PLD

Good news! Jenny the Great Pyrenees has been rescued! A lady that lives nearby my house called today to inquire about her, thinking that it may be a neighbors dog that gets out a lot. She came and ID'd her and offerred to take her home. Apparently Jenny's owners are not as mindful as they should be and Jenny shows up at her house a lot also. She has become attached to the dog and also quite used to returning her. Now for the bad news: I had not been 15 minutes finishing a HUGE doghouse to house this huge dog when she called. I figured that she'd be here at least 3-4 days, but more likely 3-4 weeks.

Actually there is no mange. His outer coat is nasty from wandering, but if you part his fur back, and at skin level it's white as bleached cotton.

Around here roaming loose is a death sentence. We're outer suburban/semi-rural which means alot of traffic at 60+mph. Our roadsides are littered with dead animals. :( As for dropping mine of at the pound, yes definitely. Because I'd be on the phone with them as soon as I noticed him gone. Been there, done that. Had all the animal shelters within 20 miles on the lookout for him within hours. On bright note, I have located a nearby "semi-kill" shelter. It'll buy him at least 4 weeks, perhaps 2 months if space permits.

I just had a conversation with a great pyr person, and the double dew claws confirms that it is in fact a great pyr. A preliminary examination seems to indicate that it is a girl. No luck yet finding an owner...

Bingo. That is this dog after a good bath. I think the stubby legs may be an artifact of the picture and translations to web. I was standing over him/her, and he was afraid of the camera and trying to dodge it. I'm guessing he stands at least 2-3ft high. Big dog.

That's a good thought.

The only no-kill is the Fayette county humane society and they are completely full with a waiting list and countless animals fostered in the volunteers homes. Our dog is a family member. As I sit here in the bed typing, he's trying to root me off my pillow. Not to lay on either, he puts just his head on it like we do. And if I get up to get water, he will take my spot and give me a dirty look when I come back to claim it. This is not an easy decision for me. But I've got to put the welfare of my 5 critters first.

Now that you say that, I believe you are right. I knew I had seen that breed before, I just couldn't place it. And "polar bear" is exactly how I described him to my wife. Him paws are the size a woman's fist. He does need a summer cut. I walked him today, and he was panting himself to death. If you wanna see funny, I summer shave my long hair cats except for head, legs, and feet. They look like a poorly made lion costume.

Russ, Your PM is full so I'm answering here... I'm with you. He's presently tied to a tree, and I just got home from an hour of tacking signs to poles in the likely radius for the morning rush. As far as keeping him til Monday; As sad as I am about it, that's not happening. My dog is only bound by an invisible fence that runs the perimeter of the yard. He's VERY territorial, and an interaction between him (10#) and the new guest (80#) would end badly. The cats already went NUTS when they saw him this afternoon. If I just had a fenced backyard, this wouldn't be a problem. I fostered a few strays at my old house, but that had a chain link fence, and I had no dog then. I plan to make a few calls tomorrow and see if I can locate someone that will loan me a yard. He's definitely not a "stray" He's got a petsmart brand collar, is slightly overweight, and despite the fact that his hind quarters are matted he's in clean shape for an outside dog. When I said "dirt, tangles, and burrs" I meant as in family pet, fairly clean, but lost for 3-4 days. He doesn't even stink. A washtub and some shampoo and this dog gets to sleep inside again. As far as "release him in a nearby upper middle class neighborhood with lots of kids": In that case, I should have just left him him free to roam when he walked up. :) Perhaps I'm the sucker that someone else was using your tactic to locate. :) Seriously guys, if anyone knows someone that can house this dog I need your help. Our humane society is so overrun that that are no longer accepting any new pets. That leaves only me and the pound. I'm good for 2 days tops (today & tomorrow), and the pound is good for 3 days. That means that our furry friend has until tuesday to find a home.

Perhaps the pics are deceiving, but I just don't see this as a one day job. If it were the whole building surface, we're looking at more like 37-42,000 square feet of wall. But they only want the precast done (no brick) and there is glass adjacent to half of it which means tons of masking, etc cleanup. It's only 4700sq.ft. of work, but it's in 5 bands 6"-10" wide and located 4-10ft apart. Also, there's 250lin.ft. (1150sq.ft) or precast in a enclosed courtyard that will have to be laddered. No access for a lift. FWIW, access hours are after 5pm and on weekends. Based on SunBrite prices, I'm at $391.00 for sealer alone. Add in $250/day for a lift and $240/day for labor. Assuming that I can get it done in 2 days, that's $1400 in expenses. And that ignores fuel, insurance, etc. Throw the whole nut in there, and I'm at $384/12hr day operating expenses. Now we're at $1700+ in expenses. At $0.50/ft that's only $2350.00 for the job. Not for me... I bid $3.00/sq.ft. and plan on 14 working days. I'll let you know how it works out. As always, all comments are welcome.

