Deck Guy

It truly warms my heart to see so many people on this board expanding/starting their families. I can only speak for myself, but the love I have for my son is different and deeper than I ever imagined. He's a teen now, but even through all the aggravation he causes, I still can't imagine how empty my life would have been without him. I love my wife more than the day we married (19 years ago), but my son taught my about truly unselfish love.

Here you go Jeff. http://www.september11victims.com/september11victims/victims_list.htm

Let me guess...the liberal media making GW look bad?? He does a pretty good job by himself. All you would have to do is quote him ver batim, or film him speaking with editing anything. Not exactly Pulitzer Prize stuff there. No, what I'm talking about is that 100 years ago, any major newspaper looked like more the National Enquirer than they do today. Let's see...who owns the USA Today, NY Times, and Washington Post? Conservatives, that's who. Those three papers account for a great deal of readership and influence, no? Our local conservative newspaper owner (Gary Rust) owns over twenty other papers, and he's a dyed in the wool conservative (Limbaugh style) too. Again, you and I apparently live in totally different societies.

I'm not convinced that people are any less moral now than at any other time. You and I must live in different "societies." Men (not me) have had mistresses as long as there has been marriage, and people have always lied, cheated, and stolen from one-another. I can see you rolling your eyes, even from Missouri, but I really believe that. We just don't have crime stats from the middle-ages (for example), but I will bet there was alot of bad stuff going on then too. All-in-all, I genuinely believe that most people (98%) are good, it's just the evil that gets the attention. I know dozens of good people myself! Mankind has always been flawed according to my book. That's what redemption is all about. I'd love to sit down and have a beer with you Mike, but we just seem to have different views on things. I don't see the world as this immoral place that you seem to envision. I just see it. BTW have you ever considered reading the teachings of Buddha?

How bad things are is a matter of perception. I think that thanks to the age we live in, we are more aware of all the bad sh*t that happens. I don't think that 100 years ago, you would have known about the kidnapping of a kid 1000 miles away, now its in your face 24/7 when something like that happens. Do you think the average American 100 years ago knew anything about Sierra Leonne? People used to spend their time trying to make ends meet and feeding their family, and even though there was limited information available by way of newspapers to those who truly sought it, many people were illiterate and newspapers were in the business of making news as much as they were in the business of reporting it. An example... my mother, whom I love dearly, will tell me that they didn't have any gay people in Germany when she was a kid. Right, and I bet there were no pedophiles, aldulterers, or wayward priests either.

Violent crime rates are down, people are living longer than ever, and the weather's getting warmer (a big plus for our northern bretheren). Thanks to technology, many of us will never toil as our fathers and their fathers did. I say the glass if half-full! This is the best time to be alive!

The moth balls is the best because it doesn't work immediately. It may take weeks depending on how much they drive. They'll never know what caused it.

I'm still amazed at the people who equate Iraq with 9/11. Colin Powell's speech to the U.N. regarding our planned invasion, ver batim, is available all over the internet (try the official UN website) along with the photos and such he provided at the time of his speech. There's no need to guess about it, read his speech! Here is a thought...do a Google search, find his speech, read it, and then decide if our reasons at the time were justified. Of course, we've adjusted our reasons as the original ones were found to be baseless. The "War on Terror" is the reason we went to Afghanistan. Iraq was initially about WMD's, not terrorism. Only after realizing how flawed our intelligience (or wishful thinking) was did we re-focus on supposed ties between Al Kaida and Iraq. Many feel that no such ties existed until after we entered Iraq, which created a rebel force looking for Al Kaida support. By the way, not one of the detainees in the current liquid explosive probe is Iraqi. The minimum wage? All the same arguments against raising it have been made each time the debate comes up. I recently saw an Op/Ed piece from 1987 speaking against it, and it could have been written by anyone posting here this week who feels the same way. Funny though, the doom and gloom prophesies based on raising it never happen.

Don't do me Like That- Tom Petty

I prefer an IPOD. Download what you want. Hear it when you want.

Again, it comes down to how you calculate square footage. When you say 300 square feet, is that the floor area, or the floor and rails? A typical deck here that is 10x30, on the ground (which is rare), would have about 50 feet of railing. I multiply railing length by four to obtain square footage, so I would base my price for that deck on 500 square feet, and would charge about $450, and spend about four hours total on the job. I shoot for about $70 an hour on deck work after direct expenses, so I'm in good shape there with only about $60-$70 in direct expenses on that project. So it's either 300 multiplied by your cost per square foot, or 500 multiplied by mine. That explains the big difference in what we all charge "per square foot." I also charge less per square foot on larger decks (using the economic theory of economy of scale), with price breaks at 400 and 900 square feet.

