march 2012 pressure cleaning contractor: the wood restoration issue

1Pressure Cleaning Contractor March 2012 www.PWCMag.com

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In This Issue:The Wood Issue5 The Wood Panel: Advice from Wood Restoration Specialists

12 Make an Informed Choice: A Guide to Wood Care Products, by Pete Marentay, SunBrite Supply

16 Cleaning Pressure Treated Wood by Adrian B. Carrier, ABC Pressure Washing & Deck Rescue

24 Log Cabin Restoration, by Everett Abrams, Deck Restoration Plus & Contractor’s Foundation

Additional Features

19 Five Common Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Your Business, by Jason Vance, Window Brothers & TheServiceCoach.com

20 Commercial Pressure Washing: Essential Elements of an Employee Training Program, by Paul Horsley

22 International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association (IKECA) 2012 Annual Membership Meeting

23 A Simple Collections Policy Really Does Help Cash Flow, by Tom Grandy, Grandy & Associates

Cover PhotoCourtesy of Exterior Wood Restoration,Indianapolis, Indiana.

Pressure Cleaning Contractor is published monthly

Publisher: Paul HorsleyEditor: Allison HesterSales Director: Karen Rokosh

www.PWCMag.com March 2012

Pressure Cleaning Contractor Magazine12300 Nebraska Ave.N. Little Rock, AR [email protected]

24

www.thegrimescene.com/forums www.thewoodpros.com

www.armclark.com

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Not so many years ago, wood restoration was an extremely popular service for power washing contractors. The work was simple, effective, easy to sell and profitable. It’s no longer that simple. Changing markets and regulations have turned a market that once appeared to be the golden ticket for residential power washers into a market that many contractors now won’t touch with a 10-foot extension pole. However, a number of contractors have managed to not only embrace the potential of wood restoration, but to turn it into a niche market that they love. In this article, I’ve interviewed a handful of such experts, a group I’m referring to as “the wood panel.” Before jumping into – or running away from – wood restoration, read what this panel of wood experts has to offer

Learn the Basics There is no magic formula for restoring wood. Each job offers a unique array of conditions and challenges, and to do it correctly, contractors must at the minimum

have a healthy understanding of what it takes to restore wood. But how do contractors learn? Almost everyone on the panel agreed – the most important step in getting started in wood restoration is to take a basic wood care training class and possibly become certified. A number of wood restoration classes are offered across the country each year by a variety of groups, including at least three options in March alone (see our events page to learn more). “The wood care courses are very generic, but they will teach you the basic nuggets you need to know before you ever step foot on a deck,” said Beth Borrego of See Dirt Run in Germantown, Maryland. “You’re not going to get an expert education from any wood class, but it’s a good place to start.” That’s how most of the wood panel professionals got their start, including Mike Hilborn of Roof to Deck, St. Paul, Minnesota, who has since built a million-dollar business by cleaning wood exclusively. “I started by

Photo courtesy of Carolina ProWash

The Wood Panel: Advice from Wood Restoration Specialists

by Allison Hester, Editor

6 Pressure Cleaning Contractor March 2012 www.PWCMag.com

taking the PWNA (Power Washers of North America) wood restoration course and becoming certified.” A basic education is probably enough for most pressure washing contractors who are interested in adding wood restoration to their list of services. “The majority of cleaning/staining companies are just that – a cleaning and staining service that meets the needs of customers looking for a basic job,” added Charles Soden, Apex Deck Savers, Pittsboro, North Carolina. “And, for the most part, there’s nothing wrong with that, assuming the products and processes being used don’t end up making things worse for the customer.” However, for those wanting to separate themselves as “experts,” Wood 101 courses are only the start. Our panel members suggested researching wood restoration on the Internet, participating in wood forums such as The Grime Scene and The Wood Pros, and potentially finding a mentor to train under. For Roger and Celeste Gothorp of Carolina Pro Wash in Graham, NC, obtaining proper, in-depth training was key. They traveled to Missouri for a week-long training course with Russell Cissell of Extreme Solutions, Inc., and they have also been mentored by Beth Borrego & Rod Rodriguez to learn about exotic woods. “Beyond that, reading, researching, testing and practicing on wood scraps have proven to be the best teachers for learning compositions, how age affects stains, what types of stains are appropriate for the job at hand.” When getting started, Borrego suggests practicing on decks and fences that belong to friends and family members, for free. “Or you can ask them to pay for the sealer but you throw in the labor for free.” And wood restoration is a never-ending learning process, as even the panel of experts

continue to learn and rely on the help of industry members. “As I’ve been in business longer and have developed a track record of excellent results, I still find myself catching great tips from some of those same companies (that helped mentor him early on), in addition to the many, many amazing suppliers, vendors, and manufacturers in our industry,” added Soden.

Use the Right Products “There’s a lot of garbage out there in pails for sale in the box stores,” said Borrego. “If you want to compete with more established companies, you’ve got to use something that is contractor grade.” Soden looks for products that have been designed for wood and that have a good history of success. “When it comes to cleaning products, it’s not worth the risk to try and develop your own concoctions,” he explained. “Stick with a packaged product that you know will have a safe blend of chemicals so you know the strength when you mix it.” John Nearon, Exterior Wood Restoration, Indianapolis, Indiana, said he selects products based on what has worked well for his company and what is recognized as effective. “For example, we focus on sodium hydroxide based strippers for oil-based wood stain removal and methylene chloride based strippers for acrylic based wood stains,” he added. Rick Petry of Windsor WoodCare in Painsboro, New Jersey, said he has used Ready Seal products from day one. “It’s easy to apply, lasts for a long time, and I’ve never seen a reason to change,” he explained. According to Celeste Gothorp, “Some of the best information you can get on a product is from the contractors who use them.” She added that when starting out, they were

The Wood PanelBeth BorregoSee Dirt Run! Inc. & The Grime SceneGermantown, MarylandSince 199995% Wood

Celeste GothorpCarolina ProWashGraham, North CarolinaSince 200690% Wood

Mike HilbornRoof to DeckSt Paul, MinnesotaSince 1999100% Wood


referred to various cleaning products, did price comparisons and ultimately field tested “nearly all of them.” She stressed that effectiveness was their top consideration, followed by cost. Ultimately, their company uses cleaners and stains from Extreme Solutions. “We have been happy with Russell’s products for years and are happy to stick with the adage, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’” This brings up an important point because there are a number of new products regularly popping up on the market. “I see a lot of people buying into crazy claims for the latest and greatest new product out there, but what’s easy to forget is that you are talking about risking an untested product on a paying customer’s deck,” said Soden. This is particularly true with wood stains, which vary quite a bit. “My company uses mostly Armstrong Clark stains, but I encourage anyone looking to get into wood to try each stain out,” Soden added. “I also look for a manufacturer or distributor that is willing to stand by what they sell and provide strong product support for me. One reason I use Armstrong Clark is I know I can easily get technical help and that if anything goes wrong, I can rely on their help and expertise to come up with a solution. Nearon has actually developed his own product line – Timber Ox Green stains and sealers. “This is a product that we manufacture ourselves and have used exclusively at Exterior Wood Restoration, Inc., for a number of years prior to offering it to the general public,” he explained.

One thing to remember is that if a product’s claim seems too good to be true – for example a stain that lasts for 25 years – it probably is. “You cannot guarantee the life of a product based solely on the product itself,” said Borrego. “There are too many other factors that come into play” such as the environment, the location of the wood (i.e., sun versus shade), the amount of foot traffic, and so on. For more specific information on choosing cleaners, sealers and brightners, see “Making an Informed Decision” on page 12.

