sweetwaterfish

I'd be more worried about water spots or a good rinse job than fading.

Heres a link:RustAid® Outdoor Rust Stain Remover (GSX00101) - 4 Pack - Mold, Mildew & Rust Prevention & Cleaners - Ace Hardware

Try RustAid, its a mild blend of OX and another acid, I believe. I've never had it bleach out brick or stucco when rinsed. You can find i at Ace Hardware.

I remember seeing ads for a spray-on type substance, but can't find it in stores. I did find one gutter sealer at HD that can be applied in wet/dirty conditions. its Butyl based.

The new door hangers arrived! Here's a question, when putting them out in a neighborhood, do you hit every house, or only the dirty ones? Would like to know your opnion. 2nd door hanger ***.pdf

We bought our first hot wash rig to augment our equipment. Is a Hydromax 8.5 GPM dual gun rig built by BCE systems. (Very happy with it!) Its time for the first oil change and wanted your opinions on what to use. The pump is a General Pump TSF 2021. Uses "GP Series 100 oil". What oil/brand would you recommend for this pump? Also, where would I buy it from locally. I've got big jobs scheduled and don't have time for mail order.

'preciate it Russ! I was having a hard time reconciling the cost of exotic oil, when I figured there was a cheaper alternative out there!

I think its a good idea and during my extended tenure as a Realtor (10+ years) I have seen various contractors offer such payment options. Here are my concerns: 1) what is the average market time of listings in your area? 60, 90 or 180 days? Longer? Are you willing to wait that long to get paid? 2) Some agents are notorious for over pricing listings and those listing rarely sell. You could do a lot of work which doesn't result in $$$ if you tie up with those types. Maybe you could compromise and offer a 120 day or at closing billing option (which ever comes first). However, if you bill at closing, expect to get punched in the wallet every now and again. You may get asked to negotiate your bill downward to make a closing work when money is tight for the seller. Good luck!

One of my frequent Realtors called me for a bid. In all fairness, as a new startup company (not new to the business), my rates are fairly low, but my work is very professional. Relocation company was ordering/paying for work, required 3 bids. 3000 SQF EIFS/Stucco, 20x20 deck, and 75' driveway, 30' walkway, roof blown off, but not washed. My bid was $396 after Realtor Discount. Was told I likely had the job, as she didn't see how 3rd bid (which was late getting in) could be any lower than mine. Work had to be done on a Sunday. Of course, third company (one she had never used before) bid eventually came in just before deadline, and WAS lower than mine. Relocation company of course went with low bid. I was in area two days later and drove by the house to see the job quality of my competition, and I am fuming mad! Nothing I can do about it, checks already been cut to these shysters. What would you do?

Is it similar to the dark streaks on this column in the foreground? That cap is an EIFS type stucco. It laughed at my regular sauce, even with a 30 minute dwell time. I finally moved up to a 75% mixture applied with a pump up sprayer and 15 minutes dwell.

Micheal... Tanks for the heads up, those are GREAT, I will be ordering a batch form these guys!

Here's what I'm learning about door hanging, also a little history about me: I just started my own company after being in/around the industry for 10 years. I worked for a friend on a part time basis who has reached a comfortable plateau with his business and doesn't care about expanding. With the newness and timing of my company, I didn't get into the yellow pages at all this year, and most of the people I know that could send me business are clients of my friend, and I won't blatantly steal business from him. That being said, I have turned to door hanging as a way of getting business. Here's what I've learned so far: I think you are correct about skipping the really dirty ones. Its obvious some people just really don't give a crap about the condition of their home. You could offer them $50.00 specials and they still won't clean it. Initially I also avoided the really clean ones, with the mindset being "hey they are already clean". What I have found out is, the clean ones get the houses cleaned every year, so they are good potential customers! I've had several call wanting to know If they could get the spacial discount next summer when they get their house cleaned (I always put an expiration date on the door hanger specials). I also spend a little extra on the hangers and get a coated finish and heavy card stock that has a "quality look and feel. I have found the people are saving these hangers and calling me a month after I hang them, which never happened with photo copy fliers. They are pricier than most at 13 cents each, but I have found they are worth the extra $$$. On my first set of hangers, I quoted a special price, as I was targeting tract home neighborhoods where all the houses were similar. My response has improved when I took the price off, and offered at dollar amount or percentage discount instead. On average, I get 8 jobs per 250 hangers that I place. The door hangers cost me $130 per 1000, and at this rate I'll book 36 $200+ jobs from them. Its been a pretty good ROI. Just my $.02...hope I helped!

I offer Realtors a 20% discount on listed properties Ray She's not happy at all with the work (obviously) and the cleaner has been very unresponsive about going back and cleaning it correctly ( surprise!!!!). I like the idea about taking it on the chin and doing it for free. She with the area's largest office, so I'll get some really good mileage if I did that! I may just do that this weekend depending on my schedule.

Thanks for all the great advice here everyone! Did this deck today, chlorine based sauce to kill the growth and then Oxalic to kill the chlorine! Homeowner is happy with the results

Most everything in my area and price range would be just plain PT pine. At my old company, we always used choline at 20-30% and then just rinsed. I guess I misunderstood the abbreviations. So just to clarify, Ox does not neutralize bleach/chlorine? Also where would I get Sodium Hydroxide in bulk?

I keep reading on various posts that Ox does neutralize it. What does do the trick?

I'm washing a property which has cedar shakes abutting a painted concrete surface. The Contractor does not want the shake washed or damaged ( they are in really bad shape). I'll be softwashing the masonry portion with a 8% Chlorine & Soap solution. Any idea on how not to clean/damage the shakes? My initial thought is to flood the shakes with water prior to cleaning. Can't really mask, as the property is two stories high.

With my previous employer, we mainly did residential soft-washing. I've been asked to bid on a few commercial jobs in the past week and am honestly a little lost as far as rates are concerned. They are one story "storefront" shopping centers, the fronts have barrel tile accents, flat roofs, and lots of plate glass windows. The sides and rear are unadorned concrete block. The siding on the front is EIFS. I am in the north Florida area. The customer wants the flat concrete surfaces, tile accents, as well as the walls washed As far as I know, there not a lot of competition from large firms, mainly just a couple of smaller independent painters and pressure washing companies. Should I bid the front side of the building at a different rate from the rear? Any tips/pointers? Should I look at a SQF price based on the area of the building? If so, even at $.08/foot, that puts it at over $5,000 for the job which seems high. Or should I be calculating on a linear square footage price? I know its a lot of questions, but thanks for your help. I'm a little lost on pricing jobs this large!

I have found that pressure and limestone are not always compatible. We recently had a pool waterfall with limestone which had literally turned black with mildew and algae. Our weapon of choice was a pump-up sprayer and a solution of 30% sodium hypochlorite and 70% water. Let it dwell 10 minutes and then rinse with low pressure(garden hose). The orange is usually the dead algae and can be rinsed off. The rinsing may take a little while since the limestone is so porous.