Jarrod

Damage is just to coils in a hot water unit. Cold water, no problem.

I do just that. I use chems from 1 co. & stain from another co. Both are purchased from 1 dealer.

Sounds good! How much is a cobb blaster anyways?

Yea, I agree. Nice deal!! The only 2 things I don't like is 12v & 4.6 gpm. As a pkg. it is a good deal though.

Rich - It's cool. It's hard to joke on these boards because people can't see your body language or facial expression. I wish we could post our facial expressions with each post, would that be cool or what?! LOL Anyways, I hear ya about the sikkins jobs, as soon as I hear the "S" in sikkins, I wanna hang up the phone! LOL. Sad story - In summer 05 I went to a customer's home to look at their deck and they told me it was coated with Sikkins. They said it kinda shamefully too. After I said I unfortunately could'nt help them, they then said I was the 10th person that week that told them that.

Let me explain - Day one - 45 min drive to the cust to bid, 45 min drive home. Day 2 - 45 min drive to strip, 45 min drive home. Day 3 - 45 min drive to stain the deck, 45 min drive home.

Oh crap! Shane beat me by a second AND spelled it right too! Blast!

They are probably talking about mahe mahe. I doubt I spelled that right. It's pronounced - M a h ee M a h ee

Hi rich, I still consider myself a wood care pro even though I walk away from PITA jobs. 2 reasons - They don't wanna pay me what it's worth, & I dont wanna invest in a cobb blaster & buffer so I can do 3-5 PITA jobs per year. BTW - I wasn't bragging about my speed - I was just explaining why I do things the way I do them - because it is fast for me, that's all. Dave - I didn't know you drove 45 min. to Waterford to do decks. 1 trip to bid, 1 trip to strip, & 1 trip to stain - that's 4.5 hours of drive time!!! Hey, would it be allright if I gave you all of the PITA jobs this year? If so, please let me know, Ill be glad to send them your way. BTW, I always refer PITA's to 2-3 other companies that may be able to help them. They always thank me and say "WOW! That was very PROFESSIONAL OF YOU!"

I never realised how big tuna was!! Holy crap!!

Beth, did I read you right? A CARPET CLEANER?! WOW, talk about branching out LOL! Jon, great question, I have to agree with everyone here - 1 price - 1 way. This would also be a great question for the fleet washing section. I am starting to do my fleet wash bids like that and people like it so far.

If you can handle the work load, I say do'em both - (comm. & res.) I like the variety myself.

I was reading in the FAQ area, and I read about a M-5. What is that, and where can I ger one? Thank you for your help.

Thank You All For The Help!!!

What is your favorite tv series/show and why? AND who is your favorite character on that show and why?

NO DOUBT!:lgkick:

Sounds like 24 is a big hit so far. It's funny how my wife, who is a quiet, soft spoken person gets all rialed up when 24 is on. And when each episode ends she gets off the couch and does the "I don't wanna wait a whole week to see what happens next! dance." I like prison break also. Another good one is The Shield.

I guess it's my turn. Deck age - 6-8 years old. Obvious grill marks. It was once treated with CWF or Behr (still in the spindles) The last time it was restored (2-3 yrs ago) the contractor couldn't get it all off - understandibly. That same contractor coated the deck with a clear or an oil based stain - I'm leaning towards an oil base. The deck does need to be restored though. No, I would not be satisfied with the way it looks. The dog's tail was snipped about 4 years ago.

Jon – Actually the time for me stripping and brightening a 700 sq. ft. is correct. And that is a complete strip. The deck would have an oil based stain on it such as TWP, Pennofin, or Thompsons etc…I run away from decks that have Sikkins, Behr, CWF etc. on them. We always do complete stripping – right down to bare wood. I inject my chems on. I don’t use a deckster. In my opinion, those things are way too slow. (Here comes the lynch mob again! LOL) You should try the stuff I use, you will love it. I have never fuzzed up a deck with it. I’ll be glad to send you some if you want. The reason why I walk away from decks that have water based stuff on them is because it is too hard & time consuming to remove it completely. I have also found that most people don’t wanna pay what it’s worth to restore a deck with water based stuff on it. Besides, I can restore 2-3 oil based decks in the same time it would take to restore 1 water based deck. I know HD80 or F18 fans are gonna chime in and say “use HD80, it’ll take water based stains off.” Last summer, I tried to remove Behr from a cedar deck (that was done by a lowballer in 2004) I tried F18 & HD80 with no success. I have to admit, the stain was globbed on pretty heavy though. Anyways, there are plenty of easy decks to do here, so I’ll stick with those – we will probably do about 150 in 2006. That’s good enough for me. I have enjoyed reading all of the posts in this thread. I love stirring the pot for this reason. I hope the next time I get out my spoon, people understand that I’m not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings. Getting people fired up and posting like crazy is good for all of us. Heck, I’ve never heard of cobb blasting before all of this. I learned something new, thank you! Merry Christmas everyone!!

Key phrase - "I realize the thread is about decks per say, but"

Just kidding!! Sarcasm.

Educating John & Jane Q. public is the best way to combat this lowballer problem. Don't just give the cust. a bid, giv'em a DETAILED bid. Yes - step by step procedures, b4 & afters, general pics, faq's bla, bla, bla. I usually charge for the bla, bla, bla though.:deal:

All right Ken! You are on the right path! We are almost there folks.

Still no responses huh? Think people, come on you can do it.

Jon, this is the first time I've been sent to the corner with my gum on my nose. Hopefully the last. I guess what I'm trying to say is this - I don't think it is practical to roto a deck, then have to sand it and then stain it. Here's why - First, it's just too time consuming and I doubt that people would wanna pay for the extra work involved. Second - I don't wanna stuff the customer's eyes back into his skull when he sees what the roto tip did to his deck.(B4 it was sanded) One of the first ? I get when bidding is "Your'e not gonna fur up my deck are ya?" We do a LOT of cedar here and you all know how soft that wood is! Believe me, I'm not bragging when I say what I'm about to say, I'm merely explaining why I'm so stuck in my ways. - With my current process, I can strip & brighten a 700 sq ft deck with railings, spindles & stairs in an hour to 1:15 at the most. And the clock starts when I get out of the truck. Now, I'd say that's pretty good time. The results I get are very good too. Now, knowing this info, is there really a faster, better, easier way I should be doing this? I'm not being cocky, I really wanna know. All replies are welcome as I really want to find out if there is a better, faster, or easier way.