Aplus

My approach to rinsing is this....... Rinse the deck, rinse it again, and when you think it's rinsed enough, rinse it one more time. I'm aware that many contractors will say that rinsing is not necessary. I feel that it is, and have for the past 8 years. It seems to me that if I spray oxalic acid, when the water dries and evaporates, it's going to leave a residue on the deck. Why would I want any acid residue under my stain? My .02

Earl, $2.25 s/f for docks is probably too cheap. A 50 foot dock by 2.5 feet wide is only about 125 s/f. You're looking at about $281, which is not much considering that you may have to tarp and recover water. Even if you wash with only water, and don't need to recover the waste water, you'll have to tarp underneath when you apply the stain. It may take a lot longer to restore wood docks than you think. It will take some big tarps, and a lot of hassle and time to suspend them exactly so. It's a lot of work. I would be inclined to price according to a running foot, rather than s/f. A dock is just a horizontal fence. $8 per running foot might be a good starting point. One other thing......spontaneous combustion....Fold and stack too many stain soaked tarps and rags in your truck or trailer, and you'll be roasting marshmallows.

My understanding is that no chemicals can be discharged into the water. So if you can't tarp and recover, the only thing you can use is water. There has been some debate whether sodium percarbonate can be used. I think it would be wise to check with the local authorities in your area. If they catch you violating, there will not be room to say "I didn't know" You will likely get spanked with a large fine. I've tended to shy away from docks because I don't really want the hassles. There is plenty of other work available for me. Just my .02

Earl, It's hard to estimate without seeing the deck, but based on your numbers, and if there are no strange complications, I would charge a minimum of $400 for that job.

Hey Reed, If you want to start a thread in the pc area about the emachine, it could make good reading. I'd be happy to discuss pros and cons of the mass merchandised machines.

$250 for that job is a little low. You won't make much on that job. I'm not a big fan of Flood products, I guess because CWF is so rotten that I can't look past it. Maye spa&deck is good, I don't know, and I probably never will, because I'm more than happy using other products.

Reed, Just make sure to clean the triple beam really good before weighing anything else....:D

IMHO.... I think the higher psi hose is overkill. It is heavier to move around, and costs more money. It is still susceptible to the same perils as lower psi rated hose, typically cuts, abrasions, and damaged couplings.

IMHO.... I think the higher psi hose is overkill. It is heavier to move around, and costs more money. It is still susceptible to the same perils as lower psi rated hose, typically cuts, abrasions, and damaged couplings.

Steve, HD-80 is a sodium hydroxide based stripper, and will strip most any semitransparent and some solid stained decks. The EFC-38 is a sodium percarbonate based cleaner, that also has a mild stripping capability. It can remove Thompsons, and lighter, older semi-transparent stains, like F&P. It's not going to remove stains like Penofin or Sikkens, or CWF. Personally, I use HD-80 as the stripper for removing all stains. I adjust the strength of the mix based on my experience as to what I think it requires. CWF for example. requires a stronger mix, and Olympic, or F&P strips easily with a weaker mix. I use a percarb based cleaner only on newer untreated wood, weathered wood, or Thompsons treated wood. If there is stain on the deck, I go with the HD-80. Always follow up with an acid bath to neutralize and brighten the wood. Oxalic, citric, or a blend of both are good choices. Citric is the safest acid, and my personal choice. Oxalic works the fastest, and it's really cool to have the customer watch out the window as you spray it on. Watch their faces as they ooh and ah at the Kodak moment developing before their eyes. Cedar is the best, it lightens up so fast and drastically. But oxalic is pretty toxic, and requires the same level of personal protection as when applying caustics. Regardless of what acid brightener you chose, I believe all decks should be rinsed profusely. Some folks don't rinse after the acid bath, but I do, and recommend it. It only adds five minutes to rinse a typical deck, so it's not like a huge time saver if you don't rinse. Hope this helps.

