ogetnom27

Hey guys, First post of the year for me and now I've gone full time into the biz. Out of the restaurant biz for good. Anyway, I took a job that has turned out to keep me up at night. Have resorted to counting sheep until I get to the one that looks like an Ambien, then I just swallow it! lol. They had said it was acrylic latex paint on there now.They wanted to go with a semi-solid,so they could see some grain. Ok, no big deal. But getting into the job, found that it was actually acrylic stain. As you can see in one pic it penetrated deep into the wood and left dark gray areas everywhere. I ended up having to make an NaOH mix so "hot" that it was just about boiling! Still had to hit it hard with the gun. Now I am left with literally about a million pieces of latex everywhere, and a whole lot of sanding ahead of me. Keep you updated. Mike

Hey Chaz, It's 3 mil plastic with Gorilla Duct tape. I don't know why, but the gorilla tape never seems to damage the paint when you take it off( plus it's 2-3 times stronger than regular duct tape) That room that you see is all screened in, with some ridiculously expensive outside furniture in it, with carpeting. Had to make it totally watertight.

So this is my first latex strip (looks like acrylic), and boy it's a doosey. You can see in the pics where it has failed and they want to replace it with an oil based stain and I really need a plan of attack. Was planning to try sodium hydroxide, but I just saw a post from Rick saying it doesn't work that well with latex. Job is a total of 1353 sq.ft. Counted each linear ft. of rail as 3sq.ft. Some of it is just a wash and seal (shower stall and exterior wall) but main deck needs stripping. For stripping section, I was going to price at $3.00 sq. ft. For others, $2.00 sq.ft. Both prices include materials. Was planning to rent !8' sander from HD for main deck. Need some advice on the strip. i.e. which product, application method, dwell time, etc. Thanks for any help, Mike

Thar she blows! My forearms are still recovering.

Thanks, Dan How true, how true. Although, this customer seems like she doesn't mind dishing out the dough. She just spent 5.5k for a new roof (only 12 square!). Hey Dan, maybe you wanna get in with me on this one? How busy are you? I've got a great place on the Cape you can stay for a few days.

Iv'e seen some posts about this stripper. (Dorado 3031)Yes, it's pricey, but worth a shot? Yes Rick, that may be an option with the spindles. I'll price them today. Told HO I would present estimate today. Want to get all my ducks in a row. By the way Rick, nailed a 220 lb tuna on the boat this weekend off the coast of Marthas Vineyard. Will be having tuna steaks right through winter.Sweet. :D

Just finished up a deck job for a great customer. Well, deck came out great, so she asked if I could do a few other things around the property. One of them is this roof. I have done some other roofs in the past, but I haven't encountered something this bad. Any suggestions on how to tackle this one? Thanks, Mike

Dan, I was able to use the back side of the garage as the "test kitchen" which was the worst infestation and I could check there first for effectiveness and leakage. Otherwise, I would not have done the house. I didn't have to go up on the roof 3 times. I sprayed from the ground

Thanks, maybe too stubborn for my own good..

Well, must be the Irish in me but I was determined to get this roof clean. I took home some samples of the moss, algae, lichen and whatever else was growing up there and did a little chemistry experiment. I came up with a mix that killed this stuff pretty effectively. Went to the house and sprayed,waited overnight,next day rinsed with a garden hose to get top layer off, did same procedure again, then a third. Went up on roof with a 40 tip and what you see is what you get. There were some spots where the "organism" had eaten a bit into the shingle but nothing to really compromise the integrity of the shingle. Customer is very happy and I will be doing more work for her on another property she owns next week.

Ok, so I've left the company I was working/subcontracting for and gone on my own.Was sick of giving him 40% of every job, just for setting me up with the lead. Anywho, went to look at a mahogany deck (18x13) that in the beginning the HO thought she could do herself.Pic three is where she decided to try her hand at sanding. I took a piece of the mahogany boards that she had pulled up, back with me to my shop and gave it a percarb bath and some oxalic after that and it came out looking pretty nice. The sub frame is in decent shape.and she needs 12 boards (1x4's) replaced as some were rotting and weakening. Will be using Messmers UV plus for hardwoods. My question is, should I replace and install new decking before I wash, neutralize,and sand? Or wash,neutralize, sand then install new decking and seal. Thanks, Mike Sorry, thread wouldn't let me post pics, but you can see here mahogany repair pictures by decksrx - Photobucket

All 11 pieces set for staining.Some were pretty ugly. Homeowner had pressure washed some pieces on his own, until his wife begged him to stop!. First pic is one of those pieces. Will be staining tommorrow and hopefully delivering back to the HO in time for their "Paaahty" (as we say in Massachusetts) on Sat.

