PressurePros

Awesome... I admire someone that is proactive instead of sitting on their laurels complaining.

The UN has offered financial help as well as quite a few foreigns. I don't know about pulling the race card. Unfortunately Katrina chose a path through a very economically depressed part of the country. Did this make any difference in rescue response time? I doubt it. I think plain old bureaucracy was the culprit there. Too many government departments, too many chiefs without a clue and the result is people half starve to death..sad. FEMA for all it's planning and forecasting f'd up. The tsunami rescue efforts and temporary relocation went much smoother from all I can tell. Hypothetically speaking and for all of those that say the media, and all levels of government should have done more (as they sit and type on their computers)..let me ask you this: There are a half million minority, unskilled, below poverty income people that need a home. Would you be overjoyed if they were relocated to your neighborhood? It will be interesting to watch as the aftermath sympathy fades and reality sets in.

So true about attention span.. even we here are guilty about hollering how much more gas is going to cost us when we should thank God we still have vehicles to drive, a business to generate income, and families to support us. Taking these things for granted can be easily remedied by a catastrophe like Katrina.

Mike, put one of those bean bag rounds between the eyes of anyone you see running from a store with a TV for me. I wanna reach through my screen and choke one of them, but no joy.

It must suck going through life that unhappy.

:usa: Three cheers for the red, white and blue. Long live capitalism!

I'm sure those fish that are floating with one eye towards the sun are thanking you (jokin') Be careful what you put in print though Jon.

If my supplier called me and raised the price on my next shipment I would raise the price. Maybe not that second, but I would watch my competition and if someone raised three times per day, so would I. There is very little margin in gas, a chance to make some extra money on it is not a wicked thing. The owner of the quickie mart was a straight up a$$hole. What goes around comes around... Rising gas prices are not an indicator of recession or excessive inflation. It's root economics. If you want to put an end to this crush, you have to contribute to lowering the demand. This will be a good thing in the long run. It will push the advent of more plentiful fuel sources. It will make car manufacturers squeze every last drop of economy from their engines. I'm still not sure why we cannot build more refineries but hey I'm just a powerwasher, what do I know. PS: Someone complaining that their SUV is costing them a fortune in gas just cracks me up. Get a clue.

I like it on the dock..very nice color. You did a swet job bringing that thing back to life. Is this your first experience with an acrylic? If not, how long of a life have you gotten from the Flood?

Someone doing research before their first job.. awesome! Welcome to the board, Trent..What area are you specializing in?

Oh my Gosh, I haven't filled my 35 gallon tank since Sunday. It was $75 then....

Jesus, John. What in the hell are you planning on cleaning with all of this industrial sized equipment?

A professional is going to use the right materials for the job. The detergents we use are far superior to anything a homeowner could buy. I am confused as to how you could ask what chemicals you would need to use, but then mention you have all the materials and you just need a quote for labor. If you do decide to DIY I would forego the use of chemical strippers. Powerwash of the flaking paint, seal with Cabot's Problem Solver Primer and use Cabot's Solid Decking Stain with teflon.

Mirage, anything outside is going to require a good amount of maintenance and you sound like me, I like things to be clean. Amortize the cost of a TRUE wood restoratoration professional keeping your deck healthy and aesthetically beautiful and you are probably looking at a couple dollars a day. To me, anything with which I take pride and pleasure is worth at least that much. Bottom line, the guy you hired was not qualified to do the job. By coming here you have exposed yourself to some of the best wood contractor's in the country. I'm not shy in saying my work is top notch. I stand behind everything I do 100%. Please don't let the previous work shy you from hiring a pro. At least now you are eductated to what to look for in a contractor... Professionalism On Time Uses the right detergents for the job Has plenty of references Has enough liability insurance to cover your property and...... when there is a problem, he fixes it! Best of luck to you.

This will be a great learning experience for you.. trial by fire is one of the best ways to learn. Rather than get into every scenario you might encounter, do a search on this board using terms like 'housewashing', 'gutter cleaning', and 'X-Jet'

I think Hiroshima had more buildings standing. My heart goes out to those people for what they will have to deal with both in the immediate future and for the rest of their lives. For them life will be defined as before Katrina and after Katrina. I hope everyone reading this will participate in the rebuilding in any way they can.

Awesome, I look forward to it, Russell.

Great career path we have chosen, eh? Add me to the list of afflicted. I was told by my neuro to never go to a chiropractor to have an orthopedic MD adjust spinal alignment. Don't underestimate the power of massage. The muscles in your back will compensate for injury and then you end up feeling more day to day pain. There is also a buildup of lactic acid in the muscle which actually turns into scarring limiting your mobility even more. I get one once a week and it has helped tremendously. At least I can still walk upright after a ten hour day.

SealMaxx for a driveway... not a problem it has a decent enough track record I suppose. To use on a deck, no way. I have dealt with representatives of their product and they are evasive. I have not heard one testimony of positive results. I personally think the whole "guaranteed for 25 years" thing is an outright scam based on no scientific data or real world results.

What colors are you guys using for uniforms? I have used dark colors which are great when sealing, but terrible when doing a housewash. My laborers have gone through them at very rapid rates. I am thinking of having two depending on the work..One would be a khaki colored shorts/pant with an off-white shirt and the other black shorts/pant with navy or black shirts. Any input or experience with a one color fits all approach?

My God, I just head if a Cat 4 or 5 storm were to hit N.O directly 40-60 thousand people will lose their lives. My prayers are with them all.

See my post above. To cover yourself, have a written contractual agreement with details of the work to be performed signed by the homeowner, and before and after pictures. With these things in hand you have legal recourse.

The way I word it is this.. Fifty percent of the project is due at the end of the first day's work. The remainder is due when the customer walks outside, looks at the work and likes what they see. I don't take deposits because so many people have been burned with contractors and I want them to feel secure using PP. Getting the fifty percent pays myself and my guys for the day's work and also pays for the materials and sealer. After my dilemma with Mrs DB, I now stress to people that work cannot begin unless someone is there to hand me a check. I really hate having to do business this way, but it only takes getting burned once. My only outstanding balance right now is a guy whom held escrow to have his house cleaned (at stettlement) and I am waiting for the escrow manager to release my check. It's been two weeks and I made the guy sign a contract saying if I didn't get my money in 14 days from project completion he is on the hook for it.

That half looks awfully bright...bleach cleaning or other? Great job on it...

I had a lady. I underbid the project intentionally because she had three kids, single mom and her deck was incredibly nasty. I went to her the morning we were completing that we would be finished by noon and that the remaining half was due upon completion. She looks me right in the eye and told me she would have the check ($750) When I knock up her kids say she had to run out and she would mail the check. I knew right away I was in trouble but I had a signed contract and a digital copy of the first half she paid. I called her every day for a week. I remailed her an ivoice with a SASE. The second week I sent a personalized letter via registered mail. I explained to her that she was taking food from my children's mouth and how, as a parent, could she do that in good conciense. I call every few days (always messages) I offered her terms..never a call back.... The third week I informed her I was filing a contractor lien against her property. I called her the fourth week and told her the time was up and that on Monday I was filing liens, a civil action and criminal charges (an obvious bluff). It worked.. last Wednesday, to my surprise, I opened a letter and out popped a $700 check..the deadbeat still got me for $50 Since that day I will not discount a nickel to anyone, young, old or impoverished. It's unfortunate that losers like this lady (she drives a Mercedes SUV I later found out) spoil it for mankind. --Thanks