Charge Adequately “When you are first starting in the

Mike HilbornRoof to DeckSt Paul, MinnesotaSince 1999100% Wood

John NearonExterior Wood RestorationIndianapolis, INSince 200599% Wood

Charles SodenApex Deck SaversPittsboro, North CarolinaSince 2006100% Wood

Rick PetryWindsor WoodCarePlainsboro, NJSince 2001100% Decks

Photo courtesy of Apex Deck Savers


industry, don’t be so hungry that you’re not making money,” warned Borrego. “And make sure you charge enough to do the project properly. The industry doesn’t need any more black eyes from contractors who underbid then provide bad service. If you want repeat business, you have to do the job right.” There are numerous things to consider when pricing wood restoration projects, and it’s important to price adequately during your estimate. “Doing a full quality deck restoration can take time, and must be charged accordingly,” agreed Soden. “Our pricing is high for a reason.” “Also, you have to consider your weather,” stressed Gothorp. “If you live in an area with a shorter work season, you are either going to have to price accordingly to carry your company through cold or rainy months or be more diverse than just wood.” Borrego emphasized the need for properly setting up (e.g., tarps and tape) and tearing down. “Don’t take shortcuts. It may seem like it takes longer when you have to go through all the steps of doing a job right, but in the end, you don’t have issues because you’ve done it right. You’ve protected the customer’s property – which is huge for the customer – and you’ve protected your company from liability problems and a poor reputation.” Finally, Hilborn stressed that he has found it to be very difficult to run a successful, large company based off of wood restoration alone (even though he’s managed to do it). For those contractors wanting to reach the million-dollar mark, “you might be better off washing fleets.”

Market Wisely Soden says his company’s strongest marketing tool – besides word of mouth – has been a well developed and optimized website. “Website leads have far surpassed any of the calls we receive from every other advertising program combined.” However, while his website works well for people searching for a wood restoration company, it has not necessarily drawn in those potential “on the fence” customers who are thinking about it but not quite there yet. To reach that market, Soden has begun implementing some new programs, including a pay-per-click advertising campaign. “For instance, we find that people respond well to our ads on deck building searches where we can hopefully draw them into realizing that maybe their deck just needs to be cleaned and restored rather than replaced.” He also does a lot of “perimeter marketing” during each job, which includes labeled trucks/trailers parked on the street, yard signs that remain up several days after the job is completed, uniformed employees, and occasionally mailing to neighbors informing them that they’ve done work nearby and would love to give them an estimate as well. Rick Petry of Windsor WoodCare, Plainsboro, NJ, agreed with the importance of a strong web presense. He also said he has found that a small ad in the classified section of his local newspaper has worked extremely well. Interestingly, more expensive display ads in the same paper were a flop. Networking is another important marketing tool. “Some of our most effective marketing has been accomplished through relationships we cultivate with local Realtors and their firms, which often have preferred contractor referral programs,” said Nearon. Local homeowners associations, chambers of commerce and so on are good groups to get involved with as well. Part of succeeding in wood restoration requires being willing and able to interact with the customers on a deeper level than with some other cleaning markets. “Today’s outdoor living spaces are really popular and they’re very personal spaces, often seen as an

Photo courtesy of Windsor WoodCare


extension of the owners themselves,” said Borrego. “Those guys who want to be able to just go wash without having to interact with the customer are probably better off sticking with other things where they’re not touching a living space.” All participants agree that the best form of marketing in this industry is word of mouth. Gaining a good reputation and getting referrals are priceless. “And if you can get a high-end customer to allow you to show others your deck, it’s golden,” Borrego added. Protecting Yourself and Your Customer

Borrego said contractors should never take on projects that are beyond their scope. “You can get yourself into real trouble if you take on jobs where it’s something you’ve never tried before. Think about the liability before you jump in. You better be pretty sure you know what you’re taking on before you start.” Borrego also stressed the need to take tons of photos, not just for future marketing, but also to protect your company. Specifically take photos of any preexisting problems that you see on the property – such as a cracked window or a broken planter pot, etc., because homeowners may not know the problem was already there. Also, take photos of all tarping and other precautionary measures taken, along with the before and after shots of the work. Finally, Borrego pointed out that training needs to extend not only to you, but to your staff as well. Before hiring technicians to do this kind of work, contractors should be thoroughly versed in wood restoration themselves. Then they must be able to communicate the processes to any hired technicians, who should be painstakingly mentored before being allowed to do the work without close supervision. In conclusion, wood restoration can be a lucrative add-on service to your existing business, or a specialty service all its own. The key is to learn the right way then implement what you learn, recognizing when a project is beyond your scope. True wood restoration is both an art and a science, and should be reserved for those companies who truly love and respect the

medium. For those unique individuals, the job itself is often the reward. “Being able to assess the needs of the project and apply a custom solution to give the homeowner the best look possible is very enjoyable for me,” said Soden. “Best of all is seeing the transformation from an old, gray deck to a beautifully stained and sealed surface that you know is all because of your hard work.”

Photo courtesy of Carolina ProWash

www.PWNA.org

anyone can be a supplier - that’s the easy part! But.. .

http://www.envirospec.com

GREAT THINGS AT ENVIROSPEC FOR 2012As the industry’s largest supplier of pressure washers, parts, accessories, chemicals and

technical services to the professional contractors we are happy to announce that 2012 will be ourgreatest year ever when it comes to technology, new product development and technical services.

Here are just a few of the things that we will be bringing to you as the year progresses. You willalso see some changes in sales discounts and shipping policies that we need to put in place tohelp both of us become more profitable. Both of these new policies will take effect April 1, 2012

2012FREE SHIPPING

As in the past - Free Standard Shipping to the lower48 States is available on items in our current printedor web catalogs with the following exceptions:

1. Hose Reels2. Concrete Cleaners3. Engines & Electric Motors4. Pressure Wash Equipment5. Waste Water Recovery Items6. Equipment with Engines or Motors

There are minimum orders associated with FreeShipping. In the past, with the exception of the 6categories above, we would pay the shipping on allitems if the web order totaled $125.00. This year weborders requirements will remain at $125.00. Forphone in orders the requirement in the past was$200.00. This year phone-in order requirements forfree shipping will be $300.00.

A NEW FACE ATENVIROSPEC

On February 20, 2012 ChuckWelch assumed the position ofExecutive Vice President.

Chuck brought with him a vastknowledge about the pressurewasher industry. His roots startedwith Specialty Equipment Companyin 1989 where he wore many hats. His responsibilitieswith Specialty ranged from assembling pressure washersto customer service to training. From SpecialtyEquipment Chuck moved to General Pump in 1995. Hewas hired into inside sales as a customer servicerepresentative but worked in Marketing, ApplicationsEngineering, Technical Services Manager, DistributionManager, and finally designing and building custom pumpand motor assemblies. Many of those hats were wornsimultaneously. With General Pump he took on the PumpSchool and for ten years taught employees andcustomers the technical aspects of General Pumpproducts.

Chuck lives in Rosemount Minnesota with his wife Teriand his two children Peter and Norah awaiting the arrivalof their third child due in August.