Any input on this unit? Guy has it for sale right near me (actually has two) one still unused. One I looked at (3600psi 4.4 gpm) looks like it was used like 3 or 4 times. Looks just about new. He's asking $900. Don't know too much about Legacy pumps. I'm just doing decks, cedar fences and cedar siding right now. Need to step up from my 3gpm machine Thanks, Mike Shark Gas Powered Belt Drive w/Roll Cage - CleanFreak.com

Trying to get some info on refinishing teak furniture. Customer had placed an ad online looking for someone to stain his teak furniture so I picked up on it and e-mailed him. Went to see it yesterday. He had power washed everything (uugggh!) except for two pieces. Ended up with some furring and alot of stop marks, especially on the table. Since he originally e-mailed me back, I've been doing some research on teak and the furniture he has is a very good quality.(Kingsley-Bate) Which he paid $5000 for nine years ago. My plan is to clean with sodium percarbonate then neutralize with oxalic acid, sand where needed and then stain. There are a total of six chairs, 8' table, two chaise lounges and two short directors chairs which fold. Trying to get some idea what to quote him and which stain to go with. I looked into a teak sealer from Semco. Very pricy.($80 gal.) Anyone with any experience with this product,or should I just go with something like AC, Ready Seal, WTW or Cabot ATO? Sorry for the long post. I will post some pics today if I get the job.

There was a total of 9 pieces. Sodium percarb and then a 40 tip, took the mold and algae off pretty well. Had to scrub in a couple of spots.No big deal. Downstreamed oxalic to neutralize and brighten a bit.Orbital sander with 80 grit.Lambswool hand applicator and brush for the ATO. Done.Took a total of 11 hours. charged $750 + materials. Did them at my house,took a break for a frosty whenever I felt,listened to the Sox game. Yep, I'll take these all day long. Mike P.S.Dan, The spot on the leg was a little sand and dirt from turning the table on its side in the yard. I went over this set with a fine tooth before I let it go!

Finished up teak today. HO decided they wanted to go with ATO. Wasn't my first choice but they are moving to Maryland where it won't be as harsh as New England. Also they told me it will be in a semi-enclosed area and somewhat always covered. Color is Honey Teak. Best part of this job is when I delivered the furn. back to the HO, the couple buying their house was there and I ended up selling them on a deck job (950 sq. ft.)of the house they are buying at $2 per sq.ft. Sweet

It's Knotty Pine. Alot of folks used to use them alot making kitchen cabinets. My grandmother had them in her kitchen way back when I was a little kid still playing with my blocks. I wonder if I was thinking my blocks would look much better with a nice coat of stain on them! chuckle

Picked up the teak today. Got a bit of sanding to do now.Now I'm just stuck on which stain. From all I've read on this site, I've narrowed it down to Armstrong Clark, Ready Seal, Wood Tux or ATO. I haven't ordered stain online yet so if you have any suggestions on best places to purchase as well, please let me know. Thanks, Mike Will post before pics tommorrow

Hi Beth, The reason I'm picking it up is because I have a big garage and we are expecting rain on the Cape on and off all week. Also I go right by their place almost every day. They are moving to Maryland at the end of June and will be taking the furniture with them, so they said I can take my time with it. I know you do alot of teak work, so any input you give will be greatly appreciated. I listed the pieces they have. Any suggestions on pricing or stain? Thanks, Mike

Rick, Any thoughts on what I should quote? I will be picking up the furniture (20 min.each way) and doing it at my place and delivering it back. Thanks

Ok, so I've been lurking this site for quite some time now,and this will be my first post. Have contemplated getting into the business for a few years now and I have received invaluable knowledge from this site (thank you). I recently started working for a deck restoration company and have done several decks on my own as well. Right now he has hired me just to do the washing, while another crew does the sealing. The product he supplied me with is called Carbo- Chlor by Hotsy. Used it a couple of times, but I don't really care for it. The decks I've done on my own I used sodium percarbonate based products and they worked really well.(some alot better than others) The one's that worked well were very expensive (2 lbs. for $24). While I tried a box of Oxi-Clean from HD (8.5 lbs. for $13) and was not so good. Both say active ingredient Sodium percarbonate. Is it just different concentrations? I would like to know where I can get the good stuff in Bulk, say a 50 lb.container? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Mike

This is a great post Adrian, LMAO. When you look at this pic just imagine it saying "pansyyyyyyyyyyy" Mike