bigchaz

I recommend the deckster sprayer from Sunbrite Supply. Very low pressure and not a lot of atomization

The stripper basically is your cleaner in this case. And since you already washed the top all your surface dirt is off anyway so the stripper will go right to work. I don't use HD80 but that would be totally fine its a really good stripper. Please be very careful though and use eye protection, gloves, and be especially careful to mask off your work area and don't get stripper on your skin. I'm not really qualified to speak on acid as I've only ever used oxalic, I could be wrong but I think people use citric acid just as a more environmentally friendly alternative (probably smells better too). Who knows. You mentioned you had used the restore A deck product, I believe that also comes with a deck brightener do you have any of that?

Strip first then pressure rinse. The mold and algae is probably under or within the stain itself so you need to break up the finish. No need to use high pressure, the stripper if allowed to dwell long enough will break up the stain. Once rinsed apply acid. Either one is fine

I refer many of my deck customers for a house wash and the companies that have done work following me have never had any issues

I mean at the end of the day you gotta use what you feel comfortable with and are confident will give you the best results. Obviously if it were me I would use Armstrong but you can tell its a hotly debated subject everywhere. Since you mentioned you told Jake you would try the stain your deck is probably a great place to be able to monitor the finish and see if you get better results than what you currently use. **Edit, like Doug said the process for recoat is no different than most of the oil based stains out there...if your a bleach guy a light wash with that does the trick or if you do a light percarb either way you still leave those oils in the wood and clean it enough to get another coat right on top.

You won't have to strip Armstrong Clark to reapply maintenance coats. Of the few we did, the ready seal decks I got again I switched to AC last time around

Lol:rolleyes2

Beautiful home and deck Brian. I would give the Armstrong a try you won't be disappointed. If it were me, I would use Armstrong Natural Tone on the ceiling and either Cedar Semi Transparent or Cedar Toner on the floor (depending on your preference for opaqueness).

Dedicated chem pump with hose reel and chem tank on the trailer for stripper/brightener/etc. Basically what most people would consider to be a roof setup

Anyone that's ever sold it has been out of business long before they ever have to own up to the products longevity claims. Snake oil IMO

Wait a few months when all the summer warriors realize they don't want to put in the work to make any money in this business and then buy their equipment for a 1/3rd of the cost with only a few hours on it

I dont use warm water so usually 3 cups in a 5'er is about all i can get to dissolve. Works great though, plenty strong enough

Very nice work! Furniture is a PITA but you def nailed it on that one

What is your process for the many decks you have powerwashed

Is the sap coming from the wood itself? (as in leaking out of pressure treated pine) or is this sap fallout from overhead trees landing on the deck?

Glad things are thawing out for you there Rick! Deck looks nice. We've been doing a lot of those style chairs like you have lately...seems they are always missing one of the "stopper" bolts on the chair back...very comfy though!

Cubic Zirconia Jim, the one trick Ready Seal pony

Jim I think its because he used mostly natural tone versus the original mix that was on there

I use the same color for maintenance. You're always going to lose some color on the wash so I wouldn't use natural.

Your before pictures of the main deck don't look nearly as gray as the spot where the planter was? Is that a different deck or just angle of the shots making it look like that? Main deck doesn't look gray or mildewed at all just faded. Your cleaning looks good though...you can run a quick sand on the planter spot to even it out a bit and advise customer to use one of those stands for the pot or a wheeled plate to put it on. Normally for the maintenance clean I vary based on how the deck held up...we did one that was under trees and it had some pretty bad dirt I just used a light stripper. Otherwise what you did is perfect...if there's still oil in the wood you save on product this time around. Most maintence decks if we don't strip it only takes one light coat and the wood is good again

Its not just gas prices Pat, stain went up like 10 bucks a pail or something, if you use 2 or 3 pails that 30 bucks plus the 10 for gas plus figure freight has gone up as well for other stuff. But there's also the condition of the property, while it doesn't happen often i might price a maintenance deck at the 2 year mark much lower than that same deck a year if the condition has worsened

No but apparently it's ok to be an Idiot. Fill out your signature and re-read the title of the thread Cesar. Its a US State not a race.

Written proposals are only good for 14 days, unless it is discussed in advance that the customer may not be making a decision soon. For residential decks we are seeking customers ready to have the work done fairly immediately. I have some seasonal price adjustments as well so can't leave it open for too long

Its more a matter of a whether the deck is being used as an outdoor living space or in many of our customers cases an extension of the home basically. Sure it may be cheaper to replace the deck every 10 years, but if the customer utilizes the deck as a gathering point, a dining room, a play area, a kitchen, etc, etc then the following 10 years after you replace the deck the condition is slowly and surely deteriorating to the point where as you mentioned they literally are filing an insurance claim for the rot and damage. Sure would make it hard to enjoy a nice dinner while the grandkids play with their toy trucks and your husband grills out when the deck is covered in splinters, algae and the stairs are wobbly and at risk of falling off

Chaz works too :) I've never personally used the baking soda but I think that would be more for someone who was going to keep the wood gray and preferred that look. Sometimes on siding people like the gray weathered look and they will put the baking soda on to help get that patina sooner. But of course now we have gray stains too which would be a better choice. If you are going to do it I believe I read 1 pound per 5 gallon, but in your case you'll still be stripping and brightening the wood so its not really worth your trouble to gray it first.