Pams Pressure & Clean

The silicone in Wooddefender is likely to be causing the fast runoff that Jon mentioned. Ditto misting first..

(peeking from under my blanket) Regardless of what you choose to do product wise, DON'T do a hot water bath.. Hot water is not conducive to good wood care..

I'm staying under my blanket

Don't know about the solid colors, but the rest of thier stuff is almost all linseed with some tung tossed in for good measure.. Total crap..unless perhaps you have a sado/masochistic streak in you and you relish the thought of completely stripping and staining your deck once a year or more.

Heard the ads here too... Let me be the first to call BULLS..T !!

We have had 14" of rain in the last 13 days.. At least one day we got over 3" in one hour. Whole neighborhoods under 10' of water, roads closed, sinkholes in parking lot, everything is just soaking freaking wet...and the weather man says we can be looking at another 1/2" or so every day till sometime next week.. Depends on what the next hurricane is bringing with it.. Deck work is a bit slow for us right now too.... :) We have been thinking of taking up Ark building PS.. Dale, Flood S&D is a solid in the form I have seen (brilliant white)..Basically like dipping the wood in a thin layer of plastic..Superb around docks, very durable stuff. You have to back brush it to death, but once done it looks very nice. Celeste, I think that you would have to pull a second mortgage to afford stripping.. :)

Like Scott, we had our trailer made to spec for us. Although considerably less expensive (more to do with region and trailer size than anything else, is my guess) we got exactly what we wanted. The trailers supplied by some rig builders are not much more than mega duty landscape trailers, certainly not something you couldn't find on your own, thus saving the markup from trailer supplier to P/W supplier. Also like John and Scott both mention, the compact trailers supplied for some rigs are useless for carrying any of the tools, chems, and supplies you'll need every day. My vote, for what it is worth, says go to a local trailer shop, have one spec'd out custom and you'll be much happier in the long run...Might be cheaper thn expected too..

PP, I used to rent/sell this very type of stuff.. The rate will vary depending on your locale, unions (ugggh), and time of year. You are now in peak season, so expect premium rates. Daily/weekly/monthly rate will probably be somewhere around 600/1800/5400 Freight in and out will probably be somewhere in the $150 each way range, depending on how far away they are coming from They may flat rate the fuel for you at somewhere around $75.00 ...or they'll send it to you full, and you're responsible for refueling. Be sure you don't send it back with low fuel or you pay rental store fuel rates..:eek: Insurance/damage waiver usually about 12% to 15% of the rental rate. Sales tax?? I got no idea for your area. (Note to self...) If I rented you a boom and found out you were spraying acid, I might get miffed... This monster is WICKED HEAVY!!! in the 50,000 pound range... You NEED to be very sure of what you are parking it on. This machine will NOT operate on more than a 5 degree slope.. You will need to make sure that where you park it is very level. I'd suggest an approved aerial lift training course for using a boom of this caliber.. not usually necessary for the small time stuff, but this is a Big Boy Toy. They usually run about a hundred bucks and are available from the rental center... Hope this helps... Cujo

Yup, yup, yup...what they said... Straight bleach will ruin the deck, the clients' wallet, and your reputation.. To echo PP's statement, the combination of trying to go cheap in order to get a job, not having the experience with wood and bleach, and the present condition of the deck is a fast way to the poorhouse. It WILL come back to bite you..

We'll also be glad to bid on this project. Dunwoody is not too far away and well within our service area. Feel free to send over the client info or deliver our info to them..

Matt, Xylene is a solvent..Strong stuff.. I find it locally at Home Desperate, Lowe's, and any quality hardware store for about 12-13 bucks a gallon

Definitely agree with the sentiment, but for that price, I might have a quilt lined box to keep it in instead of in a tool box on the trailer :):)

FWIW, I just bought a backup M-5 from Sun Brite for $125.00... If memory serves, the original was $110.00. They are local for me but I imagine the shipping is very reasonable.

