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Craig

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Posts posted by Craig

  1. Posted · Report reply

    Pool Deck- is it concrete? colored concrete? salted concrete? sealed concrete? concrete coating?

    If it's just concrete clean it with your normal concrete cleaner- TSP, Sodium Hyd, Potassium Hyd, Sodium Metasilicate... doesn't matter. If it's sealed with an acrylic, epoxy, poly or anything else, you can still use what you normally use to clean concrete, just cut it down to about 25-30% of the strength of your normal cleaning solution so it won't hurt the sealer. Also, using warm water is OK but nothing above 110-120 degrees. You don't want to strip the sealer off.

    Also, is there anything in particular you're cleaning it for? Pool decks are known for mold, slippery surfaces, calcium deposits, hard water stains, rust from pool chairs, oil from sunbathers etc.

  2. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    This really has nothing to do with power washing, other than our company did help the Marriott with their new renovation. I personally worked at the Marriott Desert Springs as a Manager years ago, before I began my career as a power washing contractor.. turned manufacturer/distributor (we still work hard in the field though!).

    Just a cool tidbit- both my wife and I are in the video. It's a new promotional video being aired on a tv show to showcase the best our area has to offer. The first clip is me driving the new Jag and my wife steps out...walk inside. We are in/out of the video thereafter and in the Gondola. See if you can find Waldo lol.

    Check it out and if you are ever in my area give us a ring and check out the desertdining.tv website. We do some trade with local resorts and would love to meet and help accomodate you.

  3. Posted · Report reply

    I am neither Republican nor Democrat, but I do believe in working hard and creatively pursuing endeavors that lead to the betterment of our society. I stand for open markets, creating jobs, giving back and supporting the U.S. Constitution. I'm posting this for the perspective, not to be political or in favor of either party. I got a chuckle out of it.

    The $50 Lesson

    Recently, while I was working in the flower beds in the front yard, my neighbors stopped to chat as they returned home from walking their dog.

    During our friendly conversation, I asked their 12 year old daughter what she wanted to be when she grows up. She said she wanted to be President someday.

    Both of her parents - liberal Democrats - were standing there, so I asked her, "If you were President what would be the first thing you would do?"

    She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people."

    Her parents beamed with pride!

    "Wow...what a worthy goal!" I said. "But you don't have to wait until you're President to do that!" I told her.

    "What do you mean?" she replied.

    So I told her, "You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and trim my hedge, and I'll pay you $50. Then you can go over to the grocery store where the homeless guy hangs out, and you can give him the $50 to use toward food and a new house."

    She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless guy come over and do the work, and you can just pay him the $50?"

    I said, "Welcome to the Republican Party."

    Her parents aren't speaking to me.

  4. Posted · Report reply

    I have used many machines over the years. 8GPM is the largest we've owned. You might be ok with 10, but my 8 GPM machine seems pretty weak when two guys are using it. I primarily use it now with bigger surface cleaners and can rip through concrete. It's usually kind of a PITA when two guys are using one machine too... and one guy might need to use cold water while the other needs hot.

    I'd also stick to using two separate machines. If one goes down, you have the other. You don't have pressure spikes as you do with two-gun operation. You can choose your temperature. It's easier to keep hoses separated. For us it just made more sense.

  6. Posted · Report reply

    To me it looks like phosphoric acid burn. What kind of tile surface is it.. meaning like a glazed tile or more like an aggregate or porous surface? I can't tell from the pictures. If you had a nice clean close-up I could probably tell you what's going on. If it is scaly and you can chip it off by putting a knife underneath a layer it might be Calcium or Calcite from hard water.

  7. Posted · Report reply

    I agree. Everyone has different needs, expectations and purpose. I believe that in order for someone to feel as though he is "successful" he would ultimately feel joy in whatever dealings he is doing. Money is one measurement of success.. love for what you do, taking joy in creating and always trying to reach for a happier place and treating people well is another.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Do you have experience in ASR, AAR and DPS's that can control it? I have a strip mall.. 13,000' with some of the worst ASR I've ever seen. I'm looking for a product that can control it enough to atleast put down an acrylic. I'm not having much luck and may have to just go with an acid stain or a DPS. The reactions have created pop-outs and the concrete looks like it's been salted due to the defect.

