PressurePros

Tim, I would contact them. Sixty days ago they were pushing this stuff so hard. You have legitimate expenses that should be compensated. Maybe they will throw you a bone. If it were me I wouldn't stop until all of my marketing material was paid for.

Its an in-house chem made by ETS the guys that make Taginator. They are pretty close by.

Adrian, I am assuming you are hosting this site somewhere since you have your own URL. Get rid of those Google ads and the lycos search. Get a program called Web Studio 4.0. It is a true WYSIWIG, drag and drop editor and you can use the trial version to create and upload your whole site as no features are disabled.

Welcome Gary!

Pre-qual is a great thing but it still may not have solved Dan's problem. I try to do as much as I can via my marketing and then again with phone follow up on leads but still, you don't win all the jobs. Dan, everything you do has to be geared towards gaining trust with your potential customers. The points above are very valid. Face to face contact, image via professionally designed literature, reputation, your appearance, your ability to answer customer concerns, overcoming price objections, closing the sale and your follow up all come together to determine your closing rate. Educating your customers is time consuming. Most guys aren't willing to do it. Short sightedness in this arena will cost you in the quality of your referrals. Dan, on the other contractor board we both visit I see a ton of guys that have huge egos standing in the way of becoming successful. They may do awesome work but yet have no clue how to grow. They chase lead services, home shows, printed advertising etc. when if they focused on customer service they would double the amount of work they land. You have to continuously put the needs of your customers first. That means you are going to feel abused sometimes. Its all for the greater good for when you bend over backwards for that one customer, they become your most productive salesperson. Dan, treat every sale like it is do or die. Once you have made the decision to pursue a job and assuming you priced it properly, its well worth spending extra time to close it. I would also say this in closing. If your painting is not getting sufficient margin to keep you afloat, abandon it. Keep the paint jobs going but use the money generated to market your other higher profit services. I have a three year plan to phase out deck sealing. I don't want to do anything but property washing. The sealing is not profitable enough for me and developing a hands off system is not working.

No harm done, Suresh. We'll chalk it up to language barriers. Maybe one of the moderators can advise you as to how to fill out your signature line.

So much for their marketing blitz promoting Restora. What was that all about? I pretty much decided it was a loser (for my company) as a viable add-on so no big deal. But what if I had already launched a marketing campaign geared towards promoting the service? A.N is a good company. Maybe they will drop (or redevelop) CWF as well.

I disagree that he didn't get a solid answer. There really isn't one. Like all of us in our first years he was all over the place with products. VOC compliant reformulations made things real bad for those of us in the northeast. I am still stripping and redoing decks I did with consumer products (no Behr or crap like that but I have Sikkens, Cabot's, and Deckscapes stuff out there) The solution is to choose a product or two you like best. I have two 'go-to' product lines we use. Like I mentioned and like Beth mentioned, you just have to watch them. Using Wood Tux has assured me that I won't have total failure in less than two years. A simple wash with EFC-38 (made by same manufacturer as Wood Tux.. Extreme Solutions) breaks the surface barrier while still leaving oil in the wood. Here is a PressurePros restoration/maintenace cycle: April 2007 Strip deck w/ HD-80. pH balance/brighten with Citralic. Apply Wood Tux April 2008, 2010 Wash deck with bleach and soap mix.. evaluate sealer integrity April 2009 Wash horizontals with EFC-38. Apply light coat of Wood Tux. Charge customer 1/2 of original price. April 2011 recoat entire deck after cleaning (3/4 original full price - adjusted for price increases) repeat cycle a couple of times until I see the color darkening too much then I strip and start fresh.

Winter has arrived here in Philly. I have a housewash and deck strip I have to get to ASAP and its been no higher than 35 degrees and doesn't look like its gonna break anytime soon. I'm dreading it as it has to be done before an open house in two weeks.

We switch to an 0020. I don't like the X-Jet, too much pressure in that little beam in the center (M-5 is better but I don't own one)

All sealers are sacrificial. Some have rapid slopes of decline. So, if for instance, the sealer started failing in November of '06 but you don't get to it until May 2007 it may be past the point where you can just clean and reseal. You'll probably end up with a blotchy mess. You have to evaluate your customers' decks frequently and perform maintenance as needed. I don't know if this helps you but there is no definitive answer to your q.

