Paul B.

The stripping action of EFC-38 comes from the TSP content. On stained surfaces, mold and mildew can be removed with a bleach/water (liquid pool shock or household chlorine) mix without stripping the finish. Brightener will not clean the wood surface so it's use alone will not get you the proper prep needed to apply a film forming stain. If you do not clean it first, you will trap dirt under the finish.

I'd venture to say that both Gutter Shock and Gutter Zap contain similar amounts of Sodium Hydroxide. The MSDS claims less than 1% for both. Beth, For gutters I prefer a degreasing type cleaners that is Butoxyethanol based vs. Sodium or Potassium Hydroxide based because the later ones tend to have more of a stripping action opposed to working on the stains. The key to me with Potassium or Sodium Hydroxide cleaners is to use it in the lowest possible concentration and this will minimize the stripping effect on paints.

Tony, I do not have the option of paying sales tax at the supplier only. I have to charge sales tax for all services that we do and products we use in Ohio under the pressure washing classification. At one time, you only had to charge sales tax on products and not services, but in recent years, more and more service type businesses are being made to collect sales tax on labor. What that means is if I do not get a tax exemption for the materials at the supplier, then I'm double paying the sales tax. Collecting sales tax has not been an issue with any customers to date and it's one more check that gets made out to the state of Ohio. I understand how cost prohibitive the Cabot 2-tone (primer and 2 top coats) can be and is the highest quality and priced service/product I offer. It's not for most people and I tell them so. Some take it as a financial challenge but there are customers that recognize that the initial higher cost of high quality will be offset in the long term. I only try to sell it to select customers that I pre-qualify during the sales process. Cabot primer claims 400-500 sq ft coverage on smooth wood and 150-250 on rough. The top coat coverage claims 150-250. 200 is about the coverage we get with the primer on most PTW. However, the top coat gets excellent coverage on 1st coat and gets even better on the 2nd coat. We average 400-500 sq ft per gallon on the 1st coat. My point was that with the contractor discount the Cabot price is very close to most other products in the $20-$22 range (without extrapolating the coverage factor). The labor is what it is - you will not get an argument from me there. I am curious how many contractors ask for contractor pricing on their products (Home Depot and Lowes do not offer it).

I have some Shurflo pumps that have been running over 3 years. Had two that I thought were dead but when I took them apart, everything was in good shape. There was some corrosion on the external switch that was causing the problems. Reassembly is a bit of a trick and it helps to have the right tools to hold the springs down while you are replacing the cover. Other than that, (IMHO) Shurflo pumps with Viton seals are the only way to go for acids and high alkalyn solutions.

The oil based C070 has a good coverage rate between 200-350 sq ft per gallon. It is expensive at around $47 or so per gallon w/o the contractor discount (at least where I purchased some this week). It's a decent quality stain. The stain is a 1 coat application and does need to be stripped if you are to re-apply. It is very thin in consistancy (similar to Ready Seal/maybe thinner). Benjamin Moore is starting to step back from the oil based stains so some stores only have the clear and add the pigments into it (which is no big deal).

It should not be an either or question as both have their place as equipment is concerned. There are things that the Shurflo will do that the X-Jet can't and vice versa. Just a couple of examples: The Shurflo can apply chemicals at full strength, where the X-Jet can't. The X-Jet can shoot chemicals 30 ft into the air where the Shurflo can't.

I wish ours was as clean as Tony's. - Nice job Tony! With the boards running perpendicular to the garage, the ends are showing to the outside. All the spindles are attached to the face of the deck instead to support bars running between posts. The customer wanted the board ends white. Majority of the board ends had to be sanded on the top as even with masking the stain/paint seeped. Then of course, most of the spindles were right up against the boards or very small gaps, so when your doing the inside, the paint seeps up. Looking back, it would have been quicker to unscrew all the spindles, tag them with numbers and take them down to the shop to have them all done there. Tony, I think the difference is that the Cabot with primer and 2 top coats is likely to last over 10 years. I've seen some railings where the finish was chipping and peeling after 1, 2, 3 years due to improper prep work and also due to lack of primer. The contractor price is decent (35% discount) on the Cabot and I can go tax exempt on the materials there. I can't go tax exempt at Sears on materials so by the time you add tax, the Weatherbeater is more expensive per gallon. The oil based primer does not go very far and takes time but the latex topcoat (if hand applied on top of the primer) will get you 500-600 plus sq ft per gallon (and goes pretty fast - especially the second coat). The Teflon in the topcoat makes it a very tough finish. Overall, the material cost with Cabot's is relatively very good (that's including the contractor pricing, no sales tax, and the top-coat coverage rate). I'd say we were at about $55 (for Cabot cost) on the columns, railing, board edges and deck face.

Here is a good example of how much damage the Sun's UV rays can do in 1 year. The deck is exposed to sun almost all day. This was washed with a mild percarb cleaner (no TSP). In addition, I threw in a photo of a well worn defelting pad.

I did an estimate for concrete cleaning and sealing last year for these customers and I took photos and measurements of the deck in anticipation of additional work. We were awarded the concrete work but they didn't want the deck finished then. The deck was unfinished. When I did the estimate this year, I did not see the deck as I was working off last years photos and notes. The customer was commenting that after the washing his neighbors thought he got a new deck, so it must have been fairly aged for people to notice. The deck is a bit shy of 600 sq ft and took a bit under 5 gallons. Hand applied 2 coats on the hand rails and floor - the verticals would not accept a 2nd coat). The point I was trying to make was that neither the percab nor the wash (500 psi) caused the furring. The furring was from damage by the sun's UV rays. The amount of damage/furring is proportionate to the amount of exposure to the sun. I always expect some defelting, but in this case it was more as I neglected to consider the aging between the time the photos were taken and the work performed.

