MMI Enterprises

Is it by chance redwood?..tends to look pretty dark when wet...If it looks good dry then yer good to go.

Just cleaned/stripped same Superduck color today. That stuff fails all over and is junk. Some thick areas were not fun to strip and man did I have it strong..burned my wrist actually. My first impression of that house yells like $15k-20k but I wonder what the back side is like. Is it just one story or two? Going off approx. 10' per story X 30'ln per side ya get 3600ft. X $4= $14400 .. but that is a wild guess. But counting roof and balcony overhang or decking that thing could have twice that much footage regardless what the back is like....

Not sure you will like this opinion but... Who in their right mind is gonna spot sand 40k+ ft. of deck in leiu of no water available at the rates you mentioned..why no water?, doesn't make sense to have 80 condos without water..if cabins then I could see it but even then there should be water around somewhere. No water means buildup in cracks will remain and it means areas that aren't quite yet showing flaking will flake off with new stain soon enough or disolve and bubble off when ya apply the new stain. You would have to sand every inch to get proper penetration or adhesion and if not the new will likely not match if it didn't fail. Pretty much anytime you sand an area in wood staining it will look different than the unsanded and probably doubly so if not actually cleaning and brightening. Even when I come to a project that looks fairly decent without much graying every sq. inch is done and there is major difference anywhere that would be missed. I can't fathom spot sanding and reshooting something over the old oxidized stain, grime, and uv grayed out areas but hey I do hear home owners do such on occasion. This is way hokie sounding project..run!! But on other hand if you can get water out there ya got bank..just do the stairs at 2x...I like a challenge, when do we start? lol.. :)

Discretionary income indeed seems important Beth.. Would call it most important actually. Dan, do you recognize how different delivery systems or economic systems can be as far as size go?. Is America at all suited to immedietly turn into small compact economic lifeboats where an individual areas existance does not depend on others thousands of miles away?... I say NO.. Our country can't handle much higher gas prices without seeing major sacrafices to growth if not actual health and welfare..

Beth, I think that was to say that one 'duh' labeled an act unrelated to a person and another 'duh' labeled the lack of an act at a personal level... aka-a personal insult implying no brain activity...

KEN it sounds like you've positioned yerself real well on the inexhaustable gravy train..good for ya.. :) To me much of what ya said makes sense. I do think the leads/closing rates will start to suffer if inflation snowballs. The topic of inflation is what many are really talking and tossing about and concerned with. I've mentioned a time or two recently of hearing about an economist view on how the current gas thing not equaling or turning into inflation across the board but I'll be danged if I can't put a finger on it and refind the info. If anyone here is able to describe it. All I can confirm was that it was so simple to understand and convey that I done forgot it..lol. Often is the case on brilliant invention or reason.. ah well easy come easy go. So far I would have to say I don't see inflation across the board yet. Perhaps we won't... I feel some key ingredient of inflationary times are being missed in this discussion..

dontcha know the oil is just like lowballers? They abiotic and the Earth just keeps making more. You can dig 4-5 mi. down on bottom of ocean and there they be, a whole colony of lowballers welling up one after the other. Hmm..surely old dinosaur wash guys don't turn into lowballers after millions of years..do they? :lgbonk:

umm what that be Carlos? Haven't planned for anything but hayfever and heat myself..

I just had b-day too the other week and have a few extra lbs so that gives me right..lol

Who's the guy on his knees? Ken don't take care of wood does he?:whip: I mean I heard he is old fat guy right?

Dan, I don't care if the arrival and task of that job was all that I had to consider. Unfortunetly though I got things like driving there first to market to them then I gots to drive there to bid them then I gots to drive to get supplies for them then I gots to drive however many times to service them then I gots to drive to the bank to cash funds then I gots to drive my butt to the refreshment/recovery place after getting worn out from pumping all that gas and then I gots to do it all over again... yea I care about it. :) Not only must we raise prices to account for the actual loss but we got to raise even higher to protect our margin of effective profits against the Jones so we can keep up family recreational activities outside of work..

Matt, Are those pics before or after brightening/neutralizing? Can't imagine how your to do the fine/cut in work around the gutters and windows without being up there. If I wanted to try and get out of some of the hand cut in work a china bristle off telescopic pole may work on a few areas. The main shooting I would do with 24" wand off ladder. Dig it in if need be or have someone hold it below. Use low flow tip to get in tight so yer cut in work is just a few inches..

Dan, what would interest me is the starting percentages for each and an ending percentage when mixed eh?

