bill3752

My son, in Chicago, is having his deck cleaned and stained. Contractor looked at deck and said there was a surface stain on now, and was going to PW then apply a semi-trans called Rymer. Anyone heard of this? Anyone in Chicago interested in looking at this job? He is in Wrigleyville. I want someone who wishes to do this correctly - i.e. strip stain and brighten prior to staining. If no one local is interested, I may go up myself and do, but this is a long trip for me. Thanks in advance.

Good thread. I have a land line (separate from home phone), with distinctive ring - main office number and fax number. My phone does not ring that often, so don't need the dedicated fax line. About half of my invoices get faxed directly from my computer through fax machine to customers. Use dialup; when I move to cable /DSL I will have the decision to make about getting rid of land line. Several good ideas for me to consider in earlier posts. I don't the option of using an answering service was mentioned above, which might be useful for the small, but growing biz.

Like many of the above, I use a PO Box with no problems - mainly dealing with builders. As Mike said, I like separating biz from home. I go thru all my mail at the PO, which allows me to toss out crap, discard remittance envelopes,etc.

For most small business, the normal question is SubS / LLC vs. sole proprietorship (SP. We are a sub S, and as such any income is treatable as if we were a SP - this may contradict one of the earlier messages. My main reason for using a Sub S is provide an extra level of liability protection as mentioned earlier. Hard to differentiate benefit of Sub S over LLC, as differences are not significant for very small business. One of main concerns of some is the seeming complexity of incorporating. In most states this is not difficult to do yourself. Have done it w/o an Atty once, and about to do it again. Contact you Dept of State for info. Good luck

I have problems with both couplers and plugs. Tony I can sometimes revive the plugs as you do - I use a wire wheel on a grinder. I do use a SS plug on my XJet, as I am applying strong acid with it.

Chem Engr/Finance dude; worked for chemical companies as engr, engr/quality/production mgr, and plant manager.

We are mainly dragging our hoses across new construction lots (dirt, sand, bricks, etc.); cold water. We consider our flat work to be a clean environment. We had been getting the cheap SS from China - they failed (not rusted) fairly quickly. Have had best luck with Breco brass. I have tried every type of lubricant and have found the best for us is simple motor oil.

I have found the SS ESpec fitting to not stand up to rough use, compared to the brass. Noticeable difference in rusting however.

Good comments. When I started looking for a biz, I looked at several franchises. I decided the negatives (royalty, less personal decision making) exceeded the positives (jump start on business, less risk of failure, programmed methods). I think the non-franchise route was better for me, but would be a good idea for many others. Doubt I could have got going on a shoestring in either case, unless I did not need to make much that 1st year.

Depend on application. I have a 150 psi Shur Flo with viton rings, etc. because I handle strong acids. I use the largest pump that uses the design with no screw in the chemical path (corrosion issue).

As the majority of my business is in new home construction, I belong to the local Home Builders Association.

I would probably be considered a "true lurker", but I rarely post messages, for a couple of reasons. First, I often am not as knowledgeable as others on some subjects (my primary biz does not currently match with others on board are doing), so my input would not be as valuable. Second, I don't like repeating information, so if a question has been asked & answered, I figure everyone benefits when I don't recycle info. Third, there is the time element - usually I fire through messages, reading only those of "high priority".

Think office is 1-800 - extreme

Would love some advice. I am looking at purchasing a good sized wood restoration business, and have some questions. 1. Seller produces its own stain using an oil, and pigments formulated to meet desired color, etc. Don't know formulations yet, but would like to know what types of oils I should stay away from (i.e. if current formula has a problematic oil, I will probably walk away). 2. Should mildewcide be added? 3. He is doing a lot of wood sided houses (mainly cedar), and log homes, and some decks? 4. Looked at Ready Seal for decks a couple of years ago, and really liked it. Probably would consider adding it as an alternative to current fomulation. Anyone know what the general composition of RS might be. 5. For larger jobs, what % of the total cost does your stain normally run? Any quick input would be deeply appreciated, as I need to make a tentative decision on this within a couple of days. Thanks, Bill

Like Bob, I get a cedar tree, despite my allergies and tons of needles. Have been getting off of my grandfather's old farm property since a young boy (nearly 5 decades worth). Tradition is coming to an end, as the remaining property is being developed. This year's tromp through the woods may my last nostaligic deed!