Chris

pm sent

I try to weed the price shoppers out before I go to do the bid. "Are you looking for the lowest price or the best service?" We still give the estimate 90% of the time and close a lot of them, although the phone is not ringing off the hook. There are so many guys around that will do our $300 house wash for $100 I don't want to waste my time bidding against them. And Don, thanks for the referral the other day, I talked to him yesterday and he will confirm by the weekend. Easy job and he sounds like a nice guy. Always good talkin to ya.

For the screen it self, we usually brush it while it's dry with a soft bristle brush first on the exterior (if it's really dirty) to loosen and lift the larger more built up surface debris. Imagine sweeping a floor with dry dust or pollen on it when it's wet vs dry. If there is still noticable junk on it which there usually is, we rinse it with a large orifice tip from at least 2 or 3 feet away, from the inside out. Low pressure, good results. Our customers have been really happy when we do this, brushing is a pain but it has been the easiest way to get good results for us.

Made you look! But seriously, I got a request today to strip. 1000 square feet of pavers that need to be chemically stripped to fix the worst sealing job I've seen (surrounding a pool), and then re-sealed. I've done plenty of cleaning and sealing but never removed sealer. Any suggestions on proper chemicals and techniques? Thanks!

Oops, didn't check in for a few days. Cody, I will forward your info to her if you're interested in the job, we have plenty of other work on the schedule and I'm really not too interested in the hassle. If you are interested and get the job, I'd like to stop by to check it out and maybe grab lunch or a beer. I'll send you a pm.

Thanks Kory I will. I'm anticipating a nightmare with it and will probably tack on $1k for the hassle. If I don't get it I won't lose any sleep (if I do I probably will!).

Thanks, Being eco friendly, do you think it would cause any harm geting into a swimming pool? She's not too concerned about some runoff but I won't do anything that could mess her pool up.

I'm on the board for our HOA and we just set up the crimewatch program this year. Our local sheriff's office has a representative who came out to our meeting with all of the info needed to set it up and it was fairly easy. If you contact your local police they should be able to help. As for websites, our HOA doesn't have one but other local ones do. It probably just needs someone like you to spearhead it and put in the time to set things up, and to work the expenses into the budget. Getting enough people involved seems to be the biggest hurdle for any of these projects.

If you decide to use acids like cc550 I would definitely try Saferestore first. I've used both and the Saferestore is much easier and safer to use and gets great results. CC550 can only be applied once and then never again, although it does work great when nothing else will.

Can anyone recommend a worker's comp carrier in Florida that isn't JUA and might write for exterior cleaning and window cleaning, 2nd story included? I've talked to 3 local insurance companies who together have looked into dozens of carriers NONE of which will write us. JUA is 85% and the only other option seems to be using a payroll company which I will only do as a last resort. Lil help here?

10 years of window cleaning and Sorbo's quicksilver is the best over 18" squeegee I've ever used. Ettore for under 18" and the newer ergonomic handles are great. Unger seems best suited for light duty residential.

I have 2 older Tundras (1 long bed work truck and 1 short bed work/personal) that have been great and plan on replacing them with 2 new models when I can afford it. The new Tundras are fantastic; everything I wish my current trucks had is now available, like they read my mind. I think you'll be really happy with what you've got. And that 4.7 is tried and true, mine has been problem free at 105k.

Emailing estimates and invoices from qb is one of my favorite things about it, no paper, easy to refer to and track, and customers really seem to appreciate the ease and professionalism of it, if they're computer savvy. It's really nice when someone calls back a year or two later and all of their info is linked together for easy reference. All I can think of to help is to check your company info and make sure it matches your computer's home account? I've never had a problem but has been a few years since I set it up. There are a lot of public IT type people in my area who are qb certified and have answered some of my simple questions free of charge. Good luck!

Hi everyone. I don't do a lot of wood work however I do have a very good customer who I clean and seal a dock for. I have done it in the past and used, at her request, Swedish Wood Oil. It's a clear oil that penetrates into the wood and seemed to have a very good result, leaving the pt natural and healthy looking. We cleaned the dock again yesterday and when I went to get the oil from the local distributor it was no longer available! I've spent quite a bit of time looking for a suitable substitution with no luck so far and wanted to ask you pros for a good recommendation for a similar, basic product. I can probably find the other on line, but at twice the price (150 for 5 gallons) and thought someone might have a better suggestion. Thanks in advance!!

Thanks guys, the nice thing is that the previous product was a translucent oil and there is nothing to strip; I'm looking for another clear oil to keep the wood "moist" (?) and natural looking. Most of the threads I've seen refer to colors added and stains and that's not what my customer wants. This seems about as simple as could be, I just want to provide her with the best product at the best price. And shameless advertising is fine by me as long as it's no pressure... no rotten apples here!

Thanks Jon, I can find flood products locally. Have you had good results with their stuff? I'll look into the wood tux also, the name comes up so much it's gotta be worth checking out.

Hi everybody, First off, thanks to all the pros on here for sharing their knowledge. The info you share has helped me a lot and fostered a lot of respect for the serious pws out there. This is my first post on any forum so work with me here. I've been washing windows professionally for almost 10 years now and after cleaning up after countless pws, seeing poor work, and at the request of my clients decided to give pressure cleaning a shot. I was a bit reluctant at first but after two years I have plenty of confidence with it. There are tons of guys in my area in the industry but only a few that I know of that truly provide a quality service. I feel very fortunate for the clientele that I have and do very little advertising. Our company consists of myself, one full timer, and one part timer (soon to be another). We use a trailer mounted 5.5, 3500 hot water skid w/ tank, lots of hose and accessories, 3 surface cleaners, and 2 cold water portable units. Mostly residential since I have 5 kids and a wife to support and really can't see working nights and weekends if I don't have to. Anyway, I've gotta cut this off but wanted to say hi and thanks again! You guys are great!