getting it right the first time

[bulletproof 14]

I have just recently gotten into residential house washing and as I am new to this ,I do not want to self destruct by starting off wrong. My questions are:

What chemicals work best on the following?

Painted concrete(one that will clean well, but not strip or dull the paint).

Painted fascia board(requirements same as above but also including removing mildew).

When calculating the square footage of a building is it best to use LxW or LxH? I asked because I feel that with both of these you are loosing, because one dimension is missing from either equation. Or am I mistaken and the correct way would be to calculate LxWxH ?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

EFC-38 will do the trick. It's a percarbonate cleaner, and will remove mold mildew, algae and so forth.

Are you certain it is paint on the concrete and not a concrete sealer/coating that has color in it???

Beth

[Russell Cissell 65]

If you are cleaning the interior floors then L x W will give you the area of the floor.

If you are bidding an exterior building wash, treat each individual wall as it's own surface. Measure L x H then note the figure. Repeat for each wall surface then add all of your figures together and you will have the total square footage of the surfaces you intend to clean.

I hope this helps!

[bulletproof 14]

Thanks for the responses guys oh and I am 100% sure that its paint. The surface is usually coated with a sealer/ primer first then painted with an oil based paint.

Will the EFC-38 work on this?

[ron p 500]

EFC38 will be fine. Dont use heat on the painted cement, it will dull it.

As far as doing house/building est. you will find that the best and fastest way is to go to home depot and buy a measuring wheel.

Then you simply walk around the house with it.

this will give you the lin.ft. Then multi. that number by the number of stories.

in my case its like this.

the house is 50x100 and 2 stories

thats 300 lin ft =$1.00 per lin ft

I then charge .50 more per lin ft per story.

$150 so i charge $450.

in your area you might never get this amount to wash a house.

You may need to add extras to get this amount.

This might be cheap in your area?

If i were you i would figure your sq ft price then figure out the lin ft Then adj the lin ft price to match the sq ft price and change the way i measure. Your way has too meny variables. Roof pitch,dormers,ect...after you wash 3 or 4 houses you can eyeball the jobs,get a feel for the customer and know when to stick to your price and when you need to tweek it down a bit.

P.S. go with the customers attitude and questions about your service. NOT THE TYPE OF HOUSE, CAR THEY DRIVE, OR SIZE OF THE BOAT IN THE YARD. They know you can see these things and are on the look out for people thinking they have money to throw away. Stick to what you know and how your going to do it.

VALUE is the most important thing. Then the security feeling that their property is in good hands.

You do this with 2 major things.

one, know what your talking about.

Two,look like you know what your talking about.

The customer will make the same assumptions you do when you see their property. Look like a rag-a-muffin get paid like one, IF they will even hire you? Look professional,sound professional get paid like a professional.

[bulletproof 14]

that's some real good advice- thanks

[John T 744]

Ron P,

Your amazing. Your like a talking book. You sure seem to retain alot. I on the other hand must have what they now call A.D.D. I have to go over and over something to retain it. This is the reason why I never got thru College. When I was reading the homework assignments all that was going thru my head was"Blah,Blah,Blah" just like Homer Simpson.

Here's a thought for you Ron P.....Did you ever think about going to college and getting a degree in something that takes alot of retention such as LAW or something along those lines. I bet you would be good at it.

[ron p 500]

your timeing was perfect. I needed a little boost right now.

I am going to write a book on the buissness of pressure washing for people that are looking for start-ups.

Truth is most of the content can be found right on the bbs.

In my opinion most of the articals written in cleaner times come from questions asked right here.

I know BETH is working on a book right now but has it on the back burner.

The book will be only 10% on how to wash. The rest will be guide around pittfalls.

Chems,safety,selling,priceing,equipment,epa,web sites,internet sales over local suppliers,forms,insurance,ect....

basicly just re-write the questions asked here and do the research to ans. them more fully and without the personal comment's.

It should be a no-brainer.

in high school i was a less then a c student and would have been worse if not for shop class's.

I did'nt enjoy learning untill i found a computer.

I used our co pressure washer to was a couple of trucks for 2 weekends. Then i started looking on-line.

Everything ive learned was from the computer and hands on.

I give the most credit to BIGBOY and he is the reason i post things i think will help other people.

He spent the most time with me and tought me how to start making money.

[paul-uk 500]

i agree with john t and i wish you all the best with the book, i t will sell well if it takes in other markets besides the usa(it is a big world out there and a bigger market), what i mean by that is if you say efc38, gutter zap or atlas is good for xyz....if you live outside of the states you might aswell put ^$%^(^*&)(

down, you need to put some guide line to the make up of a wash and then you will have a international best seller....good luck.

cheers paul.

[ron p 500]

instead of useing brand names i will teach what each ingreadent in the said product's dose.

I have no interest in selling brand names for someone else.

I want people to understand the basic reasons why one cleaner works better then another.

Then you can read the MSDS and be a better educated consumer.

