First off I would like to apologize to Chris and others for not heeding to so many warnings about the ground flooding . The house in question was covered in lichen and was a very steep roof .We sprayed the roof last tuesday , with the plan of letting the solution set for a week to kill as much as possible .We did not rinse any nor has it rained . We also put around 30 gal of sauce on the house of about 2500 square foot ONLY one side since the other side had just been replaced . Some of the sauce came out of one of the downspouts and we laid a water hose there to flood it out(so we thought). I drove by today and theres a 10 sq ft area of the grass that is bright yellow . I did speak to the home owner and they were not real worried about it since it was the end in the woods and I assured them that we will do whatever possible to make it right .At this point we are going to wait 1 week and if it looks like its not recovering we will replace with new sod. Finally the question ,on the roof, Under direct sun how long does the sauce pack a punch? Is it still dangerous after a week ? Going forward our solutions will be -Bag all downspouts during application .Hook up a oscillating spinkler and let it run for as long as it takes to flood the area , Do not rinse unless we have too , in this case the lichen is a have too. Any other ideas? This should be more than enought but I really dont like that stomach twist feeling you get when you figure out you just really screwed up! Varibles - We did mix a 50 gallon mix with 20 gal of 10.5 SHC , 7 Lbs of TSP and 7 Lbs of borax . The yard was sprayed with liquid fertilizer the day after the roof was treated . Oddly enough, there is a flower in the direct line of the flow of the gutter that is alive and well .? Thanks !
The grass will most likely recover. If it was black then it'd be dead for a long while. I kill grass around my own property sometimes with SODIUM HYDROXIDE and it turns black.
There is no need for the sprinkler, just bag the downspouts and water with just a hose.
I would be very cautious of "rinsing " the lichen from the roof. It typically doesn't just rinse off, it needs picked of with a degree of pressure. Have you read the posts on here about just letting it fall off gradually over time. Believe me, you and your customer will be happier if you just let it fall off naturally. If you remove it manually it will most likely leave patches of visible asphalt everywhere there was lichen,..and that damage is permanent. And if there's that much lichen, you may end up replacing the customers' shingles.
Some will come off without damage, but just be aware of what I just stated.
These jobs need to be sold for what they are,.."NEGLECTED ROOFS:. There isn't always a magic solution and it's usually the customers' fault.
As to your question about packing a punch....Much of this depends on what the outside temp is. Typically on a real sunny day with temps in the 75-80 deg range the Roof surface temps can hover around 100-130 deg or so. With temps this high the solution will only be active for a short period of time. Cooler temps will let it last much longer. I would say to be on the safe side that in hot temps your looking at about 15min and in cooler temps somewhere around 30-45 min. After that the solution begins to break back down into a salt form. Hence---Sodium. Down here in the middle of July and August when Tile Roofs and Shingle Roofs reach 160-180 deg (and sometimes higher) on the surface the mix will evaporate very quickly and become useless within minutes. When this happens a second coat is sometimes required to ensure proper Roof Cleaning coverage and results.
We have a great deal of lichon here in VA. I always let the customer know this takes sometime to release after applying the mix. I always increase th SH just a tad when dealing with lichon. I have declined a few roofs due to the age and neglect. Never be affraid to let the customer know if a roof is to far gone. You will save yourself a many sleepless nights and your reputation. Oh and 10 sq ft of grass is cheap to re-sod if you ever get in another jam. Protect your name at all costs if your in this for the long run. Good luck my friend.
When explaining to the customer about leaving the lichen on the roof, don't be uncertain. We say it just like this:
"those white spores on the roof are lichens. LEAVE THEM UP THERE. they will come off in a few weeks, otherwise pressure is needed to remove them and that may also remove some of the granules from your shingles."
We just did a roof in Salisbury MD, that was truley infested with lichen, we let it sit and rold him it will come off over the next 2 months. Don't be afraid...it will work. These are the after pics. In a few weeks most of it should have fallen off. This house is on a Golf course. We dumped the gutter bags in some sandy woods. Job was: 3500sq roof + power washing of siding, gutters and concrete $1300 cash with 2 helpers and myself....bid a little low but ok. Hopefully this example will help boost your confidence that we are leaving the lichen on.
