How’s it going fellas, new here and new to all of this but lots of great info here so thanks. I’m looking to try a side hustle doing something simple such as driveways, patios, sidewalks, etc. My goal is to try and earn some extra money to put away for my daughters college. I work a full time job down here in South Texas area but I get off at 1:30 in the afternoon and off on the weekends so have plenty of time to do something. I know that you guys are professionals and do this for a living and I have much respect for all of you. Also pretty sure you all don’t really like someone like me who is not looking to do this full time but asking for just a little compassion and and advice if possible.
Last year I was tired of how my driveway and sidewalk looked and was going to hire someone but I’m more of a gear head and DIY guy who loves a reason to purchase tools so I ended up purchasing a Simpson Pro Series 2.5 GPA pressure washer, dewalt 18" surface cleaner, better hose, extended wand and some quick disconnect couplings. I did get the pressure washer and surface cleaner for half price on marketplace. Both were brand new in the box. Got up on a Saturday morning and decided to give it a go. I just used water, no pre or post treat and I was completed shocked at how well it turned out. Was such a huge difference that my neighbor asked if I could do his and offered to pay me. I however did it for free. After completing the cleaning I realized how much I enjoyed doing it and ever since then have been thinking if I could do this on the side for some extra income.
I know the equipment that I have is not the professional stuff but is it something I could get started with and if it actually started to take off where I was getting some steady work I would have no problem investing that money into better equipment to tackle more jobs if possible. My buddies dad has been asking me to do his and I’m thinking of doing a couple more free ones for friends and family to gain the experience but also get some before and after pics to show people.
I also attempted to clean the dirt, algae and stains I had on my stucco house with just a pump sprayer and the garden hose. Used some pool bleach, water and dawn soap and it actually worked out pretty good. Not as good as if a professional did it with the right equipment but it looked so much better. Got rid of about 90% of the ugly stuff. I enjoyed that too, something about completing a task and seeing the difference just makes me happy.
Are there any of you guys who do this part time? And advice good or bad would be much appreciated. Thank you and hope you guys have a wonderful day.
Can you do this as a side hustle? Sure. Will people on here be mad about it? Probably not. Can you do it with the equipment you have? Sure, all you need is a hose and a pump sprayer to clean a vinyl house. It will take a lot longer but it can be done.
Technically I do this part time. I don’t want employees and I don’t want to work 60 hours a week. I’m retired from my previous job, so this is my side hustle. No one gave me any crap on this forum, if anything people have been very patient and helpful. I have learned a ton of stuff. Use the search bar and buy Heath’s book @TexasPressureWashing. I think it is only like $99
Thanks fellas. What’s the title of the book? Can I use a Jrod with my 2.5 GPM washer to try and downstream? I’d like to try pre and post treating my buddies dad driveway. I know I can use a pump sprayer to pre and post treat but don’t mind spending a little money to work smarter, not harder.
I still do it part-time. My advice is that it sounds good on the front end, but you really start missing your weekends. On top of that, it’s a bit of a pain paying full overhead but only washing 2 or 3 houses each week. The profits shrink quite a bit.
Never wash a house or driveway without insurance, even for free, unless it’s yours.
I mean I pay for insurance, marketing, my website, my uniform, upkeep on the machinery, my business loan, title and registration fees, my CPA, QuickBooks, phone line, etc.
Harder to pay all of that and keep a profit when you’re only working weekends
Don’t direct people to buy your book that you wrote off of what you learned here. If anything you should let people like this know all the information they need to know is HERE and free. They can look up what the wish and learn directly from the seasoned vets.
Gotcha. Thanks for the info. I’m looking for something on a much smaller scale. Just a few a month is good with me. Guess I’m thinking more of a hobby that I can make a little extra money for my daughter. Not sure if that’s possible though.
I hear ya loud and clear. But please, please hear my words from earlier. Do not wash a house or anything else without insurance. There’s not much lower than an inexperienced person rolling the dice on other people’s investments.
Everyone on here has made expensive mistakes; you’ll get to have some face-palm moments as well. But your clients shouldn’t pick up the bill for them.
Go for it. Probably 50% of the people on this forum don’t have insurance. If you’re just doing driveways and walks with the Simpson, not too much you can hurt unless someone trips over your hose. You start washing houses, probably want the insurance unless you have deep pockets.
Looks like there’s two threads going on here right now. If you can sift through it, my comment still stands. @Racer is one of the most respected people on this forum and for good reason; he’s got years and years of experience. I tend to lean heavily towards the “CYA” side of things. In the end, it’s your decision.
I’m just gonna leave this picture here and remind you that resurfacing driveways isn’t cheap.
Mistakes like this are more prone to happen when you’re starting out and learning both your equipment and what to watch out for on surfaces:
Thanks again for all the info and advice. This is something that I’m still thinking about. At the moment I’m trying to learn as much as I can before attempting to do anything on someone else property. If I do end up doing something I want to keep it simple as possible. My box store simpson and surface cleaner worked pretty good for what I needed at my house when I tried it last year. I’m pretty sure I could have used a pre and post treatment, better equipment and better technique for a more professional look but still looks much better than before. Here are a couple of pics. Please tell me my mistakes and what I could do for a better looking job. Don’t mind the tire tracks down the driveway, I went back and cleaned them up. This was just with water only.
$9.99 or $19.99 for the paperback (thanks Amazon)
