John Orr

I am often asked if my company is a franchise - its not - but for $108K, I could make it happen! Hmm...

You will find everyone on this board willing to help with specific questions, but for general questions, start with a search. The "Search" feature at the top of this page will be your friend. In it, you will find the answer to just about any question you might have. You might want to start with the word "chemical". Make some popcorn and be prepared to read for a while!

HD, usually in the Paint Dept. Cost around $40 for the 24'. Expect to have to re-glue the connections, but other than that, they are pretty durable.

Our prayers will be with you both.

Interestingly, I had to replace the swivel on a high-pressure HydroTek reel today. The sides of the reel slant outward so that it is not possible to get a wrench between the reel and the swivel. There is no ring, the 3/8" screws directly to the reel. My local Landa dealer had an offset open-end wrench from a 30's era Ford that did the trick.

I buy the Carnuba Wax from Northern Tool - about $11/gal. You only need a few ounces/gal of concentrate when downstreaming, much less if you xjet.

The Chemstation website lists 3 locations for LA: Baton Rouge, Longview, TX and Mobile, AL. Under "Exploring ChemStation", select "Locations". No id or password required.

I do a hot wax rinse on most houses, and that seems to make it a little easier to remove at the next cleaning. I wonder if a paste wax application to the affected areas would a) remove the spots and b) prevent future spots from sticking at all or rinsing off. Hmmm...

My Cingular is about the same size (maybe a little narrower) and layout as my IPAQ - except the top slides over to reveal a full QWERTY keyboard. It runs Windows Mobile 5.0 and comes with Word, PowerPoint and Excel Mobile. Also GSM and 3G, so it will run video from Cingular and uses a micro SD card

I recently needed to replace my IPAQ (lost or stolen by a FORMER employee) and switch carriers (from Sprint to Cingular). I bought Cingular's 8525. Syncs to Outlook, nice, full keyboard, Bluetooth. I use it for: phone calls, contacts, internet (weather.com), calculator, 2.0M camera and GPS mapping using MS Streets and Trips. OK, occasionally a game or two while killing time.) The phone is pricey, but since I was going to have to buy a new pda and a phone anyway, it made sense. My biggest concern is how well it will stand-up to real world use. Cell companies, as I found out, do not always offer insurance on the most expensive phones/smartphones. I found coverage with Safeware for about $70/yr. I also use a protective sheet for the screen and use the Bluetooth so that the phone stays in its protective belt clip.

All good info. Maybe shrink it and print it on the back of your proposals/estimates. This would be great info to have on your website - along with some good before and after photos.

If you are prepping cinder block, wash as normal to remove dirt/mold/mildew. A turbo nozzle works quite well to remove loose paint. Keep the tip as far from the surface as possible to keep from leaving swirl marks on the surface.

The pool guy was correct. I always recommend that pool aprons be done after the cover has been removed. If it needs to be cleaned with the cover in place, I will spray a bleach solution and rinse with a garden hose, followed (usually) with an oxalic acid spray and another rinse. (The bleach will kill the mold/mildew and the acid will brighten the concrete.) Do not spray directly on the cover and rinse, rinse, rinse. How much to charge depends on how much area to clean, how dirty, your market. For me, an average job like this would be in the $200 neighborhood.

A few years ago, we had water restrictions in my area. The city offered permits to allow the use of water for pw businesses. This worked out great - for me. You see, in order to get a permit, you had to be a licensed business! No low-ballers were allowed to legally wash anything. Yard signs, stating your permit #, as well as magnetic signs added to my vehicle were enough to keep me busy. My regular customers all got a postcard.

And those that attend would be...Knights of the Roundtables!

I have been following this thread since it began, as I have followed other potentially explosive threads on this and other bbs's, and I am struck as to the level of civility on this board. Kudos to Beth & Rod for running a classy joint! Great thread.

I use a 3' section of plastic pipe that the hose fits into with just a little encouragement. I added a filter to the bottom of the pipe. (I draw from 15 gallon containers, so I need the length to draw from the bottom.)

Nope, it was direct drive.

When the pump on my 13HP/4 gpm unit failed, I replaced it with a 5.6 gpm gear drive pump (about $350 - gear drive and pump). With a bigger engine, it would be 3000 psi, but 13 HP gets you about 2500 psi. Anyone that goes this route will not be disappointed. You will not notice a loss of pressure. In fact, you will experience better/faster cleaning with your surface cleaner. GPM's rule!

As the originator of the "spread and grind" method of oil stain removal, I highly recommend it. Use cheap clay kitty litter or (oil dry), spread it on the stain (scrape excess first) and grind it in with your shoes - until it is the consistency of talcum powder. Sweep it up and repeat if needed. By grinding the clay super-fine, it is able to get down into the pores of the concrete and absorb more oil. Try it. Total cost (for a big stain) is less than 25 cents and takes about 3 to 4 minutes.

I have an '04 E150 (wish I had gone for the 250) AND pull a trailer. My main goal was to keep all my "stuff" under cover and out of sight - it just looks more professional. I had a bench (with seat belts) installed behind the front seats and the divider is behind the bench. Normally, I carry a 13hp/5gpm/2500psi portable (bought a gear drive to replace the direct drive pump after 3 years of everyday use) as a back-up behind the drivers seat. (I have wood ramps there also.) The rear is Line-x'd about 2ft up, with trimmed-to-fit pieces to fill in any gaps between the bulkhead and the walls. Dry storage in the middle, most everything else (including a 24" Steel Eagle) in the back. I have no regrets.

OK, what do you consider "prep"? Is it the same "prep" for reapplying CWF? (I hate to sound negative, but your company's product CWF has a certain reputation.)

Two pressure washers. Same size house, with same amount of work to do. It takes pw #1 two hours to do a professional job. It takes pw #2 one hour to do the same job. Which pw should charge $150/hr? Without a standard with which to measure, I don't see a practical way to set a one-size-fits-all hourly rate. As for me, my goal is $100/hr. I can usually was 2 or 3 houses per day. When I started almost 7 years ago, I was able to wash only one house per day. I still charge about the same price (a little more) per sq ft, but I am 2 or 3 times faster.

No, I did not.

So, after "4-5 years", does it simply fade away, or does it crack and peal like CWF? Will we need to strip a house/shutter in order to re-apply?