Henry B.

Hey Ryan, If he's already got an ice damn that would just cause a flood of water into the house. If he doesn't have one allready, it may cause one. Two feet of snow is a lot to melt in just one day this way.

controversial? I'm just sharing my experiance. I had a client we did some ice damn work for last year that had someone remove an ice dam the month before using a power washer and she said they cracked one of her windows and caused more flooding in the house when they were removing the ice dam. She was quite insistant that I don't remove the new ice dam, she had the same way. A power washer can be used in a variety of ways including leaf cleanup, gutter cleaning, bee removal and ice dam removal. That doesn't always mean it should be, there isn't always a substitute for using the proper equipment.

I usually don't recommend using hot water for removing ice dams. The sudden temp change can cause problems like damaging windows and other things. Also if your not careful you will add more water behind the ice dam and cause more of a leak until the ice is cleared. I use my hot water rig for this occasionally but I don't like taking my rig out on ice covered roads with the way people drive around here.

Hey Mike, Give me a call and I'd be happy to tell you how to fix it.. And also pick up some serious extra cash by adding it to your list of services. Don't wait too long though, you probably only have a week before the opportunity is lost. Henry 301-353-9234

Hey JD, Most of the companies that install hot water rigs in vans can easily work out an exhaust system for you when they install it. For the van make, I'd suggest Chevy. I've always used fords for my company until my most recent van... My new chevy works great, hauls great and its a lot more comfortable.

That's true Alan, but when your talking about a company either one should work. When we tell clients were leading the industry or leaders in the industry that also takes on a different meaning. To lead or be a leader, someone has to be willing to follow you... That can be another company your helping out, teaching or other things...

I let my guys listen to walkmans I think they tend to actually work a bit faster and tend to talk less and work more. I don't allow them to take off their shirts either... I think it's just presenting a good image.

So, you are saying the blind can lead the sighted, speaking metaphorically... I disagree here. If someone who doesn't know how to lead tries to lead others who do have a clear understanding of how to do something, the leader will not be effective if the message contradicts the expereince of those who have the "know how". Beth :groovy2: No, actually this is not what I said, this is what you took my comment to mean. I said that a leader could start and run an organization without knowing everything that's involved with running a company or how to do all of the companies actual function or service. I do believe that a skilled leader can manage people to do a job even if the leader himself doesn't understand or know how to do it all themselves. They leaders hire the right people with the right talents, give them the proper materials and workplace and let them do what they know best. You just have to get the right people and lead them. You mentioned the past presidents, did any of them ever have the office of presidency before? No, they did not. You can argue that their schooling helped them lead the country. I can also argue that it was their natural skill as a leader and their experiances in life that helped them. In the military, we had leaders/officers that ran entire operations that had no training or clue on what was really going on and it's still a popular practice. We all have our opinions and our own experiance to prove our points.

Check into gutter cleaning and ice dam removals. There's good money in both of them and gutter cleaning runs all year round. The prices on both vary depending upon the job. I've got some information listed on my website, take a look.

I've got a 40 gig ipod that I use with some good headphones. I keep the volume just high enough to hear it but not block out someone trying to get my attention. I run the wire down the inside of my shirt and carry the ipod on my hip or in my pocket in a ziplock bag. I also have an fm transmitter so I can listen to it in my truck also. I've got cd players in almost all my vans but I get sick of hearing the same stuff over an over again. I've got about 400 cd's programed into it so I can listen to it 7 days a week 24 hours a day and never hear the same song twice. Ipods are awesome!

Also, if we are all entrepreneurs and leaders as we are business owners here, and you are saying that education makes little difference, are those your true feelings? I ask because as of late you have been an advocate of education and certification. However, the stand you just took is in direct contradiction to it. Education is critically important. It's not a matter of being important in one circumstance or another, it doesn't apply sometimes and not other times, it is always important, and it always helps. Having said that, I will say one more thing, you get out of an education only as much as you put into it. Continuing education and a commitment to excellence makes a difference. Ok...well...next I think your trying to group two different things together here. Being a leader is more about managing people and having the skills and charisma to do so. Certification is about learning how to do a specific thing like power washing. For example, You could read all the books you want about construction, but does that make you qualified and knowledgable enough to build a house with none of the hands on skills? I never said education was a bad thing at all, what I said was you can't book train yourself into being a leader. (in my opinion) Bill Gates for example may have been a true born leader with vision and using his talent as a leader, guided others to help him create his vision. Even someone that doesn't go to school or know how to do something at all can still lead others that know how to.

I personally feel a leader is someone that has proven themselves by first doing, then showing. I think Everett is right, your either a leader or your not. These tendencies aren't something you can become, you either are or your aren't. You can read all the books and take all the classes you want but if your not at heart a true leader, it will only help a little. I think there is a difference between being the leader of the pack and a leader worthy enough for people to follow on their own. Anyone can be brow beaten or torn down to the level where they finally submit to anothers will or authority, but it's another matter all together for someone to see you as a leader just by the way you carry yourself and treat those around you. Some guys just get power hungry and tend to boss others around instead of working with them and showing people how you do things. Some leaders never let anyone question them or offer suggestions just because they are the boss. A true leader can see leadership abilities in others and learn to trust them after proper training to get the job done right the first time. Others will micro-manage every tiny aspect of the job even after the person has shown to be trustworthy and capable on their own. I think it's important to know when to manage someone and when to let them work things out on their own, I call it respecting the people that work for you. If you find yourself going through employees fairly quickly because they are quitting, then your most likely not a very good leader. Great leaders will inspire people to do their best with everything they do by setting the example and encouraging others to do their best. Lousy leaders are always showing how much better they can do things than everyone else with out helping them to improve.

