Celeste

It was a pretty big beast :) That pic is only about 1/2 and it's 18 ft off the ground! Celeste

Hey, where do I get to put overlay there???? You getting a patio out back or a wood deck? Celeste

That's Roger's bug-eyed self - and the photo of Neil's butt was taken for HIS WIFE! Celeste

These were taken the day we stained.

Neil did a great job getting the old yuck from this deck. Here are a few shots before staining took place - dry & a bit of detailing.

You were lucky there! I looped a mineral spirit rag in my belt loop for a day - 3/4 through the job I was burning to the point that I used the customers garage to change pants - I had some nasty burns on both hipbone areas for almost a week then peeled like I had sunburned. Scary stuff! Celeste

No, that was how the women in the forum will respond to the typical smarta$$ remarks that were brought up in earlier posts :) Or it could get put on the weight watchers plan again to get back to the issue at hand.

I moved this to Chemicals and Safety :)

This is part of my exact point - the boards are full of men, making it more of a man's world. Before anyone pops me for thinking I'm making this a man vs. woman thing, what I'm trying to say is that there are a gracious plenty women who could contribute to this support type system and not be "involved" in the conversations that so many of you enjoy :) Something else to consider is that there are wives that are part of pressure washing companies that may not necessarily work with the husband but are in fields where their expertise may apply. We would love to find somebody who's significant other may be an expert with QuickBooks (to help Jeff) or a trauma nurse (to advise on butt sodium hydroxide burns LOL). See what I'm getting at? Celeste

Now that is a great idea - the gold piece of eight! Celeste

I do know what you mean.......that was the dilemna we faced when I decided to go into overlays......who would think of a pressure washing company installing decorative overlays??? BUT, Carolina ProWash was already known and I didn't want to face a year or more of establishing a new identity. We have dropped pressure washing as part of our logo - it's only the name and splash and we've incorporate the film strip that you see on our webpage into all of our marketing. It's been somewhat difficult but not nearly as hard I don't think as starting over again with a new company name. Celeste

We had a problem with slight overapplication of ATO once - we lightly rubbed the offending areas with mineral spirits on a rag and it worked beautifully! Celeste

Although I'm not the marketing guru that Mr. Fenner is, I wanted to toss in my .02 here as we have faced a slightly similar situation. I voted to keep the same incorporated name - you're hitting a very populer topic with the Enviro part of your name. You have very likely already realized some recognition with your existing name, why would you want to take away from that and try to redirect some of your existing branding. You're still cleaning. It would probably be less costly to just slant your marketing, add a tag line, something like that. Celeste

Although I have not had such a severe experience, when carrying boxes of a sodium hydroxide product with the UPS guy (and we all know how UPS handles packages) I felt some discomfort on my arms - I had a coke sitting on the front porch and poured it over the tiny white granules that were stuck to me. I had a rash for a little bit, nothing severe, but again, it's one of those stupid things that you may not notice when it's right in front of you. I now even make certain that the UPS guys are rinsed properly before they get back in their trucks just in case! Celeste PS - Len sorry about your backside!

Maybe we should take the approach of - if your wives have support, maybe they can support you and your business better. I, for one, in the early stages, really enjoyed reading about how to do this or that in the business. The bbs's, although very testosterone ridden, allowed us to learn things that definitely put us ahead of our local crowd. I would not dream of speaking for Roger & Rod, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they have a pretty good understanding of how important a role Beth and I play in our respective companies. We simply would like to assist other wives who might want or need direction somewhere to comfortably ask :) Celeste

Dustin, On heavy efflorescence, we used Ef-fortless by EacoChem. You have to be careful on application as you can pull the color from the brick. You can call Roger or check in with Jim Carroll. Both are very good with brick and use different products so you can get opinions on two lines. Celeste

My goal for this forum would be for it to be an educational place that all businesses could benefit from, however, for the wives that participated, it would give them a group that could provide much needed estrogen support. I would really hope that it didn't become a place for wives to whine as much as it would be for them to ask questions about how to manage or handle circumstances. This concept definitely needs further thought and input on - so vote and input! Celeste

Oh wait.......here's your answer: http://www.bumperdumper.com/bumper2.htm

That is really not funny, what happened to you, but it's something that us girls have to contend with EVERY time we have to go, not just occasionally. We've done all of the above - asked the homeowner, dropped the trailer and found a service station. Guys with enclosed trailers have portapotties already (probably a bad clean up but available nonetheless) Celeste

www.eacochem.com Celeste

Jeff, I'll come down, teach you and your other half :) Richard, send your new bride up here and we'll get her educated on support as well. I know Beth and some other wife/partners will back me up here - if you are both heavily involved, it is an enormous advantage. Maybe we need to start a wive's forum just so those of us that are working in the business can help support this type of newbie :) PWWSS (Power Washing Wives Support System) One thing I will say, I have no marketing or accounting background other than fundraising for my kids PTA's, organizing class parties and paying household expenses - this background has worked our abnormally well for our small company - your wives know way more than they think they do! Celeste

Don't use straight unbuffered muriatic! Celeste

It's called your wife :) Celeste

Welcome to the bbs Ted - glad to see you made it out alive :)

Here's one of our projects for this year! Details: http://forums.thegrimescene.com/showthread.php?p=71201#post71201 Celeste