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Curb Appeal

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Posts posted by Curb Appeal

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Here are some pics from after 1 go at the strip. I used 8oz. (by weight) of HD80 and 13oz. (by volume) of Propylene Glycol per gallon per Russell's instructions. I let it dwell for 30 min.

    As you can see, it took off most of the sealer. I did notice that as the stripper was working, some spots turned dark and the stripper came off without any effort at all. Other spots did not change color and that is what you see left on the wood. When trying scratch tests, I made an "X" in one area of the sealer that was not changing color. Almost immediately the lines of the "X" that I scratched turned a dark color and the sealer came right off when I rinsed. It was almost as if by breaking the surface of the sealer with the screwdriver, I allowed the stripper to penetrate down to the wood and dissolve the sealer. Does that make sense?

    What do I need to do to remove the rest of the sealer? Should I apply the stripper a second or even a third time? Should I mix it stronger or let it dwell longer?

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  11. Posted · Report reply

    Hey all,

    I went to do some test spots on a deck I have coming up. I have never seen a deck like this. There are drips and built-up puddles of sealer everywhere. The customer told me it was Thompson's and that the last person put it on with a large roller. She said that it was tacky and did not dry for months. This stuff is on THICK! After 2 years, it still beads water. If the homeowner is correct, I assume that it's Thompson's Water Seal.

    Like I said, there are roller trails, puddles and drips all over the place. Some of the puddles are at least 1/8" thick. I tried to strip some test spots using F-18 but I had to mix it at 14oz. per gal for it to do anything. Even at that concentration, the thick spots didn't hardly budge with a 20 min dwell time. I should also say that I applied all of my mix tests to the same area, so that area really had over an hour of exposure to the stripper at varying concentration levels. I started at 3oz/gal and stopped at 14oz/gal because it got dark outside.

    I really need to get this stuff off. Is there anything else (like HD80 maybe) that is stronger than F-18? Should I let it dwell longer?

    I have until April 4th to find a solution to this. Please help me out guys...

  16. Posted · Report reply

    Sorry for the delay I was waiting on your gauges I will be getting them all out in the next few days. I am so mad I missed it, was really looking forward to it but didn't want to give everyone a sickness with their free gift. Maybe I will get one going this summer during summerfest then you can learn and have some fun.

    Paul, I just wanted to say thanks a ton for the free gifts. I look forward to trying out the Limonene. Those pressure guages came just in time. I'm trying to figure out an issue with my surface cleaner and the pressure guage I have is stuck on 1400 PSI.

    Thanks again and I will definately be calling you soon when I plan to put together my next rig. 30hp and 8.5GPM!! I can't wait...!

  18. Posted · Report reply

    At $200 per building it would be close. I'd have to bust it and if I ran into any stubborn spots, I'd loose. Most of my residential I start at $1/ln. ft. for 1 story and $2/ln. ft. 2 story and add to that for complications.

    My last 2 complexes, I charged $2.65/ln. ft. plus $.70/ln. ft. for gutters but that was for another PM company. Looks like every PM and PM company may be different...

    Now I'm thinking $325 per building...

  20. Posted · Report reply

    Thanks Jeff. To tell you the truth, the more I think about it, the more I think my bid was too high. I was basing it on other, smaller complexes that I've done. This is the first job for this PM and I came down on my Ln. Ft. price but I don't think I came off of my price enough for the size of the complex and the amount of work.

    I'll come down some & see if they bite...

  21. Posted · Report reply

    Hey all,

    I got a reply back from the PM on this property. It seems that another company underbid me. This is a company that advertises in the coupon magazine for $99 house washes. They also were the ones who washed the complex last time and the PM said that they killed a few plants.

    The PM said that he would rather use me but the HOA is wanting to go with the lower price. My bid was just over $16K for 130 units in 33 buildings. That works out to around $484 per building. This other company has bid $200 per building (or so the PM says)! That's almost $10K less than me.

    My question is how would it look to come off of my price? I can't come down to $200 per building, but I might be able to come off of it some. Or should I just let it go and let them suffer the consequences and wait for them to come to me next time.

    I could really use the work, but I don't want to make myself and my company look bad in the process.

    Any advice would be helpful...

  22. Posted · Report reply

    I would also like to thank Don for setting everything up as well as everyone who spoke. I learned a lot and am putting it into practice as I write this. I've been up almost every night since getting back working on creating my website.

    I wish I could have been there for the all night brain picking sessions but my fiancee and I ended up staying in St. Louis and making it a Valentine's/Birthday trip. Next time I'll be eating hard boiled eggs with you Jarrod...

    Lastly, special thanks go out to Bob from Pressuretek for providing the Delavan pump that I won and to Don for picking my ticket!

    :lgsideway

    Looking forward to seeing all of you at the next RT...

  23. Posted · Report reply

    Very nice Joel, Go get that work. How long did it take I bet you still made decent money and now the PM knows what you can do and has something he can show the HOA

    Love that slideshow, wish I knew how to do all that fancy stuff, hell I have trouble with sending an email LOL

    Very nice and best of luck in 2007

    Life is GOOD!

    JL

    Took me 2 hours & charged $250. But that's with some old leftover love I had. Will take less time to do the rest of them with a fresh drum. I figure about 30 min per unit. That works out to around 60 hours or so by myself. We'll see... That would be nice since my bid was just over $16K.

    Here's a pic of the complex. All of the buildings inside the red line except for the big blotch. That's some older rental units. Does the price sound right to you?

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  25. Posted · Report reply

    F-13 "Gutter Grenade" from Bob at Pressuretek is what I use. Best stuff I've ever seen. Best of all the $50 you spen on a 5'er will mix up over 100 gallons and I only use about a half gallon per house...

    If you're using Clorox, that has 6% chlorine in it. 6% is 6%. When I've been in a pinch and needed to get some right then, I usually go to Wal-Mart & get their store brand bleach. It's still 6% and it's cheaper.

    But you really need to source some 12.5% chlorine. It will cost you less in the long run. I get all of my generic chems from Univar. Check them out. They may have a distribution center near you.

    Univar USA -- Home Page

    Hope that helps...

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