Tonyg

I don't think this would be a solution. Applying the Creto would 'permanently' seal the top thereby trapping the moisture from leaving at all. I think vents are what is needed but not sure if that will be enough. Also curious about the sand.

Very impressive! I was expecting a homeowner special but it really looks like you guys are putting something great together.

Just finished up and was taking a couple of pictures when about 15 yards away I saw something our of the corner of my eye and heard a couple of birds screaming bloody murder. The hawk snatched the bird out of mid air and number on him. He wasn't about to let him go so I was able to get about 10-15ft before he would pick him up and move a little.

I was just telling the youth group about how good I was at Tank! The original Atari that is. Now that was a war game!

must suck to have to work in such weather. Really Nice work!

And then to finish him off. I know, not as touching as the Home Run video but CLOSE!

Jon, there are several reasons I use premium paints. 1) marketing and name recognition: sell a Mercedes to someone who can afford it and they will expect that they are getting a higher quality and you have a better chance of making the sale than the Old's salesman. 2) 'workability' or properties that improve application performance, viscosity, coverage, etc. 3) Durability to avoid burnishing, fading, chalking, etc. and that can be washable. Quality paint is tested by mechanical scrubbing for instance and while they all may look great at first the better grade will endure more for longer. 4) Appearance means a tremendous amount to me. If you paint one wall with SuperSpec and one with Aura matte, they will both be a colored wall that looks much better than it did, but IMO the Aura leaves a rich 'sophisticated' sheen and will look better immediately after completion. For interior paints my primary trim paint is the BM Aura satin finish and walls either the BM Aura matte occasionally depending on circumstances or primarily the SW Duration matte. I will use the BM EcoSpec, SW Cashmere, and the SW SuperPaint if conditions require it. Just like when some decks call for a heavy stripper, more or less pressure, etc., paint products (and preparation and application methods) vary depending on circumstances. Here's a link that will give a little more info -http://www.paintquality.com/media-center/paint-publications/education/module1.pdf

The only other thing I would ask would be if the trim is painted or stained. If painted be sure to sand and clean good for better adhesion. For kids, I would normally recommend the SW Duration Matte. It is a premium paint that will cover those dry walls better and will be a washable surface.

Didn't see any place on the forum to post this but I know a few here offer it. I have a customer that was going to have decorative stone put down over a new (under 12 months) brushed concrete patio. The landscape designer talked him out of the stone and suggested having me stain it instead. She said the stone would be too busy for what he already has so they want something more basic to just add some color. I looked at the H&C solid stains (SW) but that is not what I am looking for. Am I looking for acid etching? Can someone point me to some products or places that I can begin some research? I'm looking for a premium product or process.

The water penetrating was something I did not expect. It had a significant sheen and two coats and just from the appearance I would not think anything would be able to get in. What is the point of sealing concrete if moisture of that extent gets in? The water would dry out and I can almost understand the discoloration under the plastic but look at where the water was just splashed on and the resulting water mark/pattern. If this customer would have loved the color I know I would have had a hard time explaining why moisture penetrates the sealer.

Well, I wasn't going to post the product because I don't think it was really a brand issue. I had to put down two coats to even out the pattern because it seemed I had to saturate it to keep from having spray patterns but then even with the very slight incline the color would "sag". I had the regional SW rep come out for recommendations for a top coat and adhesion concerns (before I was able to strip it off). He was very familiar with concrete and acid stains and said that the application was correct and although it looked like crap it wasn't beyond what could have been expected for brushed concrete or a concrete stain. One of the biigest concerns that maybe you could help with, besides the appearance, was the water marks when water was splashed on it. We had rain the day before I took the pictures, which was about a week after application. There was some plastic that had been laying on the perimeter that has dark shades under it and when I pulled it off you could see how the water left marks from just getting splashed. The HO (which is also a builder) couldn't understand how moisture could be getting under the sealer to make the discoloration? Overall it really looked bad in person and did not fit the landscape and house at all. Surrounded 3 sides by water he has spent a small fortune restoring this 1950 era lake house. I think if it was smooth concrete it would have been better but the brushed concrete just looked weird.

here is a couple of the closer pics of the stain which is no more.

Here is a very old and worn out deck that I finally was able to get to do. I had been wanting to try to do a couple of semi-transparent stain variations in a two-tone - semi/semi not semi/solid. Did them last week and was able to see one today which is in AC Ranger Brown. This little deck was in worse condition than I had originally thought but the boards did become fairly presentable. I did replace the 1x4 perimeter boards since they were deteriorated so I wanted to see how the two-tone would work out. This color is a combination of RB/CS and RB/CS/Na. I did my own shed which is in Cyprus with a little PT deck on the front and it looks really nice. I will gets some pics soon. On older boards it gives a nice brown color as what I think is a better option than the RB. I replaced two of the deck boards here and it blended in great with a little modification. On newer wood and Cyprus the cedar really shows through and has a nice orange tint. The deck was so bad that I don't think many stains would have looked great but what do you think of a semi/semi two tone?

