jnoden

Im also wondering where you can get size 30 nozzles. The largest I ever see are size 12.

There are a lot of customers with hard water around here. After the windows dry on some jobs you can see hard water streaks. I use to think the streaks were from not rinsing well enough until I started to triple rinse the windows. I do explain to the customer that if they have hard water then it could occur however I dont feel ok with it. On the other hand I do not plan to climb ladders to clean each window by hand. I am thinking about adding a water softener to my rig but space is at a minimum. Do others see this as a problem and what do you do about it?

I usually add Dawn to my mix but I will try the Calgon thing or a rinse aid and see if that helps. I should add a little plex master (wax) to my wash even though I usually apply that as a 2nd step. I think that would cause the minerals and calcium to not stick as well to the glass but I also think it may not allow the soap to cling like it should. Steve I would be interested in speaking to you more about referral work. Give me a call sometime and maybe we can work something out. (717) 808-6645.

I have pretty much stopped using the defelting pads and use the osbourne brush with a $45 variable speed polisher that I have been using for a couple years now and it works great. The brush isnt cheap but someone posted an online store that had it priced around $100 for two if I remember correctly.

I can understand wanting to pull in a big job and needing to be flexible to meet hoa requirements but hot water, no chems and a sealer like that? I would educate your contact person, give him literature that states the opposite and you can even direct him to threads from these forums. I have done this before and it has worked to change their minds and hire me. I would politely reject the job if he insisted on you doing any of those three things and let him know that you can not compromise your professionalism. Good Luck.

I remember reading a while back on here that some fellas have connected two pressure washers together to increase the GPM. I dont remember if it said how they did it but I was thinking that if someone makes a three way high pressure ball valve than I can throw quick connects on it and run the hoses from each pressure washer to it and one to the gun. Has anyone done this without any problems? Both pressure washers are 5.5gpm at 3500psi so I should get about 10gpm at that same pressure. One washer has a flow type unloader while the other one is not. Will this cause problems and does anyone know who makes a 3 way high pressure ball valve?

That all makes sense. Thanks for the info. Delco does have the kit for that.

I will also try AC on my own deck for free sample.

I currently have a very cushiony FT job but started my power washing business on the side 4 years ago to supplement my income. My day job is super flexible meaning that I can come and go as i please and I can carry comp hrs from one week to the next along with a lot of time off. I will keep this job because I like the work and the benefits are great (county job) but not quite the income I wanted. I have been working about 60-70 hrs a week with both jobs and have had a helper who has been doing good work and understands the business fairly well. I by no means have acted like a fly by night company. I have ins, a nice web site, embroidered shirts and hats, business account,business phone,brochers,flyers,professional proposal forms,yard signs,trailer signs, good equipment etc etc. I will be speaking to an accountant about growing my business. I would like to be responsible for estimates and logistics of my company and my helper would like to become a FT employee. With the marketing I have in place for next year I am fairly confident that I can provide him with FT work. I know it is going to cost me a lot (no longer a sole proprietor) however I think that I can make atleast the same amount of profit and labor a little less. Has anyone tried anything like this or does anyone have any thoughts about this who currently has employees? Im not sure if it is worth it or not. It is a bit of a scary step although not as scary as quitting my day job (which may become an option down the road if I am succesful).

We use a polyester blended tshirt. Not only does the poly have better wicking properties than cotton but it is not affected by bleach. Atlas Screen Printing. I have used Queesboro and Atlas and I like Atlas better.

I would use my 24 ft coress wand any day over ladder work. It is much faster and safer once you get the hang of it.

I have been throwing them away when they get very soiled with stain but they are not cheap. Does anyone wash them? I thought about taking them to a laundramat but figured it is a fire hazzard to dry them in a dryer. What do you do?

Thanks. I think I will try that with stripper. If I can get double the use from them that saves a good amount of money.

