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NAPWO

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Posts posted by NAPWO

  4. Posted · Edited by NAPWO · Report reply

    The wood care side of this biz does take a special breed. It takes time to complete; there is much to know to be good; delays can delay payments; etc... This is a specialized job (if great results are desired!). Let's also not forget IT IS WORK. With all the technology out there it's no wonder the true craftsman is fading away. Younger folks seem to have better skills with thier thumbs than they do with a craft. Who wouldn't rather sit in an air-conditioned office typing all day, then sweating on a hot deck getting oily?! I think I am in a unique position as I got started in wood-care when it was in it's infancy and have gone from contractor to distributor. I have seen many folks come and go for all kinds of reasons. I do not see the contractors who plan and buy as they did years ago. I think the economy has had a part in that. It used to be a contractor order a pallet of sealer so he got the best price. Now its only as much as he needs for the current job. It's understandable. He has money to lay out that may not be available now. He has to be more diversified in the services he offers so he can keep jobs coming in. Makes it harder to get help being "experts" as they don't do just "one thing" getting really good at it. But there are those that find their niche and specialize at it. Some of the greatest are above. I have met many of them over the years and am proud to know them. I am also meeting the new guys and the structure of their business's seems to me as one of the biggest reasons they don't become strickly "wood guys". I had wood classes since 7th grade. Wood in many ways became part of my life over the years. Not all follow that same path. The great ones seem to have an enormous passion for the craft. Those that treat it like a "job" seem to loose interest as it is an industry with it's share of potential troubles. Wood care certainly is a profitable business. It can be easy, and it can be tough. Use the pro's available if your just getting into it. Practice and learn form your mistakes, and you can get great pleasure in the results you create for your customer.

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    At my former employer I wrote a lot of "leases" though they were really "lease-to-own" financings. A true "lease" is usually where you pay for equipment and use it but it goes back to the leaser when the time commitment is up. When you lease-to-own, you have a way at the end of the lease to have that equipment be yours. Most folks took that route. The advantages to a "lease-to-own" are; if you are just starting out, you can get a peice of equipment you need without having to spend you current capital to get it. Keeping your cash on hand and getting the equipment working to make it's own payment can be HUGE when first getting started. Keep in mind, any financing from any source will cost but if this allows you to have new equipment and grow, then it very well may be benificial to you. Paying outright is always least costly. Then a bank loan seems best next. The leases-to-own route is a bit more expensive, but for many, is the only way to get financed to grow. I have had many people very happy with "leasing-to-own" their equipment. If you have the need, and want equipment, but also want to keep your working capital, try a lease and get the equipment paying for itself. It really can make you money in the long run.....

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    As a Mosmatic dealer I can tell you that Guy is correct. Mosmatic surface cleaners use the fluid as lubrication in the swivel. A small amount of liquid coming from the weep hole is normal. A steady stream means time to get a re-build kit. Other surface cleaner manufacturers do not use the fluid for lubrication and when any fluid is coming from their weep holes, then yes, there is a problem. But Mosmatic is deffenitly different in that regard. Let me know how else I could help you with this.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    John, I used to think the same thing, but when I asked the manufacturer I was told it does not. Let's keep in mind folks that the word wax, has some conotations that may not be exact for our purposes. The 'wax" is not truely a wax in the traditonal sense like when you wax your car (by hand). These wax's that are being added to your solutuions are usually what is considered a "cheater wax" and do not contain silicone or wax. It has beading action agents, and is a drying aid that gets rid of water quick, and leaves a wax-like shine to the surface. Think of it more like an oil than a wax. It shouldn't build-up on the surface and you should expect it to wear from the surface over time. Just like when you run your car throught the car-wash you do not expect the wax you add to last anywhere like when you wax your car by hand. That's because they are not the same type wax being applied. The "wax" being added to your cleaning solutions can be applied in the wash, or in the rinse. That is up to you. Most contractors I have seen use it in the wash because it works - and it speeds up the time on the job. You give your customer additional shine to their home, but you will want to do it again when it gets dirty and they call you back to clean again....

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    Just one note about the cost of training....$700 to get specific training is cheap. If you were to go to school for any other profession you would spend many, many , thousands to get a quality education. You would also get only what you put into it to learn how to do that proffesion. These offered training sessions more-or-less hand feed you the info pertinant to your area of work and then after testing you, certify that you understand the material and should be able to go home with the knoweledge able to help take your business further. Hands-on training can also be great, but the training offered by the organizations are usually a compilation from many in the industry designed to short-cut you past the problem areas (they already made the mistakes) and give you the proper techniques to get you successful right away. Certainly get the training YOU feel is correct for you, but don't discount the programs already in place. They are provided to help with your success, and should allow you to learn for a whole lot less $$ than most other industry trainings....

  17. Posted · Report reply

    Precarbs are GREAT for when you want a gentle clean. When you want to maintenance a deck sealed with an oil-based sealer and not pull out sealer, or when cleaning the dirt fromconstruction pre-carbs do really well. Since they are a mostly nuetraul PH cleaner, then they do not do much for the "growth" that may need to be cleaned. That's when a bleach/soap solution will work better. Products are available that are pre-carbs that have a little caustic in to help with the cleaning when some "growth" is present or you still want gentle but maybe want to lightly strip. I used pre-carbs mostly for doing the maintenance jobs or newly built jobs. For the rest I used the "powered-up" cleaners like diluted stripper or bleach/soap solutions.....Also pre-carbs make working around plants safer....

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