Dang that be a smooth one Ken!..:winkanim:

Thanx Rick. I see what yer saying and figured the months that other deck held the stains work out to 7 mon. and then 9 mon.... but are you saying your deck is way older and underwent a couple cycles before ya aged it all free of stain for that year? I would think one of those stains lasting better than another would be due to both the stain itself and the deck history/amount of seasons. Just want to clarify the age differences and seasoning as heck for sure a 7-9 mon. versus a full year or more is a worthy thing to confirm. I mean in the long term over 30 years that is only 30 services versus 45 services....although we all know full well eventually after only a few or more year they both will have about same seasoning and end up getting a year off a stain. Especially considering the one that fails early will end up seeing more age time due to folks being more likely to let it go a few month being bare if not due to economics then due to deck work seasons not meshing with when it actually needs done. Can't do a deck if the snow is still falling.. Think I would go ahead and stain for aesthetics and count on things catching up eventually. This doesn't even allow for possability of aging from get go by stripping. Isn't that what Rod or others are doing?.....Hello, Anybody gettin a year or more off a 2 year old ipe to verfy the possability of not aging for a year??

Talk to Russell on getting a boost for it or search out the forum for info and learnin on glycols, propylene glycols, butyl (2-butoxy), or nonyl phenol. Larger variety of coatings can be removed with the chem and reaction boosting.

Always nice to see confirmation of the bulks compatability. :lglolly:

So are you implying that without the initial year of sitting that ipe aged the same amount (+1year) with a stain applied from get go would not get the year that your test did? I don't see logic saying people are to get less than a year out of the second years staining if they stained upon the initial install. Isn't it fair to say a 2 year old ipe is gonna hold stain just the same whether ya aesthetically presented it to customer with a stain first off or ya let it age a year?

How much you guys pay for that twp?..Thought I seen current retail price under it at KellyMoore reading as $42 per gal. ..ahh, the 500 is currently $150 at pro sealer..hmmm

Good job Rick..nothing like real world testing! On my end I would have to call the rails a wash. The slight difference of the citric being richer seems to be a grain/cut anomaly being that top part of the oxalic pic shows as same or similar. Man the condition of the deck is disappointing but I guess expected in you world of caring for ipe. Depending on this decks history, it perhaps confirms that waiting a year or attempts at quikening the extractive removal prior to an initial staining could be thought of as useless. May sort of leave a 'go ahead/green check mark' in the stain right away collumn for those wanting the aestetics from the get go. What ya say Rick? How was the weather it went through and how much hoseing off might had it seen?

Those amounts are straight forward enough..but would anyone like to share up their percarb downstreaming experiences? Any disolving/clogging isues for instance?

Looks sweet from here!!

Yea we all run into the fella that will put down a product rather than recognizing there is different strokes for different folks. Rather than explaining that each type can have its benefits and require different technique or coats they claim one is better without weighing things out. My latest is that some trusted friend of a customer claims my process (same as most here) is improper and sanding is the way to go on her deck. Of course they surely haven't the forsight to see the fastners not being recessed or the type and condition of the stain. I would almost pay to watch how the other guy is gonna tackle the outer rails/ spindles on double decks both up in the air.

Yea that's different. You mean you do a lot of work for him as a brother for what he does for you or do you do it as a business making money?. If all that work is business and as profitable as any other then you may owe bro major.... ..just jiven ya but, GET OFF THE TEET and realize what commercial space would run ya to answer the question if yer putting the screws to him... :)

Matt.. The best solution is to just not do it under premise of keeping relations. Family and business usually don't mix well when profits are in mind. Problem here is that your machinery gets wear and tare that bro might not wish to account for and bro is perhaps having you do more area than would be considered just a little personal upkeep. He may not value your hourly wage/charge the same as you do..Some would view it that doing without profit would be unfair as what he is doing off yer labor is building his equity via your swet rather that his own. Some may not care for that if he is able bodied. He could go buy a cold washer and do his self with a little advice from you. Is he gonna give you part the equity since you did the swetting? Honestly though if my relatives need me I'm there if my regular schedule and free time allowed. They would be helping if able and buying lunch and dinner besides the gas and chems. That said I don't have relatives owning multiple outbuildings or what have you. It is not mandatory to wear the hat of being in business with relatives. Just stick on the company hat that denotes charity/donations and say "hey Matt, yes you can put a little wear on the machinery for sake of family".. I don't think it is written that profit is mandatory between blood. Same applies for usery during loaning them money.. :)