Able Hands

Here are some pics of my first deck strip. Notice the stain in the top right of the first before pic. The homeowner thinks it's from a citronella candle that was tipped over. I was able to get the BBQ stains up with grill magic, but that stain is still there. Any one have any thoughts on what I can use. The after pics aren't great, and they are obviously before staining. After I was done with the cleaning I was talking to the homeowner about getting their grill off from the deck. They decided to have me install a set of steps on the side of the deck and put in a small patio for the grill. So, the new wood will have to be washed before I can do any staining anyway. Plus, while I was talking with them about the new steps their 6 year old tracked copius amounts of mud up onto the cleaned deck. The whole deck needs to be rinsed at the least, and I'd like to get the candle wax up if I can. Matt Attatchments moved to post dated 04-12-16

I don't normally resort to asking others about pricing but in this instance I feel I have to. I recently power washed my brothers house, and two detached buildings. House: 3000sf soffit ,fascia, and 22 windows only (it's all brick) Building #1: 4000sf all vinyl, only one window. Building #2: Approximately 800sf two story, all vinyl. If I were to wash a standard ranch home, call it around 1500sf, I would charge between 150-200, depending on all of the variables. Given that (very basic) pricing what should I have charged to wash the three buildings. I charged $500, and thought it was more than fair. If this was for a regular customer it would have been higher. What do you guys think. My brother thinks it was too much. The problem is that I need to do a maintenance coat on his deck soon, and I don't want to screw myself or more importantly him. Matt

Thanks for your opinions everyone. For all of those that say I should have done the work for free, or at least that you would have... If I only did a job or two for him once in a while I would definitely do it for free. And if I were to do them for free I would simply fit him in on a weekend, when I don't typically schedule anything else. The problem is, he wants the work done "right now", and has no real interest in helping. In just this year to give some perspective: Run compressed air and water lines between the two out-buildings. (Charged less than half of normal because I use them too.) Install door on back of large out building. (Minus $20/hr.) Replace all rotten fascia on house. (Minus $20/hr.) Replace 16' painted counter top with oak top, custom trim, and finish like glass. (Materials only because I wanted to make something extra nice for him.) Build 14' work bench in smaller out building. (Materials only, he was going to help and then didn't.) My point is, I do a lot of work for him, he always gets a good deal, I make a little money and normally we are both happy. This time he feels I over charged him. Maybe I did and I should drop $150 off the invoice. Matt

Sort of. My brother runs a HVAC company. He allows me to store all of my large stationary tools in the 4000sf building and use it as a wood shop. There is no expectation, from him, for me to do the work for free (or just materials). I do a lot of work for him and I try my best to make sure my prices are lower than normal or at the very least fair. The understanding has always been, "charge what you need to." He thinks the power washing was too high, I think, because he had a painter wash both of the out-buildings a couple of years ago for $200 (not including the house). Again, I'm just trying to make sure that I'm not putting the screws to him. If I am even in the neighborhood of normal pricing then I need to drop it some. However I also can't afford to do this stuff for free. Matt

Two questions: Did you take my geographic pricing into account? Would you have been in the 900 range for a family member? Matt

Is it worth it? It seems the more I read threads on this blasted site, the more questions I have. There are just soooooooo many facets to this business. Is the sunbrite wood restoration manual like the bible, or are there other references available. I have seen numerous threads referencing other websites like: http://www.wrcla.org/ http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/ I guess I am looking for the holy grail of wood restoration for the newbie. Time being the prescious commodity that it is, I want to make the most of it. I will read these websites as I hear of them and have time, but I am looking for the basics right now, not the encyclopedia. Matt

I got wood tux on my windshield (and the rest of my truck). Can't see any thing when the sun hits it. How do I get it off?

Thanks Beth, I'll give it a try. Matt

What kind of degreaser? Simple green? weak hd80?