Philip, Given the same circumstances I would take insane amounts of notes and photos (as you have already done) , Record EVERY phone call, and have a recorder going in my pocket during EVERY face to face meeting. Recording conversations wherein only one party knows of the recording is fully legal within the boundaries of Ga. and a method I have used in dealing with disputes in other careers over the years. It can be very ......helpful ..... when other interested parties have memory lapses later on. ;) Further, I would politely, but unwaveringly, stand on my demand for the HO, the MC, myself, and an independent examiner/arbitor.

Seeing that the MC is helping to steer the bus that you are being tossed under here, have you discussed a mediator for all parties? I think a simple arrangement could be made wherein a local (not currently on staff by the MC) landscaper could be brought in, or even dig up a couple of posies and trek them off to the local Pike's with the MC rep in tow. Get a professional appraisal of the situation and agree to be bound by the results.. The short story is that this situation is going to cost you a fight and maybe some cash one way or another.. either with homeowner or the client.. You just have to weigh which fight you want to join.

Out-freakin'-standing... :):)

These guys are First Class all the way... We spend quite a bit of money with Sun Brite for this very reason. Great Products, Great Service, and Great People

Some guys offer a 'no like, no pay' guarantee. We are of the opinion that this may cause you to get burned.. Our guarantee says "Guaranteed clean or you get your dirt back"

Or possibly a slight blockage in the line or fittings (corrosion if using el-cheapo brand fittings) causing the fluctuation in flow and pressure...

A continual cynic, my vote may suggest that the owner is looking for some new sod. Perhaps they sprayed Roundup on the whole place in hopes of aquiring a new putting green at your expense...

Dave, A good percarb will do the job if you are looking for a non chlorine option. Dwell will be longer, and slightly higher agitiation may be required in some cases, but it is effective. Sun Brite Supply in Lawrenceville Ga. USA carries Safe Wash and EFC-38. Both are very good, but the EFC-38 has a caustic added to give it more punch. Shipping to Aus. will probably be prohibitive, but I'm sure you can find a local source.

Alan, Any updates?

I am continually amazed that folks will spend thousand upon thousands of dollars for fancy equipment, tools, gizmos, and gadgets to call themselves professional powerwashers, yet insist on washing a house with dish soap.

Kinda speechless in reply to the e-mail thing.... All I can say is that I hope it works out for you. I can empathize with your postion though. We deal day in and day out with homeowners who have been contacted by guys who want to splash some bleach on a previously finished deck, hit it with a few thousad psi, and then drool some Thompson's all over it. They then call this a profesisonal deck job for what seems like ten cents a square foot..house wash free if you do the deck for a hundred bucks :rolleyes: We sometimes get the deer in the headlights look after spending all that time educating, but they still go with the low bid splash & dash guy.. Makes me want to drive off a bridge some days.. Then you get the decks like these where the client really appreciates quality craftsmanship and qualified wood restoration expertise. http://pamspressureclean.com/html/full_deck_restoration_0.html (use the arrow buttons to scroll through the pics) Somehow the few outweigh the many and makes it all worth going back at it tomorrow..

Alan, I question your shop guy. I have heard of oil thinnning issues when the oil gets super hot, but oil should never get into the combustion chamber for any reason. If it does, it is a failure of the oil rings on the cylinder or a failure of the valve seats in the head and a rebuild is necessary. The amount of heat required to cause the oil to thin enough to bypass the cylinder rings would also accelerate engine wear to critical levels. This does not mean that oil doesn't change with heat.. it does. I just don't believe you have that much heat. Further, it would take a very significant amount of oil to snuff out a spark. Not something slow, and you would notice massive amounts of oil smoke from the exhaust long before such a catastrophic event and you would notice that you are having to add oil regularly. I might suspect a margianlly low oil level and/or a marginal oil pressure cutoff switch. It could be that once the oil gets hot and starts to thin slightly your switch is losing contact and shutting down. Similarly, if the oil level is marginal, the same effect could occur. I might suggest an oil change then monitor the oil level like a hawk. FWIW, we run Slick 50 in all of our equipment and top off with Valvoline high mileage 10w30 motor oil. We have never had an oil related failure.