1-800-346-4876

The Mobile Wash contractors most challenging and misunderstood part of their business is theequipment and how to keep it running. For over 40 years we have been listening to folks, manyof which have been in business for 10+ years, as they try to order parts and have no idea whatto do with them when they get them. What does an unloader do? How do I troubleshoot or installit? What size pump can I put on my engine? How do I install it? What size nozzles should I use? How do I adjustor troubleshoot pressure? ...and on, and on, and on! Imagine how much money you could save if you knew how tobuild your own pressure washer! At this 3-day school you will start with all the parts you and your instructor will pickout 2-weeks prior to your arrival and under the direction of your instructor you will turn every bolt, mount everycomponent, test and adjust every part of your new pressure washer. When you leave you will have accomplishedsomething that 99% of those distributors that you are presently relying on to keep your equipment running have neverdone. Who better to work on your equipment than the person who built it?

ESPECLEARNING CENTER

SIGN UP EARLY - OPEN TO 6 CONTRACTORS.Contact Chuck Welch for details.

Food and lodging included. School dates: August 22, 23 & 24

SPECIAL SCHOOL IN JULY 2012 FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO...U-BUILD-U’R-OWN PRESSURE WASHER

April-12_Layout 1 2/26/2012 9:14 AM Page 1

www.Envirospec.com

. . .they’ll never know enough to be your partner!

2012

We have always said that ‘we can’t help you fix stuffover the phone’ but now we can.

On March 1, 2012 we will roll out Video-Tech forexisting customers. All you will need to do is set upa Skype account, make sure you have a cameraplugged into your computer and ‘click’ on your EspecVideo Tech Center icon. It’s as simple as that!

Not sure what unloader you have? Not sure if youhave it mounted correctly? Got a burner problem?Simply hold your camera on the project and we willhelp you with your toughest problems, set-upequipment, identify accessories/parts, etc.

Contact Chuck Welch and he will walk you throughsetting Skype up on your computer/cell phone.

VIDEO-TECH SERVICESTHROUGH

TECH-TALK-TUESDAY THROUGH

VIDEO LIBRARYfor Espec-Prime Customers

Beginning the week ofFebruary 20, 2012...

...we will start making videos of all the parts we sell.We will disassemble and reassemble the part, showyou where it goes and tell you how to maintain the part.

This will be a password protected application that willonly work if...1. You have purchased the part from us and will beidentified when you insert the part number2. You have purchased from us within a specifiedperiod of time which will be determined prior to theprogram starting.

The target start date is April 1, 2012 and will start withthe most common items such as unloaders, pumps,burners and trigger guns.

DON’T FORGETOUR MONTHLY

TECHNICALSERVICE SCHOOLS

MAR21-22

APR 25-26MAY23-24JUNE20-21

JULY 25-26AUG 22-24SEP 19-20

OCT 17-18NOV 7-8DEC 5-6

ESPEC-PRIMEREQUIRED

Contact Chuck Welch1-800-346-4876

whatever you do...

Every Tuesday at 10 am est. Chuck Welch, formerlyof General Pump, will be holding a video tech class forup to 10 contractors. We will be sending out topics ofdiscussion the week prior through e-mail. You willneed to sign up early because this will be a huge hit.

Stay tuned and we will be sending out moreinformation on the Tech-Talk-Tuesday Program.

EnviroSpec1-800-346-4876

85% of everyone who goes into thisbusiness fails within 2 years.

CAN YOU GUESS WHY?

Sales Discounts: Effective April 1, 2012 you will nolonger have to wait a year to take advantage of yourBonus Bucks. 10% of everything you purchase inone month can be used the following month to reducethose purchases by 10%. When you couple that withthe 10% savings you will receive by placing a weborder that does not require prior phone assistanceyou can see the savings opportunities.

Let’s say that in April you purchase $500.00. 10%or $50.00 of that purchase goes in your Bonus BuckAccount. Now - the first week of May you purchase$250.00 in parts. Although you have $50.00 in yourBonus Buck Account you can only reduce thatpurchase by 10% or $25.00. However, you still have$25.00 left in your account that can be used onanother order later on in the same month.

So here’s the picture - you purchase $150.00 fromthe web and we pay the freight. Typically freight willcome to approximately 15% of the order. That meansyou have just saved $27.50 on freight. We will giveyou 10% off of your order because you placed it overthe web so that’s another $15.00. Then we will take10% of the order and set it aside for you to use onyour next months order. You have just saved $56.00.

Also, in the past equipment could not produce BonusBucks. Now it can. So, if you purchase a pressurewasher for $6500.00 - $650.00 will go in your bonusbuck account that can be used the following month.

April-12_Layout 1 2/26/2012 9:14 AM Page 2

www.Envirospec.com


Make An Informed Choice!

A guide to wood care products

by Pete Marentay, Owner of SunBrite Supply

Deck and fence restoration has always been a very profitable specialty for service

contractors. It is not the purpose of this article to teach you how to do wood, however. I leave that to some well-established schools to help you fully understand techniques and pricing and other elements of the trade. My goal is to relate the reasons why we choose the products we do. I want readers to know what they are buying when they purchase a wood care product, whether that product is a cleaner, stripper, brightener, or sealer.

A Changing Market

Years ago, when I first got into the business, the work was a lot easier than it is now.

In those days, most decks had never been cleaned or sealed, and in the words of one of the trade’s most vocal proponents (and a great friend of mine),Chris Detter, we could “ride in on our white horse and save the day.” We were all heroes to a lot of folks over the years. We used simple cleaners and brighteners and the majority of us who considered ourselves

professionals sealed with oil-based products. Today things have changed quite a bit. As homeowners learned of the value and wisdom of cleaning and sealing wood decks and fences regularly, they tried to figure out how to save money by doing it themselves. As the “buzz” about the profitability of this service spread, more and more inexperienced jack-of-all-trades handymen jumped in and began offering the service, too. Folks lurked on industry bulletin boards to learn the secrets of the experienced professionals, and got advice from their local big box store on the process as well. The Internet spread lots of information – and some misinformation. As homeowners and handymen were starting to work with off-the-shelf cleaning and sealing products from those big box stores, a few big changes were on the horizon. The first major hit to the industry was the voluntary withdrawal of CCA lumber, the prevalent form of pressure-treated wood used to build about 80 percent of the decks across the country.

Photo courtesy of Deck Restoration Plus


Make An Informed Choice!

A guide to wood care products

by Pete Marentay, Owner of SunBrite Supply

New types of pressure treated lumber, beginning around 2002 and continuing through around 2004, were made using entirely different chemical treatments (primarily ACQ). This new lumber changed the nature of the wood, right down to the type of fasteners or nails that could be used. The impact on contractors included dealing with two different pressure-treated woods, sometimes right next door to each other. Some sealers responded differently to the new wood, forcing contractors to tweak their habits. The negative impression created by the withdrawal of CCA lumber invited new woods into the decking market that were seldom used prior to this time. Man-made composite lumber came into the marketplace like a bolt of thunder. Hardwoods from Brazil started to appear on high-end decks all over the country as well. Native hardwoods, like mahogany in the Northeast and redwood in the northwest, had always been popular, but gained dramatically in popularity when newspapers started running articles about the perceived danger of CCA pressure-treated lumber. Another big revolution in the industry came at about the same time as a result of concern by the EPA about ozone depletion. Regulations aimed at paint were applied to deck sealers, which turned the industry on its ear. Manufacturers scrambled to tweak their formulas to meet escalating demands for lower VOC’s (the portion of sealers that evaporates into the air after application). Some manufacturers had to change their formulas more than once to meet these demands over the years, which drove contractors crazy in the process. Sealers used last year were different this year, with changes in how they applied, looked, and held up. Some well-known major manufacturers even abandoned the manufacture of oil sealers altogether. With all these changes came an even greater need for education for contractors providing wood restoration services. Our regular go-to cleaning products didn’t work well with a lot of these new woods and composite lumber. Professionals lit up the Internet airing problems and possible solutions. There was a huge increase in demand for educated or certified

