Tonyg

I'll have one before Mother's Day :)

Well, I was kinda worried how it sounded - Sorry bout that I think the crown probably works well with the house for sale as an attention getter although I don't think I would want it in front of my home. Don't think it would do much for asphalt anyway.

I enjoy actually 'Charging' for them. With a 5.6gpm I plan on an extra 45min rather than seconds. I will throw in a complete driveway cleaning If I am able to get a substantial price on another item or when I am doing multiple services.

http://www.sherwin-williams.com/pdf/products/shercrete.pdf Pretty easy solid acrylic stain. We put a clear on top. Would probably look good on a b-ball court.

Boy, the way this thread started I was getting very worried but this quote coming from the upper echelon of wood care, a contractor that primarily uses another product at that, I feel much better.

Those are the only ones that I have had good luck with. When they stick take it apart, clean, a squirt of wd-40, and back to work.

98%-100% solids - Sounds like snot! http://www.onetimewood.com/documents/MSDS.pdf

Hi Celeste, Well it's a done deal and I will be out there after the 21st of April. The rails and trim will be going white so I will only be stripping the deck floor(s). HO is knocking out the wood balusters and installing a black decorative aluminum baluster after I finish to save on the cost. I spoke with the company who installed the overlay a couple of years ago and was told the sealer was a solvent based urethane. The local company is a Sundek licensee if that helps. Planning on some good gorilla tape and a couple of layers of heavy mil plastic and drops.

Originally penciled in for May but could bump it up to as early as 10-14 days. I am up to scheduling painting for June but people really don't want to wait that long this time of year for decks. In this case, I gave the HO a high range for pricing with the final yet to be given. They already wanted to get in my schedule so I am about 80% sure it will go through. The deck had Deckscapes semi-trans oil applied 5 yrs ago with two coats of Deckscapes acrylic applied 3 yrs ago. I think we've settled on the final scenario to strip the deck floors and stain with a custom mix of Ac semi-trans, knock out the balusters and replace with black aluminum, and stain whats left of the rails, risers, trim, and underside of the second floor deck with White Deckscapes. Also replacing the lattice with prestained AC semi. This makes me feel a little more comfortable not to be shooting the railings with a hot stripper to cover the area.

Thanks Celeste. It will definitely be priced appropriately. I had figured the plastic duct taped but the berns is a great idea. I hadn't thought too much about the grade. Plastic is scary because it always seems to get some water underneath. 'IF' anything gets on the concrete, would it be something that can be patched in anyway or is it done?

That's another question for me as well - If the initial job was stripped and sanded are you 'discounting' the 20% - 30% off from say the original strip rate or just a clean and stain rate?

For the Maintenance service are you talking about washing and coating the horizontals or floor only or are you talking about discounting the complete staining (rails, etc.)?

Woohoo did my first deck estimate of the year today. New deck built the first week of December. It's weathered good but the homeowner didn't like some of the nail holes/indentions in the wood (builder used nail gun set too deep) so he filled them with clear silicone caulk. I figured sanding them off but is there going to be a variance in the stain penetration? Anyone run across this or have any advice so I won't have surprises later? Second question is the gazebo - I'm assuming removing and re-screening the screen on the bottom in order to do the railing for the gazebo. Should I plan on replacing all? or a stupid question - clean and shoot through the screen? oh, btw, it will be an AC Semi on the wood after cleaning with a percarb

Thanks, I put the bid in Monday and just planned on replacing the lower section of screen behind the rail. Depending on what color he decides on I may try going through the screen first just to see what happens but kinda feel like it would be cheesy. The silcone caulk is another story. It's new wood so it shouldn't have soaked in and I will only be using a light percarb so nothing strong enough to strip. Was planning on sanding the spots but wasn't sure if that would get deep enough. Wasn't sure what solvent would break down the silicone enough for the stain to penetrate. Didnt want to have poka dots. Not a big deal - I priced it high because of the gazebo so may not get it anyway. The silicone was something new that's all.

