job was about $850 with about 25% going to cost.

Just wondering how many of you out there sand your decks before sealing or staining them? I sand down just about every deck no matter what condition it is in, brand new or 50 years old I sand it. I think it helps the look of the deck. I've done decks without sanding them and I don't think they look as good as when I do sand them. Just want to see how many people sand or don't sand and why.

Ken, I like the way you do 4 sq. ft per linear feet. Over the years I've been counting every spindle and charging that way, which worked pretty well seeing that most decks probably average about 100 or so spindles, but it took a while to count all of them. Thanks for the input. How far is havertown from Quakertown, PA. I do most of my work in bucks and montgomery county.

Ken, when you do your pricing for a deck do you just charge a flat rate per s/q ft? The company I use to work for, and the way I do it now, breakdown the final price into different catagories. ie: sq. ft, sanding, cleaning, spindles etc. I do it this way so it appears to the customer that they are getting a lot for their money, and I think it helps justify the price in their head by seeing all the work that goes into it.

When I say sand I mean only sand the horizontal services (floor & handrail). I usually set the nails, which in most of the decks I have done there are not a whole lot sticking up, and then QUICKLY sand the floor. I've been doing this for about 9 years (5 with another company and 4 on my own) and have always sanded. Thanks for all the input so far, it is definitely a help.

I've been doing all residential work for the past 3 years which has been profitable for me and I am expecting a lot of repeat work this year!! I would like to branch out and start doing some commercial work. What would be the best way of getting my foot in the door to start this? I'm going to send out mailers to property management companies in my area. Does anyone else have any other suggestions to land some commercial jobs?

Hey everyone. I'm new to this forum but not new to the power washing industry. I've been doing deck washing and sealing and power washing for about 10 years now. For about 6 of those years I was working for another company as a crew leader, and about 4 years ago I branched out on my own and started my own business, which I have seen grow consistantly grow over the past 4 years. My question is what is the best place to get chemicals to wash any kind of siding, gutters etc. I've been doing alot of research on the internet and on this forum but wanted to get some of your direct opinions. I'm excited that the season is about to get going here soon and want to make some continuous improvements in my business.