Beth n Rod

Doug, The deck looks great! :banana: Very nice job! Great strip results too. Beth :groovy:

A tid bit of news I heard: Much Teak being sold in the US is reclaimed Teak from used furniture. Due to teak becoming rare the furniture being made out of it is being taken apart from old, re-sized and what good parts are left go into production. Rod!~

Got this in an email. Somehow, I could not help but post it. Beth ------------------------------------------------------ Hello! We are in the process of building and starting a large ranch-style camp for disadvantaged youth in the mountains just east of Boise, and we wanted to ask if you would enjoy helping out with the project in some fashion. There are many opportunities here for anyone with a helping heart to get involved with. It is a huge project, and we want to invite as many people as possible into such a relationship. Basically, we need both volunteer labor and youth camp/ranch related items. Even if you can't help in any other way, perhaps you could forward this email on to someone who might also be interested in helping out? Regarding labor, we are looking for both skilled and unskilled people who may volunteer a little bit of their time to help us out with various cleanup, construction and remodeling projects, animal care, cabin cleaning, website design and various other projects as well. You may even be able to design you own project here! We are also in the process of looking for qualified people to fill various paid and volunteer positions that will become available as the camp opens (this summer?). In whichever case, if you would like to know more about how you might be able to help, give us a call at (208) 392-6723 or email Tim at bighouseministries@gmail.com. We are good folks and we have fun. :-) Regarding specific items, we have quite a list of items (used, new, or repairable) that we are praying for and asking for help with, and these include: - power tools (circular saw, sawzall, nail gun, air compressor, ladder, etc.) - electricity equipment (as we are off-grid and currently running on an old (borrowed) gasoline generator, we are looking for a hydropower setup and, of course, always more solar panels. Also, we will soon need another generator (diesel or gasoline) as a primary or backup) - landscaping things/supplies (flower seeds/bulbs/plants, vegetable seeds, fruit trees/vines/berries, fertilizer, benches, picnic tables, etc.) - construction supplies (pipe, wire, insulation, lumber, fixtures, concrete, cinderblock, mortar, grout, vinyl windows, carpet and padding, vinyl flooring, paint, sheet rock, log cabin siding, etc.) - cabin furnishings (desks, twin bunk beds, wood-burning stoves, curtains, mattresses, bedding, etc.) - animals and supplies (we are looking for chickens, a goat or two, a horse and pony (and tack and gear), maybe even ostritch or emu, and animal feed!!!, bedding, and fencing. - heavy equpiment (Bobcat, bulldozer, rototiller, backhoe, snow plow/blower, ATV, concrete mixer, log splitter, etc.) - miscellaneous items (fire extinguishers/ fire alarms, pool supplies, commercial kitchen appliances/equipment/furnishings, water filters, gasoline, propane, propane water heaters, oxyacetelyne torch, kitchen supplies/dishes/pots, etc.) The other thing we need is money. We are currently in the process of financing the main property, and we severely need donations to complete the down payment ($100,000 needed by June 1'st - though we may have this somewhat worked out), in addition to some remaining filing fees for various permits. This is our biggest need right now, and we are trusting that it will be met somehow. We are registered as a non-profit organization in Idaho under the name of Big House Ministries, Inc. (doing business as Thorn Creek Youth Ranch and Conference Center), and all material and monetary donations are tax-deductible. Any help you can offer in this area also will be most appreciated. And even if you can't help materially, please at least say a prayer for us and the youth with whom we will be working, and pass on the message to those who you think best. God bless, Tim Benedict Director Thorn Creek Youth Ranch 21 Yellowpine Lane Boise, Idaho 83716 P.S. If you have any questions or ideas or comments, please do call me (Tim) at 208-392-6723. Or come and visit! (Write or call for good directions) If you like, check out our small website at http://www.bighouseministries.com to see pictures and plans and our latest news. Oh, and we are looking for churches or other organisations to partner with.

Have a lead for a vinyl house wash in Bel Air, MD 21014. Contact me for details if interested. Beth

I'm going to say it again...this...thread...ROCKS! This is exactly the kind of thread I love to see here. Beth :cup: :banana:

You can use it if you have something to attach to with a clamp. It can eat through the plastic if it is sitting on top of it in the case of horizontally. Otherwise, we use formica boards from a tile distributor (use to display tile styles on) to keep any stripper off the wood siding. A NIOSH n95 will work just fine. (the one that makes you look like a bug)Rod!~

Daggone it...he done made me have to git out my dikshonery agin. :lol: Next month...fun with the letter "Q"! Welcome Aussie. Stand and be recognized for thou hast made himself a-la-mode amonst the otherwise bland with your idiosycrasy barrage of unfortuitous linguistic verbosic manifestations of uncommon prose. Rod!~

