Proclean

Can't resist. OK. The left side of the 1 year old Ipe board has been sanded. The right side is weathered for 1 year. The top of the left hand side has been sanded & stained. The lower left hand side has just been sanded. Look at the right hand side. Who would spend 20K plus to say wait 1 year and we'll make your deck deck new. I sell my decks on looks and how I can make them always look great. I will only comment on this thread is that my customer wants the best looking deck from day one. Maybe instead of being the "expert" listen to what the customer want and expects. Paul

I'll thow in my .02 since you are in Atlanta. I'll also agree with what has already been said. "Are we pricing too high for this area?" No. you are pricing to low. Forget about linear feet, stories or etc. The company has to make money everyday. What is your customer base? 100k condos or multi million dollar homes. It is your job to educate the customer what you are going to do and what materials you are going to use. I could post many examples of this, but the customer is so confused about pricing and not understanding the work to be performed other than "pressure wash the house." I've been hired and home owners have told me that they wouldn't let the other contractor sweep the driveway. "If you are looking for the cheapest price, then I am not the contractor for you." I'll also throw in a very powerful sales/marketing tool. Always include in your quote "100% satisfaction quaranteed" Those words alone will seperate you from your $125's. Read the board. Ken has posted a lot of info on this subject. In my market, I wouldn't touch a house for less than $325. I'm running a business, not extra money on the weekends.

Thanks Guys/Gals. The whole thing is sealed now. Landscape is going in the beginning of next week. I'll post a pic after the whole job is complete.

Winter is really hanging on, but here is a project the guys finished today. I'm going by next week and take some pictures after the landscape is done. The bottom deck alone is about 1000 sqft on the floor. This pic is done about mid day. This job from start to finish is 2 days.

Just got back tonight after 3 days in Orlando. Great Expo & Seminars. Great to see old friends. You Thompson's guys can be proud. Great looking booth with 2 flat panels. Weather was perfect.

Hey, when the weather gets cold you have to stain inside:). I don't post much but I thought some might like this. This a privacy wall that is going on a new deck. This is part of the job. It is great to stain under a controlled situation then move it to the job site. You see the new wall section compared to the stained sections Color is Brown sugar. Short story is I had to do the staining myself:lgsad:

Check this out. This all happened in a 1 week period last summer. Ken, the bottom step was my treatment and solution. If I told you what I did, I would have to kill you. I know you are too nice of a guy to do that. I can say that bleach did not work. You'll have to wait and buy my book on wood restoration to find the answer:) I will only post my solution if Jim's answer will work on my test board. Batter Up.

Yeah Ken, another great post. It would be a great round table for us to discuss our business models and how we all take care of and find customers. Take for example what someone uses for stain. If that is what you use, great. Next topic. I also believe that customer satisfaction is the key. I started out just like anyone else. Right now I am having a hard time turning down business and have implimented a "deck assesment fee" to help weed out people. Other contractors in Atlanta are doing this. You hit the nail on the head as far as new customers. By year 3 you should have enough referrals and old customers for it to be a great year without any marketing. Disclaimer: Now in some areas this may not work. Again, great post.

Ken, That is what I started seeing on Siberain Larch about 1 1/2 years ago. Look at this pic. It starts with those small specs and turns to this in less than 1 year. This wood comes from Russia. Give me a call.

It is only Wednesday and these pics show Brown Sugar on Cedar and PTP thus far this week. You can't see the Ipe floor on the painted deck. Painted & stained. Another 5K sq. feet for Thurs & Fri.

Wow, what a thread. Just got back after a couple of days off. Guys still working though. Look at the thread from last week called garapa. That is Brown Sugar on cedar, PTP and garapa.

I thought I would share these pics. Garapa will always have one side with the "hump" marks. Not 100% of Garapa will have the marks, but it should. The second pic is a little white washed due to the camera angle. It is more of a "light" wood and takes color very well. Deck/ceiling is all WTW Brown Sugar.

Kevin, You are right on. AND remeber this: IT IS A FENCE. Here in Atl it is about $15 a lin foot for a 6 foot high cedar. With the right tools you can knock out some fence. Priced per square foot will kill you in my opion.

BigMan, Give me a call. I can give you prices of what is going on in the Atlanta market. Do you still have my cell #? WTW works great on fences.

Yaz, Strip & Seal. Cedar, PTP, T111 and Trex. Cabots oil Cedar goes on. My life revolves around what my workers want to do. They are my life blood & if they want to work weekends, they let me know. They also remember the winter time when we ONLY do 8-10 decks a month (which is Jan-Feb).