Beth n Rod

Interesting stuff... We have used basic copper cleaner - you can get it in the grocery store. Works fine, but it is a polish (think) rather than a liquid... I'll try the lemon juice and salt on my copper bottomed pots. Beth

What happens when the homeowner does their own deck, leave the pail out and a rag or two, or a brush or roller, right next to the house, so he can go in and eat lunch or answer the phone, or have a beer. How did he put out that cigarette he was smoking while he was working? I think this is a whole bunch of homeowner dangers wating to happen.... Beth

I have had the pleasure of working with Pete both on the BOD and off over the past few years. He has a wealth of knowledge to share, and is very giving of his time. I know he will continue to serve PWNA well in this new capacity, and we wish him every success! Beth

Ken, I fully understand about the effects of letting wood age. I would not suggest this on PT lumber, cedar, redwood, or just about any other wood, but I have seen success with this done on Ipe and Teak. Bottom line, the wood isn't the same, neither is the way it acts or how professionals should handle the care of it. Anyone notice that there have been several really good ipe threads lately? Personally, I think it's cool stuff. Beth

Have seen and applied DEK to Mahogany, and it too will crack and peel over time. Have not used it on Ipe. Personally I think the maintenace is easier with the long oil alkyd (Aussie has this, so does SRD) than with the polymer resin, because when the polymer resin (Cetol DEK) fails the cracking and peeling makes for a nasty strip job. Ken, for your deck I would have suggested waiting 6 months, then a percarb, followed by citralic (oxylic works too just fine), rinse, detail and seal. Ummm...you didn't skip the percarb did you? Beth

Ok Jim, I'll bite...tell us what you would seal an ipe deck with. Mahogany is a hardwood like Ipe. Sealers will not hold up on hardwood, the way they will on softwood. Ever. Question is, on the mahogany deck you mentioned, was the deck allowed to age for 6 months or so before cleaning and sealing it, or what? You might suggest stripping it, letting it age, and then sealing it if it didn't get a chance to age. Beth

Jim.... All products fail eventually, and fail faster on hardwood than on softwood. If they didn't the manufacturers wouldn't sell much product. You know that. Personally, I have yet to see mildew infestation on an application of Aussie Oil, but then, prep is everything as you know. If you fail to clean, you have cleaned to fail. Beth :island: :sunshine: :dancing:

Possibly, yes, but Messmer's fails easily from what we have seen. We have seen both Messmer's and Penofin become mildew ridden when they fail. Ick... Beth

See? Even without the sample boards we all played with when you guys were here, you got the job and did fine. Glad the lead worked out. Had a feeling it would. ;) You'll have to share photos of this new one when you have them. It is best if you let the Ipe age 6 months before doing anything. It's so tight...you'll get a better result if you do this new one early next spring. The trick is sometimes getting the client to wait. Some listen better than others do. Hardwoods ( I include teak, mahogany, ipe, Brazillian redwood, and balau in this as examples but there are other woods) do better when they are exposed for a little while before being cared for, unlike softwoods. Beth :island: :sunshine: :dancing:

Very nice! These are my favorite kinds of photos. The ones of the deck being used, with all the furniture and plants and stuff back on it. I'll bet they spend every evening out there now, and most of the 4th! Good reason to hold a party too! We are thrilled for you guys about this job! Beth

My 14 year old son baked me my favorite cake! Angelfood! Doesn't get any better than a homemade cake, baked with love! Beth

Thanks guys! :dancing: It's been a good day! Beth

Thanks guys! Hey John W., what did you do yesterday for your special day? We sat on the deck and cracked crabs.... yum! Beth

Thanks! :groovy3: Beth

All oil based product carry the warning (or by law should) that they are combustible. I just checked the various product we use, and all of them are marked that way, as I suspected they were - and should be. Also both the mineral spirits and the xylene are marked that way. Rod and I were discussing this the other day, and he said the very reason he does what he does, using the degreaser in a pail of water for the clean up rags, wetting down before tarping when needed, is all to help deter this from happening. All wood care professionals need to be aware of this danger, most of us work with oil based products as a matter of daily routine. Beth

Cool stuff! Got a link? Beth

So when do we get to see the floor shot? Beth

I was not aware Greg lost a second truck. Very scary stuff. If you have heavy canvas tarps and they start to feel warm when not in use, GET RID OF THEM. Also take a bucket ( a gallon with a lid is what we use) and add water, and concentrated heavy duty degreaser. Keep your rags in that solution. We have also used things like mineral spirits in the past, but the rags are always in the degreaser solution. We have used Good Off, but the rags always end up in the bucket. If you keep them wet they won't combust. The degreaser works great, and like I said if you need something else, like goof off or whatever, you can use it and still keep the rags wet afterwards. Some of the things like xylene and mineral spirits are highly flamable. Be safe all! Beth

Guess we are gonna have to start calling you Big Red, John! :) Great deal. Rod~

I heard a little more from the home owner. Rails are PT lumber and coated witha solid Cabot's stain. They want the floor of the deck and porch ( both ipe) to be done in the Aussie Oil, Mahogany Flame. They will be in touch early this week and will try to get photos. Once I have that, anyone who wants to bid this I'll provide the info to. Beth

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4005&highlight=gutter+cleaning Search under Gutter Cleaning.... Any of the gutter threads will have products listed. I've listed one here for you. Be careful how long you leave any cleaner on aluminum. You'll take the finish off. Beth

I'm waiting for the owner to send me pics. They really want us to come do it, but Atlanta is not exactly around the Beltway. Anyone else? Beth

I agree with Russ. We're talking Aluminum here....Gutter cleaner will work as well. Beth

Very few from what I have heard. Have you tried the www.pwna.org member register? You can search by state. Some folks don't visit all the Boards. Beth

From time to time, yes. Last year we had a gentleman call wanting an estimate to get a house wash, and his deck done. I was out with Rod that particular day, so we were both there. On our way up the walk to the door, we noticed it looked like someone had blasted the aluminum siding. Note to self...someone has been here. A man comes to the door and after talking to him, says the man who we asked for was not home, say swe should look around. We do, and then as we are discussing the puzzling siding, we decide we really want to speak to the person who called. So, we head back to the door to excuse ourselves. The man who was home had no problem at that point, but the conversation was odd. He was looking at the house across the street, and asking if we could see the damage. Asked if power washing could cause damage, and would it mean you could get your siding replaced? Rod and I looked at each other. We told him we saw damage on his siding from a prior wash. He changed the subject. We told him we would be in touch, and left. We got back to the office (he was the last stop) and the phone was rining and it was the same man, and he was livid that we didn't leave the estimate. Confused, we reminded him we wanted to speak to the owner, the man we had asked for. Then he tells us he was the owner, not the man we had asked for. He was demanding the price. We told him we saw evidence that someone had tried to wash the siding ( no idea who), and that there was damage, and that we were of the opinion that it was better not to wash his home. He didn't like that....we suspect it blew his chances of coming after which ever company he would hire next ( thankfully NOT us), of getting pinned for new siding, which we think he wanted to do. Sometimes, intuition is very important. Beth