Ken, from a painters point of view I don't like cutting any coating more than 10% if I can help it. It would be one thing if you were "pickling" then that would be another story but thinning it down too much I would think you are going to lose some integrity in the coating. Use the Natural to cut with instead. I would also caution you against using new wood to base your opinions of the AC. I really like the product but my experience pales to most here. I will say that I think it works great on both BUT color differences between old/new is like night and day. I have color preferences for new and old wood and they rarely are the same - the color variance and expectation is too drastic with the age of the wood. For example - Super Cedar looks great on new wood but I don't like it on old wood - Redwood looks great on old wood but I really don't like it on new wood.

Dan, I've tried the Consan Triple Action 20 ( www.consan.biz ) - It will not produce the desired results of eliminating the mildew. It may kill it but you can't tell the difference afterward. I would assume this is the same type of product you are talking about. I do add it to my HW mix as a sales pitch though.

I agree. I like the way it looks now but fresh oil will only preserve the wood better. Not every HO likes a natural patina and ultimately we are to serve the interests and preferences of the customer.

It has a slight amount of color but I forgot what exactly the tints were. I believe it is considered a toner. By itself it makes for one ugly piece of wood but it does seem to work good in diluting the others. The Sequoia for instance I like better cut 50/50 with the Natural. The one thing that I try to keep in mind, and it really depends on the deck and sun exposure, is that a semi-trans in my opinion is always better than a toner as far as protection. If considering the Toners as a base - in comparison the semi-trans has twice the pigment as a toner and the semi-solid has 8 times the pigment as a toner (atleast in the AC if I remember correctly). The RB/CS/Na mix comes out to a tint that is in right in between a toner and a semi (or 50% more than a toner and 50% less than a semi)

Ken, I can tell you that the CS comes out pretty strong in any mix I have done. By itself its a bit too orange. Mixing it together with anything and the CS seems to overpower the mix so a little CS will go a long way. I know the pics I put up arn't really the best but try the 1 part RB 1 part CS and 2 parts Na on some samples. I really like it on younger wood and it gives a brown color with a little bit of color on the older. The newer the wood the more the CS comes out.

I wasn't particularly excited about the color on the deck because they wanted a lighter brown and and with it being so old I kinda thought it looked "dirty". Definitely wasn't dry since this little deck took more than 6 gallons of stain - it was like a sponge it was so old. I was more excited to try the two-tone semi's. I will be over at the second deck later this week and will get to see how it turned out. Talking with the HO's on the phone and they love it but the verdict was still out with me till I see it dried in. On that deck I did the Deck in Redwood Tone and the benches in Sierra Redwood. I've hardly seen any two-tone semi's so I just wanted to see if they would make a good option. I liked the browns but not sure if it is a concept I want to push if it isn't going to make an impact. Here is a better picture of the "Ranger Brown" RB/CS/Na on my Cyprus shed. You can see how a little how it looks on PT with the little porch, poles, and 2x12 bottom.

Yep, I needed a name to make it easier for the customer to choose. They would look at Cedar Semi, Super Cedar, Sequoia, and say what's that one - oh, that's 1 part Cedar 1 part Rustic Brown and 2 parts natural :confused: Ranger Brown was a Ben Moore paint color I used recently so when the customer asked I improvised a little so it stuck. I will get some pictures other than that deck. This deck was mostly shaded and they wanted the 2-tone more prominant so light brown is more of a toner RB/CS and 3 parts Natural. The dark brown is just RB/CS. If you look in front of the bench at the fence (sprinkler was on) there is a replacement board. Using the RB/Na the new board blended well.

Fence

few more pics

Doing some work for a regular customer and saw his bench on the porch. It was stained with a solid red stain that was stripped and stained with Cedar Tone and Super Cedar.

Finally found a color that I really like. It looked really really nice on an old PT deck board I made samples out of and I was able to do a fence with it this morning. The CS adds a little more body to it and tones down the red.I think this will be the stain I push from here on out. 3 Part Redwood Tone and 1 part Cedar Semi. This fence was still drying and its a little hard to tell the real color but after the way it looked in person I can't wait to try it on a deck. I have been experimenting with the AC colors to get a better selection. I have 3 "reds", 3 "orange", and 3 brown now.