Rare Earth Ltd, doing business as Thrare Contracting, is a DBE, MBE and small disadvantaged business certified exterior services contractor registered in SAM.gov under CAGE 9JAV8 and UEI Z4WKS4UE8NJ6, working from 8735 Dunwoody Pl, Ste R, Atlanta, GA 30350.
A facilities manager buying exterior cleaning is buying an approval as much as a clean surface: the invoice has to survive an audit, the work has to happen without closing the property, and the wash water has to end up somewhere a stormwater inspector accepts.
Three constraints shape almost every commercial exterior job in metro Atlanta. The property stays open, so the work happens in sections, after hours, or on a weekend. The buyer answers to somebody else, so the scope has to be written in language a controller or a contracting officer can match line for line against an invoice. And the runoff is regulated, so a crew that arrives with a hose and no containment plan creates an enforcement problem for the property owner rather than for the contractor.
Thrare Contracting writes a commercial scope against those three constraints first and against the surface second. Rare Earth Ltd has operated in Atlanta since 2020, holds DBE certification through the Georgia Unified Certification Program, holds MBE certification and small disadvantaged business status, maintains an active SAM.gov registration under CAGE 9JAV8 and UEI Z4WKS4UE8NJ6, and is enrolled in E-Verify. Rare Earth Ltd does not hold HUBZone status, 8(a) status or SOC 2 certification, and does not represent otherwise on a bid or on this page.
A commercial exterior cleaning scope covers five surface families: paved areas, the building envelope, service and waste areas, structured parking, and glass and vandalism.
Property types served under these scopes include office parks, retail strip centers, anchored shopping centers, medical campuses, industrial warehouses, distribution centers, government buildings, school facilities and mixed use developments. City pages carry the local ordinance detail for each submarket: Marietta, Roswell, Alpharetta, Sandy Springs, Decatur, Dunwoody, Stone Mountain and Brookhaven.
Thrare Contracting sequences a commercial job in six steps: site walk, containment plan, notification, staged execution, verification walk, and documentation.
The sequence exists because process is the part of exterior work a buyer cannot verify from a photograph. Two contractors can hand over identical after pictures, and only one of them knows where the water went.
A Thrare Contracting commercial price includes mobilization, water and power setup, pretreatment, cleaning, containment and recovery of wash water, a verification walk and a photo record. A Thrare Contracting commercial price excludes repair, coating, sealing, striping and any promise that a stain will vanish.
Included in the scope price
Not included, and quoted separately when a property wants it
Naming the exclusions in the scope is what keeps a change order from becoming an argument. A buyer who reads that penetrated rust will lighten rather than vanish makes a different decision at the site walk than a buyer who reads it in an email after the crew has left.
Thrare Contracting needs seven things from a commercial property before a crew mobilizes, and a scope that arrives without them slips.
Property managers and general contractors adding a vendor to an approved list can start at vendor registration, and multifamily portfolios are covered in more detail on the property managers page.
Wash water from exterior cleaning is a non-stormwater discharge, so it must not enter a municipal separate storm sewer system, and the practical compliance path on a commercial property is containment rather than a permit.
The federal layer comes first. EPA states that the NPDES stormwater program "regulates some stormwater discharges from three potential sources: municipal separate storm sewer systems (MS4s), construction activities, and industrial activities." 40 CFR 122.26(b)(2) then defines an illicit discharge as "any discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of storm water except discharges pursuant to a NPDES permit (other than the NPDES permit for discharges from the municipal separate storm sewer) and discharges resulting from fire fighting activities."
The city layer is where a property owner is actually cited. Atlanta City Code, chapter 74, article IX, section 74-436 states that "No person shall throw, drain, or otherwise discharge, cause, or allow others under its control to throw, drain, or otherwise discharge into the storm sewer system of the City of Atlanta any pollutants or waters containing any pollutants, other than stormwater." Section 74-429 states that "The provisions of this article shall apply throughout the corporate limits of the City of Atlanta." The definition of a pollutant at section 74-428 names cooking grease, petroleum hydrocarbons, degreasers, cleaning chemicals and "detergents (biodegradable or otherwise)". The exemptions at section 74-437 cover potable line flushing, irrigation, groundwater, air conditioning condensation and firefighting, and exterior rinse water is not among them.
