TNRoofCleaner

Just double checked the specs on the pump. It is a Comet ZWD 3540 which is a 3.5 GPM at 4000 PSI. Oh well I don't do alot of concrete yet but this will work great for decks and small concrete cleanings. Would this work with a 16" surface cleaner? Larger nozzles and lower pressure of course.

I went back today and you all were correct. Although it is not as bad as it looked in the original picture. Sorry about the blue hue on the pic as the camera was set wrong and I did not notice until I got home.

Now you are starting to think. I read the comments about the 2004 posts and the same questions being asked. One reason is that these boards did not exist before that. Or very few of them did. The info in the archives is priceless. To figure out your pricing first determine what you need to make per hour. Then determine how long it takes you to do the job and multiply the 2 numbers. One thing is that you will get faster as experience comes along. Now if you are doing a house wash say for 200 and you think the gutters would be another 100 sell the house wash for 300 and throw the gutters in for free. Small house by the way. This is how you need to think about pricing. Perception on the part of the customer is what you need. They need to perceive a value in your services or they will not bite. You will learn to weed out price shoppers. Send post cards to higher value neighborhoods instead of a weekly shopper rag. If I were you I would look at the marketing section. Lots of great information there. On fumes, lung damage is permanent. Get a respirator when spraying with bleach. It also sounds like you are mixing it too strong for a house wash. I did a home with nasty mold and only used 7% of SH in the mix. I probably could have gone with less as I had other soaps there also.

I just sold a house wash and deck strip for next week because I was the only one to actually talk to the customer. He told me that he has called several different cleaning companies in the last 6 months and no one bothered to call back. I set up an appointment to give him a quote and when I discovered that I could not make it because the deck I was working was taking longer than I thought I called him and set up an appointment for this morning. He added to his deck so he has old and new wood and was going to stain in at the end of September. We discussed this and he is now waiting for spring. It looks like I may get that one when the time comes. I have a fence customer already set up for spring. It seems that customer service in my area is lacking to say the least. Have they moved on? Are they just part timers? Are they just ignorant? I don't know, maybe a combination of all three. Customer service is going to get me a lot of wins.

With all the rental equpment around such as trucks and pressure washers, Except for the really high end equipment is there really a need for a spare when you can just rent one for a few days until yours is fixed. Couple of hundred dollars on a rental is better than a few thousand for a large paper weight.

:banghead: This was too funny I just had to reply. LOL he made a few THOUSAND dollars on the new driveway. Of course he cleaned her roof. Not for free though. This man knows what he is doing and included that in the cost of the drive way. You can bet he would not clean her roof for free if she did not buy anything else. Maybe you should try that, just drive up and ask them if you can clean their roof. No charge of course. People will buy every time. When you start hearing others speaking Chineese stop digging.

Thanks for the tip. I will see on Friday if it is still there because that was the last thing I sprayed the outside of the rails and then pulled the tarp and took the picture.

I'm done wasting time. You obviously are the best business man ever. Glad to hear you like your JOB. :zip2:

Critiqueing can do nothing but force me to get better by pointing out the flaws. That's how you learn. Thanks.

200' of 3/4" hose, battery, delavan pump and a 100 gallon tank. About 4' left on the back of the trailer for anything else. And a gang box on the front. Here is an old picture and I have changed the configuration some since then like moving the tank further forward and turning it 90 degrees. This is set up as a roof cleaning/house wash rig.

Actually that stain was still wet from spraying the outside of the railings. It was taken less than 5 minutes after I sprayed the outside of the railings. 2 coats on the horizontals. I will have to be sure and check on that Friday to see how it looks.

5x8 open trailer and a 04 envoy.

I can use my wife's SUV to pull the trailer if I need to. She won't be happy though. LOL

I used Bakers Super Cedar. I forgot to take the pics after the cleaning. This was very old wood that had not been sealed at all, ever. Probably 12+ years old. That crud was about 1/16" thick on top of the boards. I had to wash it first so the precarb could get to the wood. Homeowner was so happy with the way it looked clean she went out and got paint and sprayed the patio furniture this weekend so it would not look bad against the new deck look. Ken I think it is just the way the sun was hitting the wood. The best part is she is putting out some of my cards at the bank she works in. She has been bragging to them about how clean the roof was and now she can show them the deck. I am emailing her the before and afters.

What is the GPM on your machine? You need that more than pressure. Is there currently a sealer on the wood? Yes there is a safe way to power wash a deck. Sealers Armstrong-Clark Baker's Gray Away Ready Seal Are all good choices. You will need a cleaning solution to remove the old sealer or if that is gone the grey wood and then a neutralizer.

That is Sodium Hypochlorite not hydrochloride, that is a different chemical. Check out the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association. They have a bulletin on what to use to clean shingles. That is NOT mold on the shingles it is algae. You need to do more research on this. This will take a separate tank and dedicated pump and sprayers. You WILL kill landscaping if not careful. Downstreaming or xjet will not work as it dilutes the chemical too much.

No one is going to intentionally lead you astray. That is what this site is all about. Trust is truly a thing that has to be earned. Take the advice that is given and do some more research, don't just take their word for it. You have to understand what you are using. Think of everyone here as a GPS they are going to give you direction but they will not take you there. These comments were not directed at you personally but rather to point out how you come across in your writing. Good to see that you made the changes to the site. This is where it all started. You are targeting the wrong demographic. I'll be willing to bet that the new site will help you acquire customers in the upper middle class. Have you raised any pricing to your repeat customers over the years? The reason that posts end in good luck is that everyone truly want to see someone else succeed but they are not going to do the work for you. So in closing good luck.

Thanks David. (Note to self: use spell check on everything.)

Well said Adrian

Ken it is not just the fact that his employee did this that got me, it was the fact that he was stopping the truck. Michael some of these on here have 10+ years and make lots of $$$ if you want to get rich you must do as rich people do. Ever heard the saying "Keep your head above the fray" There is another "Never argue with an idiot, they will drag you down and beat you with experience." Don't worry about the competition they will drag you down.

I was doing a deck yesterday and I realized that you have a lot of time to think about many different things. Kind of peaceful.

We have tried Beth but it does not seem to be working. That could be considered vandalisim or at the worst theft if you took it. That is very unprofessional. I don't think that this will stop with just Maryland companies.

Exactly on the money Beth. I am one of those laid off and I was researching on what to do and I was going to do kitchen hoods because they have to be cleaned by law. I could not afford that so I had to keep searching. I discovered roof cleaning and was off and running. Easy to set up and very inexpensive just had to learn how to do it and get it sold. I now have many other offerings for cleaning services and I don't even own a pressure washer that would work. I rent one when I need it until I can afford to buy the one I want. Lowball pricing is out of the question. I was suprised one week when I made 500 more gross than my previous job and I only worked 2.5 days. I have always wanted my own business and when I decided on this line of work I told my wife I was going to find something dirty and have them pay me to clean it.

Gotta go before they are sold out for the season.

You can also recoat the inside of the tank. Just go to a motorcycle shop and get the cleaner and coating from them.