It is hard and dense, however I have seen on several occasions, teak with rot issues. Strongly suggest sealing the teak. Also that "silver" patina... is UV (sun) damage, so saying it is impervious to it, well.... nothing is. True on a hard wood it actually allows for better product absorption, but still the result is the over exposure does dry and crack the wood. Beth

We're HD-80 users, but have had good results with Timberstrip and F-18 Max as well. Beth

When we hired college students, they usually get short-timers disease in august and I fall behind because they know they are going back to school and don't care much to show up all the time. I have looked to the Hispanic market but much of them are tied up in landscaping all season. We have been doing more in the repair side and am hoping to keep a couple over the winter who posses the aptitude for carpentry. We'll see. Rod!~

I don't like twist-lock poles. The main threaded cam bond always breaks loose from the pole and then I have a pole that I cannot lock tightly for extended use. Have been using Gorilla Glue to address the issue, I hope it holds. I would recommend Pin-lock poles but they need to be larger in diameter and thicker tubing at 24' lengths to be able to stand up to any real working pressure from brushing otherwise they just bend and wiggle all over the place as was mentioned above. This also makes them heavier and adds to operator fatigue. Nothing worse than have to struggle with a tool to do a job, just makes it all that much more of a pita factor. .02 Rod!~ side note...I have seen a new idea added to Extend-a-wands wash poles that incorporates a second pole that is attached to the first so that the weight is absorbed by the helper and the main operator at the gun end has better control over the end of the pole. Has anyone seen anything like this adopted for other poles?

There's your confession...Cuff him Danno!Rod!~

Here is an excerpt for the USDA Forestry Labs Wood Handbook: [Meranti is a common name applied commercially to four groups of species of Shorea from southeast Asia, most commonly Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. There are thousands of common names for the various species of Shorea, but the names Philippine mahogany and lauan are often substituted for Meranti. The four groups of Meranti are separated on the basis of heartwood color and weight (Table 1-3) About 70 species of Shorea belong to the light and dark red Meranti groups, 22 species to the white Meranti group, and 33 species to the yellow Meranti group.] Basically this is concurring with Rick's post above and adds to the confusion of what the wood is in the initial pics we are trying to guess at. Overall, whichever it is, it is still among the hardwoods and would be treated in the same manner regarding maintenance and protection. Nice link Rick. It is deceiving that suppliers would try to sell you something as another especially if your intended use is not suitable for it. Pau lope brand Ipe' http://www.paulopedecking.com is an example of a separating of the groups according to grade and color for a marketing advantage. It's still Ipe' and Brazilian Redwood though and not some similar wood like Cambara which can be easily distinguished by its splintery texture and often darker color (usually dark brown and reddish brown) Rod!~

EFC-38 to clean it... Citralic to neutralize and brighten.... Then check to see if the surface needs a light sanding.... Personally I like either Wood Tux or Cabot's Australian Timber Oil for sealing the teak. It will outlast the Ready Seal. Let your owner know that on a hardwood such as teak, you will not get more than a year or so. This is a wood that needs annual care. (at least horizontally) Beth :cup:

Rick hit it. Redwood's extractives can cause the overall appearance of the sealer to turn very dark when combined with them. Mature growth redwood has this problem more frequently than newer growth versions as Rick has mentioned. Rod!~

I think it's American Mahogany. According to the USDA Forestry Labs wood handbook, it is generally straighter grained than African Mahogany which the grain is frequently interlocked. Rod!~

Balau is a beautiful wood. We have a balau table on our deck. Beth

Cold stone rocks. Love the stuff. They have a lemon sorbet that I love to have fresh strawberries added to... Whoops! Off topic! Beth

Scott, Great job! :sunshine: Beth

I love threads like these! Beth

We only see a few of them on decks and furniture but have read about them in the USDA Forestry labs wood handbook. Interesting note though...Genuine Mahogany comes from africa to begin with and most now purchased in the US is grown in the US and called American Mahogany. I wonder what they think distiguishes theirs from others to be called Genuine? Will check into it later...gotta dispatch the crews. Rod!~

Random acts of kindness...everyone benefits. We here at TGS see it often from you. Cudos Jeff. Rod!~

Ron, I agree the trick is the number of stores to make it worth your while. However, if they want you to drive an hour for $125.00 for one store twice a year, it's not worth it. If I could get 20 stores, then it would be worth it. Beth

I agree. Looks far better than it did though. You have some nice before and afters. Beth :cup:

He's beautiful! He's friendly? How cool is that! Beth