Stange request from customer

[R. E. Crouse]

I have a customer who wants the underneath of her deck washed AND sealed along with the rest of the deck. The deck is only about 7 feet off the ground, and I am 6' 1". I told her that it is unneccesary, but she insists. The deck is 12 X 24. I told her $300 to wash and seal the deck, and another $300 to do the underneath. She gave me a hard time about the price for the underneath, but finally said ok. I know that this will be an ugly job as far as washing the underneath, but that god it is warm right now (I will get very wet). Any suggestions on cleaning the bottom?

 

[CaroliProWash]

Cleaning and sealing over your head is always a treat Wear a rain suit with the hood up! It is going to be a messy job - as you know, what goes up must come down and all that water down your back is only fun for a minute. We've worn face shields to help with the back spray - treat it with RainX. Does she have dirt underneath the deck? Take extra shoes & socks.

How come you're only charging $300 to clean and seal a deck that size? (not considering the underneath and fee for that?) That seems really low. With a deck that high, there must be handrails, spindles & steps - even if it's just the floor, that's only about $1/sq ft. What product do you use?

Celeste

 

[R. E. Crouse]

That's what I charge, $1 per square foot to seal, $1.50 (give or take) to stain. I use Olympic Waterguard. It has been good to me so far. When I say "that's what I charge", I mean that is for an average deck with not too much detail. This deck is very simple with no steps. I can wash it in about an hour, 30 min. to dry with a blower to help, and 15 min. to seal. Including set-up/break-down, and the fact that I am doing the underneath as well, I couldn't charge more and get the job in this market.

 

[CaroliProWash]

Okay, just curious. It's interesting to me to see what folks charge in other areas

Celeste

 

[PressurePros]

Do you realize with underside and rails you are actually looking at 850+ square feet of wood, not to mention the aggravation factor of stooping under a deck? Do you carry insurance, have employees etc? A lowballer would charge $400, a real professional would get $800-$1000. What chemicals do you use to clean?

15 minutes to seal? On wet wood? ugggggh. No offense man, I'm glad you aren't in my area. No wonder people b**** so much about pricing for a proper job with quality sealer.

 

[mtnframer]

we would be 1250 at least on the other coast.
steve

 

[Dan S]

12 to 15 here and I prob. would not seal it untill the next day...............Depending on moisture content.

It is not a "strange request" I get asked to do that all the time ( clean/seal underneath)
it is not uncommon.

Washing underneath is't as hard as it sounds.......... wash ahead of you and also wash it after you are done with the top.

Gots 2 go >>>>>>> c-ya

 

[5 Star Johnny]

We'd be at around $2K for this job. The undersides are a b**@#! Rather than spray infront of you, we'd spray moving backwards. Maybe this is what the other poster meant. In any event, as Celeste said, bring extra socks & shoes and rain gear. You're gonna' get wet no matter what, and no matter how hot it is, it sucks spending the day wet!!!!!

In practical terms, it DOES make sense to preserve the bottom of the deck because you're surrounding more of the wood surface. However, unless it's for aesthetics, most home-owners opt out because of cost. We explain it this way to them and let them know that they'll be paying a premium for the extra service. If they choose this option, they pay the price, AND their deck is definitely better protected.

Good Luck With all That!!

 

[R. E. Crouse]

Hey PressurePros, I do take offense. I didn't say I would seal on wet wood. Read my post again, including punctuation! I am insured and have 6 employees. I normally don't have do much work myself anymore, just go around checking on my crews. I have never been asked to do this type of work, so I was looking for help. I can probably turn a bigger profit than alot of people because of my volume, and I do use quality products on all jobs. I buy in bulk, do tons of work, and have less than 1% of my customers ever call with a problem with my work. By the way"PressurePro", why don't you sign your posts????? You must have one hell of a business to not want to get your name out!


P.S. 5 Star, thanks for a civil and not so brainless reply as this "pro's".

 

[PressurePros]

I apologize for not having my signature filled out, I will rectify that. I don't post here often.

Correct me if I am wrong, but you said you wash the deck and then assist in drying the surface with some type of blower? I'm sorry, but if you are a wood professional you would already know that sealing wood above 15% mositure content (as determined by a moisture meter) will set you up for premature finish failure. Trust me, blower or not, no deck will dry out enough to be sealed in 30 minutes. Also, Olympic Waterguard is not a quality product. It has no UV protection and goes for under $9/gallon. Again being a professional you would realize this from experience. The products I use range from $25-40 per gallon and are not available at Lowe's or Home Depot.


In final, you read the latter posts for what people charge for this type of job. Does that not leave you as a lowballer, killing other contractors? What chemicals do you use to clean? I have everything neccessary for state of the art cleaning including two 5 gpm machines, HVLP sprayers, Shur Flo pumps and the proper chemicals. I know how long I would take to do this job and the times you mention are borderline ridiculous.