They had to re-grade the back yards of a bunch of homeowners as the drainage was very poor. Some evenly worn pads get used for hand furring spindles while others that get shredded by nails and splinters get trashed.

This is a rear porch/deck with Cabot's oil primer. The columns are soft wood and soaked in the primer. The columns were also a pain in the rear because they are butted right up to to the brick. (pun intended)

Here is one of 3 we did for a customer - this a 57 foot porch on a garage. The white is Cabot (oil primer and 2 top coats latex with Teflon) and floor is Ready Seal "Medium Brown". You can get by with 1 top coat if the primer does not soak in too much like on softer wood, but then they dont guarantee it for over 10 years (I believe it's 13 years).

Do not understand question #2 Cleaned with Wolman percarb. (purchased a bunch last year for $2 per container). Mixed 4 oz. per gallon (Wolman recommends 7). Brightened with oxalic. Stained with Ready Seal "Dark Brown"

3-4% is for roof cleaning. 0.5% is normally enough for house washing Increase to 1% for extremely moldy surfaces.

I firmly believe that a contractor in this field should learn to estimate by a constant such as square foot, linear foot, per 1000 bricks, etc. (recognizing that there may be some exceptions). After arriving at the (minimum) constant, then one would apply adjustment for difficulty or other factors. The reasoning behind pricing by the constant is so that as you increase your speed, you also will be increasing your profit. This would be in comparison to someone that is pricing by the hour - as they pick up speed, their pricing would most likely be lower (therefore reducing potential profits). Of course, if you have to deal with stiff competition, then price adjustments are possible in the sq ft, lin. ft, methods. There is a somewhat lengthy but very good post that this link goes to that explains pricing in more detail. You don't need to go to the PWN web site, just start with the second post (Allen) who copied the post from the other web site. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?p=11675#post11675

The Sodium Hypochlorite coming out of your nozzle should be at a 3-4% level. Depending on how much mold and mildew there is, you may need to re-apply or adjust the strength.

Ask for liquid pool shock (10-12% sodium Hypochlorite content).

Also don't forget, that in addition to your running around time, you also pay sales tax when you purchase locally. Even without counting your time, by the time you add up mileage at $0.375 per mile and sales tax there is not a lot of difference in cost. And when you buy thru the mail... ...it's delivered to your shop or front door. (Note: If your mail purchasing and your in the same state you still have to pay sales tax.)

Very nicely put Ryan! I would like to add, that when you hire a sub-contractor, make sure they have liability insurance and worker's comp. Also, make sure you write a contract for your sub-contractor for each project (describes their portion of work, how much they will get paid and how fast they need to complete the work and other specifics such as paint brand and color, specifications, etc.). Keeps from having mis-understandings and serves as a document for the IRS if needed. I have all my subs fill out a W-9 to verify their Tax ID No. and I keep it on file. With insurance, I ask for verification and I check every 3 months or less depending on how well I know the sub.

Is that a "Tadesman"?

Professional looking sample board! We almost had an opportunity to clean an IPE deck this year (very rare around this area - 90% PTW). The customer JUST wanted it cleaned. As I've said earlier, some key words kick in for me such as IT's ONLY, JUST and a few others and I automatically start with: my minimum is $135.00. He said at that price, he would buy a pressure cleaner and clean it himself. Happy Cleaning!

In my area (southwest Ohio) in the summer almost all stores carry liquid pool shock (grocery stores, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, etc.). Like Dale said, check out other pool supply stores - should be able to get a much better price (at least under $3 per gallon). My problem with crystals is the amount of time it takes to mix it (dissolve it). Most likely would need about 1-2 pounds (or more) to equal 1 gallon of liquid pool.

James, What's interesting about door #2 is that the mortar joints both horizontal and vertical are all (relatively) clean on the bottom rows of brick. May just be black bricks.

5 gallon enclosed containers (that is vented) can also be purchased from www.Xterior.com for $20 each. (It's nice if you tend to tip things over - the cost will be saved in chemicals you don't spill and lawns you dont burn.) They have a suction tube installed on the cap with a barb fitting for 3/8" ID hose. I replaced the barb fittings with stainless steel Quick Disconnects (the pictures are older and show brass QD's). We also run 50 foot of hose without problems. The 20 gallon container is mounted to an aluminum hand cart ($30 at Lowe's). 50 foot hose clamped to the cart. The hose end in the container has a filter and is weighted down with brass fitting slipped over the end of hose. Only about 10 gallons of mix are normally in the container as the weight over 100 pounds gets cumbersome. The other end of the hose has 3/8" barb to barb poly ball valve for stopping chemical flow (about 1-1/2 foot from end of hose) and also a stainless QD to remove from X-Jet. Some chemicals are corrosive but if you rinse things at the end of the job (or end of day) there should be no problems. Make sure you use stainless hose clamps and fittings to reduce corrosion.

I buy mineral spirits by the 5 gallon container for the airless sprayers and for other clean-up including brushes and wiping stain off paint and siding. We use a variety of tools: cardboard, canvas tarps (both can be stapled to the railing), aluminum shied (Lowe’s, Home Depot and Sherwin Williams), shield that holds cardboard or other materials, plastic for large areas, small sheet metal painters shield to use between walls and columns or between house and deck floor or between floor and railing. Mineral spirit works great on siding. MEK works great on removing stain and paint off concrete and brick.