Henry B.

Well, when I say this is my personal opinion, it's exactly that. I don't believe that one person/BOD speaks for the org. I'm a BOD member but I'm just one person involved in a team. I did not want to make the sweeping statement that being a PWNA member with a license (where required) and insurance makes you legit because there are other factors involved, those are just two small points in being legal. Another reason why I avoided that sweeping statement is because I didn't want anyone to misinterpret that I or anyone else was saying if your not a PWNA member your not legit. Remember this has been an ongoing argument in the past and that's why I chose to phrase my comments in that way. It's because of the reading between the lines and critisism of everything that's said on the boards that I stated my opinion in that manner. I wanted to be fair to those that have not joined the PWNA and to keep the TGS from getting dragged into one of those he said she said things again. This is what these topics usually turn into so I decided to err on the side of caution.. Unfortuanetly I got so caught up in not stirring up a problem that one happens anyway. I thought this Thread was about orgs in general anyway? If someone has a question about the PWNA, give me a call or email me your number and I'll call you.

Mathew said "I am confused.... Then why does the PWNA go through the motions of requiring License and Insurance for membership requirements.... this seems to be a huge mixed message" Personally I believe the PWNA does this to have some type of requirement for membership. It shows that members have taken the right steps in business. (being legal) I also believe it's done to promote the professionalism of it's members and the industry. The biggest reason I think is, The PWNA is the leader of the industry, it's members should have these requirements at least if the org is to set an example on power washing standards and training. For the PWNA or any other org to say a company is legitament or more legitamit than another would open it to liability. It would also be implying that non members aren't legitament which is not the case, they have just chosen not to take advantage of the org's benefits and marketing. This is just my personal opinion of course.

I don't think being a member of an org actually makes someone legit, because they could be breaking a number of laws even with the license and insurance. I think it's more of the perception of the client that he was referring to, at least that's what I thought.

I'd have to agree with what everyone else said.. I would also want an org to promote my company or the industry. I'm not sure about the tax advice thing though, the IRS can't even give you the same answer twice!! LOL I would be hesitant to take an orgs advice on my tax returns..

No problem let me know if there is anything else I can help you out with.

Yes, you need a water meter from WSSC in our area and you can only use green and white hydrants. The meter is 75 for the rental and a 75 deposit. I'm not sure about needing a permit for different areas though, they never said anything about it to us when we get it every 6 months. I use a hydro-tech surface cleaner, the one with the water broom and gum buster built into it.

My 8gpm rig will scream through flatwork but finding enough volume to keep up with it can be a problem unless a fire hydrant is close by or two hose bibs..

We used to use swivels and bent wands on all of our guns to ease the back pain. However, when you use a gun in the manner DON'T EVER use it one handed. The freakin thing takes off like it had a life of it's own and I couldn't grab ahold of it fast enough. Unfortuanetly the wand and I started to spin around in circles as we fought for control. I finally gained a two hand grip on it after if flew into the back of my buddies head. No stitches or major injuries but now his nickname is lumpy..lol

Yep, that looks like artillery fungus. You may have gotten lucky, sometimes you can get it off when it hasn't been on for very long. With Vinyl you can usually try to wipe if off with a towel like that. Just don't ever try it with Aluminum siding!!!

Hey Mathew, I had the same problem this morning but I couldn't get on any BBS this morning.

I've never had much luck with postcards in this area, let me know how they work in your area. I thought about getting a bulk postage machine and trying it again but the costs are so high I've never felt it was worth it to mail something to my clients. I usually use email instead.

I actually mentioned something similiar to this at the last MD chapter meeting. I was going to post a list of clients that I wanted to "give away". I didn't go into details or negative comments I just said I could not work for them any longer. I think that's the best way to do this. Giving away clients, if we say anything negative about them at all we could have legal problems. But, let's face it, they have the right to use or not use our services and we have the same right. To work for them or not work for them, it's our choice as long as we don't state why.

Hey Jeff, does that guy live in Maryland by any chance? I've had a few guys like that before. I also run into a lot of people that ask for us to "fix that real quick while your here" We will usually do something small for free but some people try to take advantage of it and ask for more and more. Then I just start saying, "sure, I can give you a price on that" This usually stops the problem..lol Another thing to remember.. when this guy tells everyone how expensive you are ect.. They probably know how difficult he is and aren't suprised by his comments since he probably says the same stuff about everyone! If I run across a client I don't want to work for I give them my normal pricing (some guys raise the price really high) and when they call to book the job I just tell them that were scheduling about three months out. I don't kick up the price because I don't want them saying were being unfair and telling everyone they know. Also, they won't live there forever and I want a the job when they move! In this area, the average is 5-7 years before people move.