Hang in there, you'll make it. Flyer like hell for quick work with minimum cash outlay. That'll buy you some time to save for and plan a more organized marketing campaign.

More pics...

Here are the pics.

Thanks for the update. I am facing exactly the same thing, and oddly I just replaced my shorted out hourmeter as well. Was it an APW unit? If so, watch for the fuse holder. Mine was rated at 10A and got so hot it finally cooked itself. I replaced with a 30A holder and all is well now.

After a year of pressure washing, I have finally decided that not wearing eye protection is a pretty dumb. And, it's not just my keen insight into the future that lead me here. After long days my eyes are pretty watery and blury (like too much pool time when you were a kid). Anyway, I started with clear poly impact glasses. They worked pretty good but I could never manage to keep them clean enough to see. Next was a pair of "splash googles" suitable for chemical use and marketed as anti-fog. They look alot like your typical high school lab glasses and were anything but anti-fog. I was completely unable to see within 30 seconds of putting them on. Into the can they went, and another day without eyewear. Today, I looked hard at a flip down full face shield. Looks like a clear welding helmet. Often seen in the medical field as a "splatter shield". Looks very promising, but it's is un-useable with the two big canisters sticking off the front of my face (I have a half face respirator from Lowes that works great except it's a bit heavy on the bridge of my nose). All that said... I don't mind getting a full face if it will not fog (for certain) and I can get it locally. I'd like a solution that I can get my hands on pretty quickly (tomorrow). It has to be one that will work with (or in place of) my respirator. Thoughts?

Similarly, I am fond of a 40100 (aka 4010) for these tasks.

That works for higher ratios. You need to do the math in steps when you get down to tight ratios like 1:2 & 1:3. Example: 12% bleach at 1:2 premix = 4% solution. 4% solution cut again 1:3 = 1.0% solution (4:33). Simple algebra would have yielded 1:6 or a 1.7% solution which is about twice as strong as what you're actually getting.

That's the part of this business I dislike. My clients are primarily residential, and I work like a dog to keep my guy working. I'm not exactly thrilled about night work, but the idea of being booked well ahead is very appealing to me. Any tips for landing the first few commercial jobs?

If it's plastic casters like my hydrotech, the wheels are fine. The bearings that allow the wheels to swivel perpendicular to the concrete stay rusty. They get a show of WD-40 nearly 3x per week. I now have a 24" BigGuy and the hydrotech never gets used.

Funny you should bring this up. I'm actually been re-considering PW'ing for some time now. I enjoy it overall, but between taking calls, running quotes, scheduling the guys, go-backs, billing, etc. It's a tremendous overhead relative to the payback. Not that business next will be less work, but getting paid $1-200 (profit) per job is not much reward/effort. Personally, this business and I will only work out long term if I can manipulate it into a position where each job is no less than one full day for two men. 1-2hrs overhead for $800 (rev) I can handle. 1-2hrs overhead for $185 (rev) is just not worth it. My next venture? Grow my internet biz 5x, and start rehab/flipping property. FWIW, my biggest difficulty today is that I am 37, have a family, nice house, etc. All the accoutrements of a successful upper-middle class life. Even with no nonessential debt (i.e. house, modest cars), my present life creates and income floor that is difficult to create in a startup business. I am managing alright, but it leads to a trememdous amount of stress as I bob in the ebbs & flows of a start up business. Some weeks I am elated, others I fret each day as I try to put together enough business to cover this months basics. Yes, I know I need to re-evaluate my business plan, obtain adequate financing for 3 years, and work my way out of debt and into success. But that is a go for broke scenario. And while I am more than willing to assume that risk for myself, it's not one that I am comfortable imposing on my family should it go badly. Any comments are welcome. I am neither thin skinned, shy about airing my laundry, nor shy about critisicm, so fire away.

Regarding the pole, I use an 18' from the paint store. The inner shaft is hexagonal aluminum and pin-lock, and it is much stiffer than a round pole and has no collar to losen or bind. It weighs very little, and I highly recommend it over any round, twist lock pole. As for the brush I have always found that that those that carry pin lock poles (the ends, that is) do not carry truck brushes and those that carry truck brushes only have screw on ends. I did as john did and put a SS screw into it. I did pilot it rather than use a self-tapper. But unless the plastic is hard, it should not matter. The paint store does carry pin-lock->twist lock adapters. You could always put a few dabs of epoxy into the threads and screw the adapter in. Bingo, pin lock brush head. I just didn't feel like spending an additional $8 when I had a screw and drill in the truck.

