Pams Pressure & Clean

I like Ev's answer...:eek::cool: Here's mine for wood.. Latex paint spills and overspray from sloppy painters on new P/T prior to any sealing or finishwork.... post construction cleanup.. Here's another one..not wood... Georgia red clay mixed in with roofers tar, commercial carpet glue, or VCT adhesive, (never have been able to determine exactly which) and walked all the way up and down (many, many times..a trail if you will) a brand new rubberized commercial stairwell by the construction crews (ivory color flooring, of course). Then allowed to "cure" for a couple of months while the construction wrapped up. The Super on the job maintains that no adhesives were used of those types and certainly not in a manner that would cause ten-hundred footprints to be left on the stairs. Further, whatever it was should just "come right up" No, we never did get all of it off and we tried just about everyting except acid including hot water, cold water, commercial butyl degreasers at full strength, acetone(very small test spot), paint thinner, Goof Off, lighter fluid, tire dressing. The contractor also tried everything he could think of except raw gasoline and a rag. The butyl lightened the stain the best, but no amount of scrubbing completely removed it. Any ideas???

Yupper... A 28' is our most common ladder. Gotta have the upper stablilzer and the adjustable terrain legs at the bottom ...

All- This post was merely meant to serve as a lesson to not take ourselves so seriously. Not to start a theological nor necessarily political argument. I save those tidbits for REAL fun :):) The message clearly illustrates that one can take number of reference(s) from all over the Bible to make just about any political agenda seem divinely ordained. FWIW, I am a Bush supporter in terms of his re-election, but do not necessarily subscribe to all of his political goals. These arguments are saved for a different time. Please do not read more into this than there really is......just admire the thought that someone put into this as they are clearly versed in scripture or at least skilled enough with search and paste functions to create something with some good clean humor... Cujo

Ryan, PFA= (including your more eloquent rendition) "Plucked (or pulled) From Air" (when in mixed company) or elsewhere (when around the guys)

Seems like a good deal.. But to echo the above.. If you intend to haul any significant amount of water you definitely need another axle and a set of electric brakes. You may find that this trailer will be relegated to hauling a 4-wheeler, lawnmower, go-kart or such and you will see yourself with a new trailer in short order. FWIW, I would estimate on a PFA or SWAG method at about $300-$500 for upgrading the current trailer, 2 new tires and wheels -$125.00 1 new axle with hubs- $130.00 1 electric brake drum kit - $100.00 1 tandem axle spring kit - $50.00 electric brake breakaway safety kit- $50.00 Labor, including wiring - $250.00 - more or less depending on your town whereas a spec build open trailer with 2 axles, brakes, and a 6x12 deck would run a tad over $1100 brand new. Cujo

Nuthin' wrong with getting does... I'll take one any chance I get. I have also found that no matter how long you boil.. the headgear on a nice buck is just too dang tough to eat. ;) I have seen several VERY nice trophies this year.. a 140 class 6 pointer is at the top of my list, but he apparently knows I'm armed with only a pointy stick on a string and stays just out of range. Rifle season and muzzleloader have both been in here for about a month, but I still like my bowhunting, so.... maybe we'll break out the firesticks if the season gets late and the freezeer is low..

Ditto Reed... Ther was a guy a few years ago on our land that got mauled because he put hot doe scent on his boots on the way in..Walking in the woods at 4 am smelling like a hot date for a horny buck is NOT the best idea in the world... FWIW.. This year's bowhunting score... Cujo 2 -- Deer -- 0 :):)

ISO is just an international standards system. Basically ISO 68 certified oil of a particular grade/weight would be the same thing anywhere in the world. The Cat oil with that label means that Cat paid a heap of money to certify 'officially' that their particular oil meets the same standard as set forth in the ISO standards book. It does not necessarily mean that oils bought elsewhere do not meet the standard, just that the company that mfg'd it did not pay to have the oil certified and labeled thusly.

Ryan, In our area I have found that Advance Auto Parts and/or Napa usually keeps a few quarts in stock. My pump holds right at 1 quart from empty to full (1/2 way up the sight glass if yours does not have a dipstick)

Scott, Thanks for the update and a truckload of prayers and well wishes back to Jon.

If it is properly sealed and waxed, I would suggest a strip & wax job. Or perhaps it could be salvaged with just a high speed buffing. Anything strong enough to remove the tar would be equally strong enough to remove the wax, resulting in the need for a wax job anyway, so a solvent based cleaner would be largely a wasted effort. If you are a VCT guy this could be a money maker.. if not, farm out the job to someone who is...

Ryan, Given the same set of circumstances, I am of like mind and would probably do the same. Aside from the 'feel good' aspect of this project, the marketing potential, if you will, far outweighs any benefit that could be obtained from a similar outlay in ANY form of advertizing in our area. It is really too bad (or good, depending on what side one is on) that the competition in our area is so un-competitive.

My understanding is that the hydrochloric is necessary to ensure a complete strip of the topmost layer of concrete, thus ensuring the cleanest surface possible for the new coating to adhere to. Additionally, the acid helps to roughen the surface, again making a more complete and/or stronger bond possible. All this is based on what I have read and gathered from folks I know who actually do this work. I persoanlly have never done it, but it appears that it is pretty straightforward. I have no idea on whether the oxalic would produce the same, similar, or acceptable results...

