PressurePros

It doesn't look bad to me. The wood species is in question. The grain pattern looks dense. The knots make it appear like cedar but it must be a better grade than what is laid down around here. Heartwood? How old is this deck? Whoever constructed this deck did a nice job.

Post card mailers sent out to areas you would like to target are most effective. Have it professionally designed, full color, glossy stock. Some guys talk about using self designed black and white cheaper ones effectively. I think that is very chancy. It may lead people to believe you are a starving, small time operation and they will shop you on price. Since you can only work part time, you want to fill your available slots with higher dollar jobs. What has worked for me is dominating very small areas and then increasing the net, so to speak. This would be my marketing strategy: 1) I would send out 1000 mailers to a very specific higher income demographic. Do your research on the area. • Are there decks and houses that are conducive to your service? I like a neighborhood where homeowners are 35-60, professional, but not incredibly rich. Houses have siding and decks are large and maintained. • Is the area filled with landscapers and contractors? (this is good) 2) After your mailers go out, and in between waiting for calls, drive your logo'd truck through the area frequently on weekends. People will begin to see you and start recognizing your name. "Hey, if my neighbors are using him, he must be okay" 3) Find out the predominant religion in your service area. Go to the churches and synagogues and advertise in their bulletins. In fact I would do this first, so that by the time your mailer comes out, some people will have seen your name and logo. The church people are very loyal and good to work with. They make a very nice customer base. At this point I would wait. Throwing too many things out at once won't be effective and it will deplete your budget too quickly. Carefully track from where your calls are coming. Once you get an idea of return rate, you can reassess your numbers. Do you need to broaden your area? Do you need to target the same area with a second campaign? (which I prefer) Most importantly in getting quality work is the art of the deal. Try to get to every estimate. Meet with the homeowner. Show up on time. Show up dressed properly with a clip board and measuring tape. Evaluate the property. Point everything out to the customer that needs addressing. Upsell. Learn to overcome objections. Let the people know that you are the go-to guy for decks or housewashing. Once you start establishing a customer base, design a newsletter. Send it to your customers every month. Their repeat business, plus the glowing references you get by keping your name in front of them will have you quitting that full time job in no time.

I gave away a deck restoration for a charity auction. The value was supposed to be up to $500. The family that won was not well-to-do so I decided to give them back something they can use for barbecues or sitting outside people watching. When we pulled up at the property, this was what we saw.

Thanks to all for the positive comments. I think you have to give to receive and it sounds like many of you share the same philosophy. The homeowner's were very decent people. We must have been offered cake, cookies, coffee and water about ten times. Shane, I would usually get about $700 for an equivalent sized deck that involved repairs. Morgan, you'd be right about it being on the road. I don't want to claim Ghandi status. This type of endeavor benefits everyone. Unfortunately that area has median income around $25k and house values aren't over $75k so additional work is unlikely. Thanks again, I hope all had a happy easter. I think all of those yellow chicks have me in insulin shock.

Railroad ties were cleaned with HD080 and sprayed with two coats of sealer. Railroad ties are treated with this black stuff to prevent rot and insect damage thats why they are so dark.

I received this letter from a customer. Before I make any type of assesment or comment I would like to hear your input. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hi Ken, I thought you would be interested in Cabot's response to the SPF peeling off of my Ipe deck. They said "The tape pulls revealed a significant amount of wood fiber on the back of the stain samples. Dead wood fibers on the surfaced will interfere with the durability of the SPF Deck and Fence Finish. The stain bonds to the loose wood fibers and as they break free from the surface the stain will lift and peel with it. It is important to remove any raised grain or dead wood fiber prior to coating by lightly sanding with 80-100 grit sandpaper." I would be interested to know if you find their explanation credible. My deck was power washed using Cabot's recommended deck cleaner prior to staining. In your experience are loose wood fibers an issue with Ipe? Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is the Cabot's rep still here?

actually, no. What I was asking is, is acetone an advisable prep for all sealers used on ipe. Great info, Rod. Where do you learn all of this stuff?

Would acetone be an advisable prep for all sealers?

What does the acetone do exactly?

