Hey all, I’ve got my setup planned out and i was wondering if any of you have any opinions or experiences with Simpson Pressure washers I plan on getting the Simpson Power Shot 4240 with the Honda Gx390 its 4200Psi and 4.0 Gpm and a 20" Whirl-A-way Surface Cleaner. I know this isn’t the ideal setup for a business but it’ll only be for the first year or so because i cant spend more than $2,000 for the startup also For my 6 months i will only be doing residential concrete cleaning and maybe a porch if the customer requests but i am 17 right now ( I have a fair amount of experience and will not be going in blindly ) and wont be 18 for another 6 months so i can’t really get an insurance policy until then, also my state requires a specialty contractors license if you are going to be legitimate which you need to be at least 18 to apply for. Is it not worth the risk? I do not think anything could really go bad, but i could definitely be wrong. Appreciate any Input!
All I’m going to say is…get a belt drive.
i have looked into them and would prefer one however, the lowest i’m finding them is around $1400 and i am on a pretty tight budget.
Well you could ruin someones siding or paint on their house and be out several thousand dollars, you could break a window and be out a thousand or more. You could ruin a driveway and be out thousands… Vegetation is also easy to kill and can be quite expensive. So I would imagine you’d be hard pressed on a professional forum to find anyone thinking it’s “ok” to operate without insurance.
That being said you can purchase car insurance under 18 why not general liability? Call Erie, Hiscox, or Joseph D Walters and ask if you haven’t.
Also buy a smaller surface cleaner. 1GPM = 4 inches for surface cleaners. Can you use a 20"? Yes. It will slow your cleaning speed down to avoid leaving stripes though.
Yeah i see what your saying, i would have been avoiding any jobs on siding or anything i thought could be damaged but i am probably just gonna make some calls and see if i can get insurance, Thank you!
If you find that you can’t get insurance until you turn 18, then I’d use those 6 months to look for nice used professional grade equipment on the cheap and get another part time job in the meantime. When you get it set up, practice on your friends and family’s homes, but only after much research. Once you turn 18 and ready to pay $50-100/mo for insurance which you absolutely should have for pressure washing imo, you’ll be ready to confidently bid on jobs and perhaps even get some referrals from the friends and neighbors you practiced on.
Also, you’ll be able to find a belt drive or gear drive pressure washer along with a reel or two within this budget if you take your time and look on Craigslist. I’d get a used belt drive or gear drive over a homeowner grade direct drive any day of the week.
@Jakeotheruler good on you jake! Great to see a 17 year old looking at the big picture. Your the man! 
Thanks man, Appreciate it!
My friend, we started with a 4,000 PSI Generator and a 20 inch surface cleaner from Sherwin Williams.
I am 20 years old, I have a business partner who is a Cpa you will do just fine with that Simpson Washer and 20inch surface cleaner! It’s a great place to start and it will teach you the basic operations of pressure washing.
As far as insurance we pay 35.00 a month for 2M general liability.
Insurance is not a must, if you can’t afford it I recommend you connecting with a local contractor and getting added to his policy. This will save you from going out of pocket when first starting your business!
Generac**
Insurance is always a must young fella. I can never recall planning an accident.
Can I ask who you use for insurance?
I pay twice that much for 1M
In some states you aren’t supposed to work without insurance, it is illegal.
I’ve never met a legit contractor in the construction business who would say to work without insurance, just the hacks do it. You are paying $420 a year for 2m insurance policy? Is it your own policy or are you paying someone else for their insurance?
Oh man I think we’re at like $120/mo for coverage, and even then it took a long time to find a company that insures pressure washers.
Hiscox wanted $1000/mo.
i called Joseph D Walters and talked to them, explained i am a minor and they said it wont be an issue i am hoping it wont run the price way up but we will see. they are putting together a General Liability quote and said they will get back to me with in a few days, i will let you guys know what it ends up looking like.
Just be aware they do not cover any ladder work or roof work. I verified that myself this last week. Hiscox is the same.
Yeah, The lady Explained everything pretty well and i am satisfied with the policy they are offering if it will be a reasonable payment. And can someone tell me a little more about being added to a contractors existing policy? how would i go about doing that if i wanted to and if i do is there any downsides to going this route?
We go through Liberty. Walters said they don’t insure our area.
I’ve never heard of being added to another contractor’s policy. I can’t see any contractor wanting to add someone they don’t even know. I would think it would be pretty risky. It doesn’t even seem like it would be possible to do so. At $35 a month that he mentioned I don’t see the policy covering anything at all. Not all policies are the same. The most basic of policies will only cover accidents but won’t cover any damage you cause to the house or business. For example, it would cover if a big gust of wind blew something out of the back of your truck and it dented the side of the car sitting in the driveway. It wouldn’t cover if you don’t put the tip back in all the way, pull the trigger, and it shoots off through a $8000 picture window. From my understanding you have to have what’s called Care Custody and Control included in your policy. That covers anything you are actually working on. No way you get that for $35 a month. I’ve never seen someone on here mention less than like $85-$100 a month and that’s a lot cheaper than most. Working without insurance and trying to get on some other contractor’s policy is just bad advice.
For part time work there’s daily insurance but I don’t know anything about it. It was talked about on here awhile back. I don’t think anyone here has used it so definitely do your homework. It used to be called Verifly but it’s now called Thimble. You can get insurance from a few hours a day to months at a time. It might be something worth looking into or at least until you really get your foot in the industry to where you’re ready to get a good policy. Make sure they cover everything you need them to cover though.
