jnoden

That seems like a great system. Maybe I can actually get my employee to use goggles with something like that. FYI....When you visit the web site, click on online distibutors and it takes you to a web site where you can order a free sample.

I set up paycycle as payroll for my employee. My question is: What about the money that the business makes? Do I need to send in estimated quarterly payments to the irs or can I wait until the end of the year and pay in all the money i owe when i figure it out through tax software?

Taking deposits have many benefits. Another one is that when you are booked out and people are trying to get their work done asap. Now the next bidder gets the job mostly because he can do it sooner. I got burned on a $6000 job a couple years ago because of this. The guy told me I would have the job but he wanted it started before the three weeks that I had told him so he gave it to another guy. If I would have sold the job and collected a deposit..... they will not have other estimates completed even though they scheduled the job with you. you can rest assure that the $300 you just spent on that dark red or brown sealer is an investment and will not just sit around reduce sticker shock when handing them the final bill Id say even if you risk only one job cancellation per year then it warrants taking deposits. Of course there are exceptions to the rule and money can be refunded if the cancellation is an absolute necessity.

Jarod I never go back to collect the down payment. I get the check/ credit card at time of estimate or they mail it to me. It really helps when you are booked a few weeks out and you want to ensure that the jobs you have lined up are going to be there. Maybe its just me but it is also seems better when I present the final bill and it is not as shocking because they already paid 25% I had two ocassions last year where customers basically said; Please do not take this personal but I got burnt on making a deposit before and the guy never showed up. I told the one guy that I got burnt before on ordering $300 materials and then the person cancelled. He understood and made the payment. The other guy I didnt feel comfortable saying that and his story seemed legitimate and very unfortunate so i let him slide and he paid it all at the end. I do show up at their house with a lettered vehicle, company emboidered shirt and hat, company brochure, customer agreement and various company specific forms (not generic forms from Staples) etc and I think that does help to give you a little credibility when asking for a deposit. I am also now licensed in the state. big deal.

I ask for 25% down for most work over $500 and that is mostly for deck work. I have it written in to my customer agreement. It stipulates that the 25% down reserves their date and pays for supplies and is non refundable. I had no problems last year as the first year I implemented it.

Ive been working on getting our vehicles out of my garage and driveway. Theres nothing like shoveling heavy snow and ice. Since I hired my first FT guy this year, Im nervous about when his start date will be. He is currently employed and needs to gove his employer a two week notice. Hopefully we can start working mid March. Getting antsy already.

when you are talking about newspaper ads are you talking about classifieds services rendered section?

so based on the last post, parafin wax is used for waterproofing. Doe that mean that it is parafin wax and not parafinic oil that is found in deck sealers? Not that it really matters either way to me. I was originally wondering what wood sealer companies use as their waterproofing chemical and which is the best, meaning which last longest. So linseed, tungs oil and parafin are the waterproffing agents in most deck stains. Also it is safe to say that these agents are all oils that have dual purposes and the other is to condition the wood and replenish natural oils that can be leeched out during the cleaning/ stripping process. Lets start a new thread on mildecides. haha...just kidding. or am I?

I wonder what Woodtux uses? Probably a secret. I am going to check this year to see how its water repellency is from decks I sealed last year with Woodtux. So the oil eventually dries leaving the wax dispersed thoughout the wood. I would imagine that as the wax wears off the surface of the wood, the water beading stops. That is parafinic stains anyway.

Good information Rod. Im going to start calling you Britanica. So it is the parifin that shields moisture. I thought that Parafin was the oil although I have heard of Parafin wax if that is what it is. I was curious because customers really seem to like the water beading properties that some stains have yet other sealers claim to sheet off water. Water repellency is a sealer property that i do not hear much about even when manufacturers explain their sealers composition. This past year when I would do the splash test on various decks it seemed like most absorbed water even though the stain was still intact. I guess the pigment always lasts longer than the water repellent in the sealer.

I have a battery on my deckster that always needs charged, one on my pw and I will probably soon have one on a new hot box. A side from that, it happens often enough that an electrical outlet isnt working at a customers house when you really need it. I was looking at generators when I stumbled on to inverters and imediately began wondering why I dont hear about its use more than I do about generators on this forum. Even if I had to keep my truck running the whole time i think it would be more worth it if they work well. It cost less, quieter, no moving parts, no gas. What is the negative of using an inverter over a generator on a work site? I think I would like to convert my deckster to AC and get an AC hot box and hook my pw up to a inverter so I never need to worry about batteries. Has anyone else done this? I saw that there are cheap inverters (probably junk) and some that have 3-4 outlets and cost several hundred dollars. While on this topic, I also want to ask if it hurts to hook up a battery charger to your deckster when the battery is dead and use it as the power source. I had to do it several times and it works.