Ron, I don't hit the ball well enough to call it golf. I'm more of a hacker. I'm happy if I shoot a 60 for 9....:) As for the deck, a nice sodium percarbonate mix ought to do the trick for you, followed by a citric or oxalic acid application. You didn't mention the square footage. Find out what it is so you'll know how much product you need. I think Beth will steer you to the EFC38 and Citrollic acid she sells. You probably won't need much, a couple pounds of each, but that's where the s/f comes in. So it goes like this...... apply the EFC38, you can use a sureflow setup, or a pump-up sprayer. Let it dwell for maybe 5-10 minutes, but keep it wet, the chems go inactive if the wood dries out. Follow Beth's directions for mixing ratios. I prefer a dual lance with a 40045 tip, adjusted to about 500-600 psi. If you use a straight lance, use the appropriate tip. Wash the deck in even strokes, going with the grain. Don't stop moving on the boards, to avoid marks and zebra stripes. Same goes for the spindles and railing. I start on the outside of the spindles, and reach what I can, then move onto the deck and do the inside. It will take a lot longer to do typical spindles and railing than it will to do the floor, that's normal. After everythings clean, you'll apply the acid in the same manner, spray it on, let it dwell for a few minutes, and simply rinse it off. I'm a firm believer in rinsing. I will rinse, rinse again, and when I think it's rinsed enough, I'll rinse one last time. Let the deck dry for about two days, maybe in AZ it will dry faster, I don't know, but two days is a safe bet if you don't have a moisture meter to measure the moisture content in the wood. Since it's your first deck, it's probably a safer bet to just brush the railings and roll the floor. Unless you have an airless sprayer, and are proficient with it, that is. Is the deck in the sun, shade, or a mix of both? The more sun it receives, the more important it is to use a stain with good UV protection. Knowing that your Mom likes the natural look, a good choice may be Ready Seal medium red. On redwood, it enhances the natural colors already present in nice clean wood. After staining, it's a good idea to keep everything off it, including your mom, for about 48 hours. Although RS penetrates quickly, and can be walked on, it's better to let it dry more before putting deck furniture, planters, etc back on. I'm sure Beth & Rod can walk you thru the process, but if they are busy, give me a call, I think you have my number. Good luck.

Ron, Does the deck have a previous finish? What is the condition of it? That makes a difference for us to be able to steer you to the proper product. I have an idea. Fly me down, and I'll help you with it.....:cool:

I've had a couple encounters with acrylic latex and found that HD-80 takes off 50% at best. That may not sound so good, but consider that Wolmans Deck Strip at full strength removed almost none of the stain. I also tried TWP's Safe Strip, which did nothing. I'm not knocking any products, but rather reporting the results I achieved. The railings have been the problem. I don't think it's a dwell time issue as much as the stain on the verticals was in better shape to start with, no wear, no uv damage. The floors were peeling really bad, but still required two stripper applications before I was satisfied with the results. Two of the acrylic latex decks I restored ended up going with a two tone, latex on railing, and semi-trans on the floor. It came to the point where hand sanding was the only option to restore the railings, and quickly got too expensive. Hence the two tone.

Beth, I love your sense of humor......:D I guess I try to separate the projects from the honey-do list. My honey-do list had things like...replace garbage disposer, paint the den, rid out the junk in the basement, odds-n-ends. Like you mentioned, the bigger ones have to wait until whenever the time is right....whatever that is!

In addition to the above items mentioned, it's a good time to: Repack bearings on trailer axles. Inspect and test wiring on your truck and trailer. Make sure the lights and brakes work. Also check hitch connections. Get any maintenance done on your tow vehicle you anticipate needing. If you know you're going to need brakes or a trans service, do it now, rather than wait to the last minute. Make sure the "hunny do" list at home is completed, because I'm not going to have any extra time once the season starts....:D

I don't think there is one surface cleaner in particular that will be good for both small and large jobs. It may require you to have two different units depending on what you need for a given job. I use (and like) a 30" Steel Eagle, mostly for commercial work, but occasionally for a residential concrete driveway. I am going to be adding a smaller unit this season, possibly in the 20" range. Many commercial locations, like fast food joints, have a narrow concrete ribbon that runs around the building, and my Steel Eagle is just too big for it. Now I have to use my wand, but that is proving to take too long....hence the need for a smaller surface cleaner.