Like I said, I'm glad you are not in my area. It's nothing against you personally, you may be a helluva guy. You just need to revisit your pricing structure and quite possibly read more posts on modern wood restoration.

Ken Fenner
PressurePros, Inc
Havertown, PA
888-855-WASH

 

[squirtgun]

Oh you deck guys are always good for a laugh......LOL. We quit chasing deck last year after loosing money on a few. You guys in the north can pull the big $$$ for wood restoration.
As for Lowes or Home Depot sealers,we had great results with Olympic Maximum. All the decks we did over 18 months ago still look awesome. A lot of that had to do with proper cleaning and neutralizing and deck prep. When or If these customers call back to have their decks restored again I will ensure we make the $$$ that good wood restoration commands and they will only be offered Ready Seal or a product that is along the same lines.
The pricing structure has evolved and the customer no longer has the choice of product lines because without fail they will try to choose the cheapest route possible.

Warn the customer in advance that lower prcied prodcuts may not hold up to the claims the company makes and if it does fail they will need to contact the manufacturer to file a claim for the product.Also,if they need to file a claim it does not cover the cost or your labor to come back.

Don't you just love wood restoration?

 

[5 Star Johnny]

Squirtgun - I don't know what your market is, in respect to wood restoration. Because you no longer do it does not make it unprofitable of less appealing to a contractor that has dedicated their expertise and efforts to this particular service segment. I know that our gross profit on deck RESTORATION & PRESERVATION is enormous!! We also only have 5 - 6 months to make the bulk of our revenue.

In any event, pressurepros had made some good points and I would agree that he probably has plenty of experience. R.E. Crouse - thanks for the kudos. However, take the info and do what you will. You asked for input, and in this particular forum you'll get good & bad.

Good Luck!

 

[CCPC]

Squirtgun - I don't know what your market is, in respect to wood restoration. Because you no longer do it does not make it unprofitable of less appealing to a contractor that has dedicated their expertise and efforts to this particular service segment. I know that our gross profit on deck RESTORATION & PRESERVATION is enormous!! We also only have 5 - 6 months to make the bulk of our revenue.

In any event, pressurepros had made some good points and I would agree that he probably has plenty of experience. R.E. Crouse - thanks for the kudos. However, take the info and do what you will. You asked for input, and in this particular forum you'll get good & bad.

Good Luck!

I believe that Scott wasn't trying to say that wood restoration isn't profitable, he simply alluded to its lack of profitablilty in his area (the south), which I can attest to myself. I've lost out on a handful and since decided they are not even worth the drive to give an estimate.

 

[squirtgun]

5 Star I'm not saying there is no profit in wood resoration.As CCPC stated in the south it's a difficult sell.I can complete a housewash and roof clean in the time it takes me to land 1 deck job.
H.O. in mine and CCPC areas don't realize the need for proper wood care and would rather spend their $$$ on other things.The last deck job I bid was $2000,the H.O. almost passed out on me.He then tried to tell me bleach would strip the 3 month old failing Thompsons and said he would do it himself.I wished him luck and moved on to something else.If he calls back I'll have to raise the price because I know going in I will be fixing his cleaning errors and any wood damge he did by using to much PSI.

 

[Dave Ott]

It's Scott. Where ya been. [whip]

 

[squirtgun]

Our computer and DSL modem got popped by lightening.Just got the new DSL modem hooked up today.
We have been fairly busy the last several weeks also.I'm currently trying to get a job with the Marine Corp Logistics Base about 20 miles from here rebuilding Hummers and other equipment coming back from Iraq.If I do get the job we'll drop our business back to part time.

 

[Dave Ott]

I didn't think they rebuilt them I thought they just blew them up or pushed them off the aircraft carriers like jets LOL Oh well send me a rebuilt one here. Thankyou.
P.S I need it with all the good stuff on it, and a ball for my trailer thanks.
Also air please. Thanks Santa Scott.

 

[PowerWash Sol]

576x1.2 691.2
10x10 100
48x4 192
770x.39 300.3

$1,283.5
Discount @ 10% $1,155.15
Sales Tax $64.69

TOTAL $1,219.84 $1.58 sq ft
MATERIAL $300.3 24.62%

This is what my bid notes would look like. I like to keep my material cost between 24-25% on projects less than 1000 sq ft, so i have been working numbers for prices to give my that ratio consistently. I always like to show a nice discount on the bid too because it makes the homeowners feel good. If you buy in bulk from sunbrite supply, you can get ready seal for around 19.95 a gallon (30 cases of 5 gallons with free shipping and no sales tax), but i still wont lower my material cost on the bid. I cant believe she would be giving you a hard time