reed

Tim, We just had another hail storm about 3 weeks ago up here in St. Peters. I have exactly what you are describing on my own deck. As long as the hail doesn't compress the wood, thus leaving indentations, you can do a clean and seal and you will be good to go. reed

Celste, Is that the guy that sings like Joe Cocker? He's great

You can forward all these types of email to paypal at spoof@paypal.com and they will attempt to shut them down. I get these too and when I forward them to paypal they do reply. Reed

Third that. BEFORE

I will leave some stain also. But when I don't and there is a question about a board that just won't hold the color, I go back with the home owner and put more on with him there and show him that some boards with a "dead cell run" in them just don't hold stain when you use trans to semi transparent stain. But sometimes, after a weeks application, going back and redoing this type of situation is the remedy. reed

here's mine

Oxalic and I DON'T rinse either. RS likes the wood to be on the acidic side and results are better with RS by not rinsing.

Tomorrow is Veterans Day. Please take a moment and say a prayer for those who are in harms way and especially for those who have gone before us. Here's some back ground as you take a moment: http://www.clermontyellow.accountsupport.com/flash/UntilThen.swf Thank a Vet, we appreciate it more than words can tell you. Tomorrow is a tough day for me. Take time to reflect on our Greatest Generation that we loose so many of each day. reed

You tell him thanks from me and my family. I had two boys over there at the same time when the s**t hit the fan when it all started. I know a little of how you are feeling. Tell him from me, stick to his training and take no chances. Rely on his instincts and most of all, Come home safe there are those at home who believe in him and what he is doing. God Bless Him everyday. reed

Sometimes I wonder just what the schools are teaching. Also, I think some have been too complacent when it comes to understanding why we, the general populace have the freedoms we do today. reed

This is the calculation/estimating excel sheet most have been requesting. You will need MSExcel to run it. This is an actual customers bid that was excepted at the end of this past season. Reed logancalculations.xls

The 144 is used to convert to sf from inches. A 4x4 post is roughly 4 inches wide, to convert that to a sf you divide 4 inches by 12 inches and that give you the foot measurement for 4 inches, ie, .33 feet, then if you multiply that by 4 (for 4 sides you get 1.320 then multiply that by the height of the post, ie 4 footer give you 5.28 then it's multiplied by the number of posts) The sf measurement is made first then the multiplication by the number of posts. if you get the same answer then yes you can do it your way, this is the I did it. I try to keep all measurements as simple as possible. some of the cell formulations use inches and some use feet. Feel free to call me and I can talk you through it. reed

Here's another great site that everyone who works with cedar should at least look through. http://www.wrcla.org/sitemap.asp its the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association. reed

Jamie, there are tarps that you can get from a reputable paint store that are butyl backed. They will not let anything penetrate through them. They last a long time also. Pricey, but you get more than your moneys worth. I got mine at MAB Paints, I think Sherwin Williams sells them too. reed

I use f18 and hd80, both have their uses. On the f18 I have been using it 2 to 4 ounces per gallon of cold water. It dissolves very well and will remove what I need to. My dwell times have been anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. F18 has proven to be economical to use as with HD80 has been economical to use. To me it depends on what I am facing on the job in what my choice of chemicals are. One thing that needs to be kept in mind here is that there is "no silver bullet" for stripping and cleaning. As a we "practice" our profession we learn what products will do and what they won't do. And by doing this, we grow in experience and performance of our profession. I have conclued with the experience I have gained that NO ONE PRODUCT can do it all. That's why we have an Arsenal of poducts that we choose to use. Ok, off my soap box. reed

you need to email me or post your email address and I'll send you a copy of the calculation sheet and the bid that went with it. It's done in MS Excel. On the RS color, I would go with the natural cedar. reed

Jay, would you like a copy of the spreadsheet I use. All you have to do is fill in the mesurements and it will calculate everything for you and give you the option of manipulating your price. Let me know reed

I do 35.00 per hour plus the cost of the lumber. reed

I do them. The customer has a need for his deck, no matter what size, to be treated. I charge the same rate and can add that one on earlier into the schedule as it won't take much time to do. I look at it as no job in deck restoration is too small. reed

Walk away for sure. You don't want a customer like this one. You know the right way to do things and he doesn't. If he wants it done another way, let him do it himself. reed

Agree with Shane, Purdy brushes do very well. I have a 5" that I keep in a zip lock bag when I am finished using it on a job. The zip lock bag keeps the brush fresh and the ReadySeal on the brush keeps it pliable. reed

I did a bid for a homeowner who had JOE PW'r do his deck. Needless to say, that's why they called me. Anyway, Joe PW'r used tarps and must have sprayed when sealing in that you can see the stain edges where the sealer went past the tarps. Stain is also noticeable on the fiberglass pool edges. Having not run into this before, will the fiberglass take spot stripping to remove the stain? I plan to use F18 max on a rag and go lightly over each area, but my concern is melting the fiberglass. Any comments on this would be most appreciated. reed

It's been on for several months. reed

Will do, plenty of the boat stores here. thanks, reed

Mike, call Brent or Todd, 1800-658-5683, they will talk to you. Better to call than email. reed