Adrian
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Posts posted by Adrian
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unreal!!!!!!
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Hey Mathew,
Do you have to wait along time before the draw kicks in at 40 ft of hose?
Any leaks? I like the bucket. I am drawing from the top of a bucket mounted to a two wheelr that flows through a light duty hose reel. It probably draws quicker being at the bottom of the bucket.
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Jeff,
alot of larger firms don't employ the phone book or news listings.
With alot of large property corporations, they will use what is called a "Preferred Venders" list or directory.It stays in house at corp. That's how the larger corps. keep more in their budget by using 1 particular vender that blankets all services for a set or lower rate for regular maintainance. The good thing is that these larger corps don't know that these vendors sometimes are caught with their britches down when they find themselves unable to perform a certain service due to a lack of a contractor.
It is very hard to get "Hooked up" with the "direct to contractor" approach, not impossible, but hard. Therefore...
Subbing through other vendors usually yeilds good profits to you and you don't have to hassle with the corp since the vendor is the main mouthpiece to the corp. I have done ok with a couple of contractors for strip malls and apt. complexes. They have the responsability to notify all the tenants..... not me...they have to co-ordinate with corps. They pay up front cost' in most cases.
But then again you have a pretty big operation and that carries clout to the corps.
I am not to the point where I can make all day sales calls to corps. and keep up with the work as well...... It's the middle of the season right now and time is everything. Subbing through the vendors has helped me alot.
Try to see if you can get on the PVL at a corp and you will probably get calls as soon as a few months down the road.
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No Russ, But the title sounds really good. I will do a search on them and find out more. Any benefits, pros, cons?
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I did a resi wash on a 90 year old "Southern Style Georgia" home.
It was really large and really valuable mainly due to it's history and location.
It wasn't much different from a regular resi wash except that the glass was sensative and needed to be covered. It had really tall columns ( I love my xjet). The bricks were not normal size, but half the normal thickness. Alot of the hardware (hinges, knobs, light fixtures were from a completely different era) with unusual themes and designs. Extra caution there as well. All and all it made a vast improvement on the overall appearance before some of the more heavy duty contractors came in to finish it out.
Sorry for no pics. Disc is in a box .................. somewhere.
But it think this falls in line with the thread.
I love my xjet
Hope everyone is having a great Summer so far.
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Great job with the follow up. Customers love that. It makes them feel important and alot of times they literally hold you to your word.
6% seems a little weak for house washing. I assume your are talking about Sodium Hypochlorite? If you bump it up to 10% or 12.5 % in your mix, then, that should decrease the amount of time to do the entire house.
Are you x-jetting? Typical 2 story should take around 2 hours or less, unless you add gutter service.
Congrats on landing the first residential. That customer will call you again next season. One down... the world to go...
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They are much more difficult over planes. Have flown cesnas for years.
This will be an interesting chapter in my life.
Hey Larry, do you still have it?
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For the future.... I got alot of extra life out of my hoses by letting NAPA auto parts just repair them for around 15.00 bucks. Once you have a hole in a high pressure hose, it's on it's way out regardless of the repair. Although you will buy a little time with the repair, you will sooner than later need to replace it.
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I have 2 Revolution mini 500 helicopters & I need to shout at anyone who knows anything about these birds. 1 completely built and one still crated.
Both hangered and unsued, never flown, 1 benched and balanced, but still never flown. I am about to dive into unknown territory..... willingly. LOL!
Just like when I stated my PW BIZ.
I'm also checking some flight forums as well.
thx
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Hey John, that's a good deal up above this post, esp. if the tote has the "shark cage" around it. They offer good road protection.
Turbo nozzles are great for "post construction" motar chunks or something like that. But not for someone's driveway. You will not be able to get an "even clean", I promise you. Get the surface cleaner and you will be able to substantiate your rates on a more professional platform. Trust me, go clean a mall with a turbo nozzle, then clean another mall with a surface cleaner. 10X faster than a turbo nozzle or a fan. Turbo nozzles have their place ( i even have a dual turb nozzle for curbs) but for the "Flat" part of the flatwork you will definately need a surface cleaner that is honed to your machine.
Trust the vets on this forum. They have helped me to grow into someone to be reckoned with in this business. I am grateful for that.
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I think the best idea is to let a helper do all the work full time, but I am not quit there yet.
But, I love the way a tennis ball works. So simple and effective.
Thx all.
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I am just now catching my breath from the initial rush of the season. Started for me end of Feb. Have been going strong since. This week is slowing up a bit. I will utilize the bench time to market and follow up on previous leads.
It seems to be a trend in these parts. But the horizon is looking busy as well. Hope it holds up until Nov. It has been kind of a rush for my customers to get their decks done before company arrives for the 4th of july cook outs and what not.
It seems that the North is getting most of the foul weather ( except for the poor folks in Houston with all the recent flooding) Not to mention the Boston areas.
Hang in there, and I will be sending good vibes your way.
In no time you will be laughing at this thread because you are so SWAMPED!!!!!!