Several things jump right out here as possible discrepancies. Taking 120 min to rinse a 650 sq ft deck is a bit of over kill unless there is just something I'm BADLY missing here.. A battery powered sprayer of some type will drastically increase your efficiency. Cedar is significantly different than P/T to work with.. It seems we all made the jump that you were quoting a P/T deck Hand rubbing Cabot's versus say, spraying Ready Seal, is not even in the same galaxy when time is taken into consideration. All of these things now considered, your price for the job YOU do seems more in line. Still it would be a very tough sell to Mr./Mrs. John Q. Public. I still stand by my original assesment that except in some of the better upscale neighborhhods, where they are more apt to pay for craftsmanship vs. the local splash & dash painter type guy, OR when they are paying for someone with the experience and portfolio of say a Reed, Everett, Pete Marentay, or Beth & Rod (sorry if I left anyone out guys) your current rate is on the very high end of the scale. It is not necessarily a bad thing to be on the top end of the scale (we find that many time we are in the same place) because one typically can work less and make the same or work more and make a lot more than the other guy who is too cheap. You just have to tailor your business plan around that demographic and adjust accordingly. Cujo

The local painters with bleach and a solid stain would beat me like a drum for that deck at that rate. They'll do 'em all day for about $400.00.. Tony's rate is more like the going market for all but the high end jobs.

I've always been a Chevy guy. We use a Chevy Z-71 1/2 ton to haul around our gear and it does well. We have a 12', dual axle, open trailer, with electric brakes(you gotta have a trailer with brakes if you want to be at all in the realm of safety while hauling water), that is well balanced and reasonable fully loaded, (but not over capacity) and haul water only when necessary. If tomorrow I won the lottery or landed a mega huge contract, I'd plunk down the cash for a shiny new Chevy 2500 Crew cab, 4wd w/ the Duramax diesel, but right now I just can't make myself fork over $45,000 for a new truck. Your situation, based on your truck budget, what size trailer, amount of water you may carry, on board chems, and all the gear you have, will have more of a determining factor on what truck is best, but suffice to say that if you are going to haul a trailer 14' or less and not haul the tank full of water except on infrequent occasions, a 1/2 ton truck will do. Otherwise, look for a 3/4 ton. FWIW, it seems that (for 1/2 ton gas burners) Fords are slightly underpowered and tend to lack carrying capacity, Dodges get hideous mileage and tend to burn intake manifold gaskets, and Chevys are ready to go to work every day without compromise :):).. My 2001 has 154,000 miles and runs all day every day. Except for regular maintenance (brakes, tires, tune-ups, and oil changes), I've had no major mechanical issues.

More props to Roger and Celeste from us.. On the way back through Atlanta to North Carolina tonight, Roger and Celeste rang us up on the Nextel and we met them for supper. Truly great folks and a big thanks to them for taking time from a long weekend drive to stop and pal around for a couple of hours with us. We feel honored that they would think of us and we look forward to seeing them again. Pam & Cujo

Celeste, Hit me on the Nextel today if you feel like it. I have some really nifty ideas on paint capture that I'd like to run past you and see if they'd work. This job looks like it's gonna be a challenge, but MAN! If it comes off without a hitch, what a great one for the portfolio.

Celeste, Looks like an awesome job to get.. :) Did you hard bid this or is it T & M ??

If memory serves there is class action concerning Trex.. I would use the search function and do alot of homework before submitting a bid on this one.

Since we just went full time in April of '04 our numbers will be a bit lower than anticipated, but according to projections, we will gross very close to 100k for the 3 quarters of 2004 beginning April 1 and ending Dec 31. Using the current rate of growth we are experiencing and anticipating the continuing economic boom since GWB has been re-elected, we are forcasting gross sales of approximately $170,000 for 2005. Currently we are a 2 person operation. Many times it is just one of us, other times both, and in some occasions we will hire 1 or 2 day laborers for very short durations.

As funny as it may sound..It's really meant as a different idea.. How 'bout a fire hose to do a rough clean and flood out all the big stuff, then finishing with the proper chems and the P/W machine??

There's a few pics from Mo. Mayhaps Reedster knows someone/something about them?? Also notice that the surface cleaner used on the wood (as if that doesn't present a whole different discussion already) is being operated without the trigger being pulled..??..???...??

FWIW, I do not own an Extend-a-wand, but do have some extension poles, glass and aluminum... I have had the twist locks come off the base pole and boy howdy, it's a booger to use a pole that you just can't extend or retract..Every one I have ever bought has done this, usually very shortly after I paid for them...bummer... I used (and would suggest to anyone) a simple epoxy from Ace Hardware to fix the problem. Either 5-min. or 24 Hr. epoxy should work fine. I prefer the 5-min. type because it gives me enough time to work, but does not stay runny too long and require my babysitting.. Disassemble the components, clean thouroughly with denatured alcohol (no residue), apply epoxy as needed and re-assemble, allow to cure over night, go back to work.. Never a failure after this homemade repair.. OH YEAH !>>> Be sure and leave the pole separated during curing (so you don't have a permanent fixed length pole)and wipe off any that squirts out from the edges (so it does not interfere with normal extension and retraction).. Hope this helps, Cujo

Things that make you say Hmmmmmmm.......