pressure washer ?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 7:51 am

i am looking to buy a cheap pressure washer for use around the house, mostly because i want to repaint the exterior of my house, and thought it might be better to just buy a cheap one instead of renting one.

what should i look for in a pressure washer ?

i would assume an electric one should be enough, right ?

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:09 am

We had an electric one and it worked great for about 6 months, kratcher or some brand. Got a cheap gas one on sale at the grocery store after that and so far its worked for about a year with no problems yet.

blebs · Post by **blebs** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:24 am

Hey Mark, what is the exterior of your house made of? Mine is Redwood and I borrowed a neighbors. Don't do what I did. I ripped the crap out of the Redwood with that thing. Now I wished I'd never attempted it. Only way this house will ever look right again is to put up siding of some sorts.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:37 am

blebs wrote:Hey Mark, what is the exterior of your house made of? Mine is Redwood and I borrowed a neighbors. Don't do what I did. I ripped the crap out of the Redwood with that thing. Now I wished I'd never attempted it. Only way this house will ever look right again is to put up siding of some sorts.

stucco walls and wood soffit/eves.

i will be cautious on the wood parts, and need to sand and fill some cracks and blemishes.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 9:38 am

YARDofSTUF wrote:We had an electric one and it worked great for about 6 months, kratcher or some brand. Got a cheap gas one on sale at the grocery store after that and so far its worked for about a year with no problems yet.

i guess i need to see how much it is to rent something, i can buy a cheap electric one for around $200 i think.............

Sava700 · Post by **Sava700** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 10:25 am

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/ ... cold-water

Don't go cheap on these things if you buy.... just a warning cause you will end up sinking more into service after 2-3 years worth of use so if you get something spend well to get something good. I got one for my dad at northerntool which I linked above for choices I believe I got one for around $300-$350ish can't remember but although its been a good little washer it had an issue with seals after 4 years of use that had to have them replaced so another $60 in service after that with a small engine repair.

Dan · Post by **Dan** » Sat Feb 25, 2012 3:11 pm

Mark wrote:i am looking to buy a cheap pressure washer for use around the house, mostly because i want to repaint the exterior of my house, and thought it might be better to just buy a cheap one instead of renting one.

what should i look for in a pressure washer ?

i would assume an electric one should be enough, right ?

this place has pretty cool stuff sometimes http://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsea ... ure+washer

blebs · Post by **blebs** » Sun Feb 26, 2012 5:24 am

Mark wrote:stucco walls and wood soffit/eves.

i will be cautious on the wood parts, and need to sand and fill some cracks and blemishes.

The West side of my house takes a beating from the sun. What I didn't realize was that the wood was so baked dry, that as soon as the pressure hit the wood, it started to splinter. I backed away a fair distance, but it still chewed up the wood. I'm really angry with myself, but it had to be done in order to stain the wood properly. Guess I'm saying, don't get something that blasts 2750 PSI. Get something that's adjustable in pressure if posssible.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 7:54 pm

http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdo ... 0051#specs

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/produ ... sh#reviews

which one would you guys choose from these 2 ?

TonyT · Post by **TonyT** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:26 pm

I was in Florence, Ky last weekend, outside Cincinnati and saw a Harbor Freight store while going to a Starbucks. I sooo much wanted to go back there and grab some inexpensive throw away tools. I have a demo hammer I got there years ago and it's still going strong. It paid for itself a hundred times over.

Leatherneck · Post by **Leatherneck** » Wed Feb 29, 2012 8:40 pm

Mark wrote:http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Outdo ... 0051#specs

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/produ ... sh#reviews

which one would you guys choose from these 2 ?

It's probably a toss up for quality and with pressure washers it's all about the pump. Both of these have cheaper aluminum axial pumps but with care and maintenance will work fine. The better washers have a pump such as a CAT triplex. Adds a minimum of $150 or so to the washer. I have a washer with a Subaru motor and a CAT pump and it's a lifer but probably more than you want to spend. Out of the 2 that you listed I would go for the Home Depot Homelite because the Sams Club has the pump mounted underneath and that is asking for trouble. Oh yeah, don't let the Honda motor sway you as that is the absolute bottom of the barrel Honda and nothing like their GX line.

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 1:12 pm

i got one of these from sam's club online, works great so far

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/produ ... navAction=

my next question i have is, how much paint do i need to take off the concrete walls, no stucco, just block.
it seems on the east side of house, down low where the it is almost always shadey, the paint is coming off really easy, i mean i can take my time and get it all off, but i don't think i need to ?

this paint is really old, and is chalky when dry.

here is a video of what i have done so far, the wall is white, but i didn't set the white balance on the camera before shooting the video so the color is off LOL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cqMqUPWYLQ

YARDofSTUF · Post by **YARDofSTUF** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:22 pm

Man, that is gonna be such a youtube hit!

I have no idea about the paint but I would advise you to add a music track to your next video to make it seem more dramatic or intense.

blebs · Post by **blebs** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:24 pm

I would just wash off whatever will easily fall off. Wouldn't worry about a complete strip job. Are you going to use a primer before painting it again?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:31 pm

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 2:32 pm

yes a good primer/sealer and good paint too.

i have a lot of caulking and sanding to do first though

blebs · Post by **blebs** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 5:59 pm

As long as you prime and seal it up good, the paint shouldn't be a problem. Without a primer....well, it would be dicey.