douseahouse

mr. knucklehead left it to dry. roger and celeste have offered some advice and the good guys at echochem also gave me a few ideas to try. thanks for all your prayers...you guys are praying for me aren't you? rando

luckily this is a part time adventure for me. i could not survive if it was full time. my yellow page ad does not come out until june so i'm doing alot of referrals and word of mouth type jobs. i do have an ad in the talking phone book but i have not got the results that i wanted. the best advertising that i have done lately is by placing that sign in the homeowner's front yard of a job well done. try to schedule a job in a busy neighborhood on a saturday and you may be surprised on the number of people that will stop by and talk to you. good luck. rando

my gutter brush and my 24' pole came from home depot. it's a soft brush but strong enough to do the job. i also have the "c" shaped model with stiffer bristles. be careful with that one, i took some paint off one time. rando

hey gang, i'm in the process of cleaning a 6800 sq ft house. the homeowner actuallly just wanted the gutters and fascia board cleaned but i was able to sell her on a whole house wash. the gutters are cleaning good although some are 24 feet in the air. the fascia board has required alot of scrubbing but they are coming clean too. the homeowner asked me about to see if i can remove the scum on her pool liner at water level. i recommended a pool supply place for that but she said she did not have much luck with the cleaning product. she uses chlorine so i was thinking about using some 12.5% on a pad and see what happens. anyone have a suggestion on this one? also, she has a little efflorence problem in a couple of places. i don't have time to order anything from eaco or whoever so is there an off the shelf product anyone can recommend? muratic acid? opionions are greatly appreciated. rando

never tried it but what is your opinion of it? rando

thanks kevin, i know you're there if i need you. i hope that i didn't step on anybody's toes here but when you post an awesome job here like fresh did then you better be ready to answer some questions. if not, then save the pics for your web site. i think i'll have him come do my fence and i'll just sit back and watch, take some notes and drink a cold beer. don't you just hate it when the homeowners tag along behind you? consider this horse buried, rando

i know how to use the search function as i find it a useful tool on this forum. the pics you posted were unique and naturally some of us were wanting to learn about the technique you used. if you want to pm me or even call me on my number listed we can talk about it since i am not one of your competitors. if not, i respect your privacy. but, in the future, please be aware that when you show off your work on these forums naturally alot of us are going to ask questions as that is why we are here. if you don't want us to know then what is the purpose of posting such pics? when a member here post their pics then they know the questions are going to roll on in. maybe a solution here would be when such pics are posted that we also post that our pics are for viewing only, no questions please. rando

ken, you confuse me. you have made over 3616 posts sharing wonderful and valuable information concerning your wood working skills. how many "homeowners" do you think have read your post? a "homeowner" may clean his own fence, like it, and then start his own little business. we then welcome him with open arms but guess what? he's still a "homeowner". we cannot weed out who we want to read our posts or not so what's the answer? let's keep sharing info as we have always done before. what if everyone on this site answered a question like mine the way you guys did? what would the purpose of this site be then? rando

ken, you confuse me. you have made over 3616 posts sharing wonderful and valuable information concerning your wood working skills. how many "homeowners" do you think have read your post? a "homeowner" may clean his own fence, like it, and then start his own little business. we then welcome him with open arms but guess what? he's still a "homeowner". we cannot weed out who we want to read our posts or not so what's the answer? let's keep sharing info as we have always done before. what if everyone on this site answered a question like mine the way you guys did? what would the purpose of this site be then? rando

fresh, i think you may have been a little distracted by another post and forgot to answer mine. the job looks great to me so if you would like to share your procedure i'd still love to know. rando

post an ad in the bargain basement. that's what i did and got a great response. i ended up buying my hot water rig from john orr (grime scene member) and could not be any happier. luckily he was in a neighboring state and met me half way. i hope your luck is as good as mine was. and, it is a hydrotek. rando

made you look like a pro greg...oops, you are one! i have done very little wood work so how about sharing your procedure and chemicals on this one if you don't mind. i'd love to know as i hope to start doing more wood work since it appears to be good money. so, chem? pressure? tip? charge per sq ft? did you use ox? too many questions? i love it, rando

i too found a deck today that is a light grey and has plenty of black mold spots on it. the homeowner had bought some olympic deck cleaner and i tried it on one section. it cleaned but i had to brush it a little. i talked to roger over at carolina pressure pros and he suggested 3% shc. no good. i then tried 6% and got the same results as the olympic cleaner. it worked, but it was slow. i've got some 12.5% coming the first of the week so i may dilute that down a little bit and see what it's going to take. ken, you suggested a sealer...tell me more if you will. what's you thought on this one ken? thanks, rando

i was going to start a new thread but i think this one is already helpful. i got a call today about cleaning about 3500 sq ft of concrete. i am told that this was once a transmission shop and there is oil and grease that needs to be removed. i have not seen it yet so i'm sorry that no pics are available. right now i'm trying to get a "heads up" on this and i appreciate in advance any input you guys or gals have. thanks, rando

so you are saying that after you wash and rinse you then do a wax rinse? what was your product and mix? did you just apply the wax and let it dry? thanks, rando

i don't know if you have one of these grocery stores in your area lenny but this is where i have bought my borax. it is actually the 20 mule team borax and i believe i am paying a little over 3 bucks for a 4 lb box. no shipping cost naturally, just tax. good luck, rando

i've been using my m5/x-jet lately because my downstreamer was acting up. i bought one of the high draw types from bob at p/t for about 12 bucks and installed before my housewash job today. it was such a blessing to downstream again. the x-jet is a great tool to have in certain cases but it's hard to beat the simplicity of a downstreamer. rando

are you cleaning it? stripping and finishing it? what type of finish are you using? these are things to consider when pricing. i think that most people get between 1 to 2 dollars per square foot finished depending on how complex the deck is (rails and so forth). i've only done a couple and i underpriced both. good luck, rando

are you using a proportioner to apply your mix? if so, what is your gpm and what color proportioner are you using? rando

i've got a job contracted on a house that has plenty of mildew on the windows behind the screens. the homeowner is going to remove the screens before i wash as some of these screens are on the upper level. i was thinking of washing the screens while he had them off. i suppose a garden hose will be plenty of pressure but i'm curious as to what to clean them with? they really are not in bad shape but i'm sure it's a good gesture on my part. any suggestions or experience on this one? thanks, rando

i've gotta bid on a couple of jobs that have gutters on the 2nd story. these gutters naturally have the wonderful black streaks that we love to clean. i need a tip or two about the best way to reach and clean. i've been using the f13 with good results so what do you think? thanks, rando

that is very creative. the gutter solution that you make up yourself...is it a trade secret? i'd love to know what it is. thanks, rando

with your gpm you may have to stay with a 12 to 18 incher...check with the experts on that one. i have a steel eagle floater and a whirlaway with wheels. i have to say that i prefer the wheels as it is alot easier to handle. the floater also has it's advantages as it can cover the edge of the driveway whereas the wheel model can fall off the side. to each his own but i hope this input may help. good luck, rando

darn, i had a policy that was affordable but this year the carrier decided to jack it up even though i have never made a claim. before i start shopping again does anyone have a good agent that they recommend? thanks, rando

q. why don't southern baptists make love standing up? a. people might think they're dancing. i'm an old southern baptist and yes we love our steeples. i would have to agree with ken on the boom and just have the rental company bill the church. i also noticed a ladder again the gutter which is also a no-no. apparently God appreciates your effort since you're able to make this post but don't do that again. rando