This way you dont end up with a shed full of wasted money/pails.

Remember a very,very small % of pressure washer start-up contractor's even know about the BBS. So a lot of them are still doing things the hard way.

I was thinking of linking the book to a vidio series.

The vidios would be the hands on.

Then maybe suggest a reg school for people that want to go that far. Then equipment co. and so on.

What do you think?

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Sounds good Ron, when are you gonna start???

[RAJD 14]

RON P.

I think you should think about opening and running that school yourself, and make the book and video part of the course. You certainly have the knowledge for it.

As far as I know there is no one in the northeast that does this

Good luck whatever you choose to do.

Bob

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Ron,

As a writer I encourage anyone who shares the love of language and the written word and who values content to write, write, write. The interesting thing to me, is that writing is an art. You can write about absolutely anything at all. You're painting with words, regardless of if it is fiction or non-fiction.

Ron if I can ever be of any assistance to you, just let me know. You certainly have alot of knowledge to share, and it's obvious you have done your research! :)

Good luck, and don't get frustrated if you get writers block. Just walk away and then come back later. Also write when the thought or urge hits you and keep a note pad to jot things down. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't.

Go for it! Start writing!

Beth:)

[paul-uk 500]

instead of using brand names i will teach what each ingredient in the said product's dose.

this will broaden the appeal abroad make it more internatiol..make more money for you.

I have no interest in selling brand names for someone else.

you do enough of this on the boards for everyone.

I want people to understand the basic reasons why one cleaner works better then another.

Then you can read the MSDS and be a better educated consumer.

This way you don't end up with a shed full of wasted money/pails.

it would be worth the $35 dollars just to get a handle on this subject alone.

Remember a very,very small % of pressure washer start-up contractor's even know about the BBS. So a lot of them are still doing things the hard way.

i am sure your right.

I was thinking of linking the book to a video series.

The videos would be the hands on.

this would be a good idea but expensive to do.....it might be cheaper to do a cd or dvd that goes with the book in the cover and do the videos when the publisher comes back to you to come up with another idea for making a bucket full of money

Then maybe suggest a reg school for people that want to go that far. Then equipment co. and so on.

it is endless isn't it :)

What do you think?:) :) :p

i think if you write it it will become the" BIBLE" for power washing.

good-luck paul.

some links for you.......

http://www.writerssupercenter.com/writersblocks/

http://library.queensu.ca/inforef/bookreview/write_review.htm

http://www.myss.net/how-to-write-a-book.html

[ron p 500]

encourgement.

I am buying a comp. program that helps with format.

It darn near write's itself.

They make it so darn easy.

[rocco 14]

Hey Ron, I think you would make the book a great one! Whatever you do you will have to include your post that you put in the thread "ratios" about a pinch, dab, smidgen, etc. That is a priceless work of "art".( to quote beth about writing being art!) Best of luck to all you do and thank you for all of your shared wisdom! I havent asked many questions of you and thats because you freely giveit on here all the time so my questions are answered by what you told others! You and Beth both have a customer for your books right here!

God bless, Dan "Rocco" Borgaila

[ron p 500]

Im glad you liked my creative writeing.

No one else said a word about that and i was'nt sure it went over well. I know we are supposed to be professional but you got to have a little fun.

If you ever think that you cant do certian types of creative things? Check out a book called "how to draw with the leftside of your brain." Even if you have no interest in drawing or simply think that you could never be an artist. You should read it and do the simple steps. It will open up a lot of new thinking you never knew you had. If everyone here read that book we could/would get along much better.

I'll look up the writer. She teach's for most of the major buissness in the world. IBM,MICROSOFT,ATT,ECT......

I highly reccomend reading it and following the activitie's.

Your right side of your brain is programmed to do 95% of your thinking because of the way you were trainned in school and growing up. Your left side is much much more fun. Once you learn how to use it, you can do things that scare the crap out of most other people.

Beth is a left side thinker.

That is why she is a good public speaker and dose well with writeing and logo's. It dose come down to some natural talent but you can open that door in yourself IF you sit down and read this book. It could make you a better person.

It will tripple your confidance in SELLING, CLOSEING THE DEAL,and sheareing ideas.

[rocco 14]

I will be sure to look that book up the next tim I am at the book store or library. I am currently reading a book written by John Eldridge called "Wild at Heart". Talk about having my attention! Any way, Thanks again for the info on the book. You are quite the mind reader as I have been trying to open up a new way of thinking for myself! If you ever find your self in the Omaha/ Council Bluffs area youv'e got a tour guide at the least!

[Mike Williamson 198]

Ron:

Don't take a lack of response to mean anything! Spring is here and I'm sure everyone is busy, what with several boards to keep up with, work to be scheduled and completed, ads to be written, calls to be made, etc etc etc.

I enjoyed what you wrote. That took a lot of imagination. I agree with the sentiments Beth has conveyed in her posts about writing...Writing is fun!

Thanks for all you contribute. You've helped me in many areas much more than you realize.