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Boone Under Pressure is here to help... Welcome to the 1st blog for Boone Under Pressure in 2011. We've hit the ground running&have already scheduled a few free estimates&consultations; for local homeowners. Spring is the time of year when the "honey do" list comes out of the shed & things get busy outside your home. Sometimes you wonder if things will ever get done or you pick & choose the projects you're looking forward to. Some seem to be more fun & exciting than others. I know my favorite time to mow my grass is, the first time & the last time. The rest of the time in the yard is, well, work. Look around, how many decks do you see that have turned a beautiful shade of dark gray or a gorgeous translucent moldy slippery green ? They are everywhere. These are the projects that homeowners have neglected (or put on the bottom of the list) wishing that overnight, somehow they would return to a lovely shade of natural yellow wood, or better yet, a warm honey gold luster that beads water when it rains. For those of you that are considering cleaning or restoring your wood deck for the first time, this may help you determine whether it's going to be a blast, literally, or it's going to be work. For those that HAVE done this before, then you know IT IS going to be work. How much depends on your project. I have actually cleaned & restored decks for homeowners that OWN a working pressure washer. They just didn't want to do it again. Someone once told me that we have 2 kinds of fear: 1) a fear of the unknown, & 2) a fear of the known. It's true. And then you ask yourself, how hard can this pressure washing process be to get my deck clean? I'll rent a pressure washer, get a jug of some "deck wash" & hook up the hose. Done. Not so fast Happy Homeowner. There are about 5-6 other things (tools/materials) you're going to need to help make this a speedy process. Perhaps more, depending on the size what you're trying to accomplish with your little project. You can rent a pressure washer for about $45 a half day & $60 for a full day, which doesn't include tax, gas surcharge or insurance. I checked. Now you gotta go get it, get your project done in a day & then haul it back. Sounds pretty easy huh? Should have been thinking about all the in between stuff that you needed or didn't have to finish the job (in 1 day or now add another half day charge). How much over priced, water based sodium hypochlorite & sodium hydroxide cleaner mixed with a dash of surfactant do I need? Why didn't that old failing stain come off? Back to the "big box" store for something else. What happened to my wood deck? Why did some of the wood splinter & how come it looks "furry"? Do you have a good orbital sander? Good knees & a strong back will help too. What kind of grit do I need for the sander to get the prep done right? Will this step be important so my stain or sealer soaks in? Stain or sealer? What's the difference? I have talked with numerous homeowners that didn't know & were told by others to use a nationally advertised product which, in my opinion as well as numerous other contractors, is about the worst thing you can put on a deck. You will probably not be happy with the results of all your hard work. Know what it is? OK, back to work. I think I have the right tip (see picture below) but do I know the right technique to get this done, in 1 day? Oh, look at all those little pickets, dear. There must be 100's of them. Have fun, I'm going to go play golf! Maybe playing with a rather large water pistol all day sounds like fun to some, for others there can be many headaches along the way. Some can be irreversible without shelling out more money & spending the time to do it right the second time. You will probably get wet (3-4 hours of having wet feet is NOT fun or comfortable) & your back will probaly hurt like crazy the next day(s), but hey, you saved a few bucks doing this yourself. Wrong tip, wrong technique, wrong cleaner, wrong contractor. This homeowner called me after another contractor had started on her deck. She said "something doesn't look right on my deck". OUCH!! For those that have done your own decks & tried pressure washing, some of you will understand this. Pressure washing is NOT about pressure. You don't just blast the dirt off your deck. Others will have to experience it first hand. Some people know how or want to do this, others call me. Boone Under Pressure has cleaned some of the dirtiest decks in The High Country in the past 5 years. About 60% of my business has been from people I never personnally met, but were impressed with my daily updates & pictures sent as work progressed. With a long list of Happy Homeowners (references) & an extensive collection of before/after pictures, Boone Under Pressure can help you. Part of the process is to explain the process & educate each homeowner as to what needs to be done for a particular job. Decks, cabins, fencing, vinyl siding & more. If Boone Under Pressure can clean or restore it, we'll be happy to give you a free estimate. If we can't do what you want, we'll tell you that too. Your deck, in most cases, can usually be cleaned or restored back to 90-95% of it's original condition. Maybe more, maybe less depending on how long it's been since you've given your deck some love. If you have good water pressure, an outside electrical outlet & little or no desire to take on your deck, call Boone Under Pressure for your cleaning or property needs. If you have questions & still want to DIY, feel free to call. Boone Under Pressure has NEVER or will NEVER, ask for any money upfront. No payment until your work has been completed to your satisfaction & expectations. Boone Under Pressure offers a professional, affordable & dependable service to homeowners, Realtors & those with either income or rental property. ASU Alumni too. Please feel free to call David & schedule a free estimate & consultation. Work done around your house, work done around your schedule. Your business is appreciated & your home respected. 828-964-2563 © 828-268-5052 (h) ncrush@charter.net