The outlets on your van must come in handy, I would like to hook something like that up. Rod I hear what you are saying about carrying around buckets and hoses. It doesnt take long before that gets old. If you have a chance, here is an inverter I was looking at Motor Trend Power Inverter 3000 Watt, Model# MPTI-1/4156 |Inverters | Northern Tool + Equipment if i do get it Im going to wire and mount it under my truck near the trailer wire hook up. Seems like it would work but I dont feel like always having my truck running while using a sander or something. I wonder if A beefier battery in my truck would do the trick. Then again you got me reconsidering just getting a generator. Decision decisions.

Chicken Catcher (age 14-16) many jobs through high school (dropped out of HS for year) Votech (electrical program) Electrician (1 yr at manufactured housing plant) Community College Penn State Couselor 2 yrs Probation Officer (past 5 years) Started PWing PT three years ago and hired a FT employee for this spring. Pwing has been good to me so far and if I double my sales again this year I may quit my day job for the following season. This past season has been completely insane with me basically working two FT jobs while my wife was preagnant with our first and also working FT. I had a few panic attacks and thought there was something wrong with my heart. Looking forward to the spring though!

I need to buy a new leaf blower for blowing off decks and cleaning some gutters. I cant decide if I should go with gas or electric. Electric blowers are lighter, more dependable and cost less but you need to use a lot of extension cord for gutters (which I do not really mind). It seems that 90% of the houses I work on have working outside recepts. Is it still better to have a gas blower?

Wow, there are a lot of people making over $15,000 in sales a month from one rig. That gives me a lot of hope. I hired my first FT guy and I am hoping that we can avg 10k a month in sales.

I started out with the best pressure washer Lowes carried. 13hp honda was good but because it was direct drive and had a cheap pump on it (they all do from Depot and lowes) it crapped out on me. Got a new one with the warranty but it also crapped out before the season was over. I do mostly decks now and It was defiantely worth the money to get a 3500psi 5.5gpm with electric start that is mounted on the trailer. It is a pain in the butt taking a washer on and off the trailer. I think I paid like $2400 with a general pump. It will last a long time.

Personally I like having the deckster with me that way if it needs re-primed or turned off between applications. Also I dont like running that much hose because you have to purge more in between cleaner, sealer and brightener.

How long does restora last? Judging from the wet look it has upon completion, it looks like a house sealer or atleast a waxy substance. Will it still look lusterous the following season?

This has become more of a headache for me this year than I had expected. Any siding that is 20 or so years old around heare is oxidized and depending on the color and type of vinyl siding, it is either not noticible or very noticible after my house wash. I am working on a way to reome this without brushing but it will still be more time consuming than a regular house wash. I am interested in seeing how people charge for this if they are willing to share and what process they use to remove the oxidation. I would like to post a poll as to what people do about oxidized vinyl siding however I do not know how. I was thinking options as: Do not notice oxidized siding or do not test for oxidation or do not provide additional treatment Test for oxidized siding at the estimate and add the service as an additional option on the estimate/proposal with an added price. Test for oxidized siding and price accordingly but do not offer it as an option. Remove oxidation but does not affect pricing

I used emulsifier plus all year with good results. I am currently experimenting with Citrus Cleaner to see if the results are better. There is not a wash out there that I am aware of that loosens the oxidation from siding. I personally dont think that you can provide a satisfactory job by just removing dirt and mildew from a highly oxidized home. On the other side of that though, if the client is not willing to spend more money for the service than what do you do?

I have completely speckled my entire truck and used a little mineral spirits and very fine steel wool on the glass. Worked instanly. Rods idea sounds equally good.

Does anyone know a way to test the strength of bleach or Chlorine? I buy 12% pool shock and I know that it weakens but how do I know what its strength is after a period of time. Is there something similar to litmus paper that can be used to test the % of sodiumhypo? I ask for two reasons. It looks like I will have 15 gal of 12% left over because i stocked up for a marketing campaign with Clipper that didnt work out. Also I have some warranty work for Trex to do that requires you mix bleach with their cleaner.

my ss swivel does not attach to brass coupler. Is it the same case with all ss qc's and its opposing brass counterpart?

I think it is best to quote the job that the reipient wants done the way you normally would. Then find out what it cost to receive the product or service from the other party. In my case both the deck and the web site cost about $1,000.00 so it all worked out. Customer paid for the sealer. I like the idea of finding someone in the signs business for trading services.

Looks like an easy fun job. i would stick my pw right in the middle on the bw and run 250Ft pw hose. Im not sure what I would bid, maybe $600-700 but I wouldnt be on the ground. I would use a spray flex and rain suit and hit it all from on top. Have Fun.