bigchaz

Yea next time follow the directions on the stripper to make sure you have the right mix. 32 is still way too much. I'm surprised you were even able to get that to dissolve. Depending on the brand, average stripper mix uses 6oz or less per gallon for me. No need to mix hydroxide and precarb either, you're just wasting precarb

Like most stuff it seems to be all about dilution. And theres little else that is so effective against mold. I try to stay away from the bleach but when you have a completely green deck, it def has its place. I think the reason many are so quick to say no bleach is because it is very risky in homeowners hands. Im sure many of you have seen decks where homeowner decides to poor straight bleach on the deck thinking it will clean it

noooooo oxalic is used to neutralize caustics such as sodium hydroxide. Dont mix oxalic and bleach. Bleach doesnt need to be neutralized, but the oxalic can help brighten the wood if it is still looking rough. Also if you use a stripper and then use bleach to kill the mold you still have to use oxalic at the end to neutralize the caustic

1200 would be about right for me. No sanding though. That would be extra charge

Nice work but I couldnt give an estimate based on just a picture. Need specs man need specs

All my brown sugar separates in the pail? My honey gold seems to be fine but I ordered them at the same time. No drying issues just wondering if I somehow have the bas brown sugar but the classic honey gold. Just a matter of shaking it up a bit on the brown sugar so maybe its just the tinting

I have a large two story deck coming up where the homeowner wanted the understructure of the second story stained. Ive never done the understructure and explained to the homeowner that the cost would be much higher. He sits on the lower deck often and still wanted the underside done to look nice. I charged 200 percent more, but now I need to know if there is any tricks to doing this Do I clean the top deck first, then the underside of the top deck? Do I clean the underside and then the top deck? Seems like either way Im going to have dirt and such coming either up to the top deck or back down onto the joists. Same thing for staining. Do I spray bottom first and risk it coming through to the top? Or do i stain the surface first and then deal with all the runs on the joists that will inevitably be darker when the understructure is stained?

It really depends on what you prefer. Lots of people on here will tell you to downstream all your chemicals. (injecting the chemical after the pressure washer ) Others use a shur-flo type pump setup that pumps it out and has seperate hose and gun to apply. Search shurflo for some information on that. You do need a different sprayer for the stain though. Depending on the stain either an airless paint sprayer or something called a deckster or decker 5er or equivalent

On a side note, not knowing your market, there may be more serious issues behind the fact that there are lots of gray fences. Many people will spend thousands to build a fence, but will faint at the thought of spending 10 percent of that cost to keep it maintained. Therefore the large number of gray fencing may be an indication of low marketability for that service, not that there are no companies offering it

Def gonna need a sprayer for fence work. Youll easily use 10 gallons on a small 1/3 acre fence

Splash test to see if water beads up. If not go ahead clean neutralize and stain No need to wait unless you want to start cracking and graying.

Matching hasn't been a huge problem but getting the boards to fit seems to be more difficult for me. Replaced 6 decking boards the other day after tearing out the old and they were too wide to fit as replacements. The older boards were probably a 1/4 inch less wide than the new ones. Since hte boards were in the middle of the deck I ended up having to sand the edges of the new ones and hammer them down. Cant stick a piece of floss between the cracks its so tight.

If it has rails better sell them on a two tone. I stripped that same stain (looks like behr solid) 3 times and couldnt get all of it off the rails.

I was wanting to say what Jarrod just did, but figured id wait before opening my mouth. Seriously fire that contractor and get another one. Its now been "stripped" what is it three times? What a joke. Any competent wood restoration pro would have that deck looking 10 times as good in only one trip. Get a new contractor

Comparing that square to the rest of the deck it looks like it is either A) still holding the old stain (see the way it matches the spindles?) or B) The gray wood around it should be cleaned. Fully clean the deck and brighten the area around the square more heavily and youll barely be able to tell it was there. Little sanding around the edges will help blend it as well.

Yea your contractor barely even cleaned this thing. The spot where the mat was or grill is going to stand out majorly as well. That area should match the entire deck if it is prepped properly

Nice to see someone actually requiring proof of insurance. Good for you since your right, that probably eliminates most of the lowballers anyway

O ok your pricing just seemed low to me.

Your pricing structure sounds spot on. Fences are a bit high in my opinion, but if you can get it, def charge it. Dont go any lower on the surface or deck rails. I wouldn't price it with the discount. Then you set yourself up for expectation of discount in the future. Treat it normal and do something like throwing a bench or picnic table if they have those for free. I might have said to do the fence for free, but 200 feet is a bit big to be giving away The pricing Kevin listed looks like its from the delco website, so dont use that as a guide.

If its a three mile radius than just treat them like residentials, which im assuming they are. Its not like you are parked at one spot doing 10 decks. Each is a seperate job. Price them all seperate and submit the bid that way

To the top just saw this one today great read

How hard are you guys pressing these things? I usually like to soak it in product and just float it along the deck. Never had any problems with bristles coming out. Once the stain is covered Ill go back over to even it out.

Hd-80 available at Deck Stains and Brick Paver/Cement Sealers - Exterior Wood Deck and Paver Restoration Services and Sales, Timberstrip (another great stripper) DeckGuide Pro Center © 2004 - G&K Distributors F-18 (another stripper) Your one source for everything pressure cleaning washer

wow beautiful job there rick

Anyone have experiance cleaning parking garages? Reporter on this story wants to talk with a professional. Anyone local to Wisconsin would be great as well Let me know or you can email DWeis@capitalnewspapers.com