I love restaurants. No exhausts though. Restaurants are easy with hot water and the right degreaser. I’d do exclusively restaurants if I could find 3-4 guys that loved working only nights and Sundays because I don’t love those things. Restaurants and stucco/dryvit are my favorite.
I did my first 24 building apartment complex recently, I’m on the hook for another, and just got a message asking to bid another tomorrow morning. I fully intend to turn it down though. I’ll never do another apartment complex so long as I live unless the average rent is $1000/month or more.
Any less than that and you have tenants who don’t really care if the stuff on their patio gets ruined or they act like you’re working for them and not the management company. Not to mention half the building is home during the day instead of working and can’t understand simple instructions like “close your windows.”
I clean a lot of drains for restaurant’s and sometimes they will ask me to do the drive through/ side walks while I’m there. Actually I say hey you want me to come back tonight when your closed and clean up the drive through and side walks? As I get older I try to leave some stuff (like cleaning vents and kitchens) for the new guys to do… Because I’m a giver lol Now that you mention it I’m not big on apartments either but I do them from time to time…
I love section 8 housing. The have to be washed every year or they lose fed money. If there is something on the patio, we skip it. Window open, we skip it. Expectations are not high. High end places tend to need more hand holding and walk thru’s.
Check them out. If they are private owned section 8 they have to be washed. You might be sitting on a gold mine. Maybe the inspector has been letting it slide.
I went to New Orleans once for about an hour on a detour from a wedding. Someone knocked out the driver’s side window while it was in a parking garage and stole a pistol and my wife’s purse that was tucked under the seat. Long drive back home with cardboard duck taped over the opening.
Late last year I cleaned a section 8 house in the hood. While I was in the back cleaning someone went in my trailer and cleaned me out. My own fault for being that stupid and not locking it. What I have found is the people who own and rent them out are slum lords. I got a very good taste of that today and went down to the courthouse and filed for small claims to sue my biggest customer a property manager piece of shit.
Just to vent some more the prop manager who owns the business hired me to paint, tile and do some repair inside a sec 8 house. I charged him by the hour and he agreed. Very 1st day he shows up and now wants all the wood paneling taken off and behind that is unfinished drywall that has to get tapped mudded and knockdown texture. Also replace entire ceiling and tape mud texture it. Basically a complete gut out. It took me and my helper 3 1/2 weeks. The asshole had the nerve to only pay for 2 weeks because that was a ball park figure I told him before he added everything else. Tore the check up and went straight to the courthouse.
@618Pressure, Lots of good advice from these guys. To answer your question, I would go with the Simpson over the Generac. Pump wise, quality of both is probably about the same and I have no experience with either, but they’re throw away type pumps. Don’t expect them to last long, especially with the use you’re hoping to put on them. The reason I’m saying to go with the Simpson is because I have a Generac, the 6590 model which has an AR RSV pump and is actually marketed as a commercial unit, depending on where you look. What a joke!! What you’re looking at is also a refurb so it was someone elses piece of s***. I’ve had my fair share of trouble with the same 212cc generac engine. I’ve torn in apart myself, got it looked at by an experienced and reputable small engines mechanic and it still acts up. A few other mechanics I know told me to steer clear of anything from Generac. Components are cheap. No support from Generac, the “certified generac service centers” don’t really want to mess with it and gave me the runaround…even though there was still a warranty on the machine. I have a couple of Simpsons from Lowes that are Honda powered with AAA triplex pumps that go through their share of wear, tear and abuse in the tractor service department…with minimal maintenance and they’re still going strong. These units won’t last forever but if you can cough up another hundred bucks or so, I’d suggest going with something like that vs the Simpson you’re looking at here, mainly because of the pumps. Those would give you a slightly longer lifespan of pump and motor until you can grow your business and get some professional equipment. The way my cleaning department of business got started was by chance, you could say. I had the generac machine at home and a small surface cleaner, not much of a market in my area and I kept getting asked through word of mouth to wash homes, roofs, surface clean concrete, etc. All residential. Prior to that I only washed my own home and homes of close family members. I did my research and looks through these forums for hours upon end. Learn everything you can and take the advice form these guys around here. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I needed much better equipment if I wanted to continue and grow my business. Which now, I have commercial equipment (Landa belt driven unit with a honda GX, commercial surface cleaner, etc) but I understand the small budget of just starting out. You can get by with a cheap unit for a short time, but you’ll learn quick that upgrading will be needed if you want to grow. If anything, to save yourself the headache of break down and maintenance issues and looking like a amateur when that low end unit starts breaking down on every job costing you time and money. You’ll get enough money made with this little machine soon enough to upgrade. Good luck!!!
Well said and I can concur with almost everything you said already. I ended
up going with the Simpson. I’ve had it for about 2 weeks and I’ve been
practicing on family homes and my own. Mainly getting my mixes down. But
I’m already getting on it working with what I have. I know the FIRST thing
I have to do is upgrade. There are so many jobs I just can’t do with the
equipment I have. And your starting story sounds like me. I’ve been doing
research and pouring through these forums for days upon days upon days.
Thanks for the advice. Also, something just didn’t feel right about the
Generac. Plus, I wanted a Honda engine. Easier to service and find parts
for. The Generac didn’t even say what type of engine was on it, if I’m not
mistaken. Thanks again.
It’s a Generac engine. You definitely made the right choice. With my experience, and insights from mechanics, I would never recommend any product from Generac.
Generacs are great engines. They make their own so a generac generator will have a generac engine. NOW THEY HAVE made a deal and sold the manufacturing rights to Robin Subaru…
Good question but I don’t know the answer. Typically management companies specialize in one type of properties. Find who manages the property you are looking at then search their website
I have the Generac. I can’t do what I would like to do with it. Can’t do multi-story nor concrete without taking literally hours to do small sections and eats up the fuel for the little amount of work done. I am holding off for an 8gpm machine because I know I can’t continue with the small machine I have. Save up and buy a larger more flow pump. I am currently buying accessories, tanks and hoses filters, etc, then the pump last. I can still do very very small jobs, but it’s just not professional enough equipment to market as a pro washer, IMHO.
lol Now that you mention it I’m not big on apartments either but I do them from time to time…
