New Bleachers Covered In Mud!!

[BREEN]

Hello Everyone, I Recieved A Phone Call About Cleaning Brand New Bleachers. They Were Stored In Mud Prior To Erecting Them. The Top Side, Bottom Side All Beams Underneath Are Covered In Mud. They Measure 325' Long By 33 Rows Up (80') The Back Is 40' Off Of The Ground. I Am Hoping That The X-jet Will Work For Rinsinhg The Mud From The Underside!! If Not Then I Will Have To Rent A Lift. Water Hook Up Under The Bleachers. They Are A Sealed Type Of Bleacher So You Have To Start At The Top And Work Your Way Down, However At The Bottom There Is A Brand New Asphalt Track That We Cannot Get Dirty! There Are Two Sets Of Stairs That Lead To The Press Box On The Back Side (they Are The Worst About 1/2" Thick) All Work Has To Be Done From 3:00 P.m. To 6:00 Am, Four Days To Complete, Last Minute Job Have To Start On Monday!!!! Oh Yes If I Need Lights I Will Have To Provide Them!! Here Are A Few Photos... Also The Guy Told Me While We Were Walking Around The Mess That I Was The Only One Bidding The Job And That It Had To Be Done Regardless.. The Whole Time The Price Kept Going Up!!! I Had No Idea At How Much To Bid!!! We Are Only Rinsing Dirt Off And Controlling The Flow On The Topside To Gravel Underneath... I Threw A Bid Out At $5,500.00 What Do You Think. He Said That He Had To Have A Price Right Then No Matter What!!

[Kory]

If my math is right thats about 11 cents a sq ft. with out the cost of a lift. Keeping that asphalt clean is going to be a PITA. Plus the cost of travel a couple of times due to limited cleaning times. Lights and a generator if needed. I probably would have bid higher than you. But congrats on getting the job!

[Paul Kassander]

Your price sounds pretty fair, not too bad for a couple evenings of work.

I just did a 40,000 sq ft building like this in the spring where I had to clean all of the beams off. You may find it easier and faster to try and clean it in two stages. First just get the mud wet again and let it soak up the water. When the mud softens a bit and is still wet you should be able to blast it off much easier with your x-jet or a zero degree from the ground. The problem you will have with that method is you will get some lines in the bleachers where the spray pattern does not come in direct contact with the mud areas. It is also difficult to hit all of the areas quickly and evenly.

If you want to do a better, more even job with less fatigue on your operator I would reccommend using a lift. You will stay drier and you will be able to do a much better job. You will be able to use a shorter wand with a 15 degree tip that is easier to control and you wont have to stare up at such a sharp angle for long periods of time. That is what I ended up doing and it went much faster and allowed me to use less water in the long run. The whole job ended up taking me about 18 hours with one guy. That included working in the mud on an uneven surface and getting the lift stuck about 10 times.

When you do the top try spraying towards the sides of the bleachers insted of down, you may be able to force a lot of the water and mud off the side where you dont have to worry about it.

[Jim Carroll]

should have also asked for some season tickets, you could have then went to the races or given the tickets to clients. good luck.

[BREEN]

Well Today Was The First Day On The Job...

The X-jet Worked Perfectly I Was Able To Remove All The Mud From The Under Side In About 7 Hours By Myself With No Lift!!!

The Top Side I Hade Two Guys With Small Machines And 200' Of Hose Each. We Were Unable (even With 100' And Hot Water) To Remove Stains I Think? From The Mud.. We Were Able To Complete Everything Except For The Two Stair Cases Next To The Press Box!!

By The Way This Is A Local High School Astroturf Football Field Grandstands!!! Too Much Money!!!! Anyway Thinks For The Advice We Are Going To Come Out Ahead And That Is All That Matters They Are Happy Wich Makes Me Happy. I Have Also Landed The Cleaning Of 26 Out Buildings Thru-out The Property And Am Working On A Sidewalk Contract!!!

[BREEN]

Oh Yeah Any Idea On The Stains From The Mud???
I Tried Soap, Brushing, Polished Aluminum Cleaner (which Is Awesome), And Nothing At All No Difference????????????????

[Paul Kassander]

I'm glad it worked out easy for you. Your soil must be pretty sandy because the clay around here is real difficult to remove. I hope you can get those buildings and walks, it seems like a great account. You should see about cleaning the bleachers after games, could be some quick money?

[BREEN]

WE Tried Using Aluminum Brightner On The Steps On The Very Bottom It Made Them Look Brand New Like They Are. However There Is No Way That I Can Clean The Entire Bleacher With Alum. Brightner. The Cost Woul Be Out Of This World And The Epa Regulations, I Don't Even Want To Think About That!! The Bleacher I Think Look Like Crap Because Of The Stains From The Mud!