RPetry

Chad, Interesting house. As Diamond Jim stated, it could be the strength of the stripper. But, hand in glove, using a coarse brush to scrub as well as too much water pressure is the perfect storm for degrading the surface of the cypress.

John, Odd about flood insurance down at Pt. Pleasant Beach. Premiums over the last 20 or so years would have been nearly as much as rebuilding. No, the property does not have flood insurance. My wife's parents owned the house for nearly 60 years. The worst flooding was in the late 80's during that time, and never reached the 1st floor living areas. I remember my "rescue" wading knee deep to get them to my new '86 Subaru. Little damage, aside from some water in the garage. Sandy was the veritable 100 yr. storm. Being said, I'd definitely look at a property built above the recent high water line. There will be some attractive deals in the real estate market down the Jersey shore in the next few years. My grandfather was a good friend with a man who had cash and some credit during the Depression in the 30's. He started buying up distressed properties via foreclosure or owner financial hardship due to the economy at that time. Rented many, and then started selling in the early '50's. Made a small fortune. The attraction of waterfront/shore properties will return. It's human nature and a natural playground for those able to afford a 2nd weekend home close to their primary residence. Wait a bit, gauge the market, and find the right property at a distressed price.

Hey John, Yeah, there's a lot more room up here. Can run the dogs off lead from the house. Little traffic on country roads. Not many people. A slower pace and lifestyle. Doesn't feel or look like most of NJ. We did take a big hit from Sandy on my wife's family home down in Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ. It's now a question of a major renovation, demolish and build new, or just sell as is. All tough choices.

Judy and I finally bought a home in the country. Well here in NJ it's the country. Closed mid August, sold our 23 yr. old house in mid Oct., and moved on up to Ringoes, NJ. On Toad Lane, feel like we now live in a Beatles song. Sandy came through like a freight train for about 5 hours. Very strong winds, could not hear anything going on outside aside from a nearly constant howl. Only lost power for about 20 minutes and went to bed. We were lucky. Woke up the next morning to a downed white spruce and a few topped ones. Gave me an excuse to buy a Stihl chainsaw. My nephew came down and helped me de limb, buck, and move it to the road. Rented an excavator and pulled the stump, as well as 4 others, over Thanksgiving. Now, I've got to learn how to plant grass on the new bare spots. Should have done this move years ago.

Mordy, You are more than welcome. Tom started ACR Products about the same time I started this business. I purchased a new Hydro Tek PW from him initially, possibly one of the first units he sold. Since that time I've relied on ACR for nearly all my equipment, parts, repairs, chemicals, and wood stain. You will not find a better distributor and business partner than ACR.

Brian, Hah! Good point. Micky, An upgrade from a 2.8 to a 4.0 GPM pump is not a doubling of flow, it is ~ 40%. As Brian so subtlety pointed out, we specialize in wood care, not flat work that Jorge is tackling. With the resultant lower PSI with the larger pump, would the PW be adequate for that type of work?

Jorge, You have to be single. If not, save your money for a divorce lawyer. Not 1 in 100 wives would allow a PW inside the house on wall to wall carpeting! I'm not sure that an upgrade to a 4.0 GPM pump from a 2.8 is going to make that much of a difference. You may want to save up and purchase a larger PW. There should be some good deals on decent used equipment as winter is coming on.

Mordy, 1. Market and work like *ell for 7+ months of the season here in NJ. For the first few years, you may want to keep your interior wood business for income in the winter months. 2. Talk with and visit Tom Vogel of ACR Products in Easton, Pa. It is about a 1 1/2 hr. drive from Lakewood. Tom has both practical experience as a contractor and knows equipment, appropriate chemicals, and stains. Phone is (610) 253-8005, web site is ACR Products, Inc. ACR sponsors a round table style seminar each spring in March. Plan on attending this coming year. You cannot purchase an appropriate commercial cold water PW new for $1000. Tom may have something used to get started at that price. 3. Forget the pump up. Purchase or build 12 v. electric sprayer(s) designed for applying chemicals and exterior wood stains.

I agree. Old weathered cedar will take RS in the mid to high 40 temps, but needs a lot of time to cure out/dry. We've stained aged PT wood in the high 30's using RS without problem. But getting the wood to dry out at those temps takes a long period of dry weather, low humidity, and preferably a windy day or two.

Beth, Yup. And that is the final vote.