wood-care professionals, which was great for contractors. It also made more room for handymen and the DIY’ers, who were way behind the educational curve on these changes. The problems resulting from all the changes and the increase in untrained people doing the work tarnished the reputation of the trade to some degree, but serious contractors used this as a platform to set themselves apart from the jack-of-all-trades sort. The rise in regulation by the EPA and the desire of people to be able to clean their tools at the end of the job with just a little soap and water led to a massive increase in the use of water-borne sealers over this period. Instead of a service contractor being able to easily identify any sealer on a deck, new brands and new formulas sprang up like dandelions in a field. Alongside our stalwart reliable brands of oil sealers, we began to see acrylics, silicones, epoxies and latex products. We also saw an increase in the use of alkyds, which are identified as oils but behave like a plastic or polyester coating on wood. The growth in the use of hardwoods compounded the issue. Coatings that gave excellent service on pressure-treated lumber really didn’t bond as well to these incredibly dense hardwoods. The trade had to learn a lot of what it already knew all over again. Suddenly it became important to really understand how each type of wood reacted with each type of cleaner and what pH every different sealer preferred on the surface of each wood in order to maximize the bond between them. Much of this had to be learned through trial and error as all of these changes came – one on top of the other. Together we learned there was nothing casual or easy about deck restoration any more. We quickly learned that the time to determine what you would use to clean or strip the wood is at the time you do the estimate. You must verify what you are facing on your first visit to the property, and you had to develop a complete plan of the best path for each job to get the results you wanted. You had to completely set the customer’s expectations before you gave them a price, too. Once you have given a customer a price, it is



too late to go back and ask for more because you didn’t understand what you were looking at. In essence, the trade grew up. It became the norm to explain to your customer that, as their contractor, you would assume responsibility to take care of the deck with a plan to come back again and again to maintain what you did.

Product Selection

Starting with the simplest projects, some choices are easy. If there’s no finish on a

pressure-treated or softwood deck that has to be removed, most professionals select a percarbonate-based cleaner or a bleach-based cleaner. The percarbonate cleaners will kill mold, remove dead gray wood fibers, and leave the deck clean and ready to seal. More aggressive percarbonates are available with alkaline boosters that are used on wood decks and artificial lumber like Trex or TimberTech these days. A sodium hypochlorite-based cleaner (bleach with good low-foaming wood surfactants included) accomplishes the same things, but with some caveats. Bleach will work faster but remove the wood’s natural

color. It introduces more risk of damage to the wood and to nearby landscape features. Hardwoods don’t like percarbonates, and sodium hydroxide mixes are the choice for those surfaces.

Pre-Existing Finishes

If there is an existing finish on the wood, it sets up the two-fold challenge we face today

as professionals – identifying the product used on the deck before and figuring out how to remove it. Ninety-five percent of all sealers have to be removed from the wood for one simple basic reason – sealers are designed to bond to wood, not to old coatings. Applying over a pre-existing coating does one of two things – it either begins to choke off the wood so it can’t breathe in and out, or it fails to bond well and peels or flakes or just washes off the surface over time. The first part of the challenge – identifying the existing finish – is difficult. We developed a couple of simple tools years ago that we still use today. The first thing we do once we understand that there is a finish on the wood is perform a “test patch.” We use a strong alkaline deck stripper (made with sodium hydroxide, a caustic or base chemical). We select a spot where the sealer is likely to be tough to strip, and we apply the stripper to it. If the sealer “moves” after five or ten minutes, we know this is an oil sealer and we can remove it easily and inexpensively. If the sealer does not “move” then we know we have something else – likely a water-borne sealer. The next test we do is an alcohol swipe to see if color will come off of the old sealer. If it does, we know we have an acrylic sealer. If no

Applying stripper to deck to remove pre-existing coating. See the finished project on Page 12.

Before (left) and After (right) cleaning


Photos courtesy of Deck Restoration Plus


leaving TOO MUCH on the table?

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color comes off, we have something different on the deck that most smart contractors will simply walk away from. In this case, you could be looking at sanding the entire surface to get rid of the old coating. Once we have identified the product we need to strip, we can figure out what we need to get it off the wood. If the product is oil, a sodium hydroxide-based stripper will remove it. The stronger the sodium hydroxide content and the better the surfactants are in the formula, the better and faster the product will work. If the product is an acrylic product, a solvent-based stripper (frequently mixed with a strong sodium hydroxide stripper) will break through the finish eventually and you will likely be able to remove about 90 percent of the product with patience and a good formula. As sealers get stronger and tougher, so do the strippers meant to remove them. When it comes to selling deck strippers and brighteners, the big-box stores (who cater to the general public as well as to contractors) run headlong into their own attorneys about what to offer for sale. When a food giant like McDonald’s was sued because their coffee was too hot, lawyers everywhere began to question what their own companies were selling to the public. Strict limits on the strength of chemical cleaners were self-imposed. Specialty suppliers, however, continue to offer exceptionally strong products under the disclaimer that they sell these products only to seasoned professionals who know how to handle strong strippers. A look at any product’s MSDS reveals the concentration of sodium hydroxide in any caustic deck stripper, so finding out the strength of those products is pretty simple. The surfactants vary significantly, however, so a little trial and error of different products will tell you which ones work best for you. When selecting a solvent-based stripper, the same approach will work. It is not my place to tell you what brands to buy, but I do know that a performance guarantee by the manufacturer might be invaluable when choosing any deck stripper. If a good company stands behind their product, and replaces product that does not perform even though you follow the label instructions to


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the letter, this will have a major impact on the cost of doing a job.

Wood Brightening

Once you have cleaned or stripped the deck, the next phase of the project is to brighten

the wood. Brighteners are always acidic and may be made with a single acid – usually oxalic acid. Old-timers used to call oxalic acid “wood bleach” because of the effect it has on the tannins in the wood. A brightener will leave the natural color in the wood and drive the tannins down beneath the surface, leaving the wood

looking as close to new as old boards can. Brighteners should be simple acids without any surfactants. More refined brighteners include a number of acids and buffers in different combinations. The primary purpose for using a blend of acids is better brightening power for many different kinds of wood. Using a combination of acids also reduces the user’s overall exposure to oxalic acid, which can be hazardous to the body in very large doses. I don’t mean to suggest that there is an imminent danger to your health from exposure

Pressure treated wood containing Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) has not been

produced for residential use since 2003, but many homes still have it. When restoring pressure treated wood, you must take a different approach. First, pressure treated wood is a soft wood, meaning you have to wash with low water pressure – no more than 600 to 800 psi – to remove mold, algae and any past finishes. High pressure damages the wood and guarantees you will have to sand the wood before moving forward. Instead, allow your cleaning solutions and strippers to do the work for you. I also re-sink or even replace nails and screws in pretreated wood decks because the soft wood often gives with its environment, sometime repositioning itself due to the loose grip of the hardware used. It is not uncommon to replace nails or screws either due to rust or grip failure. I generally use galvanized wood screws because they repel rust and premature aging. The best finishes for pressure treated wood offer ultraviolet protection, repel water and stop mildew growth. The Environmental Protection Agency has also said that applying penetrating stains to CCA-treated decks at least once a year may even reduce potential exposure to arsenic. Stains and sealers can be either oil- or water-based, and both have advantages and

disadvantages, depending on your main concerns. Oil-based products usually offer a richer color, deeper penetration and longer life, but they are messier, less environmentally friendly, harder to apply and take longer to cure. Oils also keep the wood soft. Semi transparent or semi solid oil finishes allow your customers to see the natural beauty of the wood grains. Even the same product will work differently on different wood and under different conditions, including climate, wear and moisture. I’m seeing more and more uses of exotic woods, whether they are built with new homes or later added as replacements or additions to older homes. Some require re-spraying them every six months in order to maintain their beauty. Finally, another option some contractors offer but I recommend avoiding is painting a deck. Paint does not allow the wood to breathe, causing it to dry out and prematurely crack and warp. Adrian Carrier has owned ABC Pressure Washing & Deck Rescue in Houston since 2003. To learn more, visit his website at www.ABCPressureWashing.com.

