PressurePros

That would help the toning issue, but the fact remains that ACQ treated wood is terrible (when it comes to staining) for the 3 months its down. Even the KD stuff sucks.

LOl.. 'nuff said. :zipit:

Strong acid or strong bleach and a couple months exposure to the sun helps but.. you can count on the fact that in one year that the new PTP will be nearly bare. Let the homeowner know you will be back for maintenance.

Richard, I went with the Herculiner. It feels hard as nails. I was also concerned about solvent spills as the product is solvent based and it mentions on the can that repairs can be made at any time. If it can bond to itself then that means the Acetone (Zylene or whatever) chemically changes the surface. All said and done it cost me $110, 2 hours to prep and clean and an afternoon to apply product. You can see there is already crap on it after a week. I've tried scraping an area with a flat head screw driver and the stuff won't budge.

Beth, that's Dan's deck. I think he was trying to make a point of how he could scrape away the Timber Oil. Unless there was a curing oil or acrylic in that formula, he should not have been able to do that. I do remember Russell saying something about adding some resins to the product to take it a step above RS. I've never used Timber Oil, so I cannot comment any further on the product.

Anthony, your best bet is to try and come up with a s/f number and multiple by a factor. For every linear foot of railing multiply that by 7 to get your square footage. That will factor your fascia/band board. On that size job I would multiply the total square footage (of all the wood) by $1.40. Some companies may go as low as $1.00 others up to $2.00

You listed everything but square footage of the floor.. unless I missed it. I'll give you an idea to get you started.. that 200' of handrail alone is going to be $1800+. People have mentioned they have two prices.. full price and free. Don't discount for a friend.. you won't win. Unless you are not in the business and just helping him out then you can do it for a case of beer if he buys the Behr (stain).

Definitely more than parafinic oil in that product. Must contain some resin solids/curing oil.

I just started on a quest to bedline the vans as they are getting trashed. Did the first one last week. I wanna see how it holds up to solvents.

Get a room, you two. In your case, a cedar paneled log cabin. :winking: Happy Birthday, early, Beth. In case I miss it.

How old/established is your company? I'm gonna guess by the basis of your question, its fairly new. Steer clear of things that are expensive and merely serve to brand you. Unless you can afford tons of exposures during prime time, it would probably be a waste of money for you. Use the money to have a website built and then pay a company to optimize it for local SEO. Your next best budget item will be door hangers. Its all about repeat multiple exposure. Postcards, yard signs, newpaper ads, yellow pages (depending on your area.. don't spend more than $1500 per year), church bulletins, networking with other contractors, and if you do commercial work, knock on doors. When you get a chance please go to "my controls" and fill in your signature line. That way we know who we are talking to and if a homeowner or business likes what you post, they can contact you.

Rick, do you think that reel will hold up?

Well today's forecast went from 30% to 60% chance of scattered storms to 90% of rain. This is getting depressing. I'm sending text messages and going back to bed :mad:

Adrian, is that your band?

I'm down 30% for June. Had 5 customers cancel work in the past week. We're washing but not staining. Bid on 60 600 s/f Trex decks. I hope I land it. Nice job to fill in on rainy days.

I bought one of those vibrating sanders from a rental place a year or two ago. I was worried about the aggressive nature of powered sanders so i was especially tentative when I was told to use a very course (low numerically.. 18?) on decks. It was the best move I ever made. Its very easy to use and I would venture to say - homeowner friendly. On ipe you can go with a grit in the 30's and not mess it up. Yes it may take you an hour going back and forth to rent one from a box store but to me, well worth it.. even on a smallish deck like yours. I find sanding ipe with a random orbital a bit more of an art. Its easy to make your deck look blotchy when applying final finish.

What you are proposing is death on a stick for a startup pressure washing company. Unless you are incredibly capitalized, it is going to be very difficult to keep afloat. Upselling on an advertised price of $50 is going to require a salesperson that is very good. You are on the right path of capturing targeted clientele and there are effective ways to do that. Selling anything based upon price is not one of those ways (at least for where you are in your business).

We can fix this! Tonight go to PowerSolve Products | The Sealer Store and place an order for hose end stripper and hose end brightener. They are very homeowner friendly. Spray on the stripper, let it sit for ten minutes and fire up the pressure washer. In even strokes from board end to board end wash off the Messmer's (which is ruined). Follow that with the brightener while the deck is still wet. Do a quick rinse down with your garden hose. Let dry for a day and restain. That store also sells Messmer's. If they have your products in stock they will ship tomorrow.

I had that problem with Wood Tux. I hated every stock color. Decks were turning out orange or bright yellow or bright red.. ugly.. so out came the tint kits and a few drops of this and few drops of that.. 20 minutes on every job to get it right. Then came the documenting and living up to the sales hoopla of "I can make any color you wish right on the spot." Then it hit me.. this deck will not look this good in six months. People just want it to look real. To me, Baker's is the ultimate in color tone finish. All of them look fantastic. You blend a couple colors 50/50. The A/C is close but just not quite the same. I'm battling it internally a little bit. We're in the middle of a large condo deck project and those are all getting Baker's. Every owner is calling the HOA and raving how good their decks look. Hard to get away from that. long story short, I do feel your pain and relate perfectly. That's what makes what you offer different from the painter that slaps on that atrocious bricky red Behr crap.

Amazing how this thread (and many of us participants) have evolved. It was interesting reading the guys clinging to their X-Jets and talking about downstreaming like it was Satan coming to collect their firstborn. Then two weeks to a month later hearing them rave how much faster and more effective downstreaming is. I don't know anyone (other than Adrian and jeff L) that still use an X-Jet. is anyone still clinging on for dear life to their M-5?

There is nothing you can do but replace the boards. It comes back. I was at a property four times in three months before I figured that out. Its now a disclaimer in my contracts. Maybe D-Jim has figured out a solution?

Tony I was just like you in searching for that perfect tone. It doesn't exist. Ten decks built on the same block of the same wood species at the same time will all turn out differently. I ask people if they want red, brown or what 95% of people choose "deck color".. a reddish brown. Its the painter in you that has put you on this quest. :D

Tony, looks like you have sap vein issues. I've noticed any product containing deep diving oils exacerbate (love that word) the issue. One way we combat knots drying is to coat the floor as soon as we get prepped. The rails then get done and then the floor is given its final coat. There are some decks you can put on twenty coats on those knots and two days later they are whitish again.

Nothing says "I clean" like a big scrub brush attached to the front of your vehicle.

A few years ago I would be able to tell you exactly when we were coming out and what part of the day we would be there. Now people are scheduled "for the week of.." Yes, we can pop in unannounced. I have a certain workload that has to get done per week. I'm not sure if I understand the mentality of "I'm saving money because I'm not paying payroll", there really is no logic to that. A crew costs me $42 per hour to run and they are getting billed out at $150+ per hour. I currently have 21 full and part time employees that rotate through the weekly schedule. I personally don't go out when it rains but we have to keep rolling as a company. Its a tough balance and this spring has been a real challenge.