yazbird8

Ok...So the horizontals can be light and the verticals dark...and visa versa?...I was thinking that there was a pattern for this....For instance, you don't want the deck to look like the railings are floating into space...Does that make sense?..... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Super work...When doing two-tone work is it the norn to do all horizontals light and all verticals dark?....What about two-toning with natural stains and solid stains?..Are there rules of thumb?..It seems you do a tremendous amount of this type of work...It is always beautiful to look at...Can you give a detailed approach to this type of....specialty..... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Beautifully said Beth.....TGS is my personal daily line to knowledge/ education....... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Beth n Rod, Man you guy's do some truelly outstanding work.........WOW !! Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Yup...Starting and managing a start-up business is stressful and sometimes physically "hard as heck"....But sitting inside a cubicle, day in and day out, with deadlines and demands bombarding off you like your playing dodge-ball....And then company meetings....ughhhh !!!......I REALLY ENJOY being my own person....It's ALL about the FREEDOM !!.....AND THE UNLIMITED POTENTIAL....for the big..... Cha-ching !!!!!.............Anybody agree?.. Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Designer.....Animal Research Labs Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Rick, Of course it might help if I actually tried using it....I had it out of the truck and looked at it once..I thought I could fix it...No luck.........So I put it back in the truck...I'll give it an honest try in the spring....If it's better than the X-Jet.....then....I'll come and do all your decks for you...lol.....

Thanks Seymore........Another TGS legend.... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Rick, I have a dual lance also.....but I'm left handed and the handle is on the wrong side for me.... That freaks me...lol Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

It's funny you should say that...This particular customer said some pretty nice things.....I asked if I could quote him....He said absolutely.....Like I said earlier..I have a photo shoot with him and his wife after the holidays...He actually wants me to use the photos in my marketing.....It's a good feeling....He has referered a friend of his......It sure beats a cubicle.......... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Beth, I love the challenge firstly...And being in someones beautiful backyard..But I also love it when a customer is Genuinely shocked with the results.....Genuine shock is priceless........It's then that I like to ask for their repeat business via a maintenance plan..... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Rick, The Rip-It did seem to be a little less harsh then the HD-80...I am not sure though since the HD was used on the first half of the job when I had a little less knowledge of how it would react to the stain..I was to weak to start and to strong on a few batches....By the time I started using the Rip-It I kind of had the formulation figured out pretty well...I was told that the two products were pretty much identical....They both worked fine for me...I did sense though that Rip-It might be easier on the skin....I always wear shorts...and I always manage to get a drop or two on me......As for the maintenance..I have the customer on a 1k yearly plan...This coming year they will get a wash and a re-coat of the deck surfaces and the handrails..Plus strip a set of stairs.....Two half days of work..... What do you think of the X-Jet for the striping/rinsing part?...What do you use? I think the X-Jet is a killer tool...It left not one line on the soft wood..Plus you get more water volume... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Thanks for the great compliments Rick, Beth, Jeff, Celeste, Ken......Compliments coming from you guys is a huge honor for me...All of you in your own way has helped me in more ways than you know ....Thank heavens for TGS........ Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Here are some more pics....Thank you Beth for your help... Stephen Andrews Power Washing Home & Property Care & Maintenance

Scott, You nailed it in 50 words or less (actually 52 words)........You nailed it exactly to my way of thinking !!! Stephen Andrews Power washing Home & Property Care & Maintainence

I am doing a cedar shake home tomorrow and the home is probably a 2 million dollar home if I was to guess...The shakes are on three sides and the front is stone........The shakes are in great shape with the exception of some woodpecker holes in a few spots (not my problem). But there is a semi bad mildew problem on the rear of the home and also on one side......I will also be doing their deck which is nothing more than a strong dose of EFC-38 and a neutralize/ brighten/ rinse/ seal job. I will be using Ready Seal for that part.........Now the house is my big concern...I plan on mixing EFC-38 at 8 ounces to the gallon of water, mixing in a little house wash and some Dawn for extra cling and injecting it with my M5 X-JET......Then I will neutralize/ brighten and rinse..........My question is this........Does this mixture sound strong enough to remove the mildew? How long should it dwell?........The customer is semi retired and has built more than 1000 homes in the town that I target (very wealthy area) and is still buiding homes ocasionally...........This guy is a fantastic fella and I think that doing his home to perfection could be a possible home run for me in the future........Oh yah, I own a 4000psi/ 4 gpm machine Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

