Tonyg

Working on an estimate for a small deck that has a 21' shadowbox fence that will need to be stripped/stained on both sides. Did a test and am planning on the restoration but my normal rate would be $3.5 per side per ft and thats just not enough. If it was a regular fence it wouldn't be any big deal. I can honestly see replacing it as a more practical approach. Pricing small repairs are one thing but how does replacement cost for fencing relate to your normal rates?

Hi guys, Have a friend that does restoration carpentry and is working on a historic home in Virginia. They are looking for someone to restore the roof on this 'home' built in 1670. The new roof was hand cut and laid about 10 years ago. This is about 50mi North if Richmond VA or about 75mi South of DC just off I95. I told him I would pass the word to see if I could find someone professional and experiences with the cedar shake. Tony

Can anyone think of a quality contractor in NC/VA/MD that may not get to see this post that would be qualified to tackle this project? I would at least like to give them a couple of names that they could follow up with. I told them most likely it would be someone traveling in and it wouldn't be cheap :)

One thing that I always do for my decks is to countersink all nails/screws. I will literally crawl across the deck and countersink the nails with a pin and 5lb maul and if it's screws I use an impact driver. Doesn't take that long but I usually end up with one Popeye arm. It's looking like I've been able to group my decks this spring earlier in the season so March & April are looking busy for deck resto's. Problem is I have a bad tendon in my right elbow (I think it's Tennis/Golfer's elbow) and doubt I would make it through the first deck. Already concerned about pulling hoses and regular painting projects. I am looking at possibly looking for a power hammer, or even a 'hammer drill', that I can start using to quickly move through a deck. I have a paslode framing hammer that I was thinking of trying but I hate to ruin that if there is something else available. Any suggestions?

$200 nonrefundable scheduling deposit and signed contract just so everyone is on the same page. I don't like holding money and $200 is enough for someone to think twice before throwing it away.

I bought one but unfortunately I think my compressor is not strong enough. It's old and I don't use it for nailers or other guns and it just didn't have enough power to countersink the heads. I made a rod to use with it rather than depending on the piston to do the job alone.

I would recommend NOT applying two coats. The deck is heavily shaded and you shouldn't need the extra coating on top. In my personal opinion, I believe that the problem with the heavy mold/mildew growth is coming from over-application. I now try to get as much to soak in as quick as possible BUT I do not go back and apply a second full coat. To me the time it takes to coat the floor is too much time, and then going back and spray a light coat on again causes too much product (linseed oil) to stay on top. I now will apply, brush in, apply next section and spray light coat on top of the previous, and then brush in the next. Essentially a 3' swath at a time. I believe the 'problems' and complaints about the excessive black mold can be avoided/minimized by not trying to load up the wood or overapplying.

Keep in mind the color will tone down and mellow out significantly over time to something more preferred. Not sure how it would look to apply one color over another but you would probably like the Mahogany / Rustic Brown mix. I think you may need to strip unless you let it weather for a couple of years.

Is there a setting change that I can make on my end that will show the picture attachments like they used to do rather than having to click on individual links? It would be so much better to scan through the posts without having to open up a new window every time I want to see a pic.

Good question - This customer had a lime faced brick, meaning pressure or heavy chems may/will remove the surface. These pics were 5 years ago and I am working on the neighbors now and noticed it looks much worse. They had since replaced the steel chimney cap and I would like to go back to pick them up again. I was going to use the Saferestore / OneRestore but we decided then it was not worth taking the chance.

Charlie, I have to look at an Ipe deck on Saturday. Probably only the second one I've seen in this area. 10-15 yr deck that has had Penofin applied at least 3 times with the last about 3 yrs ago. I've recommended the AC Mahogany ( without looking at it) and was hoping to give her some actual pics of the Penofin/AC Mahogany for comparison. Do you have before and after pics for this deck and would you be able to email them to me?

It looks like I will be applying the Rustic Brown next week. The HO is making their mind up now but when I left they were leaning towards the RB. From what I have seen the RB looked nice but I really didn't want to use such a heavy/dark color. Has anyone mixed anything different other than the "Siera Rustic". I was thinking about a 50/50 mix of Rustic Brown and the Natural clear to get a "watered down" version of the brown.

