RPetry

Ditto with Matt above on the Deckster and Ready Seal. Airless for solid stains. Do know of a multiple location wood company that uses Ready Seal with custom Titan airless units for verticals and truck wash brushes for the floors. They apparently knock out jobs faster than I can do an estimate!

I like to fill in the schedule with some little jobs. Quick to complete, you can schedule work around them. Nice to get done with an hour or two, here and there. They make a nice break from typical decks. Mix of clear and knotty western red cedar, with numerous layers of suspected Behr's and/or CWF. Stripped, citric, and sanded. One heavy application of Ready Seal natural cedar. Wish it was, but the handsome guy in the middle picture is not me. A terrific helper, Chris, in his 2nd year. Bless him, he does most of the work!

Matt, Keep your paws off my help. What do you want to do, make me work? Seriously, Chris is my best "kid" ever. Eagle Scout, president of his H.S. senior class, v.p. of his fraternity at Univ. of Michigan, and smart. Likes the work, is reliable, and can do many wood jobs on his own. My customers love him, especially the women! I have had real good results hiring college students over the past several years. They start in late April or early May, just as the season here gets going full bore. Unfortunately, they are usually done in mid to late August, having to get back to school.

Hey Carlos, Welcome back. Looks like you had a fine getaway. My wife and I were in Aruba for an extended weekend about 12 yrs. ago. Did not realize until we arrived, it was over Carnival weekend. Lots of drinking and dancing in the main parade, we had a blast! Our favorite in the Caribbean is Bonaire, one of the sister islands of Aruba. We are heading to St. Lucia next Friday for a short 5 night vacation. It is our 20th wedding anniversary and I need a break. Wish it was longer, but have to get back to business.

Still get sucked into these things. Estimate done last year. Call comes in this spring, "can you restore my deck?". Well yeah, I'll put you on the list but its going to be awhile. Quoted as a quick strip and solid oil stain redo. Hey, we were a bit slow late in the season last year. Hate solid stains unless the book is bad. So Monday we strip it. Comes out OK. Replace 4 2x6 boards per the original estimate. Looks better. Build 2 stinger steps. Strip it again. Now it looks even better. Maybe RS on the top rail, bench tops, and floor? I am a real sucker. Sanded the bejesus out of the wood as there were 2 separate solid apps on the wood. Hate solid stains. Made my helper paint every last bit of Cabot oil on the vertical wood. Bless him, he is still at it. The radio helps, with Sirius he hoots at Howard Stern all morning and keeps at it. Seems that every season, one comes along that you cannot help yourself. This job is worth than more than twice the estimated original price, but you know what? I do not care. This 2 tone is gonna' shine when we are done.

History should teach lessons. An excerpt from David McCullough's blog, the author of "John Adams". This is a very readable book and the basis of a recent HBO miniseries. I strongly believe all of us should know and remember how great were the hardships endured by the very real-life men and women of America's founding time and how much of our way of life and our freedoms we owe to their sacrifices and steadfastness. David McCullough

Beth, Unfortunately, we do not see any white cedar here in NJ. Ever run across it in Md.? Still, this color is worth a shot on Western Red Cedar. I think I have just the job for it in August.

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Jason, Holy Smokes! You make it 2 wood contractors that I know of that came close to losing their homes due to stain - spontaneous combustion. Truck fires can be more than an insurance and operational nightmare. Jack Kramer had the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection all over him for hazmat until he could produce MSDS sheets for the products in his torched truck.

No thanks due me, but my thanks to my friend. Aside from the great looking stain, how about that acrylic strip job? That is wood prep at its finest. A first class guy in the wood restoration business longer than the age of many contractors.

I have been fortunate to be in contact over the past few years with a mentor. A semi-retired, 35 odd years in the business, wood restoration contractor. He sent me these pictures of Armstrong Clark stain, color is Super Cedar Blend. The wood is white cedar. Numerous layers of acrylic stripped and sanded. Two wet on wet applications of Armstrong Clark stain. This color is magnificent on cedar.

Jarrod, You may be missing my point, I'll try another tack. These jobs can pay very well. So well, with the right strippers and equipment, margins can be much better than an average staining job. These jobs are often non-competitive. Handymen don't have a clue, painting companies run away, and the local "hacks" with a Home Depot PW know better than to try and tackle one. Point being that often there are no other bids. Within reason, a contractor can name his price. When faced with the cost of a tear down and rebuild, John Doe will often pay up to save his exterior wood. I realize you are in a difficult market but is it as bad as 1 job in a 100 bids? Beth n Rod, Jason, and I land these tough ones in 3 separate areas. Maybe Florin can too. And make a good buck.

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Len, Good thing you caught the smoldering rag in time. There are wood companies here on TGS that have lost trucks to spontaneous combustion. One came close to losing their home to fire due to stain soaked tarps. Not all oils are the same. Check the, I think it is flash point, on the MSDS sheet. The lower the temp, the more susceptible to fire problems. Hah! Good call.

Kevin, I believe this is caused by iron oxide pigments. Kind of like millions of tiny mirrors.Greg, You said: Thanks, coded it 2 winters ago. The picture is pressure treated Southern Yellow Pine, stained with Ready Seal medium red.

Greg, What Charlie said. You stated: Paraffinic oil. But your assumptions may be false. Look, its a deck. Just clean and stain it. The wood should be fine for 2 years. Unless you want to hire a pro, just do it.

Absolutely true. Grandkids will be asking their elders how they managed to learn anything prior to the internet. And the kids will be right. Most of my generation did not learn much due to difficult, sometimes inaccessible, information. It is a new world.

Charlie, The AC stain we received was so well integrated, I'm not so sure that a hard drill/paddle mix was needed. Still have a 5'er we will use later this season, so will see if it is still good to go without a drill paddle.

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Beth, Very diplomatic. But truth be told, many woodies on TGS could be making a lot more cabbage on other endeavors. Money follows work, experience, knowing your market, love of wood, and a hard time or two. It ain't easy.

For JOgden, Hate: MS Love: Linux/Unix Just fooling around James. Bag a moose and cook up the fresh liver!

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Beth, Anyone that "passes it up" is not into wood. Look at the last picture. Gap between the early and late wood is huge. Florin is in Washington state. Might this be good redwood? I think it is. You cannot buy this wood. At least, not on the East coast. You may not be able to grow the tree that made this wood in your lifetime. You cannot restore it in a day or an hour. But you can do something that not many care or want to do, restore it. But it must be the right customer and a contractor with a passion for good wood. This ain't PT. Hah!