    Thanks

    Craig

  11. Posted · Report reply

    They are from a 15 degree tip, formed about 3-5" away from the concrete. The concrete has a weak surface layer for whatever reason (too much water in the mix, poor troweling job, too much fly-ash or maybe the concrete hydrated to quickly). Obviously the contractor is inexperienced- no surface cleaner was used and I doubt if he used chems.

    This could be fixed a couple of ways depending on how much money ya'll wanted to make.

  14. Posted · Report reply

    The rougher the surface is, the more plasticiser migration (tire marks, oil trasfer, asphalt transfer etc.) will take place. Every post above is correct. A simple solution for her (or you) would be to to spray or roll on a topical sealer that will fill the pores of the concrete and allow less migration to happen. The smoother the surface is, the less this will happen. You're not going to eliminate it 100% but cleaning the marks off is simple. Also, depending on the sealer, you can control future mineral staining, oil, gas, grease stains etc.

    I'd recommend to call V-Seal and ask for Jay. Their sealers are the best.

    Craig.

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Please do not feel sorry at ALL! I am very happily divorced!! :) We all make mistakes and are a little naive at times. I'm so happy to finally be able to get things going again! I have spent the last 3 years TRYING to get divorced.. so simple to get into, so hard to get out of. All I can say is, Europeans and Americans are very, very different.

    If anything is due, a "Congratulations!" would be appropriate.. LOL

    Thanks

    Craig

  20. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    Lol...vinegar. It works for light powdery eff but not for a job like this.

    Eacochem has great products. The process that Celest is describing may be your best bet and you might have to redo the process several times to get all of it off.

    In heavy calc eff places apply a little more product and scrubbing with a stiff brush may help. You will need to keep the brick wet at all times. Never let it dry out. And be steady with your pressure washing to try to keep the cleaning even. You'll figure it out.

    Here's one job I did thats similar to yours.

    http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/flatwork-buildings/3200-pics-calcified-efflorescence-restoration.html?highlight=pics+calcified

    email me at swpwscraig@yahoo.com for more details if you have any questions.

  22. Posted · Report reply

    If the white things "feel like powder," they would not feel at all. Instead it would crumble and become smooth and chalky in your fingertips. It would also come right off. You might even be able to blow it off.

    There are two forms of eff. 1) Powdery. 2) Calcified.

    Powdery eff is pretty easy to remove. Its more difficult to keep it from coming back.

    Calcified eff is extremely difficult to remove and in my opinion should only be done by a professional. Thats where you can run into a problem. Not many I would consider to be professionals in the art of eff removal. Every situation is a little different and requires a little different technique. A lot of damage can be done very quickly if you don't know exactly what you're doing. Not to mention the possibility of burning the brick.

    My question to you: How long did it take this white stuff to get where it is, and how long has it been there? Are the bricks new or old? Has the white stuff suddenly appeared over the last couple of weeks, months or years? Has the brick been sealed? If so, when?

    Even without those questions being answered I'll tell you my initial opinion on what is going on and it's pretty simple. It may be calcified efflorescence, but it usually doesn't look like that. Calcified eff would also take a few years to get to look like what you have. Doesn't really fit the profile but I wouldn't exclude it.

    In my opining, it looks like the bricks had moisture in them and sealer was applied prematurely. The moisture wicking out from the brick will not be able to evaporate and will turn the sealer white. The amount of whiteness depends on how much moisture is trying to get out. The more moisture = more white. If this is the case all you will have to do is find out what type of remover to use on the sealer. It will need to be taken off, let the brick dry thoroughly and then reapply the sealer.

    Beth n Rod reacted to this

  24. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    I also think that moisture was in the rock when it was sealed. It doesn't look like efflor to me. If I were there to do the work I would strip that particular rock, let it dry for a couple of days and then reseal it. Sometimes if you seal a substrate when there is moisture in it it will look chalky.

    The other thing that strikes me is that it appears that the chalky substance is only on the one piece of flag. It could have been more wet than the others when it was put down.

    If it was efflorescense you could broom it off. Can you do this? Is it powdery? If you put water on it does it temporarily disappear? If not, chances are it is milky from the sealer. It should be stripped and resealed.

    There are two types of efflor- 1. Powdery and 2. Calcified. You can do a search on them if you'd like to know more about them.

    I think your solution should be pretty simple. Find what will strip the sealer, let it dry and seal.

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