I design them, then take them to a printer. I also like the carbonless two-part forms for estimates/contracts. I fill it out, sell it to them, we both sign, and I leave them a copy. I pay 5 cents apiece, because I only order 200 at a time, which allows me to increase my pricing schedule shoud I need to, without wasting a bunch.

I think it's a great idea for those who might be interested. My wife however, has a more-than-full-time career herself, and is on the board of a couple charitable orgs. Today is Saturday, and she'll leave by 9:00 AM, and probably not get back until around 6:00, and this is her day off work, but helping out the local Humane Society. It's not that she's not interested in this biz, just has no time for it.

My son and I tried to work Tue. afternoon, and I only lasted about an hour. Hot deck/direct sunlight, no shade at all. I usually do pretty well, and he is the one who fades fast. I truly think the big burger at lunch was to blame. I usually try to eat light when I know it's going to be that hot, just didn't think it was gonna be that bad.

Don, Health insurance won't protect you from your liability should a worker be injured while during "the course and scope" of his employment. He can still come after you. Having said that, you aren't required to provide WC here unless you have more than two full time employees (last I knew). I owned a bar with a full-time manager, and part-time help, and didn't carry it. It's a roll of the dice. Worse comes to worse, I'd at least check into AFLAC accidental injury insurance. If you can at least take care of your employees in some respect, they are much less likely to go to a lawyer to what they can take you for. They rate the plan by occupation, so I can't say what your workers premiums would be, but I pay about $17 a month.

Jeff, are you near a college? Our local university has a SBA workcenter that helps small business for FREE!! All you have to do is call for an appointment, and they help you find the things you need to be successful. Free advice from people with the contacts. Maybe your local SBA office can help find a solution.

Even when they do have a useable product, you will find that the cost is crazy compared to what you can find from some of the great suppliers on this site and others. It is good to know what they have that will work for you in a pinch though, so spend some time (not money) looking around there. They do sell percarbonate cleaners (about $14 for two pounds I think), and oxalic (7-8 dollars a pound). As far as stain, find one you like, and can work with. There are many quality products out there. If you do go with a store bought stain (I use Sherwin Williams), be sure to get a good price. I pay about $18 a gallon for deckscapes, retail is around $30.

I usually do the tops of the rails by hand with a stain pad, once after I do the outside of the spindles, and again after I shoot the inside. I also use the cheap disposable pads that are attached to a styrofoam handle. I think they cost about a buck, and I always keep a couple in my box. They are are 3 1/2 wide, so they fit nicely between the spindles on the ledger board if the builder used a 2x4 to space them when he built the deck.

I use the shurline pads too, but my problem is more that they slip off the handle after awhile rather than wearing out or coming apart. Nothing like having one fall off onto a new concrete patio below the deck, splattering stain everywhere.:furious:

Do you guys mind if I print a couple of these out and use them for my book? They are really incredible. I just quoted a deck yesterday that was done by a "pro" and it was chewed up quite a bit. I'd guess he used a 15 degree tip to remove the algae. I'll try to remember to get a pic or two before I start. The homeowner knows the damage is there, and said that my web site citing "low pressure" promped him to call. I had the job locked up before I even gave the $1300 price!

I have been pretty busy lately, and also forgetful, so I haven't taken many pic this year, but here are a few of my projects. The first is two side-by-side on a golf course. The next is a before and after, stained with Sherwin Williams oil based Banyan Brown.

I do one coat on the floor, about three boards at a time, sprayed, then follow-up with a well soaked pad. The tops of the rails get two coats with a pad.

Looks good Don. By the way...how are things going with the new airless? Here's my hint for getting the most use out of it--put a 12 or 18 inch extension on the tip and leave it on all the time. You'll be amazed how that extra reach helps!

Not sure of the proper architectural term for thr roof, but I call it a pergola roof. I did a similar job last week with a bit less sq. ft. (but it had a pergola), but it was all one color, and just a simple clean and recoat with Ready Seal...and I was just over $1000 on that job. Adding for PITA factor, I hope you can get at least 1.5 or 2 times that.

It seemed to go pretty well... I completed the job in about 4 1/2 hours without a helper (ACT Tests that day), but that would have taken more time with an airless and my usual stain. I could use a better system for application, since my pump-up always seemed to be spraying too much or too little, and an inconsistent pattern (heavier on the outside). I liked the product overall, but still have to get past the need to stock it, when I can just run by the SW store here for stain when I need some. Also, the need for maintenence every two years is a sticking point for me. On the other hand, it looks fantastic. I forgot to take before and after pics, but I thought I'd run by there anyway to shoot an after pic for my book anyway. If I get around to it, I'll post to this thread. All in all, some pluses, some minuses...so I'm still not totally sold.