Cleaning Pressure Treated Wood by Adrian B. Carrier, ABC Pressure Washing & Deck Rescue


to oxalic acid – particularly in the amounts and concentrations that wood restoration professionals are exposed to on a regular basis. I do wish to suggest that avoiding ingestion or inhaling of oxalic fumes and minimizing your exposure over time is generally considered to be a good idea. Using a blend of different acids that give you as good or better results is one good way to minimize your total exposure. Googling “health effects of oxalic acid” will give you a lot of information about this topic. In everything you read, you will find that casual exposure is not a problem. As a professional deck restoration contractor, you have an obligation to yourself and your employees to understand exactly what you are buying. Looking at most MSDS sheets for wood brighteners will reveal the oxalic acid’s strength. It may or may not reveal the other acids used in the mix if the product is a blend, and even if it identifies one or more other acids it may not reflect the overall strength of those acids unless they represent some form of health risk. Other acids used include phosphoric acid, citric acid, and similar products.

Sealers

Once the deck is brightened (following all label instructions for your product of

choice) the next step is to apply sealer. Most professionals still believe that using an oil-based sealer is best for the wood. Adding oil to wood has been a natural way to protect wood for thousands of years. Oils may be derived from crude oil (paraffinic oil) or from plants (linseed oil and others). Oils may be described as drying oils or non-drying oils or “long” oils or “short” oils, but the bottom line is that any oil used for sealing or protecting wood is derived either from crude or from plants. Most oil sealers have several things in common, but they also have stark differences.

They all replenish the natural moisture in wood and preserve the wood. One of the primary differences is that plant-based oil dries on the top of the wood, forming a film or coating. Crude-based oil tends to penetrate the wood and leave nothing on the surface. Professionals select oils because they are good for the wood and because they are good for the contractor. They are relatively inexpensive, and can be easily stripped off with an alkaline deck stripper – making it possible for a customer to have a different finish or color at any time. They are easy to maintain, and some may even be re-applied without stripping the old layer off. DIY’ers and the jack-of-all-trades guy often opt for water-borne finishes because they are easy to buy, relatively inexpensive, easy to clean up (the tools) after an application, and because of the tremendous marketing efforts of manufacturers to reach the public at large. Water-borne sealers, on the other hand, represent a nightmare when they have to be removed for regular deck maintenance.

Top photo: Example of the difference between just cleaning and cleaning/sealing.

Bottom Photo: The three stages of wood restoration. The black area is the deck stripper melting away the old finish. The brown area is after the finish, mold, mildew, etc. have been rinsed away. The golden area is after the wood brightener has been applied.



All that said, water-borne acrylic sealers may be entirely appropriate for some situations. I recommend acrylic sealer when the wood you are caring for is over a lake, stream, or river for example. A water-borne sealer won’t ever cause a fish-kill if spilled into a waterway. That is important for customer relations and ecological reasons. The drawback of using an acrylic sealer is that a few years down the road that acrylic finish will crack and flake off. When this happens, there is little you can do except to blast off what is loose and re-coat the wood. The Army Corps of Engineers, which controls most of the waters in the southeast where I live, insists that wood docks can only be cleaned with clear water. Their favorite saying is “water in, water out” when referring to pressure washing docks. If you are forced to clean wood without the aid of a wood detergent (stripper), you will naturally end up using high pressure and you will damage the surface of the wood with that amount of pressure. Applying an acrylic coating after a brutal cleaning method like that will at least mend the surface a bit and make it smooth enough to walk on with bare feet. As negative as this process sounds, most dock owners expect to replace dock boards a few times over the life of a dock, and using any sealer – even an acrylic – will extend the life of the wood by years. Many contractors opt to use acrylic sealers on Ipé and other Brazilian hardwoods because penetrating oil sealers must be re-applied about every six months to work properly. I don’t like using those coatings because they tend to scratch and show wear over time. I prefer to use an oil, and prefer to sell my customer on a regular service where the deck is renewed and beautified every six months. As always, there are many different ways to make the customer happy, and we all have

our preferences. No one is right and no one is wrong when talking about hardwoods. No sealer is perfect for them. In the end, we are all in business to make a profit. Some people believe that the most profitable way to operate is to save as much as they can by buying the cheapest cleaners and sealers. As a veteran, I can tell you that quality products do a better, faster job. Getting off the job in less time puts more green in your wallet than the savings you might see on cheaper cleaners. Sealers are much the same, since the sealer you use becomes the identity of the company you operate. If you want to command quality prices, you must use quality materials. Using the same products every time is how a contractor becomes a professional. If a contractor changes products every day according to what the customer asks that contractor to apply, then the customer is in the role of expert and the contractor is simply labor. This leads to getting less money – not more – for any job. Similarly, using a product from a big box store may be convenient, but it doesn’t separate you from the pack. If you use the same product as the next guy, the customer will believe the only difference between the two contractors is price. Good luck with your business! Pete Marentay is the owner of Sun Brite Supply in Lawrenceville, Georgia. He is one of the most recognized people for wood care information in the industry. Pete was involved in creating and teaching the first wood restoration class offered (in 1998-99) and still teaches wood classes to this day. He is currently the moderator for the Wood forum on PWI and an instructor for Contractor’s Foundation.

If you would like to get your hands on my powerful formula that helps new contractors bid accurately from day one, simply email me at [email protected]. All I ask is that you include all of your contact information (name, company name, full address, phone, etc.) with any request for information, so that I can send you additional information about my products as the weather warms up this deck season.



As business owners, often we are tempted to throw many resources into marketing and advertising in order to grow our businesses as fast as possible. We mistakenly believe that once we hit a certain sales volume we can hire some people and we will be “done.” The fact is your business will never be “done.” So, as business owners, we need to embrace the ever-changing business climate and let our businesses grow organically. Anything else will cause unnecessary stress and tension. Belowyouwillseethefivemostcommonmistakes business owners make when looking to grow their business. 1. Growing too fast. If you are like me, when you started your business you set out to rule the world. We wanted what we wanted and we wanted it NOW. I think it’s great to set goals and be motivated to achieve them. However, make sure they are S.M.A.R.T. (Specific,Measurable, Achievable, Results-Oriented, Time Frame) goals, and that the time frame in which you want to achieve them is realistic. Keep in mind that if we are lucky enough to grow our businesses fast, we need to be cautious not to lose control. 2. Not knowing your “A” customers and where to find them. I like to grade my customers on the classic academic grading scale of A, B, C, D. Grade them based on how valuable they are to you and your company. How much annual revenue do they produce? How fast do they pay their bills? How muchprofitisintheirjobs? After you have gone through your database and graded all your customers, take a close look at your C and D customers to see what it will take to make them A or B customers. Then focus your resources on delivering your best services to those customers. Thesearethefirststepstocreatingareferral-generating machine.

