John Orr

I have been using Olympic Maximum Honey Gold for a few years. My customers love it - even after 2 years. Very easy to apply with a pump-up sprayer, $18/gal and I can buy it as I need it at Lowes. Its almost impossible to leave a lap mark and any touch-ups blend right in. Staining is not my favorite thing to do, especially when the market won't bear reasonable pricing, so I like a product that doesn't require a lot of "fussing". I am sure that I will take a look at some same-day stains this year. Having to come back to stain is bad enough, but having to deal with the weather drives me - and my customers - nuts!

Roof Magic and Roof Magic 2X from Rowlett Pressure Cleaning Service - SH for stripping and roof cleaning. Oxalic Acid in bulk from TheChemistryStore.Com to neutralize and for rust removal. I have tried others and been disappointed.

I use a wooden broom handle, mixing with warm water. I keep it nearby and give a stir before pumping any chems to 5 gal buckets.

Change is good, so is choice. The best of both!

Go Daddy has .com domain reg for $8.95/yr and hosting plans for $3.95/mo They also offer site building packages. I have been using Go Daddy for a few years with no problems. http://www.godaddy.com

A 4 gpm machine will clean approx 14% faster than a 3.5 gpm machine. It is unusual to find a 3600 4gpm machine with an 11hp motor. That would normally call for a 13 hp - and in fact that is what the HD machines use. In any event, the psi is less important than the gpm. The 13 hp Honda motor is a very good, and HD will honor the warranty on it, and the pump, for 90 days when used commercially.

The likely hood of someone "finding" your business on the net is almost nil. I have had my site up and running for over 4 years and the number of customers who "find" me would not have justified the expense. My main purpose in creating a web presence was so that I could advertise the url locally - on business cards, signs and my phone book listings. On the site, I wanted to tell my story and show some examples of my work. I believe that having a nice site improves your credibility to prospective customers. I consider my website a great success. Oh yeah, I paid $69 for the software - CuteSite Builder.

I grew up in New York (Long Island), Milwaukee and Nashville and now live near Virginia Beach, VA. I can tell you that the biggest reason ice and snow paralyze some parts of the country is that there are very few plows or salt/sand trucks. Cities/counties won't spend anymore than they have to for equipment that will sit idle, sometimes for years. No one can drive on ice - up north or down south. The difference is that up north, there will eventually be a sand/salt truck come by - even the side streets.

When using the blue (or yellow) 24' fiberglass/aluminum wands, try using a larger tip to reduce the psi at the tip. You can still have enough pressure, but its not quite as hard to control. I use a 40' Coress (4 - 12' sections) and by using a larger tip, am able to use the low-pressure hose, which adds almost no weight. 40' is great for using the PitchWitch and I can remove 2 sections and I have a 24'.

Some say I do the work of 10 men. lol

Beth, Good luck on the surgery. May I suggest that you check-out some of the voice recognition software? (Now would be the best time to set it up.)

One word: Tylenol!

I charge what I feel is a fair price to wash a house. When I first started, that meant about $50/hr, now, it means about $100. Alan, When I started, I carried $300,000 liability - until I found out that $1 million costs the same! Apparently, there is a minimum premium.

I use a backpack sprayer for applying SH for stripping decks. It was a hot day (several years ago), so I didn't pay much attention to the warm sensation on my back. Later in the day, it seemed to feel even worse, but it wasn't until that evening that I realized what had happened. As I removed my shirt, I also removed a chunk of skin. Ow! Fortunately, my wife is a nurse, but even still, it took several weeks for the burn to heal. Needless to say, I learned my lesson and now carry apple cider vinegar (to neutralize as well as for heat burns). Also, I now use eye protection when mixing chems, as well as having an eye wash kit, so that I'll be ready if I ever get 12% in my eye (again)! Ow! I suppose that nothing teaches like personal experience. Unfortunately.