It seems to be easier to clean concrete than pavers. I have some pavers to clean up stain drips from an employee who didnt bother to lay plastic. Needless to say he is no longer working with us but I need to get them cleaned up or pay to have the pavers replaced and I think I am going to get hosed for a lot of money.

Dont you have a fan tip that you use for spraying chems? I have the one that sunbrite sells and use that for chems and staining fences. I use the cone even for the deck floor because it gives more control and applies more evenly. I wouldnt mind a fan tip with a smaller orfice. I think that would apply sealer more evenly and I would try that on the floors.

This thread is a big help. I finally undrstand what I was doing wrong. Too heavy of plastic and wrong taping procedure. Im getting excited thinking about trying it this other way. Thanks.

Im learning to do test spots when I do the estimate. I keep a spray bottle of stripper in the truck and if I am not sure of the stripability of a deck I will do it right there that way I do not need to come back.

Does that pre tape plastic have tape on the top and botton? We had tried taping plastic to viyl siding in the past and if it was even just breazy it would come off the siding. It was a real pita.

We always use canvas over the rail and I tell the guys to cover the plants around the deck and while they do use canvas on the railing they do not always cover the plants. Well we just completed a large 2nd story deck and the guys did not cover the plants so there is oil on the leaves of these vine type plants that are growing up the deck. the woman is upset and was told by a nursery that they will die because the leaves have an oil on them that is preventing them from breathing. I spent a long time spraying all the plants down with water but of course not all the oil is coming off. What are the chances that they will die? I think she is going to run me through the ringer if they do die. I wet them down good yesterday and today she called me to say that some of the leaves are beginning to turn brown. I am also returning to put a third coat of Ready Seal down on her floor boards (for free) because she thinks it needs more. customers.

I went back to the customers house and there were a few leaves that were brown (which I pulled off) but Im sure and she feels confident that the plants will be fine. I cant really just replace her plants because like I said most of them are vine type plants and the others are mature and larger than what I could buy. I told her I will be back in two weeks to check on them again. They also got some overspray on a few things that I had to clean up and dripped stain on concrete when they rolled the deckster back to the truck and over the concrete. I had to lecture my guys and I think and hope they get the point now. They understand that next time they will be fixing it on their own time unpaid.

exterior wood restoration can just be a general pita. Rewarding yes. All the above are issues and much more like working on small decks in general. Driving to do the estimates on small decks, splitting the work in to two days for small decks, small deck price shoppers, solid stain or painted decks. No matter how good a job you do it always seems like there are more call backs for exterior wood restoration than anything else. I think that is part of the reason that many contractors get out of this line of business. Can you tell that I have had one of those weeks? Good thing is business is good and I have a lot of happy customers so far this season. knock knock.

Im currently working on a al arge arylic mess. We finally finished the stripping and sanding and it looks great however..... I stained about 8ft of railing and the brown is too dark for the customer. Can ready seal be sanded off or at least lightended a little? I have an osbourne brush on a polisher and I was going to try that but I wanted to get an opinion before I proceed.

thanks james. thats what we are going to try if the wood ever dries around here. looks likes most of us are experiencing rain. thank goodness we have been able to use tux on a couple jobs.

I intermixed light brown and dark brown 50/50 to get a med brown which is what the customer wants. The spindles are the round, lathed, fancy type. I think they may be cedar but im not sure anyway, the stain looks very dark on the spindles. I am going to intermix the 15 gallons I have intermixed with 5 gal of clear to get a more med color for the rest of the project. I know the color lightens some but it was even much darker than what I though it would be. I just want to try and blend the railing in with the lighter stain that I will be applying without power washing it again if possible.

I do not like to add wax to the wash because I believe it has a negative effect on the emulsifying properties and "cling" of my wash plus it does not cover the siding uniformly. I like to add it as a seperate step. It is simply a better method. Its like waxing your car. I think it is better to wash it and then use the spray and wipe quick wax then it is to have wax in the soap. Not that much more added time for a better job.