Aluminum Siding

[Paul B. 523]

I was called for an estimate to clean aluminum siding on a 2-story home.

When I got there, no one was home. I walked up to the garage area and

wiped my fingers across a piece of the siding. Seeing the results on my fingers, I applied a bit of liquid to my fingers (spit, in scientific terms) and wiped across the siding again. I could see bare metal (see 1st photo). At this point the customer came home and hurried into the house to put his kid down for a nap. I walked around the house and looked further, waiting for Mr. Homeowner to join me. While waiting, I measured the house and took some pictures. In the back, I noticed some pressure sprayer marks randomly criss-crossing the siding (see photos 2 and 3). I walked up to the front of the house and waited. After about 10 minutes the owner came and and we began our conversation. Without a whole lot of detail, the bottom line was that he wanted the siding washed and his wife would like the old, dark colored looking siding back after washing.

I could hardly keep from rolling on the ground and laughing. I explained that someone had tried to wash the house and some of the paint was already removed. If we really washed it, all the paint would be removed down to bare metal. He only has two and a half options:

Option 1: Leave it as is for another couple of years

Option 2: Wait for a strong rain-storm and part of the house will have the oxidized paint removed. If you have enough strong rain-storms, he wouldn't have to pay anyone to strip to bare metal.

Option 3: My friend paints houses and he would be happy to provide you with a FREE estimate for painting your home. (We do some of the paint prep for my friend).

He chose option #3 after asking 3-4 times if I was sure the siding would not come clean.

[Firedkm 14]

Paul,

Are they your initials in the third picture?:D

I would say you pointed the customer in the right direction and you painter friend should buy you a nice dinner too.

[Paul B. 523]

The initials must be the homeowners - said he was trying to remove deck stain from the siding (didn't buy that).

Along with exterior/interior painting, my friend also does roof work, drywalling, door and window installations, builds decks, room additions, finishes basements, etc. An extensive handyman operation. He pays handsomely for referrals.

It's actually better than getting work from him in some cases. For example, the referral fee on an average roof job is $500. It actually pays for me to run an ad in the paper just to send him work. After all expenses, and some investing, there is enough money left to take him and a couple other contractors on an outing to Vegas, New Orleans, or Miami (Bahamas/Bimini). A business trip, that (if worked properly) can be also written off .

[bill3752 14]

I won't even go look at al sided houses anymore. Even real old vinyl possess so much paint oxidation that I stay away from them.

[Firedkm 14]

Paul,

Sounds like you could make a good living just selling jobs for your buddy and quit your day job.

[PA Dutchman 14]

Dale,

This situation shows the importance of making friends with a general contractor, roofer, painter, and even a realtor. Connections breed work.

[One Tough Pressure 580]

Welcome to the bbs PA Dutchman. How about a name in your signature?

[Paul B. 523]

This friend does not advertise formally and does very well.

He has a lot of contacts and although he will do smaller jobs, most start in the $5K-$7K range. We worked together on a couple of project this year that were over $170K each. So, YES, I consider developing and maintaining contacts and referrals to be the primary method for obtaining work.