Cedar fence restoration

[Komelika 14]

Hello, I was referred to this site by Jon. He is shaping up to be quite the mentor!

:lgbow::lgbow::lgbow:

Anyway, I live in New Mexico and I am in the idea development phase of starting a pressure washing business. I would be starting out small and offer cedar fence restoration as my primary service. I live in an area where cedar fences are very popular. Many of these fences are in terrible shape and have clearly never been maintained. So, I though, " Why not start a business restoring these fences?" I have a full-time job, but my schedule is perfect for running a business on the side since I have 3-4 days off per week. My goal would be to start small and work my way to a point that I could go full-time in the next 3-4 years.

So I have a few assumptions and plenty of questions. I would really appreciate any advice and guidance that all you pros have to offer.

Assumptions:

(Excerpt from my business plan)

The service will include tightening of any loose planks, replacing any damaged or warped planks at customer’s discretion (price for material will depend on material used), chemically stripping any existing wood sealer from the fence, presoaking the fence with a chemical cleaning agent to loosen grime and open the pores of the wood, pressure washing the fence using tap water (provided by customer) @ 500-700 PSI, treating the fence with a chemical wood brightener to bring out the natural color and fibers of the wood, and sealing the fence with a quality contractor grade wood sealer.

Question: Does this sound right, or am I missing anything?

Assumption:

(Excerpt from my business plan)

Equipment needed will include:

• 4’x8’ utility trailer with ramp
  
• 3,000-3,500psi, 4gpm, belt driven pressure washer
  
• Quick connect nozzle set
  
• 100’-150’ high pressure hose
  
• 100’ garden hose
  
• Hose reels

Question: Does this sound like a good setup or do I need more equipment?

Again, Thanks so much for any information!

[Russell Cissell 65]

If you are planning to do fences I would double the amount of HP hose.

[bigchaz 157]

Def gonna need a sprayer for fence work. Youll easily use 10 gallons on a small 1/3 acre fence

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

You may also run short on the supply hose. I have 125' which helps to get to most faucets around the homes.

Ambitious service mind you but a good model considering you are going to do replacement of deteriorated wood. This will set you apart from others who are not visibly offering that service. One contradiction is in using a 3000psi+ machine only to drop the pressure down to your specs of 500-700psi. While you may find the high pressure useful in other wash situations the rest is overkill. Just an observation.

In the event you do not plan to use the machines full psi capabilities, I would suggest that you buy a unit with a higher gpm pump and <1500psi along with a supply tank of around 185 gallons to help supply the unit. More water speeds up cleaning.

The set up listed as is will do fine but I would recommend adding a couple of longer lances for reaching behind bushes and so forth. Also to aid in avoiding getting so dirty from the splash back that occurs when you are washing close to the ground.

my .02

Rod!~

[Komelika 14]

This is just the type of feedback I was hoping for! Thanks guys!

Thanks Russell. The 100'-150' was based on the neighborhood that I have in mind as the model target market. Most homes, like mine, will have 150'-200' linear feet of fence around a small lot. Of course, there will be other customers with longer fences and larger properties so I will double the hose. Even if I don't need it often, it will be good to have on hand in case I have a rupture.

Bigchaz, good point and I have that in my head but forgot to list it in my BP. WOuld I need more than one sprayer? i.e. One for stripper, one for brightener, and one for sealer? DO you recommend any sprayer in particular? Do you mean ten gallons of sealer? I would mostly be doing one side of the fence since the fences are shared between houses. With that said, would 5 gallons cover a 1/3 acre fence? Thanks for the information.

Rod, Great idea on the lances. I will probably start with at least three lances of different lengths for different needs. Just a couple of things. I'm considering the 3000 psi pressure washer so I can do additional work that may be asked of me. I may even get a hot water model just so I can do concrete if necessary. Mainly, I just want to have a PW that will allow me to expand to other residential services without having to go buy a larger unit. As far as a holding tank goes, I'm looking mostly at portable pressure washers and a small trailer which wouldn't be rated high enough to haul water. Mainly, the trailer is just so I can back into the garage and not have to load/unload the truck everyday. I was hoping to stick with spicket water, which would slow me down but most of the homes would have a shared fence, which means I would only be doing one side, unless neighbors hired me to do their side.

My goal is to start the business with no debt and grow the business with the profits after I break even. Therefore, I am trying to keep my equipment to a minimum ($3000 +/-) until the profits allow me to eventually buy or build an enclosed unit that is big enough to handle commercial/industrial work and go full time. Basically, I would like to break even in six months to a year (depending on season) and reinvest all of the capital, plus the profits post my break even point, into more equipment.

[bigchaz 157]

On a side note, not knowing your market, there may be more serious issues behind the fact that there are lots of gray fences.

Many people will spend thousands to build a fence, but will faint at the thought of spending 10 percent of that cost to keep it maintained.

