Chappy

Michigan sand is different than florida sand. Dont you know that? just kidding. Ive seen and done both ways. when applying an solvent acrylic over sand it saturates nicely but doesnt really lock it down like a polymeric sand done after the sealer is on. Since the solvent dries quickly it can be done almost immediatly. But to each his own. The only way to find out is to try it and see which works better for you. I did try the water based joint stabizing sealer from adamant once and when I went back next year it looked like what Cody described. Big voids and cracks.

Alright, finally got my hands dirty on some IPE. Here are the pics. its 5 yrs old never finished. total of about 2000sf. all Ipe except fascia and supports. Started with EFC 38 but changed to downstreamed HD80. then bleached and neutralized with Citric acid. (I really like the way Citric works. no more hacking coughs while spraying it like ox.)

Me and a helper about 45 hrs total. exactly 10 gallons of woodtux. it really soaked it in, probably due to some accelerated aging as evicenced from all the mildew exposure. Ken, I actually mixed some red tint in, to get more of a mahogony, but when I went to mix the second batch, all the red was at the bottom of the pail from the first batch. so the second and third batch I didnt put any red into it. The lady hated the red color of the wood when it was wet, so I had to go brown.

The fish were jumping everywhere, so Im sure i didnt kill any. Your looking at less than 2 oz HD80 per gallon mixing with millions of gallons. So Its really not an issue. If it was a small pond id think otherwize.

Also, half way through, I smelled smoke and heard fire trucks converging. I took off to get some sodas and saw that there was a dock on the other side of the lake up in flames. Huge fire. When I got back, my pile of rags, which I had been keeping an eye on all day was smoldering!! I guess this was trully my lucky day!

Oh yeah. Before I get attacked. I had oil booms all around. Just took them away before the pics. Thanks Celest for all the help and advice. Ditto Ken Fenner.

and lastly the finished product. The customer did not like the red in the wood so she opted for a mahogony finish, But I did not add enough red tint and ended up with a dark brown. Its nice but hides the true colors way too much for my liking. Customer did not know what kind of wood the lounge chairs were made of. Not teak anyway. unfortunately several slats and pieces had rotted away.

not a lot of furring but it definately needed sanding. I was amazed at how rough the wood was. Serious splinters . heres whats left of my Osborne brush, wore off at least half the thickness. and some pics of the wood ready to finish. the black marks in the third pic are actually damage from water draining off the dock roof. I decided not to sand every spindle (174 ft of them) but regretted it when applying the stain to them with a hand mit. Ive been digging out splinters for days.

you will pay about the same in shipping as you would pay in tax, Its almost a wash and the internet vendors are usually cheaper.

for the woodies only, What term do you use in your marketing? Deck sealing Deck restoration Wood restoration or other termonology.

With the price of fuel jumping every day, Id have a hard time justifying a drive over there just for dinner. Its that Damn Bush and Cheney deliberately running up the price of oil to wreck the economy just before an election!!!

this is cool. in case you loose count, 14 laterals for a 61 yard play to win the game. ESPN Video Beta

I get a kick out of talking to people about politics. I get a real kick out of listening to people whine and complain about our government, and all the evils of Bush. Then I ask them- did you vote? I should be amazed at how many say the don't vote, but I'm not. The biggest complainers are usually the ones who dont even vote. What about you?

new data from the US Treasury. In 2005 the 'richest 1 %" in this country paid 39.5% of all the income taxes in collected. The richest 5% paid almost 60% and the richest 10% paid over 70%! Now for comparison, the richest 1% is defined as those earning over $350,000. The richest 1% earned 22.7% of all income earned. Wait, did I just hear that they make 22.7% of the income but pay 40% of all the income taxes? Surley that cant be right! Bush gave them all a huge tax cut, didn't he? The top 5% earn around $175,000 Want to know how much the lowest 50% pay in income taxes. this is everyone below the median income level of $50,000. A whopping 3%!!! I thought Bush was screwing the poor. Giving all the tax cuts to the rich. The rich pay more tax now than ever before! want to see the economy die? Take away the tax cuts for the rich!

I think you forget, it was the democrats that had a fit about the hanging chads. In a long time democrat run county. with a democrat supervisor of elections. But because it was one of the richest counties in the state we let them whine and sue and then the supreme court, in their wisdom said the law was the law and stopped the rediculous recount and gave, no, Appointed GW. THE SUPREME COURT APPOINTED BUSH!!! THere, I said it. and now he's soaking the rich with his obscene tax reductions. Bush is personally escorting illegal aliens across the border. He is banning unions from helping the poor working class. I hate him! I hate him. Vote Hillary in 2008. Socialism for all mankind.

Do you mean perchance these? The Gallery of 'Bush = Hitler' Allusions Oops, didnt recognize the name of a conservative in the bunch.

He needs a beer belly, and get rid of some of the hair. Any one with hair that full isnt a do it yourselfer. I agree on the colors, dont care for them either.

In this crappy economy, you seem to be one of the few who cant get a job. Im sure the next president of the US is going to give you a job. Hillary, Daniel needs a job. Please help. That is one of the most ignorant rants I have ever run across. and you call me stupid?

This ladys trex deck covered both side yards, the back yard and the dock. Total of over 2600 sf. I cleaned this 3 years ago with a pressure washer and bleach/soap mix. Took me the same amount of time this year with just a truck brush and 4% bleach/ Simple Cherry mix. Rinsed with garden hose. Didnt think it was clean until I let it dry, then it hurt the eyes it was so new looking. Thanks Ken F for the mix ratio.

this 3 months old deck is stained with WHG. gotta love being able to do a deckaday. inside the screen is the deck I did for him 3 years ago with Cabots oil toner. It held up surprisingly well. The builder used some of the rails and the steps and I had to strip them.

Cry me a flipping river. You own a business now. Do you pay your help a living wage? If the rich business men dont have salaries and hide their income, how do they end up paying such a high percentage in taxes. if the unions did such good why did the rich keep getting richer. Tax em more! then they put more of you whining little union babies out of jobs instead of hiring more workers. the rich are the ones who hire the workers. the rich are the ones who invest in factories that hire you idiot unionites, so they can invest in more factories with thier profits. If your smart enough to re-educate yourself, your smart enough to find a rich investor and open your own shop. Actually I guess not. YOull always think like an employee with that attidute. Jeff, how many people do you employ and pay wages to? you didnt do that when you were in your last life did you? Your on the right track and as you become more and more successful you are seeing the light.

OH great, Give away all our secrets why dont you. I'll visit. I think its a great Idea, and can only lead to more business. Cause no matter how many questions someone asks, they may still just hang it up and call a pro.

This is florida guys. land of the unlicenced contractor! Actually it was built by a carpenter who has done a lot of work in the subdivision. His work is top notch compared to some of the decks Ive seen. Built for around $1200. I have no Idea what the code is, but code enforcement is very slight. and you can get away with just about anything here unless a competitor reports you. I actually had a property appraiser tell me that I could do pavers on my pool and not get bumped in the taxable value "IF I DIDNT GET A PERMIT."

glad to be of service. Many of us do like you and what you do here.

I pay by frequenting the paid sponsors. Just like I buy from Bob to help support his board. (Im assuming the sponsors pay enough to cover the costs of the board.) Im sure Beth doesnt get much monitarily for her time and effort except the everlasting gratitude of the people like me who learn so much from coming here. I do hope she knows how much we appreciate her! But that being said, if asked I would join for a modest cost. It would be worth it if that were the only way.