If I go with the percarb bath and then a citralic bath, do I need to rinse (other than the windows) with water or can I leave the citralic on?..........If there are any bleach guys who use an X-JET and bleach for cedar shake homes I'd love to here from you too.......... Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

Thanks Ken, I am going to try the Sodium Percarb on the one story cedar shaked car garage first before I try to tackle the huge house (this boy aint climbing no ladder for this home). A 12' step is it.......If I don't get the results I want on the garage then I will recommend switching to bleach/ soap/water combo then rinse with citrolic..........Ok bleach guys.......Can I get some help on ratios using regular store bought bleach to water for my X-JET?........SIDE NOTE.. can I leave the citrolic neutralizer/ brightener on the shakes after I apply it?.........Will the citrolic help hide the "bleached out" effect since it brightens the wood anyway??? Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

Richie Rich works for me....... Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

Thanks Rod, About 5 dry cups of efc38 per 5 gal. of water. Add a little house wash and a little Polmolive dish soap.....I'll try 2 cups dry citrolic to 5 gal. of water for neutralizer/ brightener.......Any need to rinse??....... Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

Thanks Rod and Rick, I'm still looking for the Sodium Percarb to water ratio when X-JETTING for killing mildew and mold on cedar shakes though.......Anybody?...Please....Please....Please.............Oh ya, the owner is tapped into a well with hard water (I guess meaning a high iron content) which is unusual in this area......Any advise? Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

Hey Rick, Ya, I saw those funky cedar shakes on your gazebo job. Great results as always. I actually did a bid last week on a gazebo and deck combo with a large bar under the gazebo. All cedar and the roof was loaded with the same gumbo...Anyway, I digress.....It's funny but the owner actually said he has been using bleach on the place for years but is letting someone do the work since the house is so big......He said he would have no objections if I used it myself.......So, I have that as a backup. I'm just afraid to turn the cedar white and not be able to correct it......I'm still hoping someone can address the X-JET ratio issue since I don't use proportioners... Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

Beth, I would suggest moving this thread up to the deck thread. This is a low visability area for the deckmeisters.....I will donate a case of "the beer of your choice" (shipped) to the first monthly winner to get the ball rolling..........Shane, Rod, James, do you guys drink beer cause my money is........well nevermind........................YAZ Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE

If you where starting a business today with the knowledge you now have, what tools (besides your washer and vehicle) would you recommend to others, ie, X-Jet, types of wands, surface cleaners. Tools that you can't live without..... How about chems ........... two lists. One for equip and one for Chems......Maybe supply the appropriate web-site for each equip or chem.......An example might be: Chems: 1. HD-80 (stripper) Sun Brite 2. Ready Seal (wood sealant) www.readyseal.com Sun Brite 3. Citracleen (house wash) www.rowlettpressure.com 4. Lemonator (masks smell of bleach) www.rowlettpressure.com 5..........................etc. Equip: 1. Sureflo pump (sprayer) http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/w...ctId=527&R=527 2. X-Jet (injector and projector) www.Xterior.com Sun Brite 3.....................etc. This would be a great starting point for newbies. Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTAINENCE

Barry, I'm kinda in the same boat so I feel your pain..........Everyone has given great advise so far and I feel compelled to add my 2 cents........ GO FOR IT....................BE SMART....BE BRAVE..............AND.... BE VERY AGRESSIVE MENTALLY!!!...................Best of luck brother......... Stephen Andrews POWER WASHING HOME & PROPERTY CARE & MAINTENANCE