Howdy everyone! Im needing some help with a possible soft washing job bid! I’m currently going to college and have been pressure washing for about a year. It would be my first big commercial job with SH and if I do get the job ill be upgrading equipment for the job.“Will take any tips on equipment as well”. Its white Austin stone, about 50ft to the top of the building, and a total wall sq/ft is 36700 ft^2. I haven’t been using SH very long and especially not on this scale, but I think I should be shooting for a 1:1 ratio of about 4 to 6%. I however do do not completely understand how to estimate how much bleach will be needed for a job this size. I’ll be down-streaming with a 5 or 6-gpm machine. Any tips on anything would be much appreciated especially calculating bleach usage.
Post pictures of building for better help.
You won’t get that strong of mix from downstreaming and this doesn’t seem like a job you’re quite ready for. Get a little more experience or it’ll come back to bite you
That is what I’m afraid of. I know a lot of things can go wrong, but I do not want to miss this opportunity.
And for the mix part, I already planned on getting an Xjet just in case it gets too diluted from it. But I completely agree with you and if it comes down to it and other people agree that I’m in over my head I will back off and completely understand. However, I still think I have a chance and am willing to put in the work and learn the safe way to use chem on this scale.
You’re going to need more than an X-Jet can get you. You may need to get a 12v and some good ladders or probably a lift.
I did get a quote to rent a lift for a week with the widest tires they have to now tear up the grass as much as possible. not a problem. But what do you suggest other than the Xjet? I was thinking about a 12v pump as well but just heard good things about the Xjet. Like I said I’ve been pressure washing for a while and have had decent success but not too much experience with soft washing but willing to learn.
Honestly, you are probably best off finding a larger local company that is properly equipped to do this job. Get them to pay you a finders fee, or see if they are willing to toss you a small job that they may pass on.
Would you rather pass on an opportunity and still have that bridge available for later on or would you rather burn it by not knowing what you’re doing?
Walk away.
Why do all these new guys post pics of some gnarly building that a pro would have trouble with.
“I just started a year ago, here’s the capital of Columbus”.
I’m five years in and still get anxiety from a wrap around porch.
Because they don’t know enough to be wary. Are you still hesitant to do roofs? Aside from the whole being able to destroy a lot of stuff quickly, and falling to your demise it ain’t all that bad… 
@Chaston.ellison You should consider a blend manifold instead of the xjet and 12V that thang!
If I wasn’t wary why would I be asking questions on a forum telling people my situation and asking for advice and getting other people’s opinions? I’m not scared to walk away from the job or pass it on to someone else, and I’ve done plenty of metal roofs so that’s not a big deal for me.
@GetTheFunkOff
I was considering this as well, I have already been searching for nearby pressure-washing companies.
Thank you for the advice
Looks like lime stone?
It is!
The roof comment was directed to dcbrock
If you’ve been pressurewashing for a year but only recently started using SH, I don’t know what to tell you…that’s kind of an important tool of the trade. I’m getting a you don’t know a ton vibe. Question. Do you have insurance in case you bugger this up? Secondary question because I’m not familiar with real estate in your area and where I live that would be multiple millions. Is your insurance enough to cover the value of that place?
This is a big job. You had mentioned down streaming as your initial plan of attack and pivoted to possibly xjetting. You sound like you don’t know what you’re doing with that material…
Which is fine. Absolutely fine to figure out how to do this stuff. But not on a big building flying by the seat of your pants. You’ve said you’re willing to learn but on this big of a job probably isn’t the best canvas for you.
If this comes across as pretentious it’s not meant to be, that is a lot of building and if you don’t know how to do this stuff you could come across looking like a dummy which might not be the best for future commercial jobs if that makes sense. Working out the kinks and nuances of 12v systems, setup, application, how chemicals interact with the material you’re washing should be done on a smaller scale at first to make sure everything is firing on all cylinders.
lmao, sorry, still trying to figure out how the forum works, But I completely agree with what you said in all aspects and have already decided on passing the job to someone else. But I am still taking any advice on how to complete a job of this size and what will be needed to do so because I am still upgrading my equipment and a lot of work similar to this, but not this size is around me. and I didn’t think of anything you said as being pretentious and am very thankful that you even commented on the post.
Thank you
