Mike

Glock, welcome to the Board. I see from this thread and other threads you are trying to learn. Alot of the questions you ask have been answered many many times on this board and others. The best advice I can offer to you at this time is to read and study and learn by reading more. There is so much information out here and I promise you 99% of your questions could be answered by reading the many threads in the many different forums here and on other boards. The last thing you want to do is learn by making mistakes on someones property, destroying your image and possible getting you a lawsuit for damages. There are also many companys out there that will let you come and work with them, and learn how to do the job, teaching you for free in exchange for your time and labor and willingness to learn. Nothing beats hands on training! There is also bootcamps out there that you can learn alot from as well. There are alot of people here that are more then willing to help you in anyway they can, take time to read the threads, and then ask away. I encourage you to keep participating here and keep learning! :D

Plastic wont help the things sitting on the ground, the water will slip right underneath and get them wet. Have your customer get everything off the floor. Use a degreaser and your should not have any problems.

Looks like they need some rain gutters. Nice work.

Barry, check in your local hardware stores paint department. The extension poles they use for paint rollers would work and I use them myself. Some of them can be a little cheap so find a good sturdy one. They are already threaded on the end and ready for a brush to screw right on. I also made one myself from an old tree trimmer, those metal ones that you can clip down tree branches with. One nice thing about the threaded poles in the paint department is you can walk over to the gutter department and get yourself a little gutter scooper and screw that on your extension pole for use when cleaning gutters, less ladder movement is a good thing!

Interesting topic, I also would like to see a picture of this meter in action. Do they show you how to use it?

I try to buy local anytime I can. I look at it this way, would I want a customer to go with me and keep money in our area or go with a national franchise and who knows where the money goes after that. I guess thats my small town thinking. That being said I would drive an hour or so for a good buy, now if I can just get down and see Russ sometime... :D

Would you be interested in attending or hosting a Q & A session in the TGS chat room? These sessions could range in topic from Cleaning methods, to Tech questions, to marketing help and other important topics. What I am thinking is we would have a volunteer for each topic set aside time to answer some questions from others that night. What do you get out of volunteering? The gratification of helping others and raising the bar for the industry as a whole. Everyone knows that uneducated companies that continue to make big mistakes not only raises our insurance rates, but gives PW'ers a bad name overall. For those that would like to learn and attend these sessions, what would be a good day and time? For those that would like to host a Q & A session (this means being there to answer questions) when would be a good time for you and what would be your topic of choice. I am volunteering my efforts to coordinate the dates, times and spread the word and do whatever else I can to get the ball rolling. Even if we only have one session a month to start out with, thats a good place to start. Who knows, one day we could be having these weekly. If your interested, let me know! Email: Send a message via email to Mike Private Message: Send a private message to Mike

I have been talking with another company that does home improvements about possibly working out some kind of working relationship where you could work together with a common goal of offering more services for your customers by having someone you can refer them to and they could refer customers your way as well. Also maybe working together in advertising as well. This way the 2 companies could spend less money and make more money. Has anyone done this in the past and how did it work out for you and your company?

I wouldnt think you would like that Ken. While the $20.00 per hour may be ok for your labor and experience it does not cover the wear and tear on your machines and equipment.

Thanks for the replies. So it has worked out well then? It sure would be nice to be able to do the work yourself and make more money, but I think this might be the next best thing, while still offering more for your customers.

The trees here in the midwest have shedded their blooms and the gutters are nice and full. Dont forget about spring gutter cleaning as it can be a nice add-on when your at a job. With heavy spring rains a clean gutter is very important to protect homes. Remember LADDER SAFETY as well. :D

I apply it with a soft brush on an extension pole, and then rinse ir off with water. I dont let it dwell very long at all as it could damage the paint. I mix it 50:50 with water and it works great.

Does anyone know of any upcoming events or roundtables?

I guess the easiest way to get this started would be for those of you that wish to host a Q & A session, let me know the topic of your expertise and the day and time you would be avaliable to answer questions from other members. (Give me at least a week to let others know about it) I'll post the information on the TGS Calander (http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/calendar.php?) and spread the word to others about how to join the chat room and when to attend this "online roundtable". Topics could include: Marketing Equipment Help Wood Restoration Water Reclamation Flat Work Hoods Safety Computer Help Questions about the joining the PWNA And many other topics. Just let me know if you would like to help. I'll do my best to get the word out and be there for your Q & A session. For those of you that are not comfortable hosting a session, but do want to attend these, let me know what days and times you would prefer (incase the host has a open schedule) I am just trying to help others like myself that would like to learn more, this board is a great place to do just that!

I did not receive any messages or emails about this so I am taking it as there is no interest out there at this time for participating in Q & A learning sessions here. If there is an interest in the future, I will be willing to help get it going.

Power Washing of any kind, no matter what your cleaning can be a very physically demanding job and can take a toll on your body. Is there something you do to better prepare yourself for the job? Do you work out? Eat a certain Diet? Stretch? Take a long bath? Anything?

Depends on the kind of wallpaper and glue. I've got most wallpaper off just soaking it with hot water, and then peeling it right off the wall.

Very well said Ken. "lowballers" (I hate that word because it gets abused sometimes) is something that will always be out there. There will always be someone out there willing to do the same thing you do for less money. Nothing anyone here can do will ever get rid of "them" .... I mean look at how great wal-mart is doing. What you have to do, like Ken said, is set yourself apart. Your work is worth the money spent on it because you will do it right, safely and stand behind your work. You will never be able to win everyone over because some people just want the cheapest price period, no matter what it means. Dont fall into the trap of becoming "just another pw company" ... make yourself and your company the best one out there and strive for quality. Hang in there!

Nice work Howard, what did you use?

SnowLover, Invite him to work with you. Nothing beats hands on experience. If your just getting strted, maybe you guys could help each other out and work together on the company. best advice you can give someone is to READ READ READ and go practice on something you own and not one someone elses house. Barry, Glad to hear things are working out for you, we still got to get together sometime.

Temps in the 80's yesterday, hail and thunderstorms today, and they are saying 2 inches of snow tomorrow. Man I love the midwest....

I was in my local hardware store this week, and they had a product from thompsons called deck wash. (There was a rebate so I could get try it out for free so I figured why not try it out?) They claimed you could just spray it on, and rinse it off and the wood will look like new again..... NOT! I tested it out on an old wooden fence. They should really call this product "$3.99 Gallon of bleach" .....needless to say it didnt work very well.

http://www.thegrimescene.com//gallery/browseimages.php?c=2

If you had the chance to clean anything in the world, what would you like to have a crack at and why? Maybe it's a famous building, an arena, a bridge or a location. be it something big or something small, we all have dreamed about getting a chance to clean something meaningful, so lets hear about it.

How are we susposed to read remarks like this one.... "Okay Scott, even though this seems to be a waste of time that we could use for other things.. let me put this another way" I agree with the take that the pwna should not offer referrals to non member companies... members pay their dues and should get that benefit. The thing I had a problem with was when non member companies were made out to look like uninsured, uneducated companies with no experience who are just working for beer money.