Adrian

It's overhead expenses. It comes with the turf.
Expensed quarterly or however you pay Uncle Sam.
It takes the right products to run a successful business based on high volume.
A gutter job here and there is ok I guess with dollar store products. However its no way to make money if you are not charging
the passthrough cost' of a real industry product like mentioned onto your customer.
Which in turn causes your customer to do the word of mouth thing in a positive way.

Thanks John. Just fight the good fight.

It's been a while folks.
I had to bury my grand daughter. ( really tough gig I swear)
8 surgeries so far on the old bones.
Still plugging away at it though not as gung ho.
Just getting through the day sometimes is a chore in itself.
Glad to see some regulars as well as new names here.
 
I also see that not much has changed in the pw world.
Same people doing the same ego driven stuff ( peel the onion guys c'mon)
Same bashing same executions of character ( B.S. in my eyes )
We all bleed red...... no exceptions.
 
Various things are happening around the globe to make one want to hide his head in the sand.
Hard to keep a positive outlook sometimes....whatever.
While ALL my guitars gently weep.
Just hope you all are fighting the good fight and not with each other.
 
Peace Through Sonic Distortion
 

Yes, and it is probably already on your shelf at home.
Sodium Hypochlorite = Bleach
Surfactant= dish soap or the like.
Dihydrogen Monoxide comes out of your faucet.
The broom and bucket is probably in your pantry or closet.
 
Your Sodium Hypochlorite is  probably 6% in strength. So beef it up if you don't see instant results.
Contractors generally use 12% strength which is found at chem supply or pool supply.
Best of luck show some pics.

Ladder and fall arrestor.
Unless you rent a bucket lift.
Sodium Hydroxide.

Seems almost everyday in Houston this August, it's 90-95 degrees before 10 or 11 am.
The heat has actually slowed and stopped some projects. The flash adhesion is rearing its ugly head and causing  double the amount of stain in some case.
However I really feel for you northern folks getting cold so early. Just doesn't seem right . "facepalm".
Glad to see a few familiar faces. Hang in there everyone.

Those are Better Homes and Gardens pictures for sure.
Curious if you have any pictures of the "during" process.
I would love to see some of your techniques on protecting the surface areas below and around
the deck area.
Do you constantly keep the areas wet? Or tarping or both?
Did you paint the bordered areas as well, or work around exiting color?
 
We've all done "trainer decks" until we are blue in the face. I don't even take pictures of them anymore.
Auto pilot, blah blah blah!!!!!
But this one is for the record books and should be on the cover of Deck World magazine ( if there was one).
Awesome work.

Hey John, the first thing that comes to mind to clean is the White House. Its gotten really dirty over the last 6 yrs.
Wait.... I might be speaking metaphorically.

Ultimately before the good in anything gets tainted, it's mankinds inert drive that propels us through history to do better and advance ourselves to a more comfortable "survival setting".
Many of us share to help newbs avoid the learning curve and mistakes.
Many of us share different techniques from pro to pro.
Many of us don't care, many of us do.
 
It's a lot the same on many of the forums out there that I am members of.
Ultra lite aircraft forums....... man those dudes will fly to you and land in your back yard to help out with your build.
On the guitar forums.... there are secrets shared that can make a washed up rocker that would make one come out of retirement.
The product and invention forums are similar but very guarded.
 
I think it all comes back around full circle for everyone at some point...
 
You ask the question "Why do we help with info".....
I say why not........ we know who needs help and who doesn't..... but for the folks that stumble on these forums looking for info,
I prefer that none of my info be incorrect...... so I bite my tongue sometimes too, until I'm sure of myself. But hey, after 12 yrs now, I'm in it, with what I know.

Ultimately before the good in anything gets tainted, it's mankinds inert drive that propels us through history to do better and advance ourselves to a more comfortable "survival setting".
Many of us share to help newbs avoid the learning curve and mistakes.
Many of us share different techniques from pro to pro.
Many of us don't care, many of us do.
 
It's a lot the same on many of the forums out there that I am members of.
Ultra lite aircraft forums....... man those dudes will fly to you and land in your back yard to help out with your build.
On the guitar forums.... there are secrets shared that can make a washed up rocker that would make one come out of retirement.
The product and invention forums are similar but very guarded.
 
I think it all comes back around full circle for everyone at some point...
 
You ask the question "Why do we help with info".....
I say why not........ we know who needs help and who doesn't..... but for the folks that stumble on these forums looking for info,
I prefer that none of my info be incorrect...... so I bite my tongue sometimes too, until I'm sure of myself. But hey, after 12 yrs now, I'm in it, with what I know.

A big thanks to Shane for coming in and helping me with a pretty good sized wood project.
It's been a stellar week and still am going strong. But I needed a little hudspa on this one.
 
Suddenly my helper realized he forgot to insert his anal suppository and couldn't work, at the very last minute.
So I reach a little farther into the abyss of contractors that have offered ( lets just say) their services in times of
slower than usual prosperity, to no avail.
 