Thanks Steven! I will be able to get some pics of the MC/OB blend next week and will email a few to you. What size/format do you need?

Hah, you don't need solvents either - just some hot water to break it up!

ok, I guess I will play the voice of opposition - to some extent. I had a customer that wanted a price for their small 12x12 deck. It was in horrible condition and had to be covered up by carpet to keep the splintering and shards in tact as they had 4 young boys under 7yrs old. My price with strip & sand was something like $1100 and I told him it would probably be a better idea to just replace the wood. They ended up applying the deck restore stuff from HD or Lowes. After looking at what they did, and knowing how bad the wood was, it was actually a pretty good solution. It had a tight bond, very thick non-skid texture, and filled the cracks and covered the shards and splinters. I was quite impressed with what they did. The bad part - they said it was very labor intensive as it has to be brushed on to fill and cover the damaged wood, required 2 coats, gets extremely hot (at least as hot as composite), and if I'm not mistaken it cost $200-$300 as this stuff only gets like 25sf per gallon. Might be a DIY solution but couldn't imagine it being even remotely a cost effective contractor solution.

hah, at least you know who to blame when it rains! I thought I was doing good this year by scheduling all my decks together earlier in the season :( Now I am way behind revenue wise from last year because of weather interruptions.

We only have pressure treated pine but I can tell you that the age of the wood makes a big difference as well. Is this a new/newer deck or does it have some age?

Toll Brothers huh, that's a pretty good gig. 2100lf is impressive as well :)

24-36+ months I usually use a very light stripper and as long as it is staying the same color I don't worry if I've missed anything. Comes off easily when washing either way so I figure I replacing the surface protection James, I'm usually doing a recoat/maintenance coat at the 18-24 month mark - is this considered a 'maintenance coat'? I usually wash with a 2% bleach & soap which removes probably 80%-90% of the color since the Armstrong Clark comes off very easily. I could tell there is oil in the wood still but I wonder about whether I'm supposed to be taking so much off.

I think your only option is to strip and restain. The wood is already sealed so the best you could do would be to fog something on which would be uneven and I would imagine look terrible. I would just let them know that all stains are going to be brighter when on new wood and that as the wood ages the Cedar Semi will look more like natural wood. Here is a PT deck, not sure how the color would compare with WRC, but this was new and at 24 months. Edit: Actually I believe this is the Amber but I think it would be similar in wearing.

I've had some that were as bad, but none this big that was as bad as this. Started this past week with 'stripping' and cleaning. Expecting rain this week but had hoped to extensively sand and prep, and have it stained the end of next week - weather permitting. Thought I would throw the 'before' pics out in the meantime.

Although I have done a handful of the AC Sequoia, this is the first time I really used the semi-solids and I really like it. The customer wanted something that would last longer so we went with the Mountain Cedar Semi-Solid. I did this one the first time a few years back and couldn't talk them out of the Redwood Toner - which barely made it the year in full sun. I think I'm definitely going to start pushing the semi-solids over the semi-transparents. For those of you that have used a lot of the semi-solids, what kind of life expectancy do you get compared to the semi-transparents?

Semi Solid Mountain Cedar / Oxford Brown 3:1 mix. I know the deck soaked up stain but I got much worse coverage than I expected. Keeping a five of the Natural around saved the day as I realized I was going to run a few gallons short. I usually average 150-175sf with the semi-trans and I estimated 115sf because of the age of the wood. I ended up getting 85sf with this one. I assume it's because of more solids. For those who have used a lot of the semi-solid, do you normally get less square footage compared to the semi-trans?

I checked with our state DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality), or state EPA, and they told me that there was nothing they could recommend as even using city water would be considered a contaminant because it has fluoride and other additives. Using well water would still mean washing of the debris into the water. Adrian may be of help. I've done one and opted to use plain water under pressure with a 40** fan but I generally will not provide estimates. It's a shame too because that would be some great looking projects

Finished with Armstrong Clark Mountain Cedar/Oxford Brown (3:1)