Was up painting a tall old building yesterday when an older fella drives over and gets out of his car.
I’m up on top of a dormer and he’s looking up saying, ” This is an odd question but Are you a painter?”. Roar!
I say ‘no but this is my dentist and he takes care of my teeth. It’s really not worth the risk.’
He wants to know if I will paint his house. He’s an insurance agent down the street facing the building and I figure he sits in his office watching me paint.
I tell him I’ll do a driveby of his place just to be courteous.
Then I get to thinking so I check it out on the way home.
Big ol’ monster of a place with yellow painted cedar shakes. Sits on a bank with no back yard on a steep hill that starts at the walkin exposed basement on the back of the house.
So full basement height plus two floors and a high gable on the back of a hill. No place for a bucket truck, forget ladder work, scaffolding would be a nightmare set-up.
It’d take a spiderman harness outfit bolted thru or some kind of a starwars sprayer configuration thru the back windows.
I asked around and seems it’s a rental he probably just wants a paintjob without extra prep.
I should go take some pics. Was wondering out of curiosity what kind of dollar range a job like this should bring?
Replies
There ain't enough money...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Sure there is. You got a handful of them fellers out in your neck of the woods. You know, the ones you keep following on jobs?"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." - Mark Twain
Price it at the high end of the scale for the paint job then add on the other job, staging it safely. There are outfits out there that will stage it subcontract.
Helicopter. Around $600 to $1500 an hour I think. Actually, probably done with cable scaffolding. Just got to get on the roof and set the pulleys. Still no fun.
Duct tape your brush to a long pole, and paint away. Dipping would be a problem though.
What about renting one of those personal man lifts? They are pretty small.
No back yard at all.
The steep slope starts at back of the building.
Well, that's a toughie. Got a spidey suit and some web fluid?
like this one?
View Image
Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Edited 10/3/2004 3:38 pm ET by SPHERE
You gotta be kiddin' me.
That guy is obviously one of the light-in-the-loafers Solid Gold dancers impersonating the real Spiderman.
Shame on him.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Doode, you've seen those buckets that the black helos use to put out forest fires...500 gals...I'd still get the payment up front<G> Don't worry, we can fix that later!
Two cables over the roof hooked to 2 trucks with winches out front and an aluminum or wood plank to stand on. Put some wood over the peak and gutters for scuff prevention.
You can do all of this safely from the ground.
What ya need here is a tractor and weed spraying outfit equipped with a hose and handgun.
Just make sure you got that handgun in motion before you trip the trigger. LOL
Full auto paintballs?
Yeah, that could work too.
I actually watched a guy spray his barn about twenty years ago via the weed sprayer rig. He didn't have a ladder tall enough and being more ingenius than picky.....he gave it a try. Worked, too. And even though you wouldn't want to enter the finesse of the final result in a contest....... it did get paint on all the wood up there. <G>
He was happy enough with the end result for his purposes and the wood was protected. And....he went to supper with no broken bones.
Actually, this sounds like it may be a job for a repelling rig. Any mountain climbers in the area there, Rez?
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Maybe twenty years ago.
But then again, I can still do hand flips in the front yard and land on my feet.
even with the gut.
Well then, you're a better man than me. No gut here neither for counter-balance. <G>
This job sounds like it may be more hassle than you can rightly get paid for, especially since it a rental. Might be this guy expects you to do it for peanuts and you're wasting your time even pondering the situation. Then again, don't we all from time to time.
If he's down to hollering at guys painting on roofs he may have already made his way thru twelve other prospects.
Or maybe you're the first guinea pig. Let's hear your best squeal.
If you do figure out a way to take this on, get the coin up front.
IOW, Show me the money !!
(What's that personal motto of yours again? Half of good living is staying out of bad situations?)
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Edited 10/2/2004 11:12 pm ET by GOLDHILLER
oh yeah,how could I have forgotten.