3. Test and Measure. You can’t manage what you don’t measure. You would be surprised at the number of business owners I run into who have no idea of where their customers come from. They really aren’t sure where they get their leads. They then wonder where they should invest their marketing dollars. Of course, you don’t know where to spend your marketing budget if you aren’t measuring it. Business is a game. How do you know if you are winning or losing if you don’t keep score? 4.Trust Your Team. In the cycle of business, the purpose of your team is to take care of your customers. Your customers in turn take care of the business, and the business then takes care of you, the owner. In order for this cycle to work properly you must have a team that you can trust. There is no shortcut for building trust in your team members. 5. Effective Advertising. After you’ve established a true test and measure process, you need to look at which forms of marketing are most effective and which ones you should get rid of. Thefifthcommonmistakeisinvestingresourcesin advertising or marketing that doesn’t work. Business owners often tend to make these decisions with their gut then stick with the decision even with limited results. With any type of investment it is best to start small and see what works for your business before getting heavily invested. Jason T. Vance has been in the cleaning business for 20 years. He owns and operates www.windowbrothers.com, a commercial and residential window cleaning company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Jason strongly believes in the benefits of business coaching. He has a great time helping business owners learn to make a lot more money, get highly organized, and in the process, become successful entrepreneurs. Get a copy of his FREE report called: “How to Increase your Profits for your SEASONAL Business in 3 FREE Steps.” Get yours at www.jasonvance.biz.

Five Common Mistakes to Avoid When Growing Your Business by Jason T. Vance, founder of Window

Brothers and TheServiceCoach.com


As any experienced commercial pressure washer knows, pressure washing

equipment is anything but intuitive. To become successful professional power washers, employees must receive training in how to properly use pressure-washing equipment. Outlined below are the essential elements of a pressure washing employee training program.

Avoiding Injuries

Pressure washing equipment is extremely powerful. Commercial pressure washers can

emit water at 4,000 pounds per square inch. That level of pressure will certainly blast away grime, but if used improperly it can also cause serious injury. A few of those injuries are listed below: • Abrasions. Just as with guns, pressure washing equipment should never be aimed at people or pets. Should a person be hit with a commercial pressure washer, painful skin abrasions can occur. A power washer is strong enough to sweep away entire layers of skin. And if such injuries are not properly treated, they can become infected. Commercial pressure washers are also strong enough to lift and throw objects, which can be dangerous if they strike others. • Electric shock. Some pressure washers are powered by electricity. If safety precautions are not followed, electric shock can occur while using these machines. Workers must understand the importance of wearing rubber-soled shoes, which will not conduct as much

electricity if an accident does occur. They should also be taught to avoid dragging power cords into puddles and to use GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter) plugs. • Monoxide poisoning. Other power washers are gas powered. If they are used in confined spaces, monoxide poisoning can ensue.

Preventing Property Damage

Employees must also be trained in how to apply the proper pressure levels, cleaning

solutions and techniques for various materials. If too much pressure is applied or the wrong tip is used, softer materials such as wood can sustain serious damage. Choosing the correct cleaning solution for the job is also crucial. Some pressure washing equipment is outfitted to spray chemical cleaning solutions as well as water. This comes in handy when extremely greasy or oily stains must be removed. However, if the wrong kind of cleaning solution is applied, a pressure washer might also eat away at underlying material, causing permanent damage. Commercial pressure washers must train their employees in how to safely remove all kinds of grime from all kinds of materials – as well as how to safely handle cleaning products.

Maintaining Pressure Washing Equipment

Today’s commercial pressure washers can clean with cold water, hot water or

steam. As mentioned above, they may also

Commercial Pressure Washing: Essential Elements of an Employee Training Program

by Paul Horsley, Scotts Pressure WashingPublisher of PCC Magazine


be able to shoot special cleaning solutions. In other words, these are complex machines that require regular maintenance. Employees must be trained in how to use power washing machines properly. As workers become more experienced, they may also be trained in how to conduct maintenance by changing a machine’s oil, repairing faulty pumps, refueling or any number of other tasks.

Protecting the Environment

Wastewater from power washing operations can harm downstream life forms. Heavy

metals and other toxins are removed during pressure washing; these chemicals can be deadly to flora and fauna. Environmentally aware commercial power washers prevent ecological damage by collecting their wastewater and transporting it to the proper disposal facilities. Eco-friendly cleaning solutions also help prevent environmental damage. In certain parts of the country, such as

Colorado and California, these green power washing techniques are required by law. In these locations, employees must receive training in green power washing. In other areas, a commercial pressure washer may choose to educate employees on green techniques as a way of protecting the Earth and garnering new business. Pressure washing employees should be trained to avoid injury, prevent damage and maintain equipment. Depending on commercial pressure washers’ locations, local laws may also require environmental cleanup. If you operate a power washing business, make sure to provide comprehensive training to protect your employees and your brand. You will also want to carry three types of power washing insurance: workers’ compensation (in case your employee is injured), liability insurance (in case your client’s property is damaged) and equipment insurance (to protect your investment in your pressure washing equipment).

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In April, over 100 business owners are expected to head to San Francisco for the International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association’s (IKECA) Annual Membership Meeting. Founded in 1989, IKECA is a non-profit organization that is “committed to fire prevention and life safety by promoting kitchen exhaust cleaning to a higher standard.” Before a company can become an IKECA member, at least one staff member must pass the Certified Exhaust Cleaning Specialist (CECS) program. Due to the danger of restaurant fires, some jurisdictions are even beginning to require IKECA certification before kitchen exhaust cleaners (KEC) can bid on jobs. To retain CECS certification status, IKECA members must maintain at least two continuing education credits every 12 months. The Annual Membership Meeting provides

these credits, not to mention the opportunity to gain smart business practices and learn about industry innovations and trends. “Attendees not only get continuing education, they also gain the confidence that comes from knowing they’re up to date on the industry’s technology and hot topics,” explained Marketing Chair Kathy Slomer of Kool Kleen in Murrysville, Penn., who has been involved with the association for over 17 years. IKECA’s Annual Membership Meeting is an “owner’s conference” designed for the decision makers of KEC companies, explained Slomer. In October, IKECA will sponsor its annual Technical Seminar in Indiana, which has more technical and how-to information, along with three tracks: one for technicians, one for management, and one for business owners.

International Kitchen Exhaust Cleaning Association (IKECA)

2012 Annual Membership MeetingApril 11 - 14

San Francisco, California

Wednesday, April 116:30 pm – 8:00 pm, Welcome Reception with Exhibitors

Thursday, April 128:00 am – 5:00 pm, Exhibit Hall Open8:30 am – 9:15 am, Roundtable Discussions – ANSI & IKECA9:30 am – 10:00 am, President’s Welcome10:00 am – 11:30 am, Keynote Speaker: How to be Wildly Successful in Today’s Economy 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm, C-10 Standard for Cleaning of Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems3:30 pm – 5:00 pm, Cash Flow Budgeting & Collections5:30 pm – 7:00 pm, Associate Member Hosted Receptions (by invite)

Friday, April 137:30 am – 5:00 pm, Exhibit Hall Open7:45 am – 8:30 am, Breakfast with Committee Meetings8:30 am – 9:00 am, Roundtable Discussions9:00 am – 10:30 am, Meet the AHJs10:45 am – 12:15 pm, Halton Introduces the Grease Duct Safety & Monitoring System1:15 pm – 2:15 pm, Annual Membership Meeting2:45 pm – 3:45 pm, Maximizing Your Local Presence to Impact Your Bottom Line (Kathy Slomer & Grant Mogford)3:15 pm – 5:15 pm, Analyzing Key Performance in Your Service Department

