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RPetry

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Everything posted by RPetry

  1. Beth,

    Costa Rica is nice and warm this time of the year. Judy is off in Italy for 2 weeks and I'm stuck here taking care of 2 pups and trying to finish off work for the year. Life is not fair!

  2. Beth,

    I put the PW into winter hibernation this past Friday. Enough already!

  3. Virtual Election '08

    RPetry replied to Beth n Rod's question in The Club House

    One can be an orphaned, handicapped, political science major from Somalia, but unless you are gifted intellectually, you are not going to be admitted into Harvard Law School. Once there, Obama rose among peers to become the President of the Harvard Law Review, the most prestigious student position available at Harvard, and arguably, of any law school in this country. Many in that position go on to clerk for a Supreme Court justice. From there, Obama was offered a faculty position at the University of Chicago Law School, a highly respected institution that is somewhat right leaning. He taught for 12 years, including courses in Constitutional Law. One can question and argue Obama's policies and politics. But to question his intellectual capability, in light of his accomplishments and resume', is just plain off the mark.

  4. Hey Beth,

    Its friggin' freezing here, 34 F at the moment. Thats OK, need a morning off, last two jobs of the season need stain but will have to wait to start 'till noon. Third weekend in a row I've worked both days. Looking forward to this season being over!

  5. Blackened decks

    RPetry replied to plainpainter's question in Wood Cleaning & Restoration - Decks, Fences, etc.

    Daniel, Not exactly. What I am saying is that linseed oil is a well known food source for mildew. Manufacturers of linseed oil based stains must add the proper and compatible mildewcides/fungicides to prevent mildew growth. If a stain turns black, it is probably more than "surface" growth, the organisms are into the stain, and possibly into the wood. Back in 2002, Behr's settled a class action lawsuit upwards of $150 million for bad stain with ineffective mildewcides/fungicides. Many of the most costly settlements were in the Pacific Northwest where wood was actually being slowly degraded by mold/mildew infestation. I occasionally run into old decks where this Behr's effect is easily seen. The wood is discolored in spot areas, in the substrate of the wood, from old mildew growth. And you cannot strip or clean it out.

  6. Blackened decks

    RPetry replied to plainpainter's question in Wood Cleaning & Restoration - Decks, Fences, etc.

    Daniel, Try this. Put two coatings on a test board and let sit outside for a year. One coating is straight, boiled linseed oil. The other coating is a linseed oil based exterior wood stain, such as Wolman's F&P, WoodTux, or numerous others. This should illustrate the difference that a mildewcide/fungicide makes in a properly manufactured exterior linseed oil based wood stain.

  7. Beth,

    Still have a hole in my right thumb, but slowly healing. Have another small hole on my right forearm with the surrounding skin kind of "cooked". That Stripper Cream is some very powerful stuff!

    Have all winter to heal, one more big job starting next week and I'm packing it in for the season.

  8. Beth,

    Yeah, that stinks. Redwood siding and the owner doesn't care.

    Most of my finer wood customers at least pretend of some interest in their wood. Makes me feel better! Especially when you bust your hump to do the finest work possible.

  9. Matt, Figured as much, was just kidding about ear muffs! I don't need them, already being somewhat deaf. Never bring the hearing aids on the job! Nice contract with the cellular buildings, you seem to generate more unusual, but high margin PW business than most I know. Of course, most I know just specialize in wood.

  10. Beth,

    Hope it warms up a bit for chems to work. That mahogany job has mahogany spindles! Covered in a nice latex. Can't help myself, will spend days getting it off! Gotta' go.

  11. Lord be Matt, what is with that extension wand, don't like to get wet? And those high tech ear muffs, getting cold in the North country? Hah! Gotta' admit, that is the cleanest outhouse I have ever seen. Mucho congrats!

  12. Beth,

    "I'll kiss your booboo at the RT."

    Hah, promise? Can't wait but 'ya better leave Rod home!

  13. Beth,

    You think you have problems, I've got a hole in my thumb from a small tear in a glove and Eacochem's Stripper Cream. That stuff is powerful, ate through flesh!

    Thought business was slowing down but have gotten slammed with work the last two days. Want to fly out to Mich. and pull my best kid out of U. of M. this semester!

    Thats it for the season, no more jobs. Bids outstanding will just have to wait until spring. Enough already, its time for hibernation.

