Grahams

Here is my rig! The dakota pulls the trailer good, but a bigger truck would pull it better.. Here's an inside shot of the trailer as well.

I have a client with a small driveway(around 500sq ft). I have never done pavers before, will there be any problems pressure washing them(using whisper washer classic)? I got this job, by giving a landscaper my business card at the grocery store(I work there part time). He gave me a call, and wanted a quote for his own driveway/house. I gave him his quote but was skeptical about it, he wants a house washing and his driveway/sidewalk done. Everything is really clean except a lil algae in the pavers cracks in a small section, and the sidewalk is fairly dirty.. So I figured he was just "checking my rates", so I gave him a low price a.) because it looks like a simple easy job. b.)If I could get in with this guy and he could swing me a few roof/driveway jobs that would be really good(I told him he will get a percentage of every job I get from him). I charged $50 for the driveway, probably take an hour tops and $75 for the house washing, basically just going to rinse it.. I figured I could land a sealing job off of him. How hard would it be to get a gallon of sealer from home depot and use a pump up sprayer(or even my roof cleaning set up sprayer) to do his small driveway? I have never sealed a driveway but I heard it's straight forward.. clean it, let it dry good, and spray it evenly. Is it something anyone can do, or only a "very experienced Professional" can do? Question #1: Will the pressure washing remove too much of the sand in the cracks? Question #2: Should I try to get the sealing job or pass it up? Question #3: If I bought a gallon of Kret-Seal for $25 from home depot, how much do I charge to seal this small driveway? Thanks

I like my 2003 Dodge Dakota, 4x4 4.7l 5 speed. With lots of other goodies! It pulls the trailer fine, but my grandparents 97 dodge ram cummins pulls it a lot better ha.

The hardest part of roof cleaning is keeping the plants alive. I did a tile roof the other day and keep diluting my sh because it was cleaning the tiles so quick. Most bigger plants can withstand the sh, might brown the leaves up but it shouldn't kill the plant. However, I have killed a customers cheap flowers that you get for like a dollar at home depot. Kinda of hard to avoid them, throw a tarp and they smash them, water them with anything more than a mist they destroy them. Is the roof snot worth it? I want to see if the grass line I watered had died at one of the roofs I did. hmmm

By no means am I a professional, as this is just my side job/hobby, but I will reply due to the fact I have done a lot of research as well and have some experience under my belt. 4gpm is cheaper but I would spend the extra money now and get like Guy said a 5.5 - 8 gpm. Your best bet is to find a used pressure washing trailer, you can save a lot that way starting out. Get a either a big guy or a classic whisper washer surface cleaner. I charge from .07-.10. I normally charge that then drop/add depending on costly/time factors. Get lots of business cards, and try to do people you know first, do it for cheap and hopefully neighbors or friends will see. good luck, it's all a learning process, and I'm still in it as well.

That's the kind of reply I was looking for! So what is the "proper" way? I don't see how any way wouldn't be proper unless someone used a wand and sprayed into the cracks.. Also should I spray chlorine on it? I also spray chlorine on concrete driveways to brighten it up and kill remaining algae. These pavers don't really have any algae except for one section..

really? out of the 20 people, nobody can give any insight..? I don't understand why people don't reply to more threads.. I do this job Tuesday, and need some advise on trying to obtain a sealing job or passing it up?

What are so problems you guys have had while pressure washing or roof cleaning, and how did you resolve them? Trying to get a good idea of how many people encounter bad situations on a day to day basis. Weather it's a small one or not(Machinery problems, client problems, problems you caused). Also say the biggest problem you've had to overcome. I.e. shorting electrical out. Has anyone ever had to fix something on a house and use their insurance? Say like gutters, landscaping, wood, chipping paint, etc.

Looks like a nightmare to me. :/ that could have been a lot worse, good thing it wasn't!

What was the issue? and I see your from ocala, you ever visit the forest?

Do you guy's actually buy the rebuild kit and do it yourself? for the last 5 years we have always had our done, and it costs like $200 bucks. The rebuild kit can be found here for $50 bucks. Also has anyone customized theirs so that you can grease it? Mine right now is spitting out all the grease and water out of the side holes.. Seal Kit - Whisper Wash Classic Repair Parts My questions are: Is it fairly easy to do for the first time? and does it always work? (we rebuilt ours last time with our own o-rings and using a few of the old seals and it didn't work..) Also does anyone run a big guy from a 4gpm honda 13 hp p.w or is that just not possible? I got trailer already rigged up and the guy said that's what he used, but I tried it on my other 4gpm p.w and it didn't spin nearly fast enough, so I'm using my 20" classic. The p.w he used it on needs the Udor pump rebuild, and it's been a pain finding a rebuild kit, but finally got one ordered last week. Thanks

Thanks for the help Chris, I'll see if I can get it pressed on using a vice and sockets, but if not my neighbor has a press where he works. I should be getting the seal kit today, so we will find out. Yeah I guess I should rebuild the assembly on the big guy and just put it in the trailer for a back up and put the big guy body in storage until I can get a bigger machine.. and dollarspa, Ill try and see if I can find that video. thanks

So no one has ever had to rebuild their swivel assembly? Guess I'll be the 1st to find out, how hard it is.

I recently bought some Heavy duty degreaser at harbor freight, it works good, but doesn't make it 100% clean, it gets it white and removes all dirt but like 85% clean, like the black stains are still there. so what you guys are saying is F13 takes everything off and makes the gutters looks 100% clean? Which color do you guys prefer to clean, white gutters or dark colored gutters?