5 gals of SHC plus 5 gal water for roofs x 3 since I only use a 35 gal tank!
Bagging is good but them what asre you going to do with it... Drag it across the yard....?
If you need a quick replace you can either re seed with Fesue Seed or ReSod...
If you have a helper which I do not as of yet Have him take care by excess watering around the hot spots. If you are in the mood. Bags of yard sand are good for containment. Or water booms... Now the cheepest way is potting soil. It obsorbs and is cheeeep. Carry a couple of 20lb bags of something, your choice, on the truck...
Contianment is the answer. Water saturation is also very important. Some grass is going to get the ax but would you rather have a 20 foot patch of dead grass or a 8" patch... CONTAINMENT!!!!!Containment! Containment! Water, Water Water!
Greetings. I did this roof this afternoon SOLO. Got to the job site a little late as I had two carpet cleaning jobs during the morning. Great Monday. Finally!!!
3-1/2 hours $750.00 net profit$
Oh Yeah! I cleaned the wooden Arbor on the side yard as well.
No Pressure Cleaning Used. I really wish I had before pics. This arbor was green all over.... Darn it. Sometimes I could just kick my self...
I also forgot to compress these pictures before I posted... If things get up and moving like they should I am going to hire an office girl to handle all of the paper work, some of the IT and phone calls... I might even teach her how to do estimates. For sure she will handel some of the Marketing stuff.... I am to old for this office stuff, paper work etc...
There is hope.
Ok! It was overcast. I was 30 min late and the time was 12:45 PM. I failed to take the before pictures. But the final results should speak for them selves...
The 28' ladder did just fine. 3 inches to spare and still the ladder didn't touch the gutters... Point Of Order... Ladder supports are a must and a lifesaver... Keeps me off the guuters. In most cases if a ladder is going to move it will either go left or right... in most cases... I can just see me hanging two stories up dangling from a gutter or worse hitting the ground,,, THUUUUUD I have been blessed so far...
Here is a first draft of the new website... What do you guys think... Heck, this is the first time I have seen it. There are some minor things to correct but it looks better than the old site...
I am going to add a Flash banner also this week. What I really need is away to get people to voluntarily leave their contact info. Like a free report or a free news letter subscription.???
I think it is a definate improvement but not quite content yet. Please post here but if you would be so kind send me an email at : support@wecleanroofs.net
You guys have any ideas?
Thanks and Regards, James EHS
PS: New tonight said that Memphis Home Markets are improved over last month. Indicators are showing a recovery here... Investors and Real Estae Agents are half of my market share. The other half is home owners...
-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Memphis TN on Tuesday 5th of May 2009 01:05:29 AM
-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Memphis TN on Tuesday 5th of May 2009 01:20:39 AM
-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Memphis TN on Tuesday 5th of May 2009 01:31:10 AM
-- Edited by Roof Cleaning Memphis TN on Tuesday 5th of May 2009 01:35:04 AM
No front license plate needed....They only give you one
Jack Daniels shipped all over the country is made in a dry county. Go figure
Most of the towns end in ville or burg
We have our own Paris
We do have some good things too....Maybe you have heard of some of these companies that have headquarters in Tennessee
Averitt Express, US Express, Covenant Trucking, Auto Zone, FedEx, HCA, Tristar Hospitals, Firestone, Nissan USA among others.
As far as I know we are the only state with a horse named after it..... Tennessee Walking Horse.
Tennessee has also had 3 presidents in it's history. Thankfully we did not have 4. LOL
Attractions include Smoky Mountains national park (if you can call that a mountain) You guys that have been to the PNW know what I mean. Chattanooga aquarium, Ripleys aquarium, Graceland and Dolly Wood among others.
We can also boast a plethera of meth labs before the change in cold medicine sales. Not one most of us are proud of.