Beth n Rod

Talk to the Dr. about long car rides or air travel. I remember being 5 month pregnant with my son and driving to Pittsburg and back. Had contractions on the drive back...Brackston Hicks, no big deal, but my Dr. was furious at me and forbid me to drive more than an hour away after that. It could have become a bigger deal that it was.... Beth

And my guys are always grumpy when I tell them not to put chems into anything but what I have supplied for them which is clearly marked and always kept in the shop overnight and not left in the vehicles. How unfortunate the father did not have the forethought to have prevented this. :think: Rod!~

Williamsburg, VA is nice. Good shopping and sights...outlet stored....baby stuff.... Key West Florida is beautiful and you don't have to go into the water. How about New England in the autumn? (get with Jim Foley on that ) DC is not bad. Lots to sight see. All the museaums and monuments are free. Gettysburg, PA is close by too. Beth p.s. get her a SPA appointment and a good foot massage...pregnant women have sore feet and it's a real treat to not have swollen tired sore feet.

The most common cause of splotchiness in my experience has been with products that are designed to stay mostly on the surface and over time and UV exposure, change color and actually become darker. Then when it comes time to perform maintenance and the finish has worn unevenly and is gone is some areas, it is impossible to get the color to match the old existing stain so therein lies the need to strip it all off. I just did a wash today on a cedar deck we did 2 years ago and the color was still very much intact in the wood after the wash was complete (will post pics later, pc is going through a tune up) and will only require a light coat to rejuvenate the finish. For those who have not used an alkyd based stain: In terms of working with a product like WTW, it is necessary to make sure you leave no sharp edges and this includes drips, runs, pad or brush marks or even marks left from a spray shield. Distribute the excess product to other parts that are yet to be treated and basically spread it out. Avoid reapplication to the areas already treated and you will have an even result. Recoat only where the wood is showing the product is soaking in readily. Once complete, the finish will be a matte appearance. If you have any shiny areas, either use a pad to remove and redistribute the product or take a rag with mineral spirits to take up the excess. Rod!~

These are difficult at best to even begin to conceive considering we know nothing about how you operate, how many employees, equipment capabilities, your speed/rate of work...etc. Ex:1 man can wash a colonial sized home (no garage add-on) 2 story vinyl, 3 stories in back in 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Amount of chems used depends on what you are using and how much in the solution prepared. Given an arbitrary figure of 350 to wash the house and pay rate of 15/hr this would be a starting point for your consideration. Ratio would be about 7:1 Wood restoration Ex: one man washing a ground level deck measuring 12X15=180sqft + rails @ 3X39=117sqft grandtotalling 297sqft. Wash rate @ 150sqft hour = 2 hours to wash 15/hr X 2 = 30 Seal rate for 1 man including prep, sanding, nailpops and cleanup = 125sqft/hr for a total job time of 2:30 (rounded) Given an arbitrary figure of 1.45/sqft wash and seal = 430.65 15/hr pay rate X 2.5 = 37.50 37.50 + 30 = 67.50 Ratio approx. 7:1 Materials is a bit tougher. These are a bit more difficult to nail down due to circumstances that change per job. Wind, heat and cold can factor into the amount of chemicals necessary and how well they work. I hope this gives you some headway. Rod!~

We use the motorola I58sr (yellow/black) they are more durable and have better range and battery power. The others for me like Jon said = broke or damaged from getting wet. We have had these for 2 years now and the only thing I need for each of them is a new battery pack. Rod!~

Had a load of lumber on top of my Sprinter van's ladder rack, travelled about 25 miles in stp and go traffic on the highway and only nearly lost it once I got into the neighborhood. Forgot to put tiedowns on the load because one of my employee's had me distracted after loading it. We have forgotten a number of things over the years needing to go back to the shop to pick them up but I consider myself lucky in comparison to others who have posted their misfortunes here. Godspeed in your eardrum healing Scott. Rod!~

Jon, Looks great! :) Beth

Knots on cedar generally soak up more thoroughly that the surrounding wood. You could touch up the knots but it is no guarantee that it will stop doing it. I'd tell the guy to let it go for a couple of years and proceed with the regular maintenance. 25 years old and yeah, the deck is going to be problematic. Our work is not a cure all ills for something that hasn't been kept up for the long a period. Good choice on the product though. Something to keep it moisturized. Rod!~

Looks great for 25 years of neglect. Sure you could babysit the knots, but those are always problematic. Beth :cup:

Tracy, Prior to the changes in the VOC laws in January of 2005, we never saw a pad leave a hair behind with anything we put down, including the truest of "filmers" Sikkens Cetol DEK. I don't believe it is a matter of friction or pull. That's not what is causing the hairs to abandon the pads... Everything we have used that has undergone VOC reduction changes now seems to have that problem... this is a forumla issue inherent to many things from what I can tell. Beth

Removing koolaid stains from a bleached oak table. There are several wood bleaches that can be used but first you must identify the appropriate one otherwise it can leave another stain which can only be removed by sanding. On a piece of white birch, apply the same koolaid to it and let dry. Take some easyoff oven cleaner and spray a little on a paper plate. This is to be used with a cotton swab to apply a dab to part of the stain. Then, using some hydrogen peroxide once the other is dry, apply to the same area and wait for the reaction to stop then rinse. Use some lemon juice to neutralize the area and see what the result is. Take note of the surrounding wood in relation to the area treated, this will give you some idea of how well it will work. You can also use a little bleach dilluted to about 30:1 to see if this gets you any results. It can change the surrounding woods natural color so be specific where you apply it to. Blue is a crazy color to remove from some surfaces. Rod!~

Depending upon how bad the surface contamination is will determine how strong I use it. 8oz-16oz is the avg range I use in 3-1/2 gallons of water. Rod!~

Here on TGS we suggest that if a company is going to have more than one employee login to the forums, that each user have a unique user name and password - in other words their own TGS account. This helps to avoid identity "confusion". Beth :cup: time for coffee :cup:

Jeff, You got a mean streak in you did ya know that ;) Rod!~

I guess he didn't like it.... That's the only thing I can figure... Beth

Methinks...it was that whole post about a teacher and the SH chem....method and salespitch post... Beth

Ron, we have been trying to tell you but sometimes you are stubborn and don't listen. Go eat with your family and enjoy the evening. It's all good... Beth

Go find it yourself Ron. If it is the one I think it is, it's in the split PWNA thread, and Mel ( PWKID) authored it. I have thought it was odd for over a day now, that you were lighting into Scott for what Mel wrote. Beth

This is your words, ok, still the question stands...what do you consider damage? What dwell time? what concentration? Sorry to put you on the spot but you have a number of very educated individuals here who have researched their chems well enough to pass a college equivalent exam on them in order to be responsible in business, OSHA safety regulations and administer safety protocols for their employees so that they are not liable under the OSHA regs for negligence. Process has little to do with it. EXPOSURE (eg;contact, reactive action, interaction, dissolution, precipitation, heat generation) does. You are talking about adding an oxidizer to something and claiming no damage, even if adding to another chemical to make a compound you are creating a mix that has the potential for damage. The quote above is a misleading statement and I am asking on behalf of the readership the questions posed. Sorry to mince words here but from a responsibility perspective towards our archives, I would like to make sure you have the chance to elaborate and explain your self further. The lack of information in your posts is alarming in the statements being made and what is being pervaded to those who would use this thread as a manner of information. I am sure you do not put this little effort into training your employees but in making yourself credible in the eyes of those who would read your posts, take the time to make sure they are complete, clear, concise and accurate. Rod!~

First of all, the post is NOT gone. Maybe you need to look in the other half of the thread, prior to the split... the PWNA half. If memory serves me it is there. Also if memory serves me, and it may not but we'll see, the poster was not Scott but Mel. Lastly, ALL posters here have an ID. Guests cannot post on these forums. Beth

You said you could pour it on just about anything! Quit stalling and answer the question while I got you on the spot here. lol Rod!~

No I don't assume that. But I have read many of the posts from the members here, have met some and spoken to many more. This is a network. We all learn here and help each other out. And we are not stupid. Now I am going to ask you to stop talking down to everyone here like they are stupid idiots. We aren't. And like it or not you do come across this way. Beth

Ok, I'll bite. What do you consider damage then? What concentration? What dwell time? This should be enlightening. Rod!~

Ron, Sodium hydroxide is not the preferred chemical for roof cleaning. This is according to ARMA. The PWNA coursework is in line with both ARMA and the CS&SB. I have already said this. However, there are good, better and best methods and good, better and best chemicals. There is nothing unusual about someone being anti-sodium hydroxide in a roof thread, just like you can expect to see anti-bleach banter in a wood thread quite often. Since you do flatwork I expect you would equate this to EPA banter. All areas of specialty have their own hot button topics and points of passion among those who perform these services as a larger portion of their business. Beth