PressurePros

Thanks, Beth. I did! Now its back to chaos.

Beth thanks for the link. hahaha Rick, ended up closing on seven jobs Saturday. Kept getting hit by neighbors "while you are here would you mind giving us an estimate as well?"

From a customer of mine.. "Hi Ken, I talked with you last fall about my deck. I have a large 2 story deck and had a hail storm in Oct.that left light spots all over where hail dinged through the dirt. The deck is about 2 or 3 years old and has not been cleaned since it was built by the previous homeowner. You said you could put me in touch with a reputable contractor you approve of in Columbus, Ohio who uses your products. I need someone licensed & insured who will work with my insurance co. on this damage claim" This is a high quality, hot lead. Contact me for more information via pm or pressurepros@mail.com.

yo Shane. X-nay on da Xjetay

Thank you, gents! Was a great birthday!

The fact that you couldn't contact the company or its representative.. intolerable. I'm sure that's why you are at the point you are, Greg (frustrated and ready for blood) I totally understand. Have been in the same predicament before. It happens. You mention that the website says "still pending". That doesn't neccessarily mean your order wasn't shipped but it would be nice to be able to contact someone and have them confirm it. Good luck with this. I process RAD orders immediately and the warehouse ships the next day. Customers usually get 2-3 days later. That's the way you have to do business nowadays. Gone are the "allow 4-6 weeks for delivery"

Jim, I didn't know you washed houses? Much better money it down here than is in wood.

Well, the only thing I can give is my opinion mixed with a little fact and experience. First, E-spec cleaning chemicals.. don't like any I have tried. Second.. X-Jet.. great tool when you need a strong solution of chemical (you don't for vinyl) You have to make sure your X-Jet is matched to your machines pressure and flow. I only get 20-25 ft from an X-Jet before the mix gets "misty". Try downstreaming for more height and better chem control. Wax, back to e-spec.. they do have a good application for this arena. Talk to Paul Kassander about it. I still have Sil-O-Wet but I think they changed the name.

Ipe has to be approached from a different perspective that anything else. Ipe has so much natural oil that most oil based stains don't have a chance at any type of finish longevity. As much as this may be loathed, you have to chemically age the wood (ie remove some of its natural protection). We do this via cleaning and pH balancing. Keep in mind that you then have to apply the right type of sealer. Putting a non drying oil on is fighting Mother Nature. Its going to try and dive in, get stopped by ipe's natural defensive sugars and oils, sit and wait for the next rainfall and then leech out. You need a resin containing, curing product (ie a "sealer" not a stain). Rod/Beth asked what benefit was achieved by doing this chemical aging process. The carying oils are able to take pigmentation a little further into the wood. With the right product that cures in the right amount of time, the pigmentation is then locked into the wood. Ipe and other hardwoods don't need to be "conditioned" like cedar or pine. You just need to be able to anchor pigmentation in the wood. (to borrow Dan's term)

Hey Bob, this forum doesn't get much activity so I say run with it and share some of your experience. Welcome to the board.

This is a prep job. Strip and balance deck. You may be able to upsell sealing. Probably not for newbies as there is a water borne AND an oil on this deck and one of them is Behr.

Dan, take a wild guess what is in the blend? ;-) (I don't want to discuss that here though)

Dan, I suggest this to my RAD customers and utilize this technique in the field.

Barry, I understand and am the same way, or should I say I used to be. But, this is a business. Our responsibility is to give the customer what they pay for. If I call a deck company and choose pressure treated pine for my wood, can I expect it to look like an ipe deck I saw in a magazine? If I choose stock windows on my new addition, can I expect them to have the same visual appeal that my neighbor's custom Pella windows have? Don't you think the contractor would rather showcase Pella's? There is arguement on both sides so I can play my own Devil's advocate and say a contractor can use only Pella windows and thereby set himself apart. Let's look at this from a seller's standpoint, your viewpoint above ("It's a fact that MOST won't choose the 'budget' or lowest tiered service, most will go middle of the road which is also a plus for the contractor" ) and my experience with the tierd approach. In the windows scenario: I am a contractor that offers options. I am an experienced and respected contractor. I have a good reputation. I'm not selling them windows anyway, you know that. I'm selling them appeal. I let the customer choose what SHE wants. I'd prefer she chooses the more expensive option and will sell that option but its not my choice to make. Nor is it my obligation to give her a free upgrade because I want her neighbors to be impressed with my work. People are impressed by neatness, finishing quickly, and good quality work. We give them all of that plus some. By your own hand you wrote that it is fact that customers will choose the middle option. That includes gutter scrubbing, except I offered it as a value service, you just through it in. I increased my ticket price, combatted lowball bids and the neighbors ooh and ahh just as much as the homeowners. Same results side by side but I made more money. Is that some kind of crime? I'm not in this for my health. I know you aren't either. You know who chooses the low priced option after they hear a presentation? 2 out of 100 and thats because I think they don't need the upgrades. They have brown gutters, the siding is relatively new and upgrading them would just be milking them. I am not in business to do that. Trust me, we never leave a house looking mediocre. The way my guys are trained, the chems I have refined again and again, my equipment and our procedure are systematic to produce the same results again and again. Owner/operator syndrome involves two things that will drain you.. ego and perfectionism. I fall prey to them just like everyone else.

