James

acetone works a little better than spirits

It is going to be cedar ! I used Alder and cedar . Just sand it and cut into thin planks. You soak in water before grilling. Best way I have ever had salmon !! I sent my son to Alaska a couple of years ago and we had salmon often after his visit and always on planks..........yumme !

With Bakers you can mask crappier looking wood because of the pigment they use and make the choice of color based on that. Bakers has less of a solid content than RS. I think its 60 vs 85%. So on newer wood bakers is easier to use and on old crappy wood it's good because of the type of pigment. I use RS and can make it work like Bakers when I need it too. The benefits of these type of sealers is they preserve the wood and when you go back in a couple of years to do maint. the wood is in great shape! No other types of sealers do this !

This is a strange thread ? RS changed there mildewside but it is still in the Zinc family.

Lots of copper flashing. Use can put epoxy mixed with copper dust on the roof and no mold will grow

Dan, I see this mold quite frequently now. Strong bleach is the only remedy.

Do not put more ArmStrong on. Most problem on hardwoods are from over application of product.

When I give a break I ask them not to mention the cost of the job in conversation. This year a couple who I've been servicing for 10 years asked if I give senior's discount . He and his wife drive Jag's and are well off. It was a $550 deck redo. An uncomfortable polite NO was the answer !! Off to start a major Maintenance redo on the Big Grey cedar shake House and deck. Just got slammed with work !

I had small vans for my window cleaning Biz. Trailer and new truck and then two of everything adds up quick for PW.

I will say it is not in the customers best interest to do Ipe or other very hard hardwood in the fall. Spring is best so they can watch it fail slowly and better ! After winter and the snow cover " what happened to my deck" ? Large decks I use Ready Seal and on smaller ones I try out many different approaches with added Drying oils . Also I have been changing people to just cleaning and a buff on IPE. My person favorite..............

Been doing it for 10 years with RS not removing the grey on Ipe. It's easier with a non- drying oil that only leaves pigment behind. There are many issues to contend with over the life of a maintenance plan on IPE ?

Rick, that is one difficult strip! The deck was done to early and too much product applied and anything you put on will be gone by Thanksgiving.

I don't see where his pricing is off ? The only time I get 2.5 to 3 a sqft is for stripping and $15 a linear ft is painting. I get 1.25 to 3 per sqft depending on what is needed. Above that is specialty stripping. I am always on the high end for wood restoration when doing a competitive bid.

Dan , for every complaint you have about a hack I can give you a " we choose you even though you were higher priced". I just received an email on such a quote and a winning approach to the job. I know a pressure washing company that bases it's pricing at 60 an hour( from the 1980's) and they do a pretty good job. It's easy to compete on small jobs not large jobs with them. Lucky for me they are not to good at large jobs or wood jobs. Dan, do you have a relative in the Biz down here ?

I 've seen plenty of decks that look great with Penofin.

There has been no relief in the weather department concerning the rain and storms this year and last. Over the years here in CT I've gotten killed repeatedly . At what point do you quit wood care or scale back what you take on. This is a serious issue and a dilemma because the Wood Care jobs I get are non compete and I just got another great referral .

And how about when the grease ketch is filled ? I used to have a 3 ft by 4 ft piece of plywood for this problamo(wheels) in my truck at all times.

In the future we will have home brew formula's for making deck stains.

On soft wood you can do what Jon said or with a variable speed wand you can increase and decrease the pressure over the bad spot and feather the spot out with a golf type swing.

I use Wooster brushes. They last for a long time if you take care of them. If they get hard use brush cleaner. I use other brands but I can't think of them. Not cheap, about 20 bucks a pop.

These Dexsorcism's are not Pulp fiction!

Last month I performed a Dexsorcism for a family on a Mahogany deck. Demon's had invaded the deck right after it was built 8 years ago. The Handyman put wrong stain on deck (solid stain). Twice they attempted to fix it with zero degree nozzel ! Then they remembered there was a person who was referred by the Builder to take care of the deck on the contract. Me!

That is a very nice job! AC looks 100% better on sanded or buffed PT.

Dan, yours looks very blotchy and inconsistent compared to Chappy's photo's finished .

Very Very Lovely !I love that plastic lattice(not) but a spray bottle of M spirits is handy when going around them .