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MudDuck

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Posts posted by MudDuck

  16. Posted · Report reply

    What about shadow boxing the skirt switching every other board (or some in a pattern) to the inside. Staple a critter net around the inside. Wont stop the ground wicking but when time to replace pour a small crete base footer that can be covered up with a little pebble rock for the boards to sit on. Shouldn't be too labor intensive to dig out. Without going back and looking at the pic can you saw in, install a nice vent on each side at the brick wall then knock out the front of the under steps (top board) and put a front vent with a step light there. Just an idea off the top of my head. I doubt the HO is going to go to the expense of doing a major re structure to do it right so your stuck with a "fix". Just have to figure out the most practical one.

  17. Posted · Report reply

    I have found the simi cedar to come out darker than expected in the PTYSP here, The toner comes out darker too but still shows the grain well and doesn't fade as much as I expected when dried but like Alan said, PTP doe's funny stuff sometimes with colors. I don't know what it is but starting to think it depends on what side of the road it was cut down on and what moon phase. People down here think Lowe's is the only supplier and we see nothing else but their product. I've been looking for two years to find a deck other than ptsyp...Havent even heard of one. Lowe's was started here in my town. (1948) The original corp head Q is about the size of a grocery store and it's funny to drive past Lowe's #1 store, it's about the size of a small auto parts store. It's a lawn mower repair shop now. lol It's a mortal sin NOT to buy their product around here but I wished we could get some other woods to go with some of these super high end homes / cabins around here. You'd think a builder woud be ashamed to put a PT wrap around deck on a million dollar home but they do.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    I have a 150.00 min and only do two houses that are mostly brick at that rate. If I feel someone is "shopping" around looking for the cheapest guy in town I'll tell them my min just to get their reaction and get them off my phone if that is the case. If you work for 99 house washes then thats all you will ever get. Your customers won't pay anymore ever,, they will replace you with someone getting 250 before they will pay you 100. With your biz model they own you. I have a very hard time believing the newbie made 620K last yr at his price point. (did he say this was his 2nd yr in biz?) Is there enough hrs in a day to wash that many house's or drives? If you have a 5K mortg and fancy cars to pay for congrats YOUR stuck and YOU HAVE to do low ball jobs because you can't afford NOT to OR stop. You own a job not a business and I'm not sure the job doesn't own you. 620K would be 6200 customers at your rates or there about. 365 days a yr, how many customers is that a day w/ 12 guys? If you had that big of a client base you would be big enough to be known AND know better..I could be wrong, I don't know you from Adams house cat but I think your full of it. You can make money being a lowballer on the short term but you work a lot harder for it and will work yourself out of business. But to be honest I aint buying the story. If one could make 620K being a low baller we all would be doing it.

  19. Posted · Report reply

    My wood work died last year about summertime but the house washes picked up. I don't know whats going to happen this year but I'm adding rock masonry for outdoor living areas. A guy that works for me sometimes forte in a past life was that so I'm going to add it in my advertising and try to parle it into some biz.

    IMO I think people are going to hold onto their money this year like someone else said but expect 2011 to be very good. Going to take it one day at a time this year with no overhead (every things finally paid for). Keep an eye on the comercial bubble this year, Those places will need cleaned when they start re renting them.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Some of them over in Japan can cost 30K for the show quailty ones. (yes they have koi shows like dog shows) I read up on them once and every pond there has a "fish master" guy who like monks spend their entire life devoted to that koi pond. By selection you can go over there and apprintence for 1 year with the master guy living with them working every day from sun up to sun down taking care of those dang things and the pond. They cull off 98 percent of the ones they start to get the perfect shape size colors and markings. The ones here arnt worth that much no matter how big they get. Don't let someone beat you up too bad under the pretense "koi" are worth all that because what you killed is an inbread muntant from petco. People with show imports from Japan wouldn't let you near their pond to begin with before taking them out.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Another deck painter,,,,shaking head.....all due respect but doing decks isn't like painting and pressure washing isn't like paint prepping with a PW. People try to confused the two sometimes but as Celeste stated above.....theres a difference. Ones nothing like the other there two different animals. You have to start all over like learning a new trade. The only thing that carries over I can think is, how to start the pressure washer.

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