$50 bucks is what I started with. I made up some flyers and made my own window cleaning chemicals. Once I started getting jobs I started buying more equipment and expanded into other types of work that I knew how to do.

Hey Carlos, I'm proud of what I've accomplished for my company, family and the guys that work for me. Not how $much$ I've accomplished. Know what I mean? As for posting on how much you make, discussing what you charge is about the same thing, I don't mind talking about either personally. Once again, I price by the style of house and pitch of the roof...

Hey Carlos, The post your referring to came about because someone asked why don't I raise my prices. Honestly, I just got tired of beating around the bush trying to explain what I do and why I do it. I'll remove the post though, the point I was trying to make was lost so there isn't much reason in it staying.

Hi Degraffreed, A shurflow pump can be used for a variety of things really. Some people use them when they want an exact measurement of chemical application. Some people use them for pretreating decks or applying oxolic acid or even doing roof cleaning. I've had mine for a little over a year now and I've only used it twice. Once for pretreating a deck and for oxolic acid application. I usually prefer using an xjet, it's faster at applying and speed is important to me. The faster I get the chems working the better job we can do. A surflow takes quite a bit of time to apply chemicals to a roof or deck. The xjet or m5 though, is much MUCH faster. As long as you don't have to worry about overspray.

We've been on royal carribean and also celebrity. Our last cruise was on the Galaxy with Celebrity. I did'nt like the boat itself that much though. It had a vibration problem with the engines and it made the main dining room shake and vibrate. (not in a good way) That ship wasn't as stable in the water as others I've been on and it had quite a bit more movement than normal. What's your favorite thing to do on a cruise? I'd say the casino and also snorkeling. If you haven't done that, give it a try You will love it.

Cruises are our favorite! Ever since my wife and I went to the PWNA convention in Florida we take a cruise whenever we can. Last year we took our kids with us for the first time and they loved it. It's funny though, after being in the navy on boats, I never thought I would want to go on one again! We love the traveling, beaches, casinos and just not having to worry about anything. I've got the company set up so that I can log into the system from online and pay bills or just check to see how things are going. Another plus with cruises, my cell phone doesn't work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you run chem through the hose won't you have residue simply because you ran the chem through it? All hoses have a trickle of something left coming out right? Until the line is flushed the residue is there, isn't it? That's true but not really what I meant. the way I'm currently set up I use one of my high pressure lines for my surflow pump. Then once I'm done applying chemical I switch it back to the rig and use it for cleaning so my chemicals are rinsed out then. With it set up the other way, your going to have chemical all through your 200' line so you will have to pump the chemical out of the line back into a container then run water through the lines for a while until all the chemical is rinsed out of the lines. Or you could have dedicated hoses and reels for certain chemicals. The other issue is if a helper doesnt completly clear the chemical out of the line or starts using it for another application, then you have mixed chemicals inside the line. That's something I want to avoid!

Beth, I didn't mean that you just started doing them, as I said I was referring to the people that were advertising right along with me for the last 15 years. This was not meant to slight you or how long you've done gutters or been in business. This actually had nothing to do with your company at all, that's why I didn't mention any names. I don't want you to take my comments personally. I try not to make any reference to you all at all to avoid these kinds of things but I don't think I should have to censor myself any further than I already have when I post on this board.

Hey Rod, I see your point, my reasoning is that at least with my method of using the high pressure lines I don't have to worry about having to rinse out my lines after each use. With your method you will but it will give you more versatility so I guess it's just personal preference. Both methods should work just fine and I may rethink mine.

Hey Carlos, yes I had read one of the articles you sent me. The other one you sent was new but I'm glad you sent it. I think we have a lot in common and I look forward to talking to you about it one day. Maybe at the convention if you make it. Hey Celeste, Why's everyone cracking on me about the polls?? At least they seem to be pretty popular. Maybe I should change my title to the poll king?

Hey Beth,When I said me and one other company, I was referring to the people that were advertising right along with me for the last 15 years. Your fairly new into the gutter cleaning game. (no offense intended) I have raised my prices this past year and it's true I could raise them even further and I will eventually when I'm ready.

Hey Carlos, I'm not sure if I do or not honestly. I've faxed and been faxed so many different things I lose track after a while. I may be getting senile. <G>

Hey Rod, I've got a shurflow pump on my rig but I use the high pressure line on my rig instead of using a third hose. What made you decide to run the shurflow sprayer seperatly like this? I'm just wondering because I've been thinking about adding a third reel to my rig and doing what your talking about so I could have two people washing and one applying the chemical. In my case though, I usually only have two guys working off that rig sometimes, only one so I never changed it. I personally apply most of our chemicals with the xjet or a foamer. Next year i'm getting a couple m5's and I figured I'd have two guys on opposite sides of the house using them. It should cut our time on doing houses almost in half.