Money-Making ideas are EVERYWHERE!

Thanks, Erik!

dno

You mentioned in your post that "Spindles" are the tricky part.
Thanks.

> Well, it's not exactly a mornings work.

> Bruce said the cleaning for an average deck
> (maybe 300-600ish) takes around 3-4 hours to
> do right (darn spindles are the tricky
> part). And then you come back the next day
> and the sealing takes 4-6 more hours. So
> you're looking at 10 hours. Bruce said he
> makes his bids for around $70 an hour so say
> $700 a job. That's still a nice profit (at
> least until the tax man gets ahold of it,
> unless that's not going to be a factor).
> $700 for 2 days work. You could live well on
> 2 jobs a week.

> I think it's a little different. Bruce
> actually just uses a power washer. He says
> he uses a cleaner if they want the wood
> lightened up a little. It's up to the
> homeowners.

> If you're going to use a cleaner, it looks
> like an oxygen bleach wood cleaner is the
> way to go. Timberwash and Delco DSR-47 were
> the 2 I read about.

> Here's a nice little guide which takes you
> step by step through the process (one of
> many)

>
> http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/homei/0004HIHIAM.html
> You just spray it on and then give it say
> 15 min to soak in. Then you can either
> lightly scrub it with a nylon brush or just
> spray it off.

> I guess it's either powerwasher alone, or
> powerwasher plus a cleaner. And then you
> come back the next day and finish by sealing
> the deck.

> (Note: if the deck is already stained, you
> may have to use a paint stripper to remove
> that for an even better finish)

> Good luck, John! I think this is something
> you can definitely do and 'make a good coin'
> (as Bruce put it).

> Success,

> Erik

Anyone know what to charge by sq foot on this?

Thanks,

Gary

> Well, it's not exactly a mornings work.

> Bruce said the cleaning for an average deck
> (maybe 300-600ish) takes around 3-4 hours to
> do right (darn spindles are the tricky
> part). And then you come back the next day
> and the sealing takes 4-6 more hours. So
> you're looking at 10 hours. Bruce said he
> makes his bids for around $70 an hour so say
> $700 a job. That's still a nice profit (at
> least until the tax man gets ahold of it,
> unless that's not going to be a factor).
> $700 for 2 days work. You could live well on
> 2 jobs a week.

> I think it's a little different. Bruce
> actually just uses a power washer. He says
> he uses a cleaner if they want the wood
> lightened up a little. It's up to the
> homeowners.

> If you're going to use a cleaner, it looks
> like an oxygen bleach wood cleaner is the
> way to go. Timberwash and Delco DSR-47 were
> the 2 I read about.

> Here's a nice little guide which takes you
> step by step through the process (one of
> many)

>
> http://popularmechanics.com/popmech/homei/0004HIHIAM.html
> You just spray it on and then give it say
> 15 min to soak in. Then you can either
> lightly scrub it with a nylon brush or just
> spray it off.

> I guess it's either powerwasher alone, or
> powerwasher plus a cleaner. And then you
> come back the next day and finish by sealing
> the deck.

> (Note: if the deck is already stained, you
> may have to use a paint stripper to remove
> that for an even better finish)

> Good luck, John! I think this is something
> you can definitely do and 'make a good coin'
> (as Bruce put it).

> Success,

> Erik

John,
If you don't mind sharing, what did your ad say?
Did you place it in the classified section or is it a display ad?
Thanks,

Gary

> I just called the newspaper to place my
> classified ad for deck renewal...and the
> lady who took the ad wants a free estimate!

> I guess this really is a hot button...well,
> I'm off to Home Depot to learn everything I
> can about renewing decks.

> John

Gary, I saw it suggested 1.25-1.50 per square foot. And unfortunately the rails, etc don't count as extra for the estimates I found it did say add $50 extra per step.

> You mentioned in your post that
> "Spindles" are the tricky part.
> Thanks.

Don't worry. All decks don't have them.

Sometimes on the outer edge, instead of an easy rail, the homeowner will have an appx 1" x1" square pegs looking poles. They go up and down and connect to a rail. It looks fancy and from what Bruce told me, is the only thing you really have to work hard at. That and avoiding hatcheting.

Hatcheting is when you stop the power washer at any time in one place. You'll get what looks like a hatchet mark. You get a lot of them if you spray one way and then change directions and go back the opposite way.

Good luck guys!

Erik

> John,
> If you don't mind sharing, what did your ad
> say?

It's a classified. "DECK RESTORATION --- Your deck like new again...overnight! Free estimate. 555-5555." It's Don's ad, with a few words changed so I'm not directly copying him.

It runs for a week starting tomorrow. I'll let you know the exact results.

I love this! 24 hours ago, I would have never even considered deck renewal, and here I am running an ad. Isn't life an adventure?

I also contacted Dever Enterprises, and they are a very user-friendly, enthusiastic group. They explained a lot to me about the renewal process, probably more than I would have learned at Home Depot. Seems that stripping the deck is necessary (using Cuprinol or similar) if it has been previously stained.

My next challenge (after learning how to apply the stuff without splattering it all over the world...and do it with enough dignity so it looks like I've done it at least once before...can you tell I'm no handyman?) is learning the ins-and-outs of hiring contract workers, depending on the number of responses I get.

By the way, we've got a pretty good thread going here, haven't we? Don made the same single post in a gazillion other forums, but we seem to be the only ones taking action with it.

Thanks for the kickstart, Don.

John

John,

Thanks for the information you are posting. I'm facsinated to find out what kind of response you get. I'm also working the "how-to" side of things right now, and am already trying to learn about hiring contractors, what to pay them, how to pay them, etc.

Of course I'm getting ahead of myself. My preference would be to do the work myself. My perfectionist nature could be an advantage here, as I imagine that higher pricing would be easier to come by if the quality of the work done is absolutely first rate.

I'd love to chat more about this with you via email. My address is above, if you care to swap ideas back and forth.

Thanks everyone, for such an informative post!!

Mike Long

> It's a classified. "DECK RESTORATION
> --- Your deck like new again...overnight!
> Free estimate. 555-5555." It's Don's
> ad, with a few words changed so I'm not
> directly copying him.

> It runs for a week starting tomorrow. I'll
> let you know the exact results.

> I love this! 24 hours ago, I would have
> never even considered deck renewal, and here
> I am running an ad. Isn't life an adventure?

> I also contacted Dever Enterprises, and they
> are a very user-friendly, enthusiastic
> group. They explained a lot to me about the
> renewal process, probably more than I would
> have learned at Home Depot. Seems that
> stripping the deck is necessary (using
> Cuprinol or similar) if it has been
> previously stained.

> My next challenge (after learning how to
> apply the stuff without splattering it all
> over the world...and do it with enough
> dignity so it looks like I've done it at
> least once before...can you tell I'm no
> handyman?) is learning the ins-and-outs of
> hiring contract workers, depending on the
> number of responses I get.

> By the way, we've got a pretty good thread
> going here, haven't we? Don made the same
> single post in a gazillion other forums, but
> we seem to be the only ones taking action
> with it.

> Thanks for the kickstart, Don.

> John

http://www.noahwood.com/about1.htm

Michael Ross.