Mike

New members continue to join The Grime Scene daily and I would like to welcome you all to the board. If you have a few extra minutes, take the time to introduce yourself and let us know a little about you and your company. No need to be shy here, we are all trying to acomplish the same thing here... network with others, educate yourself, and make some new friends. Welcome Again, and I look forward to talking to you all soon. :lgwave:

:club: Where in the World are you? Theres no way to see a list of where everyone is from here at TGS. Which makes it kind of hard to find someone near you that you could possible meet up with and maybe talk shop or grab a bite to eat. So I was wondering if anyone who is interested, respond to this thread with your location and see who's around you?

I've seen more talk about local roundtables lately and it's very encouraging. Participating in a roundtable can do nothing but good things for your business and it also has to be a great business tool. (not to mention the friendships that are formed from meeting others) My question is for those of you that have held these in the past or maybe attended them in the past. Can you offer some advice or make some suggestions for those of us that are interested in this? a few of the many questions that come to mind.. Best time and or place to have one? How did you market it? How did you get your content? Should you invite a vendor? Does it help? Any suggestions would be great and might motivate more of us to get involved that otherwise might not, because of the lack of knowledge.

With the heat wave around the country I wanted to share some information I came across on the OSHA website. Click on the blue underline words for more information. Tips for Working in Hot Weather July 1, 2005 The sun brings special hazards for those working outdoors. To help employers and workers stay safe throughout the summer months, OSHA offers tips that can help prevent heat-related deaths, illnesses, and injuries. The combination of heat, humidity and physical labor can lead to fatalities. The two most serious forms of heat related illnesses are heat exhaustion (primarily from dehydration) and heat stroke, which could be fatal. Signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke need immediate attention. Recognizing those warning signs and taking quick action can make a difference in preventing a fatality. Working Outdoors is an OSHA fact sheet that offers advice on ways to protect against exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV), precautions to take if working in extreme heat, and how to protect against Lyme Disease and the West Nile virus. The fact sheet also offers information links for teenagers working at summer jobs. OSHA’s Heat Stress Card lists tips and precautions to prevent many heat-related deaths and injuries. Available in English and Spanish, this laminated fold-up card is free to employers to distribute to their workers. It offers a quick reference about heat-related injuries, including warning signs, symptoms and rarely treatment. Protecting Yourself Against Harmful sunlight is a pocket card that explains how to perform self-examinations to detect early stages of skin cancer. The card, available in English and Spanish, also describes common physical features of skin cancer that can be caused by exposure to the sun. The publications can be downloaded from OSHA’s web site on the publications page or can be ordered by OSHA’s publications office at (202) 693-1888. More information about heat and sun hazards can be found on OSHA’s website and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their employees. OSHA’s role is to assure the safety and health of America’s workers by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach, and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, go to www.osha.gov.

I've been doing alot of research on Ice Dam's since I've noticed it really seems to be a problem out this way. With so many ways to take care of this, I was wondering what you guys do to remove and combat ice dams if you offer this service. Mike

I'm curious about what the average cost of cleaning out gutters is around the country. This would be for those of you that clean them out by hand, not blasting them with high pressure. Do you charge by the foot? by the hour? by the house? How much? Thanks

Any Pw'ers here from Indiana? I am looking for a little advice and maybe some used equipment. Thanks. Mike Hoosiermike@hotmail.com

Does anyone use decals / stickers as a way of promoting their company.

How do you handle suppling your business forms (invoices, estimate sheets etc) Do you print your own? Have them printed for you? Use a generic form from the office stores? or do you have another way?

Including yourself, how many people work for your company?

I was at auto zone the other day picking up a few things, then I thought I might get some cleaning supplies and detail my wifes car. One of the products I picked up was called invisible glass, it claimed it was a streak free cleaner. It looked liked it did a good job until I took it out into the sunshine and saw the haze and streaks. I followed the instructions exactly, so my question is.... is there really such thing as a haze free streak free window cleaner? :vroom: look out, I cant see!

How do you know when its time to get your gutters cleaned out? When they look like this........ ?

Thats even better. From what I have seen, you just have to treat each account different when it comes to how often you clean them out. Like you said, one area has no trees and may only need 1 cleaning a year, the other has pine needles that fall year round and may need to be cleaned 3-4 times a year. Up here it seems like all the leaves fall within a week, and then the race is on to see how many you can get done before the other guy. (just kidding about the race part :) )

It's a great add on service. Every year money falls from the trees sometime around October - November. While your up there check for loose brackets and leaks as well and add that on if repairs are needed.

There has recently been alot of talks about smoking bans here in Indiana. I'm a non smoker that feels everyone should have the right to smoke if they choose, but doesnt everyone else have the right to eat and not breathe in the second hand smoke? The recent death of Peter Jennings has really put this on the front burner here locally, how do you feel about it?

Congrats BOTH of you. If I make it down to Florida, I'm taking you guys out for dinner, in the NON Smoking section. :D

What would you like to see happen in our industry in 2006? What are you willing to do to help? What can the rest of us do to help?

I'm a playstation junkie as well, a great way to get away from the craziness. I'm addicted to the RPG games from Square software like Final Fantasy and Star Ocean. These are games that you save your progress as you play along the storyline, much like a movie.

Is there such a thing? NOTICE: We collect personal information on this site. Do you ever read the small print on the bottem of web pages. I've been noticing more and more of this on sites like yahoo, google and other sites lately. It seems like you cant go anywhere on the internet anymore without a server taking personal information from your computer and doing who knows what with it.

My winter project this year has been to build a good "multi-use sprayer". This is the first thing I have tried to build on my own from scratch. I am using a 12 volt shurflo pump with my tank and now I am looking the best wand to use that would stand up to the chemicals and the elements. For those of you that use 12 volt pumps, do you use your vehicle or another battery to power your pump. I'm just wondering how I would keep it charged all day.

Great idea! Thanks for the advice. I would have never thought of that. The best thing is it has multi-uses as well.

You answered my next question already as well. If your using pvc, how do you get your spray patterns. Thanks Lance. Shane, let me know about those triggers as well. Thanks.

Lets here more about your home made wands?

Of course it does, anything that makes the home look better makes it worth more money to potential buyers. Also, like Ryan said, you also have the safety angle to work. Dont forget you can also take a preservation angle with wood and roof cleaning. All of these things factor into home value.

check these threads out. Gutter Pricing: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2750 Gutter Cleaning: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1896 Gutter Cleaning: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2915 Gutter Cleaning with Vac: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4615 Exterior Gutter Cleaning: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=272