Suresh, Plase pardon my cynicism but you have no signature, you're not a TGS sponsor or vendor, and you give a very brief (incomplete) description of information you seek. That raises red flags to me. How about starting over and give some more information so more people will be inclined to offer information?

I use a General, stainless, rated slightly lower then the machines output. On the bigger rig, its rated 3-5 gpm (I think). Dan, no brushing, just the right housewash mix. Entire job took about 4 hours because of working around the excavation and mud and the temps were around 50 degrees. The gutters were brushed though, they were pretty shot. I subbed out the roof cleaning. The house in the second pic was a bit smaller and took about three hours with removing rust around foundation and washing 800 s/f of flatwork. Both of these houses could have been done in one day. Total for these two jobs came out to a little over $1300.

Brian, I am talking about X-Jetting, like John T mentioned he uses for added strength of mix and speed. You wanna see height? On my 5.6 gpm machine, I get 45-50 feet. The X-Jet at 35 feet is this fine mist that goes all over the place, especially on a breezy day.

Hey Don, its a flip, but not mine. The area is too expensive and is cooling off. I would be tentative. This house will go for $850,000 but the guy got a good price on it so even if he quick sells at $799,000 he'll still see a profit. The quart of truck wash in this case was for dwell. It also has some nice rinse aids and a wax in it. I get pails for $50 so using a quart adds about $2.50 to really nasty jobs. Most of the time I can use about 8 oz. Makes the windows sparkle nicely.

Here is another. Yes, I could ramp up the mix and get done just a little quicker and risk burning plant life and etching windows. I find it more cumbersome and time wasting to run around rinsing everything in sight from windows to plants than to apply more diluted chems to two sides and reach perfect dwell by the time you go back to rinse. Here is another example, strictly downstream.

Brian, I think John T was on a different page. He uses an X-Jet to apply his chemicals. Downstreaming has absolute advantages over the upstream methos you currently use. The most obvious of course is not running chemicals through a pump. With even a flow as low as 4 gpm you can still get 35 feet of spray with an 0025 tip. Another plus is you don't have to go back to the truck to turn off chemical. Simply change tips to create more pressure and eliminate the venturi at the downstreamer. 1 gallon of housewash concentrate (my own), 3.5 gallons of 12%, and a quart of truck wash in a five gallon bucket does most houses. The house below, done strictly downstreaming.

I remember the Better Business Bureau advertising like crazy when I was a kid. A new org has to have a sound written business plan and a ton of capital behind it to market itself. When someone has a logo that gets as much respect and attention as the BBB logo does, I'll join at $395/yr.

haha, I'm just busting your chops, John. Whatever works best for you is my philosophy. For what its worth, running two rigs had a combined reading from the hour meters of 720 hours and ran through stripper, acid, bleach and every other god forsaken chemical and did not replace one thing due to failure from hoses, to QC's to downstreamers. I always get the most expensive parts and I never get let down. On the hose length thing.. I get noticeabley less draw at 250 ft than with 200 ft.

Joel, You'll see me there We are gonna do some cool things to keep it interesting and educational. You'll walk away with more from this than anything you could at 20 times the price. meeting_agenda.doc

Jarrod, about time, man. X-Jetting is so 2004. haha Doug, chems are diluted enough and since rinsing is almost instantaneous, there is no damage.

Dan, you have to stop being so cynical, LOL. I have offered a two year warranty (with excessive wear disclaimers)since I started deck work and have never been called for warranty work. From Tommy Boy (Chis Farley) Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted, why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting. Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening. Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to feel all warm and cozy inside. Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good. Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted? Ted Nelson, Customer: What's your point? Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy, well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser and your daughter's knocked up, I seen it a hundred times. Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box? Tommy: Because they know all they solda ya was a guaranteed piece of ****. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me.

This is the way it works. Keep up the good work.

Yo Shane.. waazzuupp. You know me.. I don't really sugar coat things. I agree with you. Too many things can and usually do go wrong on this type of job.