I will only use a ladder to get onto roofs or 2nd story decks and I always use a stabilizer with the stabilizer either sticking through the railing or sitting on the roof. Going up and down is dangerous enough without having to worry that the ladder will slide out from under you.

I buy blue Dickie's shirts and pants - about $17 ea at WM. They are colorfast and hide the dirt pretty well. I pay $8 ea to have my logo embroidered on each shirt.

The customer's perception of your professionalism is what matters. When I started (5 years ago), all I had was a belief in myself and my ability to do a good job. I quickly added a logo and uniform. Confidence in yourself inspires the confidence of others in you.

I do mostly residential work and find that 100' of supply hose is more than enough. I carry an extra 100', but in 3 years, have not needed it. For pressure hose, I have 100' on the rig (small reel) and usually use another 75 that I carry on a spare reel mounted to the trailer fender. 2 - 50' in the van and several hundred more at home. In the one picture, you can see how where I mounted the extra reel. It is not hooked-up to the machine, I simply unreel it as needed. The second pic shows how the main pressure and supply hose are mounted on the rear of the trailer.

Wouldn't you know, today I had an estimate 80 miles away! (I honestly didn't realize it was that far.) Sometimes, you almost hope you don't get a job!

It sounds like those of us that are busy would like to charge, but won't because it would seem petty/cheap. Those that have "openings" in their schedule would never think of charging. I would guess that those that are busy never used to think about charging. As we become busier, our time becomes more precious. There is only so much of it to go around, so we become more protective of it. I find myself in the "busy" category most of the time, so I can relate. I have found myself offering "ballpark" estimates to referrals, since they are most likely to hire me. They already know approx how much I charge, so I ask if they need a solid number before I come out, but give them a range. If they need/want a written est, I will go. This has worked-out well and reduced the running around needed to fill my schedule. As to the costs involved in giving estimates. First of all, they are tax deductible. Second, even at its highest, for me, it never amounted to more than a few dollars per customer. I do mostly residential and unless I had to drive long distances, it would seem petty to charge for it. Most of my business is referrals and repeats, so I have to be consistent with my prices, so I keep the house cost the same and vary the price on the deck/drive/fence/rust removal prices. P.S. The avg price for gas around here is now about $1.69, with Sam's club at $1.48 for members, $1.53 for non-members. (Before prices started going up last winter, the avg here was $1.39.)

Ha, Ha Tony. Actually, they're my sister's kids. The 17 and 19 year olds are both Juniors at Old Dominion and the 21 will graduate in Spring with his Masters. All were home-schooled.

Speaking of light bulbs... Three of my nephew/engineering students live with us during the school year and decided to replace the bulb in the ceiling fan. They actually shot a video of one standing on a stool while another spins the stool around...removing the old bulb and installing the new. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Bob, If you're the one on meds, then why was I the one to miss that? lol (But wouldn't $1/sq ft be nice?)

When I started 5 years ago, I set my prices based on what I thought my work was worth. It turned out that I was just about right - approx $1 per sq ft. Which means that if the house is 1000 sq ft, my price is $100 and if the house is 10,000 sq ft, my price is $1000. If the customer does not know their home's sq footage, I guesstimate. When I started, I was making about $20/hour because it took me all day to wash a house. The same houses I now wash in 2 hours and make $100/hour. The other day I washed a house ($225) that had a "$69 House Wash" sign on the telephone pole on the corner of their yard. The customer's comment to me was that "they would not trust their house to anyone who was obviously charging too little." People assume that the $69 guy is doing it for beer money, won't be licensed, won't be insured, and probably won't do a good job. So, everyone doesn't have to start out as a low baller, but if you're doing it for the suds $$, then why not? If you know that the quality of your work will be sub-standard, charge accordingly. Think about it, there is always a line at the expensive car washes.

The LG you see in the infomercial is 17' and costs about $350. If you look on eBay, you will see LG's for about $300 and the larger LG's for about #350 to $400. I was in Sam's club the other day and saw a similar ladder (17') for $129. I didn't buy it, but I may go back and get it.