I guess it could be worse. we could be in Phoenix where it is 110 just about everyday. Mr. Stone must be sweltering. I mean it gets warm and muggy here in Atlanta, but not 110.
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Excellent idea Ken. I was thinking of a clamp, but the ball would be less cumbersome. Thanks.
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you might be a pw if.......... when you are vacationing at Disney World and staying on the Boardwalk and thinking of submitting a bid on it to the director of facilites. ( it about a half mile long around this beautiful lagoon )
YOU WOULD HAVE TOO!!!!
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ok, well I just found out about the "Certification".
All it adds up to is a gold ribbon that says certified above the company profile.
So that covers that one.
any takers on the crampy hand issue..... or am I on my own to devise a trigger holder?
I can't be the only one who deals with this.
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It's been a little while since I have been able to take a few minutes for TGSing. Busy has been pretty steady. Yeah!!!!!
Getting caught up on a few admin issues and was dealing with issues with Service Magic.
5 star rating on all categories. Maintained the prereq's. on ins. and CC info.
yet they tell me I am eligible after 6 months from now to become certified through SM.Yet, this is my second year with them. What gives? They are not the worst lead source but what is their cert. really worth and what weight does it hold? Is anyone here a certified Service Magic Contractor?
As I have appreciated my recent overload of business (and finally getting caught up for the next round), as I have been on jobsites doing houses and increased deck work. I find myself constantly looking for ways to improve and expedite this SCIENCE of exterior cleaning and restoration.
I have a few ideas that need a little more headwork, before I bring them to the table. Plus I have heard some great ideas from other companies in my area. I can't help it..... I like to improve whatever current situation is at hand. What is everyone doing to keep the trigger depressed for long periods of time so I don't get hand cramps.
I hope everyone is having a great Summer.
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I like it. I use it pretty often when deck jobs come up. Applies very good even with pumper. Pretty oily odor for a few days after but not unbearable.
Dries quick. Kind of a limited color selection, but, they do look great afterwards.
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It's great not to have to worry about the "Man". You are the captain of your very own ship plotting your own course. What a great and scary feeling. You will do well and we'll keep ya lifted up on this end.
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oh yeah. Here's the little disabled childs website.
Maybe some type of involvement by grouping up with other contractors.
This project evolved over a couple of weeks and was finished in one day.
( of course I went in a day ahead to wash the house) and came back the next morning to do the drive and sidewalks ( in hopes of exposure to the T.V. network as well) and it worked fine for me!!!
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I was just on FOX channel 5 two weekends ago for volunteering a free housewash to a family with a disabled child. It was really cool, fun, and I feel like I did some good for the family. The house was falling apart and they had no money for improvements on the house. A painter got a few different contractors to help with the facelift. I got interviewed and mentioned my company name on air.
Maybe you could try something like that.
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Cover the screens for sure. Wind and overspray may complicate the job. Best to just go ahead and tape it all off. An ounce of prevention.....
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Great for you Jeff!
I haven't been on TGS much lately because of being so busy.
Mine business comes from various sources, through painters and HOA's front of the battle lines marketing, face to face, and the 3 foot business card rule but the resi's are booming for me and the deck work is picking up considerably. Truthfully, I haven't even been doing any classified advertising since Nov. of last year and the word of mouth or sub jobs have been very steady.
I have been landing alot of work from nicely placed business card holders in Gas stations and dry cleaners and diners. But like you said, even when it slows down, another round of jobs come in from the others looking out for you.
I don't operate on the level that you do, and I only have a helper some of the time. It is nice though to see the stats turn in favor of profit vs. more withdrawals than deposits. I am not sure if it is growth I am experiencing or just a full calandar. Just hope the back holds up. lol.
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Thanks folks for all the nice remarks. Yes this deck was very thirsty, and in my opinion it could use another gal or two of the med. brown ready seal. The customer was just short of freaking out at the results of the cleaning.
I did a small swatch area with the stain to show what it would look like after, and they love the finish. Another good thing is that in a few months they are going to expand the size of the deck. They said they would like me to finish the new addition as well.
I stripped the deck with 12%
I neutralized the deck with 12%
and I stained the deck with 12%
just kidding ( that was for Shane)
HD80 for strip
#80 wood brightner and neutralizer from Sun Brite.( great product)
Med. Brown Ready seal
The customer wanted some color, but not the hideous brown (whatever that stuff was) that was previously on it.
Cool thing is that after I cleaned the drives and sidewalks and finished the decking, that the house really shows how bad it needs a cleaning as well.
I gave a few freebie swipes on the house to show them. I am sure I will be back there soon.
Hope everyone has had a good and profitable week.
How can I make my own X-jet?
in Tools, Equipment & Basic Maintenance
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If you have not been using the xjet up to this point, just buy one. You will never look back. Use that $ from home depot to get an additional low pressure tip or go with the m5. Either way you can't go wrong. Leave the ladder at home.
Although I understand the desire to build your own, I cannot help you there.
You will find in this business that alot of accessorials will caost sometimes in the hundreds, but the xjet is well worth the cino spent.
Anyone who knows me on this forums knows how I feel about the xjet setup.
fill in the blanks.