Forum

Replies

• 

  Lawncare-4u.co.uk May 24, 2010 at 10:02am

  its a horrible job - but makes a change and a job is a job , if u have time .
  
  nice to see a good result/clean pateo.
  
  i like using eco-chem spray to remove moss/algae , but realise they need jet-wash after at some point to make it ideal.
  
  ita a messy / pain of a job so needs to be charged accordingly, but they dont seem to want to pay much.
• 

  Sam Price May 24, 2010 at 10:51am

  Thanks for the reply Robin. I'd be doing the cleaning / maintanance myself so not too fussed about the time / charge out rate side of things, just the end result. If it takes me 4 times longer to clean it by hand compared to jet washing but the results are better then I'd go for the hand cleaning route every time.
  
  Also, thanks for the tip on eco-chem spray. I'll have a look at it.
  
  Sam
• 

  Neil Bishop May 24, 2010 at 1:41pm

  I may be in the minority but I love a bit of jet washing! I always advise my customers of the risks (mortar being lifted/sand coming out from between blocks etc). And then just charge them my £15 hourly rate. And then if there are any repairs to be done then I charge them accordingly.
  
  So get your waterproofs on, the jet washer going, turn your iPod up and earn some easy money!
• PRO

  Gary RK May 24, 2010 at 4:00pm

  When we get patio / paviour cleaning jobs I tend to take on myself as I find them funnily therapeutic !!
  
  I will always assess the material/pointing first and advise possible problems and get it signed off first.
  
  If it's too flaky to jet wash, then I sometime defer to using MMC Pro and a light wash/scrub with a stiff broom.
  
  I use a 13hp Honda powered jet wash BUT with a commercial patio cleaner attachment (it has 2 contra-rotating booms underneath a circular canopy on castor wheels). It means you end up being consistant and are less likely to end with 'stripes' showing a while after jet washing.
  
  Also, you don't tend to get as wet/splattered.
  
  Horrible jobs we get are jet washing out refuse areas on the commercial sites we maintain....urghhh, but you have to take the rough with the smooth.....
• PRO

  Gary RK May 24, 2010 at 4:30pm

  I get the 'point' ;-))
  
  Alan Welsh said:

  Don't worry too much about lifting mortar from joints-you could always purchase one of my pointing templates and rectify the situation in no time. Or else 'point' your customers to do it themselves and give them my contact.
• 

  Kirsty Blair May 24, 2010 at 10:34pm

  Just spent the day pressure washing a few patios - its not something I advertise or do regularily so its just a 59.99 electric machine I'm afraid! Cleaned the patios up no problems - I do use a concrete cleaner 1st though so it gets most of the marks off without an issue.
  
  I can see the point spending the money on m/cery if your doing it alot - for me the cheapy m/c is adequate as it sits in the garage for about 320 days a yr.
• 

  Sam Price May 25, 2010 at 7:55am

  Thanks for all of the replies everyone, it's much appreciated.
  
  Alan,
  I've ordered one of your pointrite's to try out as it looks like a superb bit of kit (particularly for the 'amateur' pointer like myself!) I tend to take ages on this sort of thing getting it looking spot on so this should hopefully save me loads of time. Thanks for the tip off and good luck with marketing it. Once I've used it I'll drop you a email to let you know how I got on with it.
  
  Kirsty (and anyone else),
  Out of interest, what make of patio cleaners do you recommend? I've had eco-chem mentioned so far.
  
  Sam
• PRO

  Gary RK May 25, 2010 at 2:47pm

  Hi,
  
  I use these guys, generally good counter and mail order service with good range:
  
  http://www.northerntooluk.com/pressure-washers/petrol-pressure-washers
  http://www.northerntooluk.com/pressure-washer-accessories/general-a...
  
  If you want to go down this route as a means of business, ensure you select either a honda petrol or one of the diesel models (which tend to be higher rated).
  
  Absolutely make sure you know its' duty cycle' and that the pump is commercially 'rated' with spares available.
  
  You need larger jobs to make it work and thus you could be using it for hours and hours. It needs to be reliable and economical with easy to use grips.
  
  Ditto what Paul said...
  
  
  Sam Price said:

  Thanks for all of the replies everyone, it's much appreciated.
  
  Alan,
  I've ordered one of your pointrite's to try out as it looks like a superb bit of kit (particularly for the 'amateur' pointer like myself!) I tend to take ages on this sort of thing getting it looking spot on so this should hopefully save me loads of time. Thanks for the tip off and good luck with marketing it. Once I've used it I'll drop you a email to let you know how I got on with it.
  
  Kirsty (and anyone else),
  Out of interest, what make of patio cleaners do you recommend? I've had eco-chem mentioned so far.
  
  Sam
• 

  William Moody May 1, 2011 at 1:51am

  The LPM is is the most important factor (rate of waterflow). We use Honda 30 lpm machines and they are awesome. The higher the lpm, the quicker work can be completed. They cost a few thousand pounds though. I agree that 15 lpm is the minimum you would want, ideally 21 plus. A rotary surface cleaner is essential such as mosmatic or whirlaway. These cost between £400 and £1000 for a basic model. Good luck with your venture.

   

  
  Paul @ PPCH Services said:

  Colin, there is an easy solution to this. That is to run the hose from the suply into a wheelie bin or 250 litre plastic drum, let this fill then start sucking from this using the machines suction hose.
  
  With most domestic suply pressures you can then operate continuusly, or at worst with breaks every 15 mins for the tank to fill.
  
  colin said:

  one thing to consider with pressure washers is that they will only be able to put out the volume at the rate it goes in.
  
  if you are running it from a standard tap that runs on average 8l per minute its no good thinking that a 15l per minute pressure washer will run at full pressure .
  
  if you are going to run a high pressure cleaner it need a big head of water to start with to sustain its full performance