Aplus

I have one of each style trailer. I can only relate my observations. The torsion axle seems to provide a smoother towing experience. When the trailers are empty, the leaf spring axle tends to bounce more. Also, I notice the leaf springs squeak alot at low speeds. If you plan to tow the trailer alot, I'd say the torsion axle is worth the $190. It is also worthwhile to have trailer brakes installed, even on smaller trailers.

Welcome Everett and Paul! Hey Paul, now you gotta get a picture of your mug for your avatar.

And let me tell you about this fish I caught....It was THIS long! However I do agree there are several chems that will do near equivalent jobs removing black streaks on gutters.

I decided to start a thread where we could compare the xjet against other competitors. The reason I decided to do this, is because I think the xjet is too darn expensive at $159. I have included some photos, below, where I compare it against a model called the Vjet, which cost about $40. Both models are constructed of similar metal, and both have a threaded tip to allow 1/4 meg soap nozzles to be installed. These nozzles can vary in both pattern, as well as volume. In the pictures below, I am running them wide open, with no nozzle installed.

Glad ya made it!

I see a ton of opportunity cleaning awnings. They're not hard to clean, and most of us already have some of the chems and equipment required. The information is available, you just have to do your homework.

Mike, Do you use hot water to wash a house? I've tried it, and find no improvement over cold water, just an added expense for diesel fuel. Plus, I don't have to worry about brown striping the grass. I've also found it easier to use a portable cold water machine, with 100' of supply hose and a 100' of hp hose I can reach all the way around a house only moving the machine twice. If I bring the hot water rig, the trailer is too big to fit in most driveways without completely blocking the sidewalk, so I end up having to park in the street, and then will need at least 150-200 feet of hp hose. I also worry about someone tripping over the hose across the sidewalk, or being nosy and getting too close to the burner exhaust. For a typical 2000 sf colonial, I can wash the house and clean the gutters in about 2- 2 1/4 hours, including setup. Sometimes I'll have to get up on the roof of the garage to get that side of the house, because you can't even see it from the ground, much less properly clean it. Most of the homes I wash have mold or algae growing, and I find that downstreaming often does not apply the chems strong enough to be effective. For that reason, I prefer the xjet or vjet. I think that perhaps regional differences factor in heavily on what works and doesn't work for each of us. Water hardness, and other conditions require different chemicals and approaches to achieve satisfactory results. It's great that we have a board like this to share ideas, I can say that when I started this biz, there was no such place to come and get answers. I had to learn by trial and error. If everybody takes and gives a little info here, you'll find that you will be light years ahead of other competitors who don't access boards like this to learn from. IMHO, I don't care who you are, or how long you've been doing this, there still is more to learn. If you stop learning, and improving, somebody will pass you by. If you think that's wrong, look at what Walmart is doing to Kmart.....who would have ever thought ten years ago that Kmart would come so close to failing? Sometimes when I read posts from others, it flies contrary to what I've experienced, but I always try to find the tidbit of information that I may be able to take and use. So let's all keep sharing this valuable info, which is certain to help keep us all viable into the future.

Here's the condos I'm working on. There are 25 buildings, each with four decks in the front, and four in the rear. Most all the decks have multiple coats of Penofin, which is easy to strip, thankfully. Some are dark brown, some are light brown, red, grey, cedar, you name it. The goal is to get all looking the same. We're doing them all with TWP Cedartone, because that's the color they want. The uppers are really getting on my nerves, as they require a good amount of ladder work. Now mind you, these are being stained by brush and roller, I am not allowed to spray here. Talk about repetitious. I'm trying to get about 70 decks finished this season, with another 130 next season. I've got a signed contract, and after the first go-round, will be doing 100 every year, so they all get done every two years. Good money, but boring as heck.

John, I think that the fact our work is seasonal is always going to be a factor in keeping you ridiculously busy. I know that for me, I have to go like crazy in order to save enough money to make it thru the winter. Of course, now I'm doing this full time since I left the other job last year, but the workload has at least quadrupled. It's a funny thing, I do start feeling burnt out, but then when it starts to slow down, after a week or so, I start to miss the work. It's kinda contagious I guess. Usually I'll focus on future vacations to keep me motivated and working toward a goal. For example, I always go deer hunting in northern Michigan each November for about ten days, then look forward to southern Florida every January, for a couple weeks. Keeping those thoughts in mind makes it a little easier to keep pushing on. If I don't press on and squirrel away $$, then I won't be able to do the things I want, and that's enough motivation for me. I too am starting to realize that commercial work is where it's at, and residential is just too unpredictable. I recently spent almost two weeks washing apartment buildings, and I really enjoyed being away from the decks. I don't really mind washing them, but the staining gets old....the smell, the repetition, etc. Right now I've got about three more weeks of deckwork booked, and then I'll be focusing on gutter cleaning. I'm working at a large condo complex now, and all the decks are identical 9x15, with half on the ground, and half directly above, on the second floor. I've been doing 12-16 a week which has been a torrid pace. It's getting kind of boring doing the same things everyday, but at least I know what I've got lined up, and not scrambling for work. Also, the condos are in a nice area, so it keeps the scenery kind of interesting. Ya just gotta keep pushing on Buddy!

Ron Strickland of Xterior Has Retired. I phoned there a couple days ago, and found that out. I spoke to a lady named Mary who was quite helpful. I don't have a name available as to who is replacing Ron in the sales capacity.