 
Helpers think I take on some projects that are too big for my little company. I do just fine.
 
However my work load has been uncomfortable to say the least with really weird weather lately.
 
Whatever.... back to Shane.
 
Made the call to Shane and he was just wrapping up his morning.
He made the crappy drive to my customers house through our murderous Houston traffic,
 worked for an hour and helped me finish up.
He knocked out around 60 remaining ft. and the gate return.
 
You are a really good dude to help me get the wheels back on the rails.
Right on!!!!
 
 
 

Insurance, yes, definately.
LLC = you might as well stay sole proprieter if only part time.
6000.00 can be tripled on a part time basis.
If you only do vinyl finishes , then yes 6000.00 is realistic at part time.
But you will get bored fast with vinyl only, when there are so many other areas to tap into.
Flat work, Hardi, EIFS, wood, roofs, window cleaning. All can be done part time.
If a customer calls your company and asks you to clean a brick finish, are you going to turn them down because it's not vinyl?
Not trying to be a smartie or anything but if you limit yourself to vinyl only, you'll go under quick.
Hope that helps but thats my 2 cents.

Some great, no , awesome projects as always Shane.

A big thanks to Shane for coming in and helping me with a pretty good sized wood project.
It's been a stellar week and still am going strong. But I needed a little hudspa on this one.
 
Suddenly my helper realized he forgot to insert his anal suppository and couldn't work, at the very last minute.
So I reach a little farther into the abyss of contractors that have offered ( lets just say) their services in times of
slower than usual prosperity, to no avail.
 
 
Helpers think I take on some projects that are too big for my little company. I do just fine.
 
However my work load has been uncomfortable to say the least with really weird weather lately.
 
Whatever.... back to Shane.
 
Made the call to Shane and he was just wrapping up his morning.
He made the crappy drive to my customers house through our murderous Houston traffic,
 worked for an hour and helped me finish up.
He knocked out around 60 remaining ft. and the gate return.
 
You are a really good dude to help me get the wheels back on the rails.
Right on!!!!
 
 
 

This needs to tone down gentlemen.Please, seriously, not sure anyone cares but you guys.
I mean, I care that this thread is starting to become argumentative. But your disagreement is between you guys and should be kept between you and not "aired out" publicly. 
Just saying, we have seen it "blow up" in the past.
 
Just tone it down a bit.

Awesome!!!!!!! Wow !!!!!

 
Such a good feeling to do an excellent job.
 
Beth

Here's some repo man
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIAZ0M-dJ5Y

Another one of the greats passed this weekend.
Lou Reed.
What a maverick in the New York music scene.
 
If you are too young to know of him, look him up and check out some of his material.
It will move you.
Nothing to do with pressure washing except through the headphones while working.
Being a musician myself ( or a washed up musician) this is really sad to me.

I was living in a crappy little apartment on Franklin street in Fort wayne, Indiana. My girlfriend and I had just gotten up and flipped on the morning news. We watched as they went to a breaking story out of NYC, where a plane had "accidently" crashed into one of the WTC towers.
 
I remember talking to her about how hard it would be to accidently hit one of those, as you can see them for miles in the air on a clear day.
 
Then the second plane hit.
 
I stood up and grabbed my phone. My girlfriend could see in my face that something was wrong. She started asking why I was so concerned. I replied "this is the beginning of WW3. This isn't an accident, we are under attack. We will not see peace again for a long time." I just knew in my gut.
 
I finished dialing and reached my Plt. Sgt. I said "hey Sgt., are you watching the news?" He said no. I told him to turn it on. He watched for a few minutes and told me to grab my gear and get to the armory.
 
We all sat on standby, waiting for the orders, but they didn't come. My unit deployed to Iraq in 03, but I had since gotten out. I was a single father with custody of two kids.
 
After I got married, I re-enlisted active duty. I did my time in Kirkuk and Mosul, Iraq. I loved my job. An injury put me out. Got ran over and messed me up pretty bad. I would go back over there in a heartbeat, because those people HATE us and they will not stop until they have won or been wiped out.
 
 
I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
 
11B, SGT.
1-67 CAB
2 BCT, 4 ID  WARHORSE!

Works great, looks great.
and it has the little dudes again...... :rugby:  :orange:  :onthego:  :offended:  :numbness:  :nonchalance:  :nightmare:  :nevreness:   :panda: 

Works great, looks great.
and it has the little dudes again...... :rugby:  :orange:  :onthego:  :offended:  :numbness:  :nonchalance:  :nightmare:  :nevreness:   :panda: 

There's a church song I heard John, called "The Green Side Of The Grass"
 
one line says, ...... anyday you're on the green side of the grass, is a good day.
 
 
....works for me bro!!!!

Buskers make $400-500 a day on some of these sin infested street corners of Houston.

Been saying it for years, just didn't know anyone were reading my post'. ( snicker)