Saturday, April 148:00 – Noon Teambuilding Instructions and Adventures9:30am–12:00pm,CertificationExams12:00 pm – 1:00 pm, Scavenger Hunt Findings & Closing Remarks

2012 Annual Membership Meeting Schedule


23Pressure Cleaning Contractor March 2012 www.PWCMag.com 23

The Program On Wednesday, April 11, IKECA will host a special training session for local fire authorities. “We had a huge number participate last year as we helped them understand why what we do is a life safety issue,” said Slomer. The meeting officially begins Wednesday night at 6:30 at the welcome reception. The program begins Thursday morning, with round tables to discuss the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) and IKECA. Another important presentation takes place on Thursday at 12:30, during which information on the ANSI C-10 Standard for Cleaning of Commercial Kitchen Exhaust Systems, written by IKECA, will be introduced. A top feature of this year’s event is Keynote Speaker Tom Grandy of Grandy and Associates, a consultant who provides training exclusively to service trades. (See Tom Grandy’s article on collections below.) Grandy will be giving three business-related presentations on the topics of how to be successful in a down economy, cash flow budgeting and collections, and analyzing key performance indicators in your service department. Throughout the event, there will be numerous networking opportunites with event

Even if you are priced perfectly from a cash-flow perspective, if you don’t collect the money it’s as if you never did the job. Actually it’s worse. You have invested and paid for labor, materials and overhead, but you have not received the customer’s payment.Now let’s face it. Some people, for whatever reason, will not pay their invoice when the job is completed. This article will cover a simple, but effective, collections policy to get those last dollars in.

Begin by Focusing It is a simple principle, but it’s true. What you focus on gets done! If the focus of the company is selling maintenance agreements, maintenance agreements get sold. If you focus on customer service, all employees become engaged and you have happy customers. Well guess what? If you will focus on collections, a strange thing will happen – your unpaid invoices will be paid.

A Simple Collections Policy Really Does Help Cash Flow

by Tom Grandy, Founder of Grandy Associates and Keynote Speaker for April’s IKECA Annual Membership Meeting

sponsors and with fellow business owners. “We have a diverse and knowledgeable group and when we are all together as an association the knowledge is incredible,” said Slomer. “It’s not stuff you’re going to find online or by reading a book. It’s talking with people who do what you do every day internationally.” The Annual Meeting will also host a number of industry exhibitors, who will be accessible throughout the event, including a “speed dating with exhibitors” session on Thursday afternoon. Sponsorship/exhibitor opportunities are still available for the meeting. Ending the event is a new team-building exercise that will take place on Saturday. Participants will be broken into diverse groups for a KEC “scavenger hunt” in the city. Groups will travel to various San Francisco area restaurants and look for and photograph problems with their exhaust systems. The photos will later be placed on IKECA’s website. Those interested in certification will also have the opportunity to test on Saturday morning. To learn more about the Annual Meeting or about IKECA in general, please visit their website at www.IKECA.org, call 215-320-3876 or [email protected].

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Pressure Cleaning Contractor March 2012 www.PWCMag.com

24 Pressure Cleaning Contractor March 2012 www.PWCMag.com24 Pressure Cleaning Contractor March 2012 www.PWCMag.com

guess what? If you will focus on collections, a strange thing will happen – your unpaid invoices will be paid. Many of our training programs are sponsored by distributors. When the boot camp is over, I often ask the distributor what percentage of their contractors pay every month, within the 30-day pay period. Most tell me 10 to 15 percent of their entire customer base pays every month, on time. However, during one presentation I asked the question. In this case a distributor had several family members working in the company, so each had a vested interest in making the company profitable. One family member’s total job was collections. That person followed up with every contractor, every month, if they were even one day past due paying their bill. Do you know what percentage of their contractors paid on time? Ninety-five percent. How did they do it? They focused on that part of their business and got very positive results!

Create a Plan Now let’s talk about the customers who do not pay you when the job is completed. If you want to collect their money you will need a plan. A system must be put into place and followed. Let’s look at a very simple collections plan: • Have a written policy – Be sure the collections policy is well thought out and in writing. Every person that has any part in collecting money should be thoroughly familiar with the “company policy” when it comes to collections. • Have a stated time for invoicing to take place – Your policy should be that an installation job or service call will be invoiced the same day it is completed, or at least within 24 hours. Do not wait until the end of the week or month to invoice the customer. • When payment is past due, a second notice should be sent out IMMEDIATELY, requesting payment within 10 days. Make a note. Send out a statement when payment is not received. Again, you would be amazed at the number of contractors that send out the original bill and then never send a follow-up statement when payment is not made. When the statement is sent out, request payment

within 10 days. There is no reason to allow them an additional 30 days to pay their now overdue invoice! • If payment is not made in 10 days, then call the customer and find out why. Have someone in the office make the initial call, not the owner or manager. About 70 percent of the time customers will pay their bills when they receive a physical phone call. Yes, you will get all kinds of excuses: We never got the invoice. It must have been lost in the mail. Are you sure you sent one? However, when the initial call is made, most customers will pay their bill. Be sure the office person making the call keeps a detailed log on the customer. When was the call made? Who did they talk to? Before the phone call ends, ask the customer when they will be writing you a check. Keeping good records may become very helpful if you ever have to go to small claims court. The person with the detailed records is usually the one that wins the case. • Follow up with a second call if payment is not received as promised. This is where you get the owner and/or manager involved. There is something magical about the owner or manager calling the customer. They get results that no one else gets. • Use an attorney or collections agency. Neither of these are usually great options. However, you might want to make a note to call your state bar association and get a list of last year’s law graduates. Believe it or not, not all lawyers are employed and many are underemployed. Give them a call and ask them to write some collections letters for you. When a customer receives a letter from a lawyer, it’s effective and they have no idea if the lawyer is a one-man operation working out of their home or a multi-million dollar law firm. When it comes to collections, you need to have a plan. Take the time to sit down with your team and hammer out a collections policy that works for your company. Tom Grandy will be the keynote speaker during the April IKECA annual meeting, during which he will cover dozens of additional collections ideas. To learn more about the author, visit his website at www.GrandyAssociates.com.


Log Home restoration and maintenance is a specialty service that has the potential to offer great opportunities. There are companies that offer this as a part of their services and there are companies in the niche market that specialize solely in this area of exterior wood restoration. These companies are far and few between, and log cabin owners often have a hard time finding companies that perform this work well and professionally.

The Log Home Market There are over 500,000 log cabins in the United States, with another 20,000-plus being built each year. This is why there are so many opportunities for these services. People who purchase a log home are different from your typical homeowner. They are aware of the cost of continued maintenance on these special structures. Many of these

homeowners are challenged when trying to find a company that can maintain these beautiful homes. Offering log home restoration services has many pluses for your company. These services tend to be both higher dollar projects and higher profit jobs. These jobs, when successfully completed, are personally rewarding as well, as is the positive word-of-mouth advertising they produce. You will not be disappointed in the amount of referrals you will get from one project.