My first strip job..!! 5 years back on a big L-shaped deck with 4 layers of solid & then white paint... HO did agree to replace a few railings that were rotten though... HD-80 & 2 strips, then sealed with Wood Tux Warm Honey Gold... I live by HD-80 & a gallon of low-tox for tough jobs. Dwell time & keeping it wet IS KEY. That homeowner should have called a pro for his strip job. Wonder what his opportunity cost would have been shortly after he started..?

I was called awhile back by a woman who wanted me to look at something she d

Hey LB... if you're still looking for a lit'l trick, e-mail me & I'll give you one that seems to work pretty well... David

This HO had a deck with a Cabot solid stain... HD-80, a bit of boost & some misting resulting in some very concentrated Cabot Ultra... dwell time of one hour & some stiff bristle brushing, then a bit of sanding made these HO's quite happy when they saw natural wood again... gotta' have some patience with HD-80 & it will more than work harder than you do...

Like Beth has said before, always manage your homeowners expectations & explain to them that you can probably remove 90-95% of any strip job. Then when you get more than that, they are more than happy. I just finished a tough strip of some Cabotts solid using HD-80 mixed at 12 oz. & added some lo-tox to boost, kept a wet dwell for an hour, aggitated with a stiff bristle brush & the stuff literally melted off... A bit of sanding, some neutralizer & it was ready for some semi-stain... Now if I could just figure out how to capitalize on "Cabott Ultra"...

Kevin, that's the exact form I was referring to.... THANK YOU !!!!! I found it about 4-5 months ago & didn't realize how powerful it could be to a HO. It's just another part of the dog & pony show presentation I use to inform/educate my customers. Hey guys.....If you don't have a copy of this, you should. I think I need to crank up the laminator. thanks again....

I can see it now...... You can throw out yer' back... or you can hire a hack !!

I'd like to suggest or request that someone with more experience than me, post a quick list or reference to a beginners guide for the reasons of use, as james says the must have BIG 5. I've gotten very familiar with that search button over the past 9 months & sometimes frustrated that what i was looking for didn't turn up. (or it took 5 page searches for 1 answer) Most of the searches define the chem, but lack the nuts & bolts of the when & why.... I'm not advocating the exclusive use of S-Hyp. (or anything else for that matter) as most of us have used it at one time or another, but more for the rookies, including myself, as to the basic uses of each (5) & also (probably MORE important) a cautionary guide as to what NOT to mix, etc.... I'm now pretty familiar with reading labels & decipherin' what's in there....we all should knowthe basics, bleach+amonia= BAD, but perhaps a bit more from what we've learned & sometimes you chemmies get too deep for my management minded brain. I know one of the best references I have that helps HO's understand what we do to a particular deck was the list of ph levels of various chem's/foods,etc.... It is in my reference book & has been very helpful explaining to HO that when we/I use this product up here, you must one of these products down there to bring it to the 7.0 neutral point....It is very visual, simple to understand & lends credibility to you & this profession... if you can't find it, i'll be happy to e-mail anyone a copy of it.... I'd like to sincerely thank the person(s) that took time to make it available.... I just feel that any "tool" that can help us progress in our search (or just make it easier) would be asset for those who, like me, have thought please tell me more..... or if anyone knows if a 1 page-down-&-dirty page of the woodies BIG 5 testament exists, please let me know. I sure know of a guy that could have used it, but I think he may be done..... thanks....

funny you should mention that. The reason he didn't show up yesterday was because his car broke down. I guess kind of a break for me & the HO. He did come by her house today to pick it up after HO called him last night to rain on his parade. I'm pretty sure i'll get this job & it'll be one for the photo album fer' sure. Rod, thanks for the advise. I do remember that "ugly deck" job awhile back & have set the expectations of the HO that it'll never look like new. Sanding was discussed. Do they make a 10 grit?? lol... And thanks to Celeste for that tidbit of info. We sometimes forget to bring that into discussion & most/all HO's appreciate that WE CARE about what they want. One guy selling his house told me all he wanted was a band-aid for his deck... this just opens doors to explain your pricing, sandards, work ethic & gets the HO to talk about what they want gauging some of their expectations. I bid this poor tortured deck for $2.25 sq/ft taking into consideration he did get some of the gray off the pickets, how nice of him to do the hard part.....then i knocked off a bit cuz' i felt bad for her. So for $800, i think i'll have a loyal customer & get some good ear to ear love out of this.... I think this deck would have preferred a million termites after a hunger strike to what this guy did.... if he'd done his homework & gotten the advice from the pro's here, well scratch that.... i think he's probably more worried now about where da' bus routes are ...... thanks to ALL you guys that have helped & i'm more than happy to return the favor to the next new guy before tragedy strikes again..... water is our friend.....

