shefferz

I agree, thank you for this information. It seems that concrete has a way of "maturing" contractors in their early years. I had a mix up with concrete and learned over one night of research of what I previously knew with 3 years experience. It has laid the foundation (no pun intented) to always research/ask/learn then practice before accepting a new type of cleaning project

I'm not saying it can't be done properly, but from seeing the results of the "wax" option of other local contractors, I'm over hesitant to even look into it as an offered service. My other hesitation lies in the fact I clean windows on 70% of my jobs, the last thing i want to clean off a window is Any type of wax. Good luck with your long jumping endeavors.

+1 f18 Its "expensive" but goes a long way... one bucket can make you thousands of dollars in a gutter brightening service add on. Dilute it and always test an area first

A local guy around here uses wax, and I have cleaned homes he has waxed ~3-5 years ago and many of them have staining in specific areas. right next to shutters, around doors and under eaves. I made it appoint to ask the HO if they have ever used this CO when I find homes that have been "ruined" and they almost always say "yes, now that you mentioned that, they did apply a wax" - I'm never offering it or using it..its a waste of time money and potential hazard. Not to mention, I have cleaned homes that were waxed 1.5 years ago and theere was still mold on the siding... The wax just made it impossible for the Sh to stick to the vinyl.

How long do you let it dwell for?

My local hardware store can make them.. they have all sorts of tubing and a pip threading machine.

I have an older dish on my home, and I tried DS the strongest mix of SH on it, and it wouldn't budge. I looks like some type of fiberglass almost. I would actually like to know if there is a product that will clean it up.

Yeah another local guy referred me to this site a while back, but haven't posted much.. Back to concrete driveways, it seems its an easy up sell with a house wash.. Not sure why you would pass that up?

Yeah... 1% response rate is rare, and 1% booking rate it even more rare.. Mind showing off your ad?

So where is the line in the US where asphalt driveways stop and concrete begin? All we have is asphalt around here.. I wish there more concrete =(

In most instances if you haven't done any aluminum or metal siding before its better to just pass if its in the bad of condition. BUT! If you are are extremely slow your best bet is trying to upsell a repainting job as well so you don't have to worry about not streaking the siding. It's not to difficult around here to find 100+ painters that are experienced and reputable. Againif you are slow and they are poor, do a test spot with the HO and let them know about the risks with these types. I would either upsell a repaint or pass if its in that bad of condition.

I Downstream 90% of the time. I have a 15 gallon chem tank that I dump 6gal SH+ 11gal of water. 5-8 scoops of SC and some dish washing detergent and its go time. I can normally get 3-4 houses cleaned before re filling.

+1, I used to cut my 12.5 2:3 but lowered my dilution. I was frustrated with having to re-soap certain areas 2&3 times when oxidation and growth was very bad.

I have found best way of learning how to charge is to price your first jobs how you are doing it now to get your feet wet. As you begin to grow the company (that is what you wanna do right?) you will then realize to make this happen you will have to ^ your prices. But just increasing your prices won't allow you to land job, you then need to show value to the client. I agree with the poster above me, at the end of the day an 80/hour wage for a Owner operated normally looks like 20 after all your time and expenses are legitimately calculated.

Back to the original topic, last year was my firs full time year with my prior 2 being part time in college. Ken Fenner is right, advertising is the largest expense if you are looking to tap into the resi market. It very easy to spend 10k a year even with a 1 man show when you are first starting out.

I'm 25 but look 20, and from my experience over the past 4 years is that commercial property managers do look at the young bucks much differently. Mind you I have done work for a handful of PM companies, but ultimately I think it helps to be older where as even if your not "experienced" you look experienced. With that being said, in the residential market its irrelevant.