Before Starting When you get a call for one of these jobs, it is best to start keeping records immediately. Having a job sheet with important information on each project is important now and for the future maintenance. Your job sheet should include information like square footage, type

Log Home Restoration

by Everett Abrams, president of Deck Restoration Plus & co-founder of Contractor’s Foundation


of wood, last time it was stained, the age of the home, types of repairs needed, and so on. It is best to obtain as much information from the homeowner prior to meeting them for an estimate. It always helps to be prepared and you will be able to gauge their knowledge of the job as well. These homeowners tend to be both more knowledgeable and handy when it comes to the maintenance of their home. During the estimate, you should ask to inspect the interior of the house regardless of whether you are performing any interior restoration or not. You are looking for problem areas and any existing water stains. It is recommended that you document these items as well as take pictures, as you do not want to be blamed for an existing problem. It is also wise to include the term “not responsible for pre-existing conditions” in these contracts/estimates. Your estimate should be detailed in what services you will provide. Each project is different and there are different methods used for the restoration of log cabins. Your estimate should inform the homeowner how you will be performing the work, whether or not you will be using a pressure washer, media blasting – and if so, what type of media will be used – or by hand with little-to-no machinery. This may save you any issues down the road with a homeowner who does not fully understand the difficulty in these types of jobs. The easiest job is when you get a brand new cabin to preserve and maintain. However, this is seldom the case with these homes. Most of the time you will be dealing with previously-

coated homes and often times with homes that have multiple or failing coats. These are not easy jobs to do correctly and painters, pressure washers, and homeowners often make these jobs harder by improperly performing this work. You must first inspect the log cabin thoroughly before determining how to proceed. During the estimate, you should inspect the logs for any rot. This can be done in a number of ways. Often contractors use a screwdriver or hammer to tap and push into the wood looking for rot. A very good tool for this is a wood prodding tool used by pesticide companies that specialize in termites. Any place where water stains are present or any logs that are rotten should be fixed prior to moving on to the next step.

Three Restoration Processes At this point, if we are using a pressure washer to clean, strip, and restore the logs, it is more important than ever to use the proper products and correct dwell times. 1. Pressure Washing: Your goal is to use as little water as possible at the lowest pressure possible to rinse off the melted old finish(es), mold, mildew, etc., to get the job done. This is actually the correct way to restore any exterior wood when using a pressure washer. The machine should be used as a big “rinsing tool” only! The “work” is performed by the cleaners and strippers, relying on the recommended dwell times for each. “Dwell time” is defined as the amount of time a product is left on a surface to effectively do the work. The problem with using a pressure

Before (left) & After


washer is that if there is any damage, the machine usually ends up getting blamed. In cases that involve legal action, there are many “experts” who will testify on the damage caused by these machines. I have given testimony in one case that had nearly $500,000 in damages. There is a lot of negativity about using a pressure washer for wood restoration that should be more attributed to lack of knowledge. You will want to take a lot of pictures for documentation on these projects and strictly adhere to industry standards. 2. Hand Applying: Another alternative is to apply the solutions by hand or with a pump-up or low-volume sprayer and agitate with stiff bristle brushes. After allowing for the proper dwell time, you can rinse with a garden hose and a stiff-bristle brush. The goal here is to let the water run down the surface of the logs only. After both of these methods, you will apply a wood brightener to the surfaces prior to sealing or staining to neutralize the surfaces and open the pores of the wood for three main reasons: durability, better adhesion, and for a better application of any borate treatment. 3. Media Blasting: Cob blasting is the most common with regards to log cabins. Corn cob media is combined with high volume compressed air to remove old coatings. On thicker and multi-coat surfaces, some contractors use sand or crushed glass as well. However, if using these other media alternatives, be prepared to hand sand the logs. Regardless of what media you use, you will change the logs to a rougher surface. One of the advantages to cob blasting is that there is no water involved. You will not have to worry about water leaking to the inside and damaging the interior or left over moisture between logs that may lead to mold growth under the stain. Another advantage is that corn cob media is biodegradable and safe for the environment. The biggest disadvantage is the cleanup. Do not expect, nor promise, to

clean up corn cob media 100 percent. This media gets everywhere and it will be around for a bit. If it can get inside the home, it will. The best practice here is to inform the homeowner of this prior to beginning the job.

Treating, Staining and Sealing At this point, prior to staining, if you are going to be applying a borate treatment, now it the time to do it. A borate treatment is applied to prevent wood-destroying insects from damaging the logs. This is meant to be a preventive measure and will not necessarily be effective for an existing condition. Staining and sealing log cabins should always include the use of a brush. Many companies use a brush method only because of challenges with chinking. This is still considered the best method to achieve the highest quality work. If you use an airless sprayer, make sure to carefully tape and prep all surfaces. DO NOT SPRAY on a windy day, as overspray can carry a great distance. When using a spray method, it is best to back brush the surfaces before the stain dries. The key to a beautifully restored cabin is in the preparation. Address all discolored, uneven areas, and rough surfaces that need to be sanded prior to staining. Over time, the sides of the cabin will wear unevenly. For instance, the sunny side of the house will look different than the shaded side of the house. Keeping the exterior looking consistent over the years can be a challenge.

Before (left) & After

Using a cob blaster, the most common media used in log cabin restoration.


ALWAYS use a stain on logs and not paint. Stains allow wood to breathe and keep from rotting. Most companies and homeowners use a tinted sealer or a semi-transparent stain on log cabins. Using a solid stain will hide the wood characteristics and is more film forming, which will pop and peel as the wood expands and contracts. There is another desirable option and that is to intermix the desired semi-transparent color with a natural sealer at a 50/50 ratio. This will allow more of the natural grain to show through while giving a more consistent finish and hide some of the light variances in the wood while still providing protection.

Additional Service When restoring log cabins, another service you will want to provide is caulking and chinking. Chinking and caulk are used to fill gaps between logs, or between logs and windows, doors, roof lines, etc., where water, air, insects, and pests can enter the log cabin. Chinking is now more flexible and “moves” with the wood during expansion and contraction of the logs. Chinking is like caulk with fine sand particles in it and comes in various colors and tones to suit any situation. Generally, for areas up to one-half inch, you will use caulk. For anything over one-half inch you will use chinking. In older cabins, mortar and other materials were used for chinking but it is now obsolete because of the lack of flexibility, issues with bonding, and cracking. Chinking can be used in both older and newer cabins, but will often need backer rods or foam installed prior to chinking. This helps seal and gives a flat surface for the chinking to be applied. Chinking can be applied by bag (like a pastry bag), a caulk gun, or by a pump. Another service you may offer is log replacement and repair. This is no easy task and involves different tools and equipment to be used. When removing a rotted log, you may have to support the building which could involve jacks, braces and supports. One way to replace

a log is to slide the new log in as you take out the old one. In other cases, you may only be performing repairs to parts of the logs. For example, the butts and tips often rot and are cut out by a chainsaw and the ends replaced with the new piece. On whole logs where the surface may have rotted, you will use a chainsaw and a chisel to remove the rotted area and a half log is installed over top of the existing piece. These services are costly for the homeowner and very profitable for the company. Finally, when the job is completed, always ask for a referral. Don’t forget to take plenty of pictures to add to your portfolio that will help secure future work as well as use in your advertising. Also, explain your future maintenance program and plan for the cabin and when you expect to be out next. This should now be a customer for life with a steady future income for you! Everett Abrams is the president of Deck Restoration Plus (www.deckrestorationplus.com), which specializes in exterior wood restoration, repairs, and maintenance. Everett is also the co-founder of Contractors Foundation (contractorsfoundation.com), which educates and supports contractors to operate successful companies. Log home restoration is part of the Advanced Wood Class offered by Contractors Foundation.

march 2012 pressure cleaning contractor: the wood restoration issue

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