The easiest way to estimate how much g-zap is required is to measure the length of the gutters. The fact that a house is 2 story and 2500 sf tells me nothing as to how many feet of gutter there is. With experience, I've learned to adjust the strength up/down as required by each job, which also affects how much product is used. If gz is left too long on siding and trim etc, it can damage the material, or make super clean spots that are hard to blend in. For this reason, I keep the power washer ready beside me so I can immediately rinse the areas that shouldn't have gz on them.

Rob, Why not buy a long extension pole, some 1/4" tubing, fittings and such, and hook up to a 12v pump system? You could then spray the chems directly on the gutters with virtually no waste. I had thought about making a setup like that, but I find it just as quick to brush. In fact, I find that a little brushing makes the gutters look far better than just a dwell and rinse alone.

I'm not a fan of two wand machines because if the washer breaks down, it can put too big a hurt on you. In my small trailer, I always carry two portable cold water units, and in my larger trailer, I have my hot water rig, and a portable cold water rig. I also keep a spare cold water rig for backup and larger jobs, where three guns are appropriate. Of course there is often not enough water pressure at a residential location for three, so I'll bring the larger rig with a 330 gallon tank for those cases. Some of the strangest things I've cleaned are the inside of a three season enclosed patio, kitchen equipment from a Mexican restaurant, and fancy street lites on a main drag thru a small town. I had never thought about washing street lites before. Oh, and there was this diamond tipped drilling rig used to drill at landfills for installing pipes to extract methane gas. I don't think I ever want to work at a landfill again!!

Henry, That looks like a beginners rig, but the Hydrotek is nice. Seriously, there's no room for expansion, and a single axle trailer is too squirrly with that much weight on it.

Just thought I'd mention this...... Since it was suggested that ammonia may clean black streaks from gutters, I'd be concerned if chlorine/bleach is used in the house wash mix. Poisonous gas. Of course it's outside, but I still would be very careful. I'd also like to mention that everyone has contributed some great ideas and solutions, but please be careful regarding chemical incompatibilities. Know what's in each product you use, and take the time to understand what can and cannot be mixed with each. For example, does anyone know that regular brake fluid mixed with chlorine will self combust and start a fire? I mention that because storage in your trailer or garage needs to be thought out in regards to the many chems we in this business use. If anybody knows of Greg from the Deckguide BBS, he had a van burn to the ground from improperly stored old rags. It can and does happen.

I was part time from 1996 until May 2002, when I resigned from my day job and started in this biz full time. I have never looked back.

Could there be an underground sprinkler pipe under the drive? OTP may be on to something. Those stains look like they could be caused from iron rich well water, or maybe even from the re-bar in the concrete. Water will always emerge from the point of least resistance, in this case, thru the felt expansion strips that separate the concrete flags. I can't imagine a city water or sewer pipe in that location. Usually those go straight out from the house to either the street, or an easement area. One last remote thought..... was there ever an old car parked there? I've seen brake rotors and calipers, which are made of iron corrode and leave stains on a driveway.

OK, Here is what I have know about the vjet.... Mine came from Sherwin Williams about 7-8 years ago. I think it was made by Simpson, who also sold nice belt drive power washers. I can't remember the exact price, but I know it was less than $50 including tax....maybe like $43.95 or so. I know for certain the vjet draws way better than 7-1. The reason I know is that I just got done washing 11 huge apartment buildings, and I alternated between the two for comparison purposes. The buildings had lots of green mildew growing, and I was using a pretty stiff concentration of chlorine to combat that issue. I don't wear a watch when I wash, and I didn't time the two, but I know that each model drained a six gallon pail very quickly, and I used the same amount of mix on each building regardless of which injector I was using. Using an unscientific approach, I can say that both injectors have roughly the same diameter, both have 3/8" hoses, and the tiny hole inside that creates the pressure is the same size, about the same as a regular paper clip. I don't use injectors for applying deck chems, I prefer my pump cart setup because I can precisely control the strength of each mix exactly how I want it. Plus I have far better control of the spray pattern and velocity. What I have attempted to do here is start some dialog on the various injectors that are available and discuss the results people have had. So I guess I will have to say.....If you haven't used different types of injectors personally, and verified the results, then your opinion is just that.....an opinion. I've tried lots of different brand chems throughout the years, even tried mixing my own brews, but I've got to the point where I've sorted thru the hyperbole and gotten right down to what works well and what doesn't. Don't believe everything you hear/read about who makes what, that does this and that. Test for yourself. Then decide how much of your hard earned money you want to give away. My .02.

Here is a pic of the Vjet in action.

Here is a pic of the Xjet in action.

Sweet............ The GN's are the ultimate sleeper. 400-500 hp is not hard to get, and it surprises the punks in their mustangs and camaros. Many of the kids today don't even know about the GN's. Hopefully you get a little occupational courtesy. You know, no problem with tickets if you accidently go over the speed limit, not that you would....;)

I think there are some moderators here who need to set an example....you know who you are.

Maybe, brand new, top grade cedar lumber could be stained with a mitt the first time. But since the article was on restoring old decks, I doubt very much that the writer has actually tried using a mitt. Because if he had, he would known better. I'm calling him out on this one. I'd be afraid of large slivers of wood entering my hand. You know how even a small sliver hurts, well imagine what a big jagged piece would feel like. Rolling, brushing, padding, or spraying are the application methods that I prefer, and recommend.

Now that's a heck of an idea. I'm going to have to mix some from the samples, and try it!

Good job Grant!!