Therefore the large number of gray fencing may be an indication of low marketability for that service, not that there are no companies offering it

[Komelika 14]

That is a good point. I've thought abou that, but I can tell you that I have lived in this neighborhood for over 5 years and have never seen any type of advertising for this particular service. Another thing is that most of these fences are shared between 3 or 4 homes and that can make it hard to replace the fences since not all neighbors are willing to split the expense. I'm hoping to get enough business to do one or two fences per week on average. I think that if I can get a few jobs in high traffic areas and people see the results then that may get more people interested in the service.

As part of my marketing strategy, I have considered finding two homes in high traffic areas (preferably around mailboxes) and offering to do the street side of their fence for free as long as I can hang my company sign on the fence for one week. This would give my company visibility, showcase the service, and help me gain experience on fences. Any other ideas are welcome! Thanks for the tip.

[Komelika 14]

Bigchaz

Bigchaz, good point and I have that in my head but forgot to list it in my BP. WOuld I need more than one sprayer? i.e. One for stripper, one for brightener, and one for sealer? DO you recommend any sprayer in particular? Do you mean ten gallons of sealer? I would mostly be doing one side of the fence since the fences are shared between houses. With that said, would 5 gallons cover a 1/3 acre fence? Thanks for the information.

[bigchaz 157]

It really depends on what you prefer. Lots of people on here will tell you to downstream all your chemicals. (injecting the chemical after the pressure washer )

Others use a shur-flo type pump setup that pumps it out and has seperate hose and gun to apply. Search shurflo for some information on that.

You do need a different sprayer for the stain though. Depending on the stain either an airless paint sprayer or something called a deckster or decker 5er or equivalent

[seymore 90]

Fences are easy when you don't have all the plants or concrete,pools to protect"1-2 neighbors houses down".When its windy that stain flys everywhere so it's good to have help.

I've done 1000's of miles of fences and they never change just the surroundings.

[Komelika 14]

It really depends on what you prefer. Lots of people on here will tell you to downstream all your chemicals. (injecting the chemical after the pressure washer )

Others use a shur-flo type pump setup that pumps it out and has seperate hose and gun to apply. Search shurflo for some information on that.

You do need a different sprayer for the stain though. Depending on the stain either an airless paint sprayer or something called a deckster or decker 5er or equivalent

I understand why I would downstream chemicals in some applications, but it seems to me that downstreaming would be overkill for fences. I'm learning here, so if I'm way off then let me know. I'll check out the shur-flow and deckster pumps for sure. I think I would rather have one for each chemical to reduce the time it would take to clean between applications. I think they would pay for themselves within a reasonable amount of time. Thanks for the reply!

Fences are easy when you don't have all the plants or concrete,pools to protect"1-2 neighbors houses down".When its windy that stain flys everywhere so it's good to have help.

I've done 1000's of miles of fences and they never change just the surroundings.

Thanks Seymore. That does worry me, but I guess it comes with the job. I think most of my jobs would involve fences that have a house within 3-4ft. on either side. Thanks for the heads up.

[seymore 90]

Well water works great for concrete,bricks,stone pre wet it won't stick or bed sheets for plants 4x4 pcs of card board for sheilds to pull the plants back.

You can make a sheild for the back side of the fence with 12' plastic stapled to 2 1x2 strips of wood propped up behind the fence.

[anduter 14]

We use a tarp attached to PVC pipes.

[Komelika 14]

We use a tarp attached to PVC pipes.

I like that idea. Do you have a problem with runoff or wind blowing it around? I like the pvc idea. It looks simple enough and light weight.

I was thinking about using light weight drop cloths attached to 2x2's. I could mount hooks to the 2x2' and just hang it on the fence then I could simply pick it up and move it down the fence as I go.

I'd love to see a picture of that fence when you finished.

[Komelika 14]

Well water works great for concrete,bricks,stone pre wet it won't stick or bed sheets for plants 4x4 pcs of card board for sheilds to pull the plants back.

You can make a sheild for the back side of the fence with 12' plastic stapled to 2 1x2 strips of wood propped up behind the fence.

Thanks for the tip about concrete. I was wondering about that too. Sure would save a lot of money on tarps and drop cloths.

[anduter 14]

We use tarps only for cleaning/stripping. If it's windy, we additionally attach the tarp to side PVC pipes.

For sealing we use much smaller handheld version with disposable drop cloths.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

We use a tarp attached to PVC pipes.

Very clever. :)

Beth

[Rick2 42]

For a shield I just use a large piece of 1/16" thick plastic. It used to be part of the shower stall in my upstair's bathroom before I remolded it.

To remove the stain from the fence (oil or water) use HD-80 and citric acid, it will look better than new and it's soooo easy. A little more advice... 1) Use very low pressure to wash off the HD-80 or else the wood will fuzz. 2) When mixing the HD-80 in your chemical pump sprayer always put in the water first then add the powered HD-80. If you put in the HD-80 first it will clog the inlet tube of the sprayer and harden like concrete. If this does happen to you just cut off the bad section and replace it with a piece of vacuum hose from Auto Zone.

Just my .02

Eirc