Read my lips.. WOOD TUX

I have a much different philosophy. Upcharge all the way. Why make someone pay for something they may not want or need? I do understand the above made points but if you include it to a customer it has zero value. Barry says its a selling point but I have found that when built into a basic price structure, it was not. The system I came up with was a multi tiered pricing plan for housewashes. My second and third tier plans include this service, though I use a product a little different than just a wax you add to your housewash mix. The product I use enahnces the color and restores luster. That's a value service, why give it away? If you go to a carwash, you pay extra for wax. I find it is better (and more profitable) to offer customers choices. The customer feels empowered by being able to dictate what they want as opposed to one-size-fits-all-take-it-or-leave it approach. The same goes for gutter scrubbing. Its a value service. You upcharge for it. Guys will argue this with me day and night until they are blue in the face, meanwhile I sell $750 housewashes every day of the week. I feel a huge thread comin' on.

Dan, that will take a majority of the surface stuff off, but this stuff penetrates and cures pretty deep in the wood. Wait til you encounter it, you'll know what I mean. The pigmentation must be a dye of some sort.

I honestly have no idea what you are getting at here, Kevin. Are we supposed to elaborate more? (think additively?) TWP is Total Wood Protectant. Its an old school contractor product that a bunch of pros still use.

Efflorescence happens when salts in brick, stone or masonry get dissolved in water and then come to the surface. Those salts harden into calcium deposits. Most guys try to blast them off and they drive water into the masonry and then make the problem worse. You need to dissolve them with the right chemicals. Degreaser (high pH) doesnt work. You need acids often in some combination of oxalic, phosphoric, hydrochloric or hydroflouric.

acid | EaCo Chem Inc. Cleaning and Restoration Compound Manufacturer |

V-Seal makes decent products

Wood sealer/stains and what we know about them water based= I Don't use them. Most have acrylic in them. oil based= Ready Seal, Wood Tux, Baker's Gray Away, Sikkens SRD, Cabots (all), Deckscapes (Cuprinol), house brands from MAB, SW, Ben Moore, Wolman's F&P, TWP parafin replenishing type product= (parafin and parafinnic oil are different) Thompson's Water Seal. Wolman's F&P has parafin (wax) in it, used that as well as ststed above. sodium metasilica non strippable product= acrylic top coat= film forming= solids.. prime with oil base, topcoat latex Cabot's permanent or 7+ year= low sheen= Wood Tux (more of a reflection from the transoxide pigmentation) high sheen= Wood Tux over applied (multi coated) penetrating= transparent= tintable= Previously Wood Tux pre-tinted= available mail order only= WT, Baker's available from nationwide suppliers= not available to California= avg's under $30 per gal.= Everything I have listed (should be a s/f price as per gallon charge is not really relevant) avg's under $50 per gal.= can be applied to wet wood= WT, Cabot's SPF (lousy) initially usually requires more than one coat= Everything but WT usually needs stripped before reapplication= usually lasts 2 years or more= The only products in my experience that haven't held up with proper prep were Ready Seal and the newer formulations of Sikkens SRD. The Ready Seal I guess I didn't put enough on. reapplication after 2 years usually requires full strip= wood must absolutely be neutralized prior to application= Wood should be in slightly acidic pH before applying oil/alkyd must be brushed on= we spray and backbrush everything can be sprayed on with airless= Everything, but thin oils make the "cloud of doom" can be sprayed on with pump up sprayer= Nothing unless you want to make a mess (based on average pump up sprayer) can be water diluted prior to application= Only WT can be sprayed on with pressure washer downstreaming or xjetting= Stripper and Acid accepts foot traffic within 2 hours= accepts foot traffic within half day= accepts foot traffic within one day= I would say this is most if you define traffic as multiple people walking on it. I tell people to stay off of it for 48 hrs.

Shane you misspelled sillycone ;-)

500 s/f of ipe floor plus ipe rail system and skirting. Builder put on TWP a year ago. Owner thought Sikkens would be better and applied right over top. Its now a mess. The builder is a buddy of mine and is in over his head. Contact me if you are interested and I'll give you his name and number.

Yep, sounds like Behr silicone. Even the strongest stripper is going to leave pigment in the wood. I have had to do extensive sanding with this stuff. Check out this thread and look at the first picture. Looking at it now you will understand the hue/tone of the stripped wood. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/scrap-book/7264-not-your-daddys-film-former.html You might have to go with a bit darker tone to cover up. I strongly recommend using wood tux on that deck. The reason is, that silicone/acrylic will still be down in the wood and a deep pentrating sealer will not have anywhere to go.