So it appears no body ever really has a problems with their equipment or customers however wasps cause some trouble among everyone... haha

Hey, I recently found something that could possibly be in the market for cleaning; Satellite Dish cleaning. I'm talking about like at the tv stations where they have like 5-8 big ones. I noticed while driving down the interstate we have 3 big tv weather stations along it, and all the satellites are all dirty and moldy. Driving down everyd Not sure what would be best, to pressure wash, or just to use the chlorine soft wash methods. Anyone have any experience or thoughts on this? As well as how to get the gig to do it? Thanks

I mean the ones on the ground, the size of a vw beetle. No one has any knowledge on this or any advice?

Hello, My names Connor, I just graduated high school, and have pressured washed neighbors driveways and some other clients for the last 5 years on and off. I always just loaded it all up in a truck or trailer, unloaded on site and did it that way. It works good but doing it by myself makes it a little difficult and time consuming. I have a 13 h.p honda with 4gpm pump and 20 inch surface cleaner. It does a good job. However I just recently found a good deal on a trailer package and bought it. For $850 I got a 10ft enclosed wells cargo trailer, same washer and pump but stationary(pump needs rebuilt), a big guy surface cleaner, a 220g water tank, a 65g chlorine tank, 2 reels 1 for pressure hose, other for garden house hook up to chlorine for roof cleaning. The chlorine has an electric pump to doing roofs. I think it was a decent deal. Heres a few questions: 1. Is it better to run a stationary washer? The only concern i have is that when I do pool decks it would have to use a lot of hose, will I lose pressure for my surface cleaner? 2. Should I hook up to their water(always have before), hook their water up to my tank, or just run off their water directly? 3. My worries with the tank is I have a stock s10 4.3 and with a full tank of water, I feel it would be harsh on my truck as well as gas milage wise. Is the tank worth it? 4. Can a 4gpm run a big guy(28inch) with no problems? I tried it on my pressure washer, and felt it wasn't spinning fast enough( bearings are good). 5. For roof cleaning, the guy said he used dish detergent and chlorine, he spray it on and then just washed it off. Is that right? Whats the proper way? The trailer is full there no more room for another washer. So just give me some advice on what to do with my stuff, what to sell and what not. I do residential stuff and normally by my self. I really want to get my trailer set up so all i have to do is have a job lined up and haul my trailer there with no set backs. I was to increase my job speed, and work as efficient as I can. Thanks for your help!!

Hello, fairly new here. Here's a short background, so you can get an idea of my problem. I have almost all the equipment to start a roof cleaning/ pressure washing business (minus a few minor things) I have the truck, enclosed trailer, two 4 gpm washers, one 6.5, 2 surface cleaners(big guy, classic), water tank, SH tank, all the hoses, wands everything. My dad owns a commercial cleaning business so he has all this stuff from over the years having job doing pressure washing. His business is incorporated, he has good insurance and everything. I have quite a bit of experience in this field from working for him/ doing all the neighborhood driveways, etc. Here's my problem, I just graduated high school and I am ready to try doing pressure washing/roof cleaning as a main source of income to pay bills I have to pay. What should I do now? A.) Start my business with a llc or dba?, pay the business license fee, and spend money marketing and hope I get calls. I plan to go ask people if I see them in their yards on a saturday morning. B.) Get my dad to make a dba for "lake mary pressure washing", but I would pay all the stuff, and manage basically that division? Could there be any problems with doing that? His name is more of a commercial cleaning name rather than residential stuff. I have already done 2 roofs, got $200 for the first roof as a "tester roof", I told the guy it was my first roof, etc. Got a 2nd roof that day for $300. so not bad. I have a partner and well we split it 50/50, I kinda of want a 60/40 deal though.. Both roofs came out really nice, I think the plants were all fine.

Does anyone have a rough estimate of how much it would be to get an LLC? I want to start getting a lot more business and really see if this is something I could do for a few years. Right now I'm working on informational flyers to show people and leave at their doors, getting 1000 biz cards made. Right now it's holding me back as to a name for it. Lake mary pressure washing & roof cleaning or Seminole pressure washing & roof cleaning? Or go along the lines of like "Seminole Exterior Cleaning". Lake mary the city I live in, and Seminole is the county.

Alright thanks for the advice! What is everyone typically charging to do a roof? I know some people look at the sq footage but for me it would probably be best to just guesstimate the cost from looking at it. That way when I go to their door I have a price in mind. There is a big gated community near me, and there roofs are all dirty, mostly tile roofs however. Is that harder to do than shingle?

My advice would be to look on craigslist, for a used pressure washing set up. If your going to be doing driveways all you really need to start is a decent p.w that puts at least gpm, and spend the money for a decent surface cleaner(whisper washer classic), that's what I have and it works great. Then all you need is the hoses, wands, and some other household stuff you should already have. Your best bet is to spend 1000-2500 and get a used set up, so your all ready. Expand from there or if you feel p.w isn't your thing just sell it for what you paid. Good luck, any questions you can ask me, but I'm no expert.

Thanks for the info guys! So this is where I'm at. Take the 225 gallon out, ( I have another 100 gallon I could use) because I would like to have a solely chlorine tank. Keep the big guy, but there's no way my 4 gpm is going to work? My 20inch surface cleaner should work with 200ft of hose out, if I had to do a pool deck and the trailer was in the street. So is leaving a pressure washer running for a little while without using is bad for the pump? and that's where the float comes in handy? For roof cleaning, I did extensive research and found a really good chemical mix is "apple sauce"? Basically for 100g, use 65g water, 35g chlorine, 12lb borax, 12 TSP and just spray it on, let sit for 10 minutes then rinse. Seems easy enough. I really want to start doing the roofing thing. Ill take a few pictures of my set up once it stops raining here. For getting jobs, the fastest way to get jobs is door to door asking on like a saturday. Do people still do this, I know it's illegal in some places, but it helps get jobs when you can tell them the price and what not on the spot.