PressurePros

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

spamming at its finest. I don't have access to moderate this section but I sent through a report post to BNR.

UPS has absolutely no problem with that philosophy.

Rod, you missed the point I was attempting to make. When you say something doesn't last, the word "last" has to be defined by a realistic expectation. (your definition of 'last' versus my definition of 'fresh' is not relevant) I mean, the expectations are established by the market as whole. I don't dispute all the other points you brought up. If companies with tens of millions of dollars in R&D money (not to mention a 100+ year history of exterior coatings manufacture) cannot develop a product to last longer than a year, then one year is the marker. Perhaps the physical properties of ipe cannot be overcome and that's the best that can be achieved. When you grade products you grade them within real world guidelines. Thus, products that last a year are the premium performers.. yes? Do you see what I am saying? A car finish doesn't "last" either. Not indefinitely and/or without maintenance. Like I said in my post, the word "last" is a relative term. Soft wood finishes are expected to last 1-2 years. The public knows this. They may be jazzed or temporarily swayed by marketing BS that something will last longer but they soon realize indirectly that in over 100 years of commercial coatings manufacture there has been little in the way of scientific breakthrough. Its a battle against Mother Nature, and thus far, she is winning.

Rod!~, your statement is too vague. Nothing "lasts" on any exterior surface if you set over expectation in terms of durability. I tell people WoodZotic will outlast Cabot's ATO by 300%. That means it lasts 9 months. That is statistically significant, wouldn't you say? There is no product that is going to look fresh on ipe for more than a year, I don't care what it is. By the same token I have had ipe decks done in early 2006 that showed no graying this past fall. Cosmetically, they needed to be redone but they were still protected. You have to evaluate products for hardwoods within a realistic time domain. If that frame is less than one year, it is what it is. A bad product might make it 3 months of that year. A decent product 6 or 7 months. The top line, a full year. Its all relative.

When you take a formula like Cabot's ATO and you remove spirits (a relatively cheap ingredient.. at least it used to be) you have to replace that volume with something. That something is going to be more expensive. Companies like Cabot's answer to stock holders so while they may do their best to reformulate quality goods, they probably had no choice but to accept the use of cheaper alkyd resins or substitute cheaper oils or both. Cabot's, in every test I performed lasted 3-4 months at the most when set horizontally.

I'm looking for information on health plans. I want to switch my coverage. Any general info such as premium, coverage, deductibles, where you get it, etc would be appreciated.

dp, it helps to look at your material cost per s/f and factor it into your billing. If you really want to speed things up and save yourself time, the largest expenditure of all, mix up four gallons of water with half a tub of HD-80 and downstream it. You should be able to strip 1200 s/f of wood with that. That brings your material cost to under three cents per s/f. Mark this portion of your material cost up to $.05 per s/f and you are good to go. You will save yourself an hour over the life of that bucket applying chemical by downstreaming. Many guys get caught up in what they are paying for a package versus factoring actual usage cost. If you look at mineral oil products (Ready Seal, Timber Oil) which sell for around $110 per pail, you'll see that they are the most expensive products to put on a deck because you use twice as much as you would using other higher resin solid products. That's not to say they don't have their place or are bad products per se, it just means you have to factor your cost and markup accordingly.

HD-80 has sufactants, buffers and at least one one other caustic that work synergistically to remove a finish. There is no way you can compare straight sodium hydroxide. Been there, done that, wasted the time.

Ditto. Stick with what works. You get what you pay for. Scott may offer an alternative downstreamable stripper. I haven't tried it yet but it gets good reviews. Also, HD-80 works as low as 3 oz per gallon on most jobs.

$120,000 per crew, per season in the northeast is very attainable with a marketing budget of $20,000 if you are a newer company down to under $5000 per working crew if you are established and have a referral program in place. Of course, you also have to be charging right.

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/business-topics-tips/5597-how-beat-competition-1-a.html

Ipe should be two step prepped. Both stages allow better "bite" for a sealer to take hold. Bakers will fail very quickly. Ready Seal is not even a contender. It may be okay for softer species but the nature of success for mineral oil is to penetrate deeply. It cannot do that with ipe. Now Jim Foley is going to come on here and say I don't know what I am talking about because he is the true guru. I have been finishing ipe in the field for three years. My referrals The largest portion of my Restore-A-Deck business is hardwood deck owners and hardwood deck building contractors so I have had hundreds of encounters with homeowners and pros and have heard their feedback on products and techniques. I also consult with East Teak Trading and they have tested everything I proposed from techniques to products and they have found them all superior to everything they have tried. I hate getting into this self promotional diatribe but Mr Foley's actions are unfortunately, very predictable. Rather than going back and forth and destroying your thread and taking my own credibility and throwing it out the window, I decided to preclude it.

Honestly, nothing that any pro here is going to recommend you to use. This is not because we want to be selfish with technique but because something strong enough to remove CWF via downstreaming is going to be a strong caustic that can blind you or give you 2nd and third degree burns. The chemicals, in this case, really are for pro grade use. I agree with Beth. The lazy man's solution is to hire someone to do the job. I sell deck cleaners to homeowners on my website but i wouldn't want to mislead you. There are ways to make the job go quickly, smoothly and more safely but it will still be labor intensive.

Kevin, no. I heard its good.

Would you also like someone to come do the actual washing as well?

I just steal something from Barry's site and put my name on it.

Whats it worth to you guys? ::evil grin::

Check your output flow and psi, too. Those numbers seem tight for an 8 hp motor.

Dan, I agree it (OC) can be used but it comes down to being twice as expensive as buying the pure stuff. I think you can get a 50 lb bag for $90 delivered from the chemistry store.

Excellent. I am involved in this industry as well. I read through quickly and have some thoughts and questions I would like to address with you, Steven.

Sodium percarbonate.. great cleaner for wood. Oxyclean.. not a good example of sodium percarbonate. its mostly filler. Buy the straight stuff.

Kevin, put your money where your theory is. Line up six bids in a nice area. I'll fly out there and if I sell 3 jobs at $.20 per s/f you reimburse me my flight and hotel and give me $500 for my troubles. If I don't sell three at that rate, I'll fly home with my tail between my legs and you can rag on me forever. I'll probably have to leave the boards from sheer embarassment.

I get $.20 per s/f on a residential every day of the week. So do most guys around here. $.10 is for concrete. You would spray chemicals into the air, deal with cars, balconies filled with people's crap, awnings, open windows etc for less than some guys charge for flatwork? I gotta fly out there to smack you around. You live in one of the most expensive areas in the country to live. Why are you selling yourself so short?

I came up with $32,000 at $1 per LF per story. Balconies, awnings, liability issues, logistic issues, possibility of needing a lift (you shouldn't). Its a big job. I think $.80 per LF/story is very reasonable. Who knows, in Florida that may be high. Jeff L (JL Pressure Washing) shoots for pretty low prices and does these all the time. He is also closer to you. He can perhaps help.