Or the other half, the proper application of knowledge. :o)
Wanna be a pirate? Aaaaaaaargh, matey.
http://www.restorationtrades.com/articles/steeplejacks.shtml
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
...<a gale blew with 50 mile gusts. The steeplejacks had to tie themselves to the structure and each other to keep from blowing away...>
holy sh!t :o)
C'mon. Where's your sense of adventure?
How's your love life, dude? Guys swingin' around perilously on a rope always attract a sidewalk audience. Bound to be some hot chicks in there,too.
Last time I pulled a stunt like this doing a few repairs on a steep roof with just a single rope and a loop for one foot.........I had a crowd of 20 or more in 15 minutes or less. Yes.......it was an insane thing to do. Nuff said.
Think of it. You could double your hourly rate or more pretty easily. Set up a bunch of lawn chairs and have one of your friends sell sandwiches and beer at exhorbitant prices.
Oh, yeah. I forgot momentarily there. This is around the backside of the house where no one can see you from the street likely. In that case, prepare to die alone or have that buddy hawkin' like a carnival-barker to bring in the spectators.
I can hear it now. "See the man dangle from the thread of life as he attempts to eek out a living while putting a smile on a landlord's face." "Getchyur redhots here".
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
Alright that it!
Now it's all the money up front, in cash, and hazard pay bonus.
Now ya got me thinkin'.
Have to look at it again.
Just reread your first post on this.............and here's the huge irony of it all.
You say this guy is an INSURANCE AGENT???
That's rich.
Ask him if he'll write you a life/injury policy to do the job and how much for that. And then...how come so high of a premium?
I'm honestly thinkin' maybe sub that side to someone with one of those articulated boom truck rigs. Sounds like the right tool for the job at hand. That's what we usually use around these parts for tree trimming when access is available for such.
Think risk vs reward as you continue with your contemplations.
What exactly are you wagering for how much? ......Dependent of course on choice of equipment vs cost of that equipment.
Discretion is the greater part of valor. Don't particularly want to see a thread here entitled..........Where's Rez?
Remember.......show me.........the money. <G> Escrow account if he won't pay up front directly to you. ???
Nothing like that sinking feeling of realizing you're also gonna have to take this guy to court to collect.
Knowledge is power, but only if applied in a timely fashion.
time for the olde jet pack :<)
What about a boom lift? They aren't cheap to rent, but you can get a 40 or 60' one. Would a 60' one reach up all the way? You can even get articulated ones for those hard to reach spots. If your job didn't have a huge amount of prep, you might be able to do it in a short enough time to make the lift afordable. Either way, you wouldn't be the one paying for it.
This is one of the companies that makes them. Just look up 'articulated boom lift'.
http://www.jlg.com/default.asp
And actually, those boom lifts can go well over 100', but good luck finding a 100 or 125' one at your local rental place.
Just a stab at it type answer--could you anchor a scaffold by having supports go through windows? When we framed houses, we often put 2x8's or 10's through windows, resting on sills. At the back end, inside the house we nailed to wall studs (which of course you can't do and I suppose the owner wouldn't be too thrilled with you nailing to door frames and such!). Perhaps you could use clamps (at the window frame) and padded uprights going from floor to ceiling to nail your "outriggers" (or I guess we called them "lookouts"--I was always thinking lookout after I banged my head on them) to. Then use a plank or aluminum scaffold on the planks (nailed to the planks). This is still not my idea of safe or OSHA approved, but it may work. Would have to have a bunch of windows in the proper locations though. We also nailed the lookouts to the outside walls and put uprights under them. Again not something the owner would probably be all that wild about.
I think this guy is looking for an inexperienced poor sot to get to paint this house for a song. He knows you're not a painter by trade so you might underestimate.
Of course this is based on very little fact so take it with a grain of salt.
Jon Blakemore
Salt? Isn't that what sot's use with their tequila? lol
I'm half tempted to go shoot some pics just toward the amusement value for you guys.
So give us the pics already !!
Yeesh !
;)
You don't "make a difference for the good in this world" by making everyone else think like you do. You make a difference for the good, when you help people think for themselves. ~me