  14. Celeste, I am partial to Ready Seal medium red on ipe'. Picture attached.
  15. James, Ipe' is a difficult wood. Carbide drill bits and saw blades help. My helper stripped and restained my ipe' deck last year with Ready Seal. The wood took two light brushings of Ready Seal med. red without problem. But I had let the wood naturally weather, after stripping off old Cabot's ATO the previous year. This year after a light strip and sand, the RS took to the wood fine. Only put one app on to compare equally with the other stains. I'm sure the ipe' could have taken another light oiling of RS. There are pics of the ipe' done last year with RS medium red somewhere on TGS. Search for "ipe Ready Seal". Hate to admit it, but at the moment the Defy water based stain looks the best out of all the samples.
  16. Just landed a very nice mahogany strip and stain job this morning. The customer found my company through this web site. Thank you Beth & Rod.
  17. Ron, We have probably booked about a dozen wood restoration jobs over the years due to TGS. Since putting up a company web site a few years ago, it has become harder to measure. Customers appear to come from our site, but I think some of them still find us through TGS.

  18. Virtual Election '08

    RPetry replied to Beth n Rod's question in The Club House

    Jeff, Hah, good rejoinder with the toad crack! Earlier in her life, yes, my sister was a serious, practicing witch or Wicca member. Of the White variety. Recently, she has become somewhat of a Bhuddist. My sister is a bit strange.
  19. Email back from the customer after a handshake this AM: It was a real pleasure meeting you as well. Thanks for the pictures and contracts…it all looks great and either stripping scenario works fine for me. I trust your judgement. I will make sure the water is turned on, and will leave a check for you on Monday in the door we used behind the screen. Looking forward to working with you. These are the customers we all dream about. I cannot guarantee a total strip until on site with proper chems and a PW. If unsure, give your customers an option. Be straight and honest. With meeting the customer this AM and his email response, I will do everything under the sun to do the best work possible. Its a two way street. If they trust you and are willing to reasonably compensate your efforts, pay 'em back in spades.
  20. Old house. Deck has been documented to be between 35 and 50 years old. No one is sure, but the wood does not have any remnants of stain. In NJ, nothing lasts this long without care aside from old growth. Certainly a softwood. Note the endgrain deterioration on the edge of the stairs. Endgrain off foot traffic looks like it has just been cut. Moss, mold, and mildew. Not splintered, a few knots out but few. True 2" x 8" deck boards, not dimensional lumber. Quickly cleaned a spot on 2 deck boards with NaOH and rinsed. Hit with citric but still wet when I left. Note the pic of the post in the ground. Boards are nailed, but after all this time nails have not "popped"! Any ideas? My first guess is old growth redwood, due to the grain on the "cleaned" picture. But does old redwood have knots? 2nd guess would be old growth cedar, either red or white. Do not know of any other softwood that could last this long in this climate. Woodies, especially you West coasters, help me out! Thanks.
  21. Jim, Adventures with "Loggy" will have to wait for another month. After that, it's 5 months of vacation!

  22. Virtual Election '08

    RPetry replied to Beth n Rod's question in The Club House

    Jeff, Watch it. My only sibling and sister is a witch. Care to send me a lock of your hair?
  23. Beth, It is not so much as a "beast" size wise, but an elevated difficult strip and sand finish wise. Its red mahogany with nasty Behr's and Cabot's trash stains just being an eyesore and maintenance nightmare for the wood. Red mahogany deserves better.

  24. Virtual Election '08

    RPetry replied to Beth n Rod's question in The Club House

    These two statement contradict each other. Hmm, lets see. Someone who commentates on NPR and PBS cannot be honest, non-ideological, and not stidently political. That makes no sense. David Brooks is not running for political office. He is a columnist. A historian, author, and very good writer. Did I state who I was going to vote for? You may be surprised. Actually, there is a slight chance I may surprise myself this year.

  25. Virtual Election '08

    RPetry replied to Beth n Rod's question in The Club House

    A reposte. David Brooks, columnist for the New York Times, author, and frequent guest on NPR and PBS, has written a thoughtful column on Sen. John McCain in this morning's paper. Brooks is a level headed, intellegent, and truthful writer. I have been following his columns for many years and find him completely honest, with no overarching ideology or political ax to grind. Go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/26/opinion/26brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
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