PressurePros

Brian Phillips owns a painting contracting company in Texas called Philpaint Inc. He is the author of the "Out Of The Bucket" program of systems and business management. His workshops are praised by many company owners in his industry. I did an interview with Out Of The Bucket. The questions are more geared towards the painting industry but are very applicable to any business, especially ours. Ken's Interview: Business Systems Development for Contractors

That's for certain. I need to go no further than my pm box to retrieve some questionable tactics used by some.

Check out Aetna's plans. Read the fine print on all of them. There are so many exclusions on dental, you really need to know going in what will be covered. I believe I pay $170 per month + $17 for dental for Jason. That's single guy coverage.

Nate, I cover western Delaware County and a small portion of Montco along the Main Line. Havertown is the third exit from the start off the Blue Route.

Nate, I measure everything. To simplify things for me I use 4 s.f per LF of rails, measure benches, use static s.f numbers for steps (just count each one and multiply), posts etc. My estimate form breaks out just about everything.. stripping, pH balancing, staining, and materials. I don't charge extra for defurring and handrail sanding as it is included in the stripping/prep price. You are probably right that it is better to break that out as well. It shows the customer more value. The reason I don't include it is that some decks need 10 minutes of sanding, some need 45. I've analyzed numbers on a few jobs and the amount of sanding averages out to profit neutral. I may change that this year. Its hard to tell the fine line between being detailed in your estimate and looking like you are nickel and diming the customer.

Great words of wisdom, Beth. The adverserial relationships of the past have gotten the industry nowhere. Its refreshing to see the guys down south get together and bring the PW'ing business into a positive light. Congrats to all involved.

N.B, I agree there is no comparison in finish quality when you sand a deck. If it were just a matter of sanding a floor down with a powered unit where the nails/screws were already sank it could be done cost effectively. The reality is, 99% of decks don't qualify for that criteria. They have rail systems with a failing finish and they have nails/screws that have to be set. That takes you out of the realm for being profitable. You soon will find yourself a paid hobbyist versus being a business owner unless you are getting the same rate per hour as you would on a chemical clean. I have ran the numbers and we would have to charge $7 per s/f of floor on the average floor (we currently get $4). That will take our average job from $1600 to $2800. At $1600 we are already often double the price of other contractors (because out work looks awesome and the customer gets a very pleasant experience). At $2800 my work volume probably be cut by 90% and my margins would be the same as they are now. It comes down to this.. what are customers willing to pay for? I'm not sue how long you have been in business but as you spend some time doing this (or any trade) you realize people will not pay for what you view as perfection. I do understand pride in your work but you have to know when to shut it down when it interferes with profit. The best contractors know where to cut corners where it does not affect the end result appearance of the job. As a final note: Yes a deck will look better when sanded initially, but it is outside. In three months the extra time you spend sanding spindle by spindle will not be evident anyway.

Oh geez yeah.. I am very small potatoes and an infant in this industry. I am confident in my ability and proud of my achievements but I would have to spend a few more very aggressive years and add divisions to even get to the $1 M gross sales mark.

There is one small issue that is being overlooked. The information on a BBS is FREE. That makes it worth as much as you pay for it. Tony, I understand what you are getting at and can see how it can make sense on paper. But what you are talking about, in my opinion is the qualification for a business. If one were selling advice, then yes, it would be perfectly acceptable to ask that person or company to qualify itself. Look around though.. This isn't the billionaire boys club. See anyone that is publicly traded and running national companies posting here? This is a bunch of guys with small businesses sharing information and helping each other. For every thousand guys grossing less dollars than my company, there are probably a thousand guys grossing more. If financials are the determining factor, then a guy that makes $40,000 is qualified to give advice to a guy that makes $20,000. Yes? A guy that has one month sober can sit with a guy that is still shaking from a bender and say "here is how I got my month clean". This is how things get done through sharing. Why not trust the average person that visits these boards to be smart enough to discern for himself what is valuable information and what may be nonsense? Advocating censorship based upon one group's self righteous definition of success is dangerous territory. Would you like your government to do that for you? After all, the government has billions of dollars, unlimited resources and thousands of educated men. Surely they are qualified to tell someone how to live their lives or run their businesses?

Also check townships and municipalities. There is no PA licensing requirements (for ANY contractor other than plumbers and electricians) but every township we work in requires a license. At $50 per pop, it adds up quickly.

I know how to bid work ;-)

Matt, this is ready to be redone. If you are still in business, I can give you some other HOA projects in the development. Call me, please there has been no answer at your number.

What ever happened to Matt? I haven't heard from him in a couple of years. A job he did down here is ready for maintenance. Matt, if you still come by and lurk, give me a ring.

Am I the only one that sees something wrong with Walmart's primary concern? The cheapskates of the US that wave the flag and proclaim "Buy American" are the same hypocrites that keep this machine running.. and we wonder why our own economy is hurting. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., a major buyer of Chinese-made shoes, toys and other goods, expects procurement in China to hold steady this year at about $9 billion despite a rising exchange rate and product safety concerns, the retailing giant's vice chairman said Monday. Chinese suppliers have stayed competitive amid higher inflation and a rise in China's currency, the yuan, by improving efficiency and product quality, said Michael Duke. "I wouldn't see any major variation" in procurement from the 2007 total of $9 billion, Duke told reporters. "China will continue to be a major production portion of direct purchases by Wal-Mart for a long time" Read the rest of the article

Charlie, a bit too oversimplified. That's how it reads in theory instead we are in wicked trade deficit with ramifications that affect our direct economy. Here is a good article on the topic. The Wal-Mart effect: Its Chinese imports have displaced nearly 200,000 U.S. jobs

Jeff, it absolutely begins with the consumer. In our quest to get something for nothing we will forego our country's economy, lower the standard of living for our workers, drive companies to other countries for proucts and outsourced services, and put local entrepreneurs out of business. For what? To save 50 cents on a bottle of Windex? This is why customer service is a thing of the past. We get angry when people ask us to lower our prices or ask for deals yet we go to Walmart and support the destruction of our retail infrastructure with the same mentality as that of a cheap customer.

Sane results as Beth. Every deck I have ever seen with Penofin was black. When I was testing WoodZotic against other commercially available brands, Penofin was always the first to go followed directly by Cabot's ATO.. usually about three months. Well I did do a test with Ready Seal and that lasted 3 weeks so I guess you can surmise it was better than that for hardwoods but thats not a fair test. RS is not made for hard woods.

Adjustable Trigger Gun & Wand - New & Improved - Deckster Deck Sprayer and Accessories

These are just my opinions. Water borne products are umm, not wonderful. They are made for homeowner use and often contain too much acrylics. If you are going to use a box store brand of tinted sealer, use Olympic Maximum (not the Olympic regular which is absolute garbage). You can use a Decker for anything though I would recommend using an airless for anything as thick as a solid stain or paint. Upgrade to an adjustable stainless wand when you buy your unit. I know the one that comes with the deckster is a toy. The upgrade allows you to control pressure at the wand. Thinner stains are going to atomize with a ton of pressure behind them and create the cloud that causes callbacks.

and me, boss. Bill me for the shipping.

Your best bet is to call Tom directly.

Absolutely. Why would you give it away? Use it as an upsell. You can also use it as Paul mentioned on your advertising or to close a sale. "FREE protective wax with the purchase of any house wash"

I cannot believe the contractor (or his insurance company) would give the nod to replacement. That deck is very "fixable". There is no way it warrants the expense of an R&R

Aaron shoot me a pm for my number.

Jon, what route did you end up going with the consultation?