What do you need to know about painted decks? Hello David, welcome to the board. I will cut to the chase of what everyone has been subtly trying to tell you. There is absolutely no way, in the reasonable realm of being a professional, that this job can be done for the money you are talking about. Wanna take that as a challenge? Three weeks after you start this project you will be about halfway done. You will have gone to Home Depot 20 times for differing chemicals, sandpaper, tools, scrapers etc and probably spent as many sleepless nights wondering how the hell you are going to finish this thing. You are going to be beyond frustrated, the homeowner is going to find you incompetant by that point and we will say, "whatever happened to that David Rush guy that posted about stripping paint?" In the meantime you will be at some desk job babbling about methylene chloride burn scars that just won't heal. When you get done the strip job from hell using every caustic known to man, you will have exposed a ton of rotted wood. If your skills allow and you haul a load of wood to replace floorboards and rails, you will then have to figure out how to remove the paint from the intersections of the spindles and top and bottom rails. Three days later when you are done sanding with a Dremmel and your back and feet are killing you from being suspended from a ladder, the deck might be ready for a semi-trans sealer. I say might because you are still going to have spots where you just cannot remove the paint. By this point, if you haven't fled for another state, there is a possibility you may still have to go with a solid stain (paint it again). Think this is one for the portfolio and future work? Another pipe dream. The neighbors will have seen you coming and going from this jobsite 25 times. Trust me, that will not inspire anyone to hire you. Every wood pro out there has tried to tackle this type of job once in his/her career as a woodie. There are far better jobs (both paying and satisfying) out there that will help you build a portfolio. Even if the job came out perfect, a homeowner looking at a portfolio will not be able to appreciate what went into making it happen. What will you explain as a lead in to the picture? Here is a job that in my inexperience I took on and it took me over a month to complete and I lost my shirt on it, but look how nice it looks? I know it may seem like I am slamming you or questioning your competance but you need to know what you are getting into. I would gladly supply you with some good pictures for your portfolio before I would suggest to you accepting this job. STILL INTERESTED? Okay, if you are still reading this and aren't scared away then you must be serious. There is a way to tackle this a bit more effectively and safer. Its still going to be a very long and difficult job but here is my advice for the safest and most efficient procedure on this type of job. 1) Get some of this stuff Franmar Chemical - Environmentally Friendly Cleaners and Removers at $260 per 5 gallon pail delivered. You'll need 15-20 gallons (allowing for areas you will have to treat twice) 2) Mask everything you can underneath the deck because you are going to have a mess. 3) Apply the stripper with an industrial airless (521 tip). You're looking for about 1/8" thick coating. Apply your stripper in the evening to allow for overnight dwell. If its real hot out or middday, you are going to have to cover the whole deck in plastic. I recommend a 12 hour dwell time. If you don't have access to the airless, factor in the time to hand paint every inch of this deck with gel. 3) Wash 1000 psi, cold water. Re-treat areas where paint is stubborn. 4) Return on day three to wash again and thoroughly remove any remaining paint and stripper gel. Clean up the mess. Take your measurements for any wood that needs to be replaced. I have found painted deck always have some degree of rot. 5) All to dry for 3-4 days. 6) Return with random orbital sanders (60 grit paper) but be prepared to spend a long time hand sanding rail system and spindles. Buy yourself a Dremmel (which is like using a water pic as opposed to a pressure washer, but remember.. portfolio pics, right?) Replace any wood that needs to be. 7) I would wash the whole deck again with sodium percarbonate. This will remove all remaining mold spores, ground in dirt and sawdust. It will also allow any new PTP from repairs to be chemically aged so it will accept the sealer a little better.I would then follow that with an acidic ph Balancing as oil sealers prefer slightly acidic pH balance. 8) Allow to dry again for 3-4 days until wood has gotten to 12% moisture content. Use a moisture meter to test. 9) Apply a parafinnic oil based sealer like Baker's Gray Away, Ready Seal or TWP 200 series. I'm guessing you will need three coats for maximum coverage and conditioning. The wood will probably take about 16-20 gallons. There you have it. How we would do a full restoration. Allowing for the occasional rainy days, your inexperience, and lack of labor force you are probably looking at 2 weeks from start to finish. Material cost will be about $1300 (not counting lumber) on the high end. Factoring in height and D-O-D, I would bid this job stripped and sealed at $8000 plus $6 per LF for repair work. It would take two guys 6 days. One thing you are gonna learn in this business, David is to not count chickens before they are hatched. Even the best job with meticulous attention to detail could land you $0 in future work. You have to bid every job to make money or you will be out of business in no time.