Yep, I've had them make racial comments about one of my guys. The funny thing is he was born here and only speaks english. Unfortuanetly there are still people out there that judge people by their looks instead of their knowledge. This guy has more training and experience as most contractors I know on power washing. I also will not under any circumstances let this happen, when it's a racial issue I simply won't work for them at all. Mistakes on the other hand happen and sometimes time schedules get tossed and we deal with it. If a client is abusive or insulting I just don't deal with them at all. If we make a mistake we fix it but if someone just kicks up an attitude for no reason at all.. Were packing up and moving on. I've got too many clients that would love to jump ahead on our schedule to deal with that kind of stuff and in most cases, you just have a feeling that nothing will satisfy them. I'd rather work for clients that don't mind paying our fees and are estatic about our work.

If your planning on going into commercial work you will definetly need one. What other kind of cleaning do you do and how far are you willing to go? I'll see if I can come up with some other jobs for you that need to be done sooner.

LOL, there aren't any in germantown unfortuanetly.. Mostly in Bethesda, chevy chase, dc and baltimore. Theres only 17 of them so it's not a huge deal.

Hey Lou, I just picked up a chain of coffee shops that have some locations in Baltimore. We will be cleaning them in a month or so but if your still interested I'll shoot the ones in Baltimore to you and give you the full price of the jobs.. (no commissions)

F-18 is a great product but I have to agree, you do use more of it than other stippers on the market. The f-18 max has a nice kick to it and it does work faster but I'd rather carry less products (but stronger) and get the sealer off faster... I'm not a very patient guy and as someone else stated, time is money!

Post a pic on the roof so we can take a look at it.. I prefer powders for most of my stuff except of course Bleach for house washing. I've used quite a few powdered strippers now and Tom Vogel has a good one called 760. I've also tried the F18 Max and of course HD-80. I'd have to say HD 80 is probably the stongest out of all the one's I've tried so far and being a powder it's lighter to carry than liquid products. But, Sunbrites Remove and Severe Deck Strippers can also kick some serious butt if your into liquid strippers... I'm not sure of the price difference since I only had a sample but, I'm thinking about switching over to them and Hd-80 in the next season after I use up the other stuff I've got. I've been spending more time lately checking into the products that are out there on the market and trying to find the products with the best result and costs. I think Powders might be a bit cheaper because of the dry weight factor but it depends on how strong the product is before mixed that matters the most.. Some things are just to hazerdous to use dry, bleach for example! Measuring is another issue.. I don't want to carry a triple beam scale to measure out what I'm using! Sun Brite has these cool little bottles that are pre measured to add to your buckets.. They are also labled and easy to use if your sending out crews to do the jobs and safety is always a concern when you have employees..

Hey Ben, Degraffreed is right, the new Wood Tux wet formula should solve your problem. Give Russell a call or you can call or visit Sun Brite supply on the web at SunBriteSupply They also carry it in stock and can answer your questions on it. Russell is a stand up guy but, I know a lot of contractors would rather talk to people that have tested the products or use them themselves instead of trusting the usual salesman. You can trust Russell and the guys on this board and at Sun Brite though, to give you the strait out truth.

The BBS will be the same for the time being it's just being moved to a new server. There has been some discussion about the BBS and quite a few other things that the PWNA wants to do and expand on in the future. In the last year the PWNA has made some wonderful advances and changes to the organization and it just keeps getting better all the time!

Hey Rich, When you had those call backs on Ready Seal, were the decks dry enough when you sealed them? I've heard that if they aren't dry enough this can happen. Ready Seal and similiar sealers should be applied until the wood won't take in anymore product. Using just a light surface coat will often cause problems like this also. It's the same for products like ABR, you want to fill the woods open fibers.

When the gutters are dry, the fastest way to go is a blower. Been using them for 15 years and I haven't found anything that does a better, faster job.

I agree with PP, it takes a bit longer and you have to be careful but its not as difficult as you would think. Proper prep, using your head and a little extra care is all that's needed. Give me a call if you have any questions, I'd be happy to help you out if I can.

Hey Jon, I agree Carlos would make a wonderful addition to the PWNA and the West coast companies would also. Since I've gotten on the BOD at PWNA I've learned a lot about how the org works and how much time people put into their BOD positions. I know this has been said before but until you see it in action, you really "don't know". The PWNA has made quite a few changes in the last six months and I can see the just how much potential is there that I never thought about before. These contract opportunities will be a growing trend and so will the PWNA's exposure in the national spotlight. Programs like CAA will also continue to grow and get more attention each year. The new website will get better rankings, more exposure and work for it's members. The classes at the conventions will teach us more ways to market our companies, different techniques to run our companies and help us all MAKE MORE MONEY! I'm syched and I'm glad to be a part of the PWNA's future.