big mike

At $5.60 a square foot the guy must be REALLY high. Hope you get the job, but that's just about the cost of new lumber.

JJaco, I'll try to be gentle here, but you have to perform the work as well as have a marketing plan, etc. Just because you can "sell" a job, doesn't guarantee repeat or return business. You need to do quality work (especially in hood cleaning). Just because you have a business it doesn't equate to a specific dollar amount you'll make. Drive, business acumen, marketing, and proven results are the things that will make or break you in this line of work. I applaud you for your due diligence, but the only one can give you an answer to your question, is you.

Costs us about $4 per gallon......

If its not dirty, don't use anything.

Grainger MSDS Lookup there's the MSDS

Like I mentioned before, I wouldn't touch that deck unless it was a solid re-coat. Even if you sand every inch (which would be a royal PITA), you'll still have areas of green showing up. You will probably get the job, and have to learn the hard way. I took on solid stain restorations for a couple of years, but learned that they we're a huge waste of time and energy. Now its re-coat with solid, or bye-bye. If I ever need to strip some solid stuff I use Jasco gel stripper. About $30 per gallon at HD or Lowes. Brush it on and wait. The stuff works very well.

I wouldn't try to strip that at all. Wash and re-coat with solid acrylic.

Everything you ever wanted to know and more. Liquid Stain Remover, 1/2 G - Cleaners, Etching, & Mildew Removers - Paints - Janitorial & Painting : Grainger Industrial Supply I know they sell it at Costco as well.

30% if we do it the next year, 20% if its 2 years, and no discount beyond that. If you waited for 3 years, you didn't listen to my advice on proper maintenance of your deck ;-)

Me too. Complete waste of money.

I think the answer to this is being missed completely. I think that all businesses should be required to carry insurance, not a license. In states that have licensing requirements (such as MD), proof of insurance yearly, would eliminate much of the hack contractors. How, you say? Well, make the licensing free, and the insurance will protect consumers. Make it a requirement to provide that proof of insurance to ALL consumers who hire a company, and to the state to get your license. No insurance = no license = no work. In states that don't have licensing requirements for pressure washing (like MN), make the proof of insurance mandatory as well. Let consumers know that its required by law. If the consumer decides to hire an uninsured contractor, they do it at the risk of damage to property, and lack of recourse if something goes wrong. As for a site to verify bad contractors, check out Angie's List or the BBB. Both are there to let consumers know of poor work performance, and complaints. What I'm getting at is the fact that, yes, crappy contractors are everywhere (licensed or not). Insurance coverage is the only thing that can help the consumer get relief in the case of damage, etc. If proof of business insurance was universally enforced (and understood by the public), hacks would at least have to cover their crappy work practices. As for being held accountable, well, if they have insurance claims their rates go up. Eventually, they will be un-insurable. No insurance=no work. This would also help with lowballers. Hard to lowball when you have an insurance note to pay for...

Was hired by a local landscaping company who has the account for snow plowing and lot maintenance. I was under the impression that they had a national service agreement with some management company, and that may be the case. I think the company that hired me is part of that account, and they are just subbing it out to me. I was going to pass this on to another local washer, but as luck would have it, I am doing a shopping center less than a mile away so I just grabbed it instead. Trust me, I'm not getting rich on it.

Looking WAY better than last year. Since yesterday morning I've booked 2 decks, a house wash, a Kohls store, and three gas station cleanings (2x per year). Lots of bids out there now, and every time I check e-mail, there's another job lined up. I love having a good customer list!! 2010 is looking good so far....

Adrian, I've had it rain hard right after staining with no problem. Like Jim mentioned earlier, you may encounter a problem if you have flooded the surface with stain and not removed any puddling, but that is an easy fix.

My first instinct is to check all the fittings and look for an air leak. If that's all good, make sure your supply hose isn't collapsing from the suction (common problem). Also, if your supply tank has a lid on it, that needs to be removed, or a vacuum will be created and restrict water flow to the pump.

Ummm....No. This was copy and paste of my wording, and my pictures. I am going to watermark all photos from now on though, so hopefully it will help. The person in question, manned-up, and removed the stuff in question. Very apologetic as well, and that will keep me from pursuing it further. I'm just glad I caught it.

Yeah John, I guess there's a connection between BK and gum chewing???? Anyway, no we didn't deal with any CA company, all local.

I will if they don't comply with my request to remove ALL of my content from the site. I don't want to blow the whistle on this person just yet, because I want to hear their response to my request. I know they visit TGS often, so we'll see what happens.....

Ron, I would consider you using my stuff an honor. Unfortunately, this person has very little experience in the industry, and is simply taking the easy route. I usually give permission to folks who want pictures or whatever, but I have a mental radius of about 250 miles for that permission. The last two people who STOLE from me, are close enough to be direct competition. I am flattered that these people think I had good pictures or wording on my site, but c'mon. Think of wording yourself and go do some jobs for pictures. I spent a lot of time coming up with my web content, and longer getting enough quality pictures to create a decent image. It really ticks me off that they just use stuff like that without permission.

Absolutely go with what works for you. I just thought the setup was a little on the heavy side.

Try Bix or Jasco thick gel type strippers. Both around $30 per gallon at the box stores. Wear gloves, etc.....

Jud, what exactly are you accomplishing with that whip setup? I've always been under the assumption that the reason for the whip line is to reduce stress on the gun inlet and reduce operator fatigue. Your setup with the ball valve at the gun handle with QC's, defeats the purpose for the whip line. Whip line should be directly mounted to the gun (not with QC's), and the ball valve should be at the other end of the whip line. Try it out, and I bet you'll switch your setup. As for tip holders etc., we now use the 4 nozzle holders from PT. Tried all the rest, including X-Jets, and this is the best setup so far for us. The twist holders are OK, but I always found myself switching tips anyway. I do use the twist holder for deck work, where I know I'll only use two distinct tips.

I was going to mention this as well. Most often this is the cause of "mysterious" engine shutdown.

No problems here either.

John, hello! Have used a sheet sander a few times, but really, what a PITA. If my DS stripper and a Makita can't make it look good, forget it!! If the deck is that bad, either go with a solid and call it a day, or walk away. I've found that these type of restorations are ALWAYS underestimated on time, and ALWAYS fall short of the profit margins I expect. Leave them for your competition......