I think my price in Virginia would be irrelevant but I will say that I will price a heavily aged or dirty deck as a light strip rather than just a clean and stain. I had a couple last year that I almost could have done faster if I had to strip a coating rather than 20yrs of nothing.

Nice beach :sunshine: What kind of prep did you do before staining? What was the existing AC color and what are you applying?

Did a few of solid decks last year that turned out very nice. For latex I prefer DeckScapes but also used the BM Waterborne (which I didn't care for)

Whoohoo! Well, I was really hoping to put them off to warmer weather but I get to play in a balmy 45 degrees this weekend (I do have a burner). Nothing like gettin wet wild in the middle of February! :lgcold: Other than commercial I tell my customers I will go out if I have others I can do the same day so I have four house washes Friday/Saturday. I'm thinking the record rainfall last year is going to mean a busy house washing spring and the mildew encapsulates the area :)

Yep, I'll do it above 40 degrees but - it's no fun thats for sure.

I am working on an estimate for one of my customers. They had a deck built in May by a contractor that likes to completely enclose the deck with a skirt without adding ventilation. This will be the second deck I've done that they have built that is like this. (They also applied a clear sealer that was supposed to be the 'best' sealant) In this case, the yard, with the amount of rain we have had this year, is completely saturated and it is causing obvious moisture issues with the deck. Anyway, I am looking for ways to address the moisture on this deck and I am looking for a supplier of vents that could be used for decks. The deck is 30-36 inches high so would applying a vapor barrier and sand be something that would work with a deck? Anybody installed vents likes this or applied the sand/vapor barrier?

The HO is weighing options. This deck is less than a year old and I am pretty sure they will do what is needed. I have done a few jobs for them before so I am expecting they will do something in the spring so I will post an update to what they decide. They may even go back with the builder as they are not too happy that 'their' design has given them an expensive ugly deck after just a few months. Their biggest concern is doing something that is not sufficient to prevent the moisture or altering the aesthetics of the deck too much. I thought about something like shadow boxing but that would not create enough airflow and looked at foundation vents but it would not be practical. My suggestion was to either cut and frame out 1x2' square openings with cedar 1x4's and lattice or replace the cedar skirt they have now with lattice. It's winter and a good time to think about the options later in warmer weather.

I think the only thing I do different is use the city's Real Estate Assessors web page to get the actual square footage. Chesapeake and Virginia Beach has the exact square footage and VB has a floor plan drawing. After telling the HO this on the phone I then email them a formal written (copy & paste) estimate along with references, pics, etc. Although I do like to see the house and customer whenever I can because my goal is to pick up the painting or any extras but if it is just a house wash, phone & email works for me. I will say my closing with no personal visit is much lower.

Go by a few dozen feeder gold fish and throw them in. Around here that's all that you see because of the egrets and grey herons. My father has a pond about 12x10 and frequently gets emptied out by the Grey Heron looking for an easy meal.

yea right Dan, you're a Democrat! You let everyone have a warhead of their own to be fair and then disarmed your own HA!

Here was an idea from Professional Deck Builder: Home. I wonder how it would look to pop the boards off and reinstall with 1/2-3/4 gaps? From the pictures it doesn't look like the top of the boards are accessible though. "Airflow Below It’s important to create opportunities for airflow beneath low-level decks. If the design calls for skirting, enclose the area below with open lattice, or use vertical boards with at least 3⁄4-inch gaps between them." I don't think the homeowner will want to scrap the sides for lattice but I don't think small vents will be enough flow. I think I will need to swing by and see what they are up for - vents, lattice, or a little creative carpentry. Even though the verticals are cedar, I don't think they will last long as it is with water wicking up the grain. Outside of soffit or floor vents, has anyone used anything other type that may be designed more for decking? Dan, there is no way any sealant is going to penetrate through a 2x4 deck board to keep it from "taking moisture from below". Coat one side of a sponge with plastic and the other side will most definitely continue to absorb moisture. I would think under normal circumstances the pressure treated wood preservative would do fine - under 'normal' circumstances. I could see 1/2-3/4 inch penetration on older wood but the only way to get that kind of protection on new wood would be to dip it.