RPetry

6" of overnight snow on the ground. Time for some real music from a gone-by era. Crank it up. I was fortunate to see David Byrne and the Talking Heads three times in small clubs in the Philadelphia area. Before their first album came out. Each time, once the music started, everyone were on their feet dancing until the show ended. The bands' percussion unit, along with David Byrne's psychotic wildness, was a thing to behold. The energy flow in those clubs at that time was beyond compare. Woodstock did not come close, and I was there. Another oldie but more than goodie. Never saw the Ramones live, but played their vinyl to death. Got a sweet girl into your rental, throw on their 1st album, and you were set for the night. Rock out. Increase the volume. Magically, we're in our 20's again. For a bit. Do not underestimate the power of the number 7.

Cannot work, cannot get up the energy to shovel snow, bored. The SB is still a week away. The line on the game has shifted from -1 Seattle to -1 Green Bay. Tough call. If you have a slightly perverse sense of humor, see: -- Society is impossible without inequality; inequality intolerable without a code of morality, and a code of morality unacceptable without religion. -- Napoleon Bonaparte

Courtesy of the "Paint Quality Institute", a fully funded arm of Dow Chemical. If you have worked on exterior wood for any time, reach for a barf bag. This is more than absurd, it should be criminal. Go to: http://www.paintquality.com/en/articles/2015/04/why-acrylic-coatings-are-the-best-options-for-decks Read it and weep.

Ania, Anchorseal works well on ipe' cuts. Used it when "reskinning" and installing ipe' on my own deck. Stain will not be effective in preventing checking at end grain cuts. Caveat. Take your time and be careful when applying Anchorseal. Make sure you only apply the product on the "cut" of the ipe', nowhere else.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the wood in your pics. The floor looks like it may be Douglas Fir which kind of stains a bit spotty, but lasts a long time. Nice outdoor space, like the totem.

Steven, Dummond has about 6 different "Peel Away" strippers. The one shown in the video is for lead, oil based paint removal. The top rails in your pictures appear to a water based, possibly an acrylic coating. You may want to give them a call for correct product selection.

Stephen, Rod has a point. Not familiar with Peel Away, if it has a very thick consistency, think "pudding" or better yet "paste", it should work well on the top and 2 thin sides of the handrails, as long as it is effective. We keep 5 - 10 gals. in stock of an extremely caustic stripper, Eaco Chem's Stripper Cream. Chem gloves, safety glasses, and a rinse bucket of an acid is mandatory with the acid in case you get some on clothes or skin. Thick, kind of like pudding, and will cling to verticals with little to no drip. Apply "thick". Allow to dwell, if needed overnight, and pressure wash. Follow with a strong acid neutralizer and rinse again. You will definitely have to do a quick sanding of that wood.

Jim is entirely correct. Read that somewhere once. Can't remember the source. Incipient Alzheimer's. NaOCl is a wonder chemical.

Steven, We've been using citric acid, aside from extremely caustic stripping jobs, for maybe 13 years. Dependent on the shipping price, the 50 lb. bulk price is reasonable.

Joel, Insect poop would be a breeze. Little doubt that it is artillery fungus, that is near impossible to remove. Often the cause is lower quality mulch.

AFAIK, no acid, oxalic, citric, or other acids (lord forbid), clean wood. And anyone marketing a caustic cleaner mixed at the same time with an acid is a shyster. A cleaning on wood with a percarbonate or a sodium hydroxide stripper or stronger caustic, yeah, an acid is more than mandatory. Just a clean and additional stain, sodium hypochlorite and a bit of soap, and light PW, followed by a good water rinse is much better for the existing stain in and on the wood.

Bobby, Just noticed you are using "Restore a Deck". AFAIK, this is primarily sodium percarbonate which in solution has a pH of ~ 10 - 10.5. Thereby caustic. Follow up with a acid neutralizer and after a bit, a water rinse.

Depends what you are cleaning with!

Voted Stripper Cream for those nasty verticals. A bit pricey and laborious to apply, but does work well. Also voted HD-80, although we have not used that product in about 11 years. ACR Products supplies a very similar product, ACR 760, which is similar and works well. For those really snotty finish removals, some ACR ADD-633 along with a surfactant, a bit of time keeping it moist, works well.