Geeze Beth, You and I did not get one vote! Good for us, it's getting time to retire. Let the young bucks work hard for a change, and contribute more to our Medicare and Social Security. I've got a redwood job that's just killing me... Hah!

Shane, What I meant to point out, Knotty WRC in my eye and taste is a terrific looking wood. Plain high grade clear WRC, at near twice the cost, has little character. Kind of bland IMO. Knots rock.

Shane, Real nice job. Like the dark final color of the custom BGA mix. Knotty WRC is one of the best looking woods out there.

Doug, No. Nothing to do with expected longevity. % of volume solids is basically how much of the original stain in the can that is left on/in the wood after evaporation of all liquids. Again in basic terms, the higher the volume solids, the more coverage per unit measure. The lower the volume solids, the more solvent in the stain promoting penetration into the wood.

Hey Beth, To be honest, the barn cedar and certainly the mesquite looks great as is, naturally weathered. Both woods are old growth quality, and have been in service for at least 100 yrs. without intervention and with very little degradation. A clear oil might be OK, but I do not think it is really needed. And, the customer likes it just the way it is ...

For those amazed by astronomy, religion, deep thoughts, space stuff, or science fiction, check out these photos: Royal Observatory Picks Best Astronomy Photos of the Year | Wired Science | Wired.com Our existense is more than we realize ...

Jake and Scott are offering up some great prizes. Woodies, show your stuff and support terrific vendors! Here is one of my favorite properties. The structure is a "spa" house, with gym, sauna, interior hot tub, custom showers, etc. owned by a commercial property developer. We have been servicing the ipe', as well as cedar on another structure for the past 5 years. What is stunning are the fine woods and design. Porches are ipe', the siding is ~ 100 yr. old cedar off of a barn in Central Pa., and the front door is very old Mesquite imported from Mexico. Stain on the ipe' is Ready Seal, redwood color.

Charlie, I agree with Jim and Beth, definitely red mahogany. Unless the door is completely protected from weather and direct sunlight, I would not use any urethane clear coat. These break down with UV exposure fairly quickly and are very difficult to strip. Better to go with what you know, ie: AC, and if prepped well, can look terrific. Also, a lot easier to service. Picture is a Chilean cedar front door stripped of some water based clear coat(s) and stained with Ready Seal light brown, now known as light oak.

Careful, Jake. I may dig out the photos of my professionally restored historic outhouse. BTW, egg production rose by 26% after that coop was finished!

James, Both Cabot and Benjamin Moore make good quality solid oil exterior wood stains. Both also provide color charts at retail outlets. Doubtful a stripper or cleaner will work well. Attach a few close up pictures of the areas in question and we may be helpful. A solid stain can hide substantial imperfections on the wood surface.

Lee, Bob's Fatboy puts out 7 gpm., way more than needed/wanted for most exterior wood work. The Deckster with the PumpTec or a Delavan/Shurflo setup would be more appropriate.

Chris, Like ipe', true red mahogany does not vary much in color with real semi transparent oil stains. Case in point, the pic below is a maintenance job we completed yesterday. The floor and top rail are newly stained with Ready Seal Redwood (formerly med. red). The post and bottom rail are stained with 2 year old "Woodzotic". An ESI pigment mix created by the famous Ken Fenner of PressurePros. Two separate manufactured stains, two separate types of oil, and two years between application. Hard to tell any difference.

Tom, Nice work on preparing your older PT. And good observation on the two stains. RS always penetrates into wood better than AC or any other remaining exterior oil based stain. This is due to the oil they use which is 100% paraffin, mineral, or "baby" oil. It is a true penetrating oil as opposed to linseed oil, which will get into the wood for a bit, but does form a film on the surface. Give Jake Clark of AC credit, as he has a hybrid of paraffin and linseed oil in his stains. Your call.

Jason, I'm a bit partial to ipe' as it is the toughest wood I know of. It will last for decades with little maintenance. However, ipe' is naturally a dark colored wood, and any penetrating oil will stain dark. If possible, I would seek out a lumber yard with stock and hand select each ipe' board. Bowed ipe' is a nightmare to install. In addition, if the budget allows, I would seriously consider using 2 x 4 dimensional lumber for the deck flooring. 1" or 5/4 x 6 will cup a bit over time and 2 x 4's seem to hold stain longer. I have no idea why ...

Keenan, I hope you are also joking about sanding the fence.