The jurisdiction question trips up more vendors than the rule does. Fulton County states that "The purpose of the Stormwater Management Program is to manage the surface water resources of unincorporated Fulton County, including administration, maintenance, operations, regulation, and enforcement. For all other areas of the County, stormwater management is the responsibility of the individual cities." A commercial property inside the Atlanta city limits therefore answers to Atlanta's ordinance rather than to a Fulton County document, and a property inside an incorporated Cobb County city answers to that city rather than to the county.
Cobb County Water publishes the clearest operational version of the practice. Where the surface carries no visible contaminants and no soap is used, the county states that "wash water runoff does not have to be collected but must be screened", using "filter fabric catch basin inserts, oil absorbent socks, or other types of screening devices". Where the surface is contaminated with petroleum products, sewage, hazardous substances or chemicals, the county states that a contractor "must use a water collection device that enables the collection of wash water and associated solids", with "A sump pump, wet vacuum, or similarly effective device", and that proper disposal means "directing the wash water to the sanitary sewer system or disposing of the wash water at the appropriate disposal facility."
Thrare Contracting does not publish a per day penalty figure for a stormwater violation, and neither should any contractor bidding your property. The number repeated across the trade web traces to secondary articles rather than to the statute, Clean Water Act civil penalties are set by statute and adjusted for inflation, and the amount that applies depends on the enforcement route. Cite the rule, and price the containment.
Brick, fiber cement, EIFS, aged mortar joints and painted masonry are cleaned with chemistry at low pressure, because pressure that is safe on a concrete drive lane damages a facade.
According to the Brick Industry Association's Technical Notes on Brick Construction 20, "Cleaning Brickwork", August 2018 edition, "High-pressure water cleaning is not appropriate for brick and may damage the brickwork", and the document instructs cleaners to "Do not use water pressures higher than 400 psi (2800 kPa) as measured at the nozzle tip unless permitted by brick manufacturer". The same document specifies a "stainless steel 25 to 50 deg. fan tip, held a minimum of 12 in. (305 mm) from the brick surface", and a trial cleaning "on a 20 sq ft (2 m2) sample area" before the wall is evaluated. Those figures are stated by a trade association for brick, and they do not transfer to concrete, metal panel or painted surfaces.
According to James Hardie Building Products Technical Bulletin #20, November 2018, on cleaning primed and ColorPlus Technology siding, "Low pressure water spray, a soft bristle (nonmetal) brush is most suitable for cleaning fiber cement products", and "Using wide fan tips that are kept a minimum of 6 feet from the wall and at pressures under 1500 psi will minimize the chance of damaging the siding." The bulletin also warns that damage arising from improper cleaning "may not be covered by the James Hardie warranty", which is the sentence that matters to an owner deciding between two bids. The 1500 psi ceiling belongs to that manufacturer's fiber cement products and must never be carried across to brick.
The Brick Industry Association also states the runoff rule in its own words: "Some jurisdictions may require containment and treatment of the runoff water before it can leave the site. Dilution of runoff and its release into the stormwater management system should not be expected or allowed unless expressly permitted by the applicable jurisdiction." A trade body and a regulator agreeing on containment is the strongest signal available that containment is not an upsell.
Work at height changes which fall protection threshold applies, and OSHA publishes two different ones depending on how the work is classed.
OSHA's general industry standard at 29 CFR 1910.28(b)(1)(i) requires that each employee on a walking-working surface with an unprotected side or edge that is "4 feet (1.2 m) or more above a lower level is protected from falling" by a guardrail system, a safety net system, or a personal fall protection system. OSHA's construction standard at 29 CFR 1926.501(b)(1) sets the same requirement where the unprotected side or edge is "6 feet (1.8 m) or more above a lower level". Two thresholds exist, and which one governs depends on how the work is classified, so no single number should be published as "the OSHA rule".
One exclusion is worth stating plainly, because most exterior exposure sits inside it. 29 CFR 1910.28, paragraph (a)(2)(i), states that the section "does not apply: To portable ladders." Quoting the 4 foot general industry threshold as though it governed ladder work misstates the standard.
Thrare Contracting prices multi story facade work with the access method named in the scope, because a boom lift, a scissor lift and an extended reach system are three different jobs with three different day rates behind them. A scope that says "wash the building" and says nothing about access is the scope that changes price on site.
The United States Access Board's ADA Standards for Accessible Design, chapter 5, section 208.2, set the minimum accessible count by lot size, beginning with one van accessible space in a lot of 1 to 25 spaces and two accessible spaces in a lot of 26 to 50 spaces.
