wesley

Jeff, great post and thanks for your willingness to share. This post can be very helpful to the newbie or seasoned vet looking to target new areas for his/her business.

Craig, I have never used a vacuum surface cleaner and I noticed it is a little tougher to push. Is that from the vacuum or pulling the extra hoses? I would think from the vacuum but just wanted to ask someone that uses them. We will be adding this (recovery) to our services. Also are the extra hoses a PITA?

Soprano's Tony is my favorite character. He knows how to run his guys and he dont put up with any B.S. Can't wait for new season.

Jon I am with you, there are different ways to restore a deck. I am not a wood guy but I do have the knowledge and experience to restore decks to a wonderful end product. I mentioned SealMaxx not to say that their way was right, just different from what I was taught. Their end result is as good as any deck I have seen posted on this board. As far as their promises and claims go, that is another thread, we know what they claim is not possible. This thread may end up being like the X-jet versus Downstreaming. They both have the same end results when done properly.Knowledge is very valuable and when you combine that with experience I personaly believe chems are not the only way to restore decks. To bleach or not to bleach? Another topic people jump on and with proper knowledge and experience this is a great product.( bleach on wood is 100% wrong to some) My point is, be careful bashing other companys methods unless you are 100% positive what they are doing is wrong.

I have to agree with Jon Fife. I only do a few decks a year, and I strip,neutrlize/brighten using the proper chems. After seeing that clip Im begining to ask myself why not. On a true restoration project the wood looks so much better after sanding so why not do it like the clip showed? There is a company in my area called Sealmaxx and they do all their decks this way and the final results are awesome. The warranty on the seal, well that is another thread. Please dont rip me apart to bad, just asking.

Dodge 2500 diesel with the Bully Dog System (Bad Ass)! It has been an awesome truck, with no problems. Phillip, as much research as you do that terrible resale value on gas powered Dodges should have told you something. Gas Motor = Chevy or Ford Diesel Motor = Any of the 3

Georgia Boot, The Mud Dog is all I wear. A pair usually last me around 6 months before it starts to leak and even then very minimal water. I can usually make it about 8 to 10 months before it is time to retire that pair. Of course if you are doing long runs of curbing and the water is bouncing back on you above your ankle an all rubber boot is the only thing I have found to work. For surface cleaning alone the Mud Dogs will last a long time and are very comfy.

Everette, If you have two guys washing are you making around $50 an hour? Working harder for less money does not appeal to me. You also stated that you charge less so the customer will do the maintenance thing, I'm not putting down the way your guys do it, I know I could not compete in my area washing homes like that. I will also say that the only difference in my wash and yours is the window seal on two story houses if they leave the screens in, but I ask all my customers to remove screens prior to washing. After saying all that it may just boil down to your area versus mine. In my area detergents and low pressure do the trick, who knows if I were in your area I may have to wash the same way. Also you stated the largest home washing company in your area advertises hand scrubbing or washing, that might be another good reason you wash like that to compete with them. -Please don't rip into me to bad!!! Thanks, Wesley

$35k for $5000 in equipment and your word on client list. WOW! Good luck selling this.

Daryl, unless I am missing something your chemical consumption should be nowhere near 220 gal. Also you dont need to waste your time and money with a lift. X-jet (m5) everything and whatever you cant reach from the ground you can get just by using a 12" step ladder. As far as the awnings go use a light bleach mixture and get on the ladder and spray your detergents all over it (saturate). Then just rinse, rinse,and rinse. I don't know how you are mixing your chems but on a vinyl job like this put 2 gal. of 12.5% bleach, 1 cup of tide and a dash of rinse aid and the rest water in a 5. Use your m5 without proportioners and spray. With the mix like this you can spray on real light and do 50' to 85' sections in 15 mins. or less. There is no need to saturate the church with your mixture like this it will cleanup nice and fast. If you are doing the roof you will have to ask someone else how to do that. Feel free to call if you have any questions. I am about to walk out of the door heading to N.C. for the roundtable. Wesley (706)-306-4791 cell.

Hey man cute dog! I have a chocolate lab as well.

There is a new Kohls opening in three weeks just 4 miles from my house, sure would be nice to land.

200k sounds good any way you add it as long as your overhead isn't to bad. Keep up the good work.

Hey Fullblast, are you adding res. and comm. together or are you saying that you hit 200K in housewashing?

Looks Good!

Jon, where did you get the duct work from? Home Depot, Lowes or did you have to get it from the local HVAC store?

Just this past week we had a deadbeat customer. Talked to the lady the night before we were to start the job to remind her to put her dogs up and turn off the electric fence. I also reminded her to leave a check under floor mat at the front door and I would leave her an invoice when we finished. The next morning when we got there no check but we washed the house anyway since we made the trip. The job was only a $160 job so I wasn't too worried. That night after not hearing from her I called and after she said hello I introduced myself and she hung up on me without saying another word. Repeated phone calls no answer. This went on for two days, Friday night around 10:30 pm drove past house to make sure they were in town and they were,(I wasn't stalking them that late at night I was leaving from a high school football game just down the street) so the next morning I called the local sherriffs dept. and told them I was hand delivering a bill and asked them for an escort since I didn't know how they were going to react and to also keep me from doing something I may regret later. We showed up at the front door and they wrote me a check in about 30 seconds, there excuse was they were busy and hadn't thought twice about the check. Anyways long story short I am a man of principle and right is right and wrong is wrong the money wasn't the biggest concern here it was the fact that somebody tried to screw me. No written contract, only verbal and I was going to get my money one way or the other but with the local authorities standing outside everything went great!

My old machine did the white smoke trick one time as well and it turned out to be the squirrel cage. Some fins in the squirrel cage came loose and the air fuel mixture was off thus putting out the white smoke along with inconsistent temps.

Try hot water along with acedic acid for the red clay. Ga. red clay is the worse.

P.P., great job on the deck. The before and after pics are wonderful, how long was the dwell time on this one?

RLS, I see that you use Glory Truck Wash. Is it really brushless, and if so do you mind sharing your application techniques?

Nice work Beth, would you by any chance have a picture of this deck when dried? All mine look like this when they are wet but after they dry the color is not as nice.

Biodiesel does look like a good money saver, but you better check and make sure this does not void your warranty costing you more in the long run if something were to happen.

I love golf and have played since I was 10 years old. I try to play 2 or 3 times a week. With two young boys I have taken a year or two off from playing, but now my oldest son is six and he plays with me.

Thanks guys for your replys. We already completed the job and everything went great. Started out using Jaxco( I think I spelled this right ) paint stripper, but it made the paint come off in tiny pieces. After about a 4' section I only used 200 degree water and 15 degree nozzle and the paint peeled off in large chunks making it much faster than using the stripper.