Cleaned with HD-80 (dilute) neutralized with Citrallic. Went to lunch. Came back and sealed with Wood Tux Wet. A couple squirts of black added to Warm Honey Gold. Total project time 5.5 hours.

The deck needed new hand rails. The whole structure was built wrong but short of tearing it down and rebuilding it I had to prioritize repairs. I replaced the handrails and resecured the rail system and ballustrades.

I have not done it but have been advised of ipe decks with multiple layers that have three years on them without as much as a maintenance coat and no evidence of finish failure. The person I am speaking of uses the TWP 100 series. I think WTW would lend itself well to this type of application if it were thinned with a type of spirits. The problem with that is, I am not willing to be the guinea pig for someone's $30k deck.

If it weren't so completely assinine, this might actually be funny. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Mr. H------; The Australian Timber Oil is a penetrating stain and in order for the stain to effectively work, the wood surface must be porous and the wood fiber must be completely removed. Sanding IPE will not create the oils to come to the surface. However, I must stress the importance of totally removing the SPF Deck and Fence Finish should you consider using a penetrating product. Our best recommendation for your deck is to consider using the SPF Deck and Fence Finish. Our lab has found this product to be most effective on IPE, providing protection and lasting beauty to the natural wood. Cabot Waterproofing is another product that you can consider using, however, this product will require you to completely remove the SPF Deck and Fence to ensure the product will penetrate. We believe that following the necessary preparation steps outline in the letter of April 3, 2006, will allow you to enjoy your deck. Please let me know what product you have decided to use and Cabot will provide you with 6 gallons of whichever product you choose. Sincerely yours, Stacey Sherman Technical Consultant (for Cabot's)

Since Beth and Rod have stopped carrying chemicals, I'm curious. What options are you exploring for chemical purchase?

Yes, it's oil based. Try one pail on either your own deck if you have one or on some 2"x6" scrap. It has ups and downs.

How is this for furrying up the line even more.. On a whim I bought some sodium percarbonate loaded laundry detergent that was compatible with sod. hypo. In a five lb bucket mixed 2 gallons 12.5% with 2 gallons of water then added the entire bottle of liquid detergent. Foamed up like percarb does. Contents settled and we downstreamed on. Was very fast, mold melted and vertical areas where stain was still beading it broke the surface for penetration. The test subject was a 20 year old deck that I restored and sealed two years ago with Cabot's Clear Solutions - Cedar tone. The Cabot's held up remarkably well for a deck that gets sun most of the day.. proper prep. Anyway, nothing great, just wanted to share and get opinions. Am I kidding myself and would bleach have done the job on it's own (breaking the surface oil to allow penetration)

V-Seal.

Very cool. If I could have a redo on choosing a name I would make it something more catchy.

Joel, I am by no means an expert with bleach. Up here growth isn't bad so I downstream pool shock (12.5 sodium hypochlorite). To get an equivalent mixture, you would mix store bleach 50/50 with water. Some other guys will help you out with various mixtures whom have more experience with it on wood. I am more of a sodium percarbonate person when it comes to prepping for sealer.

This is a perfect chance to marry the camps..use both bleach and percarb. I would go right to sodium hydroxide if there was that much buildup but with those shakes in the condition they are, they would disintegrate. You are a brave man, Rick. Though there are very few, I may have turned that job down. Good luck with it. I am off for a nice maintenance (bleach) cleaning of a deck I did two years ago with Cabot's Clear Solutions.

This is a situation where using bleach is a no-brainer as long as the surface does not still repel liquid. If you test it with some water and that water beads on the surface, you need a percarb based cleaner.

I am leaning towards multiple coats of TWP on very dense woods. It has been suggested to me by a couple of people that swear by the technique. I am going to strip my mahogany deck and give it a try. God help me if I have to strip it off.

here is a nicer one..

Thanks for the links, Rick. Here are some photos. Cabot's is now telling him to sand the entire deck to apply ATO. I asked this homeowner every possible question about application, conditions etc and it seems he followed everything Cabot's recommended to a Tee. Nice huh?

My first car was a 1978 Chrysler Cordoba with "fine Coreenthee-an leather" My favorite car when I was young and single was a 1997 twin turbo Toyota Supra that put out over 630 horses with a 100hp nitrous blast. Now I drive a freakin Altima.