Those counts are federal minimums. A local code or a franchise standard can require more accessible spaces and never fewer, so the number in a lease exhibit governs over the federal floor whenever the lease exhibit is higher.
Cleaning and accessibility meet at one narrow point: contrast. Markings that read as faded are frequently dirty rather than worn, and cleaning restores them; markings that are genuinely worn need paint, which is a separate scope with its own layout approval. The site walk states which of the two a lot has, in writing, before either scope is priced. Parking lot work is covered in more detail on the parking lot cleaning page.
HUD-assisted and HUD-insured housing is inspected under NSPIRE, and NSPIRE publishes exact exterior thresholds that a conventional market-rate community can adopt as a house standard even though no NSPIRE score applies to it.
One line in the standards corrects the most common piece of exterior cleaning marketing. HUD's Mold-Like Substance standard states, "Note that algae are not mold-like substances (algae are grass-green)", and the standard's location table lists Outside as None. Green growth on an exterior wall is therefore not a mold citation under NSPIRE, and Thrare Contracting does not sell an exterior wash as mold remediation.
NSPIRE governs HUD-assisted and HUD-insured housing. A conventional market-rate Atlanta apartment community carries no NSPIRE score, so the thresholds above serve as published criteria an owner can adopt as a house standard, not as an inspection that a market-rate property faces. Multifamily scopes are covered on the apartment pressure washing page.
Georgia's food service rule points cleaning at a food establishment toward the window when the least food is exposed, which on most restaurant properties means after close.
Rule 511-6-1-.07 of the Rules of the Georgia Department of Public Health, amended effective February 12, 2025, states at subsection (5)(b)2 that "Except for cleaning that is necessary due to a spill or other accident, cleaning shall be done during periods when the least amount of food is exposed, such as after closing", and at subsection (5)(b)1 that "The physical facilities shall be cleaned as often as necessary to keep them clean and by methods that prevent contamination of food products."
The same rule sets the condition of the outdoor areas a cleaning contractor works in. Subsection (2)(q) of the Georgia Department of Public Health rule requires that outdoor refuse areas "shall be curbed and graded to drain to collect and dispose of liquid waste that results from the refuse and from cleaning the area and waste receptacles", and subsection (2)(p) requires that "Exterior walking and driving surfaces shall be graded to drain."
Read the rule for what it is: a duty on the food service operator, not a rule the cleaning contractor is inspected against. Thrare Contracting schedules dumpster pad and grease corral washing after close on food service properties because that schedule serves the operator's duty, and a 24 hour operation gets the lowest volume window its manager will name.
A public agency needs an active federal registration, the certifications its own solicitation names, and a compliant insurance certificate before it can issue a purchase order, and Rare Earth Ltd maintains the registration and the certifications.
Rare Earth Ltd is registered in SAM.gov under CAGE 9JAV8 and UEI Z4WKS4UE8NJ6, is certified DBE through the Georgia Unified Certification Program, holds MBE certification and small disadvantaged business status, and is enrolled in E-Verify. Rare Earth Ltd does not hold HUBZone status, 8(a) status or SOC 2 certification. One caveat belongs with the DBE claim: the certification itself is current, and USDOT's interim final rule has suspended DBE goal counting, so no prime should be told that subcontracting to Rare Earth Ltd satisfies a federal DBE goal today.
Thresholds are local, and quoting one county's rule at another county's property is a common vendor error. Cobb County Procurement Services states that "All purchases of goods and/or services estimated to be in excess of $50,000.00 are advertised by the Cobb County Procurement Services Department and in the Marietta Daily Journal", that "Responses to quotation requests greater than $10,000 but less than $50,000 must be submitted in writing (fax or email)", and that a vendor application "is not complete, and will not be activated, until a completed W-9 is emailed to vendor.enrollment@cobbcounty.gov". Those figures belong to Cobb County and do not transfer to another county or to the state.
According to the U.S. Small Business Administration's FY25 small business contracting scorecard, published June 25, 2026, the federal government awarded "nearly 28% of all prime federal contracts to small businesses" against "the statutory federal contracting goal of 23%", representing "a $179 billion investment in the small business economy", and "the federal government earned an A on this year's government-wide scorecard". SBA reports that number for federal prime contracting; it is context for why a certified small business is worth registering, and it is not a promise that any single small business wins work.
