For Patrick Brymer, Jr., the COVID-19 pandemic cleared the way to opportunity.
The 42-year-old Long Island native lives in Oneonta, where he founded PJ Powerwash.
“I did power washing where I come from for about 15 years, working underneath someone else,” he said. “When I moved up here, I worked for a local construction company in 2018, then COVID happened and, when you’re at the bottom of the list, you’re the first one out the door. Once I got let go from there, I spoke with my wife and said, ‘Now’s the chance to take our savings,’ … so that’s what I did, in 2021.”
The business, Brymer said, offers pressure washing, roof cleaning, gutter cleaning and gutter repair from about April 1 through late December, depending on the weather.
“I always do onsite estimates, to know what I’m up against, and I always like to meet my potential client,” he said. “I give them a 48-hour window to receive a quote in email, so it’s all concise and itemized to choose exactly what services they want or don’t want. I do everything myself right now, but I do have a partner that works with me two days.
“Typically, a full house wash and a roof treatment and gutter cleaning, which is the platinum package, that would take about three or four hours for a whole property,” Brymer continued. “Most people are under the assumption that pressure washing is all high pressure, but I don’t utilize that technique; I utilize what’s called in the industry a soft-wash. That’s liquid chlorine, soap and water, and I saturate the house section by section and let it dwell, so it keeps away organics and growth and whatever is on the building, so it’s a gentle cleaning. Because, with high pressure, you can damage the materials. I only use high pressure on concrete, brick, stone – anything that’s really porous.”
Brymer, who said residential clients make up about 80% of his business, said demand for his services has proven high.
“This is my fourth season and I’m already fully booked out through July, and that’s five days a week, multiple jobs in a day,” he said. “People are pretty happy with the quick response and always picking up the phone but, with the service itself, people are amazed with the final outcome and what that is without high pressure. We have 52 five-star reviews and we’re working on 100 by the end of the season.”
Demand, Brymer said, has fostered a far-reaching clientele.
“Most people call me because they attempted to do it themselves and gave up after 30 minutes,” he said. “I have been coming up here since I was a kid because my family had property in Cobleskill, so I’m familiar with the area … and I’m all over Otsego County and, sometimes, depending on how big of a job it is, I will go as far as Albany, Binghamton, Utica.”
Brymer said he plans to turn that momentum into growth and continued connection to community.
“This past November, I purchased a commercial building on Chestnut Street for the company,” he said. “So, now we have a commercial building and we’re in the process of outfitting the shop. It’s ready to go for customer walk-ins, but we’re in the midst of being prepared to have everything functional for daily service.
“I’d like to have the whole exterior of the building redone to have the area revitalized,” Brymer continued. “We’re trying to bring up the community look over there, because that area is not too nice, and hopefully people will tag along and do the same for their businesses. My five-year plan is, I want to have a whole other crew of guys and at least two more trucks, so I can do more of the estimates and customer relations.”
For more information, visit pjpowerwashllc.com or find PJ Powerwash LLC on Facebook.