For those that "wood" like a copy of those sad but true pics of a madmans' work gone terribly wrong, let me know & I'll try to get them to you..... def. true on "how not to do this".... hopefully tears of a good kind from the HO's when this is finished

Well guys, I was called on today by a woman who said "I think" the guy that was stripping my deck isn't doing it right.. My first clue was when she said he had just bought a pressure washer & would strip/clean/stain my deck for $250. She said he had been there 2 days for 6 hours each & it "just doesn't look good". A few more questions later & I was off to meet her @ her house a few miles away. BTW, the deck was 388sq/ft. , not including vert's or railing. My estimate is/was $800 & I think she's going to accept it. I wouldn't have believed if I hadn't seen it in person & even from 20 ft. away, I knew this was BAD. REALLY BAD. She also told me she had supplied 4 gals. of bleach (2 of which were used at this point) & bought the pump up sprayer for him. More clues to the scene of the crime. Florin, this'll really make you feel good. At least you were honest in telling the HO of your inexperience, but you were also diligent in checking here too for advise. No mercy for the hack that has a new pressure washer & nothing more. These are the kind of guys that allow US to make a HO happy & reap the benefits of strong testimonials & referrals. Pictures may have some woodies in tears.... Learn, earn & be honest with your work......

Florin.... good job on that first deck... I too, took on a painted deck that I cut my teeth on & it turned out great. Also used hd-80 at 8oz. per/gal but got some GOOD advise to also add low-tox antifreeze @ 12 oz. per/gal. It acts like a boost & also clings to vert's. Low-tox is made with propylene glycol & it's great stuff to mix with SHydrox. Be sure it's lowtox. I got it @ Advance auto (green jug) for about $9 a gal. Others may have forgotten about using it, but I think most will agree it works. Charge accordingly & price your strip jobs seperately from regular cleaning/sealing jobs. Wait til you see pictures of the hack job I was called on for today to fix a major whacko experiment job a guy did on a HO's deck. Unbelievable. Good luck!!

Thanks guys... originally I thought it was just a layer of latex from a visual perspective, BUT nooooooo. first mistake was NOT taking a spray bottle of stripper & a stiff scrub brush to test "the toughest looking area". After doing estimate & the customers agreed to (good $$$) for a strip & clean job, then I ordered the hd-80. So I go with my tub of confidence, mix it up according to directions, looking like a warrior in my PPE & start to spray it on & I realize my learning curve is about to explode in an upward direction. 2 days later I realize that there is a layer of what seems to (bad word here) Thompsons clear sealer, a layer of brown paint in various areas, a layer of primer & then......WHITE paint. LONG story short, hd-80 mixed 10 oz/g & (thanks russell for the tip that saved my backside) LOW tox mixed 13 oz/g. Oh, DWELL time was increased & you MUST keep it wet at all times. The paint came up rather easily, sanded w/ 60 grit, then finished with WTW. Yesterday, I got a call to look at a house w/ 2 decks (1500 sq/ft) that has 1 (verified 1) layer of an old failing, i think Flood or Beher sealer that is only 2 years old. I now took my spray bottle of confidence & a scrub brush & did demo for HO. He was amazed after only 5 minutes of dwell time to see wood. He had previously bought a gallon of Olympic deck stripper & did his own test area spending 30 minutes & working up a slight sweat. I measured his deck, took some pic's, talked with him & the wife & briefly educated them on the process & explained I could probably come down a bit on price. (this was now an easy job after the "beast") My learning curve has now recovered a bit & I owe a majority of my new confidence to those of you here that made it all possible. I'm working on his estimate today & hope they approve. He'd probably spend $2-300 just on Oly stripper alone. He may want to put the same sealer back on, but hey.... it's his house & we all win. Thanks again & don't be afraid to take on a tough one.... David

hi chaz... i got my info from russell on that nasty painted deck i did awhile back. he suggested the low tox with 13 oz. (vol) p/gal. i do think that is the correct ratio & yes, it worked well. also helped to adhere to vert's better. didn't have any adverse reaction, but you want to add it last if i remember correctly. you may want to contact him just to be sure. hope this helps. david