This is continued from a thread on Hurricane Relief work. I've just started reseaching business credit this summer, so here's what I know so far. Please feel free to add/correct as you wish. A DUNs number is free. Fill out a few forms, they call to verify some info. One such item is that you are listed in the book under the filed name. I was not at the time, but I forget how I got around that. For $499 D&B will call 5 of your creditors and start/build a credit file for you. From what I understand the agents are comission driven and the fee is highly negotiable (rumors of $199 are common). Unless your file gets started, you file will be empty. Not bad credit, but rather no credit. In the personal world they call this a thin file. Just like when most of us started out trying to get your first loan. If you obtain credit from creditors that report to D&B, your fill will build itself (for free) just like personal credit. Unlike personal credit, many (most?) creditors do not report to D&B. It may pay to ask before you take a line of credit if they report to D&B. If you are not incorporated, you are "in business" and not "a business". A such you will never begin the process of establishing business credit. If you wish to establish business credit, your incorp name, business license, phone book listing (reportedly a must), DUNS file, creditors ALL need to have IDENTICAL records (name addy phone) for your credit file to fill out properly. Get a dedicated business line (paid at business rates) in your business name and also a permanent dedicated fax number. The phone line is neccessary for identity continuity and the fax apparetly indicates a greater level of seriousness and permanence. Anyone know how efax is viewed in this light? How long your business checking account has been established plays into your credit score. If you are using a personal account, open a business account now to start the clock. Never close that account even if you go dormant for a few years or change names later. $10,000-$39,000 minimum balance is neccessary to earn a score of a "low 5" for your banking history. A low 5 is the entry point to being an acceptible risk for a business loan. At least one site recommends borrowing $10,000 (if neccessary) and keeping it in your biz checking as a floor. Non-personally secured loans are very difficult to obtain. Incorporation, 2yrs in business, and a good biz credit score are the minimum to be considered. Business loans have exceedingly high denial rates, and each denial hurts your credit badly. Speak with a loan officer on an informal basis about requirements for acceptance before making a formal application. Secured loans are not reported to D&B as anything but a loan. If you have 10k to spend on equipment, you may be wise to speak with your banker and see if they will extend a business loan secured by cash on deposit rather than paying cash. If they are a reporting entity, you will now have a business loan and hopefully a good payment record on file. Many "business" credit cards are not. They are a personally secured card with your company name on them. Amex is a big seller of these (I have one). They report personally and have no effect on your business credit score. From what I hear, "Visa business" is very hard to get with a high denial rate. This may not be the best place to start trying to build business credit. All that said, I have a few questions for the group: I have three businesses that are all operated as sole proprietorships. One is an internet business, the other PW, the third real estate/rental property. For my own records, I keep all three seperate (records, bank accts, etc) so I can track business metrics. But, for the purposes of establishing myself as a larger, older, more credit worthy entity should I merge all three and incorporate as one larger entity? It would cause havoc with the business metrics, but it would more than double my average monthly balance and keep them much more stable across seasonal fluctuations. Would 3 corps and a holding company be better? Any thoughts/comments/criticism welcome.

Yes, and lest anyone be confused and mistakenly part with $499. A DUNs number is free. Fill out a few forms, they call to verify some info. One such item is that you are listed in the book under the filed name. I was not, but I forget how I got around that. For their $499 "deal" they will call 5 of your creditors and start a credit file for you. From what I understand the agents are comission driven and the fee is highly negotiable. Unless your file gets started, you file will be empty. Not bad credit, but rather no credit. In the personal world they call this a thin file. Just like when most of us started out trying to get your first loan. If you obtain credit from creditors that report to D&B, your fill will build itself (for free). Many (most?) do not. It may pay to ask before you take a line of credit if they report to D&B.

It is unlikely that you will need such a pump. If you do, it will need to be rated higher than your pump volume and either flow actuated or unloaded back into the tank. In either case, this introduces one more opportunity to fail. It is a common misconception that the tank outlet needs to be higher than the pump inlet to draw. As long as the water level in the tank is higher then the pump inlet you will draw just the same provided you purge the line of air. One caveat of this setup is that you will have an unuseable "dead" section of flooded tank between the pump inlet and the tank bottom. Actually that dead space will be the between the pumps maximum lift (measured from inlet down) and the tank bottom. But to err on the side of caution, assume that the max lift = 0. In this situation, I recommend that you feed your supply line into the same pipe (let's call it a "supply buss") that runs from the tank to the pump and pump a ball valve in between the supply and the tank. This will allow you to bottom feed the tank and/or run off line pressure as neccesary. By completely closing the valve you run off line pressure only. By partially closing the ball value, you can fill the tank (albiet slower) and maintain positive pressure at the pump head. A cleaner approach is to put a low pressure check value (ball & cage type) between the tank and the supply buss (opening into the buss) and a normal check value from the buss to the tank top (facing the tank top). This will keep your pump head at supply line pressure while allowing any "overage" water to pipe into the tank. If the supply is difficient, the tank will flow into the pump head. Note that neither of these arrangements will eliminate the dead space mentioned earlier. Philip

Great. Thanks for the lead!