Hi Jon, We've done many similar gazebo cedar shake roofs in the past, usually associated with deck(s). Being in Florida, I would assume that there is quite a bit of mold/mildew, particularly on the cut lower edges of the shakes and shaded areas of the cupola. As a cleaner, a 1.5 - 2% bleach mix with some soap would be appropriate. Using a Shurflo or similar pump, soak all the shakes well with the cleaner. For this step, if the shakes are in good shape, walking the roof should be fine. Two separate methods to washing. With either, a 10 - 12' step ladder is ideal. First, and quickest, is to use a short lance with a flexible lance attachment, and walk around on the gazebo roof, washing the "upper" half and cupola. Next, setup your ladder on the ground outside and wash the "lower" half, moving the ladder for each section. This gives the best results as edge cleaning and wand control is much easier. Otherwise, you will have to use an extended lance for the top, and the shorter lance for the bottom, requiring two circuits with the ladder or a lance change on each section. Do take care on washing the edges of the shakes. An ~ 45 degree angle is ideal. A much lower angle can lift off shakes due to water pressure and split/damage them.

Tom and Barbra Vogel of ACR Products started this early Spring seminar 12 or maybe 13 yrs. ago. For contractors. A get together, pig roast, pep talk, and education in March to get contractors set and excited about the coming season. Jack Kramer was involved early on. Wonderful presenter and knowlegible in the business. Last year, Thad and the PWRA got involved. The best industry event I have attended.

Stephen, Terrific before/after pictures. Like the house, especially the wrap around porch and the site. The view from the back of the home must be stunning.

Tom, There is an old saying, "Penny wise, dollar foolish". When it comes to maintaining expensive equipment, why cut corners? Your maintenance manuals will specify the correct fluids and service. If used equipment, most owners manuals are available on line today. I'd stick with the manufacturers specs.

John, I'm no professional sports guy, and don't know the NHL better than the sole of my wife's left foot. It is just one game in a long season. Being a Phila. Eagles fan, born and raised, kind of let the seasons play out. It is fun, you watch games and hope for the best. But it is professional sports, with a ton of teams. And a lot of injuries, highlights, of injuries, mishaps, and poor decisions. AFAIK, nothing matters until your sport/team reaches the playoffs. Then it gets to be fun.

Mike, Yes we are fortunate. Actually ACR ships stain and some chems to me throughout the season, but I am close and the charges are not bad and if ordered by 2 PM, at the shop by end of business the next day. The best thing is, I can run up in an hour or so to get equipment fixed, needed parts, or have help designing and fabricating a specialized piece of equipment. ACR has kept me in business for 14 years. Look around, there must be a good PW shop in your area.

ACR is a great find for new or old salts in the PW business. We're fortunate to have Tom, Barbara, and crew local to keep us in business. Been dependent on ACR for now 14 yrs. for nearly all of our chemicals, stains, equipment, and repairs.

Wrong. If one hires and trusts a contractor service, they have to deliver. Simple business. We have never not been paid for exterior wood services in 13 years. This is not rocket science, just knowing what has to be done and who to do it. You make a mistake, you fix it. Just like any other good service business.

^^^ Now that is cruel. Good for you!

Megan, Aside from being on site, the advice is the best I can offer. Just take care, it is getting cold an wet.

Megan, From your pictures, it is really not that bad. My best guess is that the contractor used a sodium percarbonate wood cleaner. We've used Ready Seal almost exclusively for 13 yrs. and a 3 yr. old Ready Seal stain is easily removed with a light sodium hydroxide stripper. The vertical deck wood picture is best evidence that a stripper was not used. In either case, it does not appear that an acid wash was used after stripping/cleaning. This is a guess, as the lighting and pictures make it difficult to tell for sure. NaOH and percarbs are caustic, which darkens wood and leaves it in a high pH range. Citric or oxalic acid should be applied to brighten and get the pH closer to neutral. Cedar shadow box fencing is generally fabricated with very low grade wood. The white residue around some knots is not unusual after cleaning/stripping and cover fine with stain. Some firring of fence cedar is also not unusual, many contractors and DIY'ers tend to use too much water pressure. If minor, it will not be noticeable after staining. If beat up a bit, a quick pass of the outside surface with a random orbital sander with 60 grit will take care of it. There is no easy "fix" trying to match colors fo two different species of exterior wood with any semi-trans oil based stain. Being the vertical PT wood still has the dark red (now called "mahogany") Ready Seal pigment, I'd restain the deck with the same product and color. 2 light applications on the deck floor and toprail, and a single application on the verticals. For the fence, if you want it the same color as the deck, one application on both the cedar and PT sections. The cedar will be lighter in color. A second stain application on the cedar section will get it darker and closer to the PT, but it will not be exact. It will look fine. Your real problem is that is very late in the season. Ready Seal can be applied when air temps are as low as the high '30's F. But wood has a difficult time drying out due to colder temps, higher relative humidities, and heavy overnight dew. If contracting, make sure they have a moisture meter and use it. The wood(s) must be at 14% moisture reading or less before applying the stain.