I'm not sure about the Cascade thing, but there is a rinse aid that's available in a little squirt bottle that works really well. I can't think of the name now, but it works great.

The 225 gal of water alone weighs over 1800#. A 5x8 single axle does not have enough GVRW capacity to safely carry all your equipment. Here's an ideal way to construct a chemical delivery system: Build a system on a portable cart. Strap the cart inside the trailer. Use it as a trailer mounted system when appropriate, or unstrap it, and move it to the jobsite. You'd have the best of both worlds. The only difference is where you are going to draw the chem from, the trailer or the local site. You'd need to have a reel with spray line mounted in the trailer with q/c's so you can change lines quickly.

I use a dual lance almost exclusively. For decks I normally use a 25045 tip for railings, and a 45045 tip for floorboards, and throttle down to 500-1000 PSI as necessary. With the 1/4" q/c, I can change tips quickly, just the same as a straight lance. It seems that often during a wash, I find times that I need lower pressure, and times that I may need full throttle. It's much easier to adjust pressure with the dual lance than to stop and change tips on a straight lance. I'm sure others have differing opinions.

When I quote a house wash, I tell the customer that I may possibly leave spots on the windows. In my house wash mix, I add a rinse aid, which helps reduce water spots, sometimes to the point where the windows are ok, but not necessarily perfect. As Mike said, DI water would be required to have a shot and truly spot free windows after power washing. If I were going to wash windows only, and not the house, the squeege method would be far faster and easier than trying to wash them with my pressure washer. As far as the washer at HD for $999....Honda 13hp with a direct drive Cat or AR pump. I've got two of them, and they work fine. The only problem I've had is that the carts vibrate themselves to pieces and often need to be repaired. I use these everyday, and have a lot of hours on them. I've also got two belt drive units that get used every day. These are smoother running, and transmit less vibration thru the hose. The carts are much heavier duty than the others. However they are about 20# heavier than a direct drive unit. My belt drive units seem to be more fuel efficient than the direct drives. It is said that the pumps on belt drive units last significantly longer. For a couple hundred more $$, I'd recommend a belt drive unit over the direct drive HD machine.

Homeowners that want to supervise the job....Double PITA factor!

One of my favorite situations for applying the PITA factor is a darn fish pond right next to the deck. I have yet to understand the planning that took place when placing a pond kit right next to, or under, a deck. I got called to quote a deck that was actually two separate decks, connected via a wooden walkway, over a pond. It looked nice alright. The deck had multiple CWF coats, and I had a gut feeling I was going to have trouble keeping the stripper completely out of the water. Somehow I know that HD80 and aquatic life wouldn't mix well. I declined to quote the job, but I wish I would have taken a picture of it! On another one, the pond was beside the deck, and I was able to cover the water with a piece of plywood and a blue tarp. It worked well, but still required extra effort, thus the PITA factor was very appropriate.

Switch to citric acid and don't worry about it.

As a starting point, I have a rate scale that I use to multipy against the square footage. If I know that it takes 30 minutes for setup/teardown time on each job, then I have to factor that time into each estimate. There are economies of scale to be considered when doing certain large jobs. Reduced setup/teardown, reduced travel time, etc. A sliding rate scale allows me to adjust the per s/f charge necessary to make the hourly rate I desire. For example....If someone has a deck that is 8x10, or 80s/f, I could not make the hourly rate I desire at $1.50 s/f. I may need to charge $2.50 s/f to make the rate. The bottom line is I have to predict how long it's going to take me to do a job, and price it accordingly. Square footage is only one measurement. An experienced eye will usually tell you how much you need to adjust from that initial number. Sometimes I take the square footage number, and add in a PITA factor (Pain In The A**) to arrive at the total. The PITA factor can go up or down depending on the added complexity or aggravation of a given facet....:D

Jon, Do you have to recover your window cleaning solution?.......:D