Two pieces of public sector performance are documentable. Rare Earth Ltd supplied $198,000 in recycled aggregate to Fulton County Public Works as prime. And according to the award notification issued by Gwinnett County Public Schools Purchasing and Property Management, Bid B-2622LM, On Demand Pressure Washing, Softwash and Window Cleaning, completed its procurement process with an award dated 2026-08-31, and Rare Earth Ltd is one of the firms eligible to be considered as a service provider under it for the term running 2026-09-01 through 2027-06-30.
State that award precisely, because the shape of it matters. B-2622LM is a multi-award on demand vendor pool selected through competitive procurement, not an exclusive or sole source contract. Participation in it does not guarantee any minimum amount of work, the district publishes no dollar value for it, and a department requests a quote from the pool when a need arises. Full certification detail sits on the DBE and MBE page, and agency-facing capability material sits on the government contracting page.
A recurring program is worth more than a one time clean wherever buildup compounds, because a surface cleaned on a cycle is cleaned at lower pressure with milder chemistry than the same surface cleaned once a year.
Thrare Contracting runs monthly, quarterly and semi annual cycles for commercial accounts, with consolidated invoicing, a service record after each visit, and scheduling windows locked in advance rather than negotiated each time. A manager holding several properties can put all of them under one agreement with cycles set per property, because two centers with the same square footage rarely soil at the same rate. Recurring exterior scopes bundled with grounds and facility work are described on the commercial property programs page.
The argument for a cycle is mechanical rather than commercial. Biological growth that is treated at eight weeks releases with a soft wash; the same growth at twelve months has bonded into the pores of the substrate and takes pressure or a stronger chemical, both of which the Brick Industry Association and James Hardie limit on the exact surfaces most likely to have it.
CAGE 9JAV8, UEI Z4WKS4UE8NJ6: certification detail
Property managers and general contractors: register us
Scoped quote within 24 hours: request one
Debris and cleanup callouts: details
Rare Earth Ltd, doing business as Thrare Contracting, holds DBE certification through the Georgia Unified Certification Program, MBE certification and small disadvantaged business status, maintains an active SAM.gov registration under CAGE 9JAV8 and UEI Z4WKS4UE8NJ6, and is enrolled in E-Verify. Rare Earth Ltd does not hold HUBZone status, 8(a) status or SOC 2 certification.
Wash water is contained on site and kept out of the storm sewer. 40 CFR 122.26(b)(2) defines a discharge to a municipal separate storm sewer that is not composed entirely of storm water as an illicit discharge, and Atlanta City Code section 74-436 prohibits discharging pollutants or waters containing pollutants into the City of Atlanta storm sewer system. Cobb County Water directs contractors to screen runoff from uncontaminated surfaces and to collect and dispose of runoff from contaminated surfaces through the sanitary sewer or an approved disposal facility.
Yes. Work runs in sections so that no more than one drive lane, one parking deck level or one building elevation is out of service at a time, and tenants and the security desk receive the schedule in writing before the first shift. Overnight and weekend windows are available where a property will not release daytime access.
Concrete and asphalt repair, crack filling and joint sealing, sealers and coatings, pavement marking and restriping, roof work and gutter repair, property levied permits and badging fees, and removal of staining that has penetrated the substrate. Rust, tire polymer transfer and long standing petroleum saturation lighten rather than disappear, and the site walk states which category a stain falls in before a number is quoted.
Gwinnett County Public Schools awarded Bid B-2622LM, On Demand Pressure Washing, Softwash and Window Cleaning, on 2026-08-31, and Rare Earth Ltd is one of the firms eligible to be considered as a service provider under it for the term 2026-09-01 through 2027-06-30. B-2622LM is a multi-award on demand vendor pool selected through competitive procurement. Participation does not guarantee any minimum amount of work, and the district publishes no dollar value for it.
Brick, fiber cement, EIFS, aged mortar joints and painted masonry. The Brick Industry Association states that high-pressure water cleaning is not appropriate for brick and instructs cleaners not to exceed 400 psi at the nozzle tip unless the brick manufacturer permits it. James Hardie Technical Bulletin #20 instructs that wide fan tips be kept a minimum of 6 feet from the wall at pressures under 1500 psi on its fiber cement siding.
Send the property address, the surfaces in scope and the access window. Thrare Contracting responds within 24 hours with a written scope.