That looks great. I love the tree coming up through the deck. Matt

Does anyone know what the difference is between: Makita 9227CY & 9227CX3 Is one better than the other? I know that's a subjective question... But given that they seem similar by part number, I'm looking for opinions. What is the life expectancy of an Osbourne? Best one to buy? Where to buy? Matt PS. My brother paid a painter to pressure destroy his deck inpreperation for sealing. No offense to the painters here, but this guy appears to have used a trillion PSI to clean the deck... Now I'm stuck with the clean up. Until now I've never needed a grinder/sander to take care of this kind of trouble. But, this deck is enormous, and I'm not gonna hit it with a palm sander. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Fortunately the entire deck does not need to be sanded. But there are a couple of large areas, and many small areas. The deck is 650sf with almost 390 pickets. I am going to have to re-wash the deck to get the areas that were missed, let it dry, de-fur the areas that were beat on, and then seal it with wood tux. My brother wants to help me to save some money, and I'm going to let him so he can see what really goes into the process and come to a better understanding of why it costs so much to do the job right. Any opinions on which Osbourne brush to buy, nad how long it will last? Matt

Ok folks... It's time for me to purchase an airless sprayer. Will the "Magnum by Graco Dx Airless Paint Sprayer Model 232735" from Home Depot, or "SprayTECH® DSP 1400 Airless Sprayer" from Lowes work for WTW and/or other stains? Currently I need it for a paint job, but I'd like to buy one that will perform well on deck work as well if possible. Unfortunately, I don't have a million dollars to spend on a sprayer so the $300.00 dollar neighborhood is tops. Please give me your opinions ASAP. I made a little boo-boo on a ceiling paint job today and need a sprayer immediately to make reparations. Matt

John, Does that work on older oil stains as well? Matt

I know this subject has been beat to death, but this is my first possible sighting of Artillery Fungus!! Can anyone verify or shoot down the attached pics. The second shot is just cropped and zoomed. I'd greatly appreciate any input. Matt

Thanks for the replies folks. Could I get someone to post a good quality pic of AF so I know what I'm looking for? Thanks again, Matt

Went to look at a house yesterday that has copper clad roofing on two sections of roof at the front of the house. Are there any concerns with getting bleach, or other cleaning agents on the copper? This is a pretty high end neighborhood ($350k and up), and I'd like to NOT screw up the copper on this job. Told the customer that I need to research the copper problem ,so he's waiting for the bid Matt

Thanks Ken, If I get in to a situation where I have to re-patina the copper... Well lets just say I don't want that to happen Matt

Just to add some clarity, the customer wants to keep the patina that exeist on the copper. Am I going to have to cover it with plastic while cleaning the gutters and fascia above?

Rod, I'm curious about your statement: "Many Whites, Greens and Blue colored siding are all subject to oxidation more so than others because of the composition of the color base 'Titanium Dioxide' which is susceptible to UV damage and oxidizes more readily" This is purely ignorance on my part, but if Titanium Dioxide is more suseptible to UV damage, why does my sunscreen use it as one of the main active ingrediants? It is my understanding that titanium dioxide is one of the best UV blockers out there... Is that why it breaks down? CONFUSED!!! Matt

Jeremy, I too am new to wood (and PWing as a whole). Someone posted a little while back about a spreadsheet that was created/posted by Reed. This thing is all encompassing. It gives the ability to change anything in the pricing, and will help your accuracy in figuring time. I've tried to just "eye" a job, and then went back to re-measure with the spreadsheet, and I was way off. Also, I have to agree with the comments about being a huge job for a first time. Not that you can't do it, or shouldn't do it. Just be prepared for it to take much, much longer than you think it will. Most first jobs seem to work that way. My first house wash was 8 hours... Now I routinely do them in 1.5-2. For me experience is the best way to learn, and boy howdy are you going to learn on this one. Matt This post contains the estimating spread sheet from Reed. http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2951&highlight=calculations

Rich, That's not a bad idea, but won't each successive coat make it more difficult to strip in the end if I can't get the color right? Matt

The new steps are completely separated from the old decking. The deck is up against the house, and brick/concrete patio. Kind of hard to describe. Suffice it to say there is no worry of getting stripper on the old wood. Matt

I was back at my friends house last night for the birthday party. They are unhappy with the color reults on the new steps that were installed. While the old wood looks great and they are extremely pleased with it, the steps look BRIGHT ORANGE. They stand out like a sore thumb. I was hoping it would calm down some, but each time I look at them, it looks worse. So, how do I go about removing 2 coats of WTW, that is only a few days old? I'm guessing it won't be easy. What should I put on the new wood to try and match it to the old wood a little better? Matt

I think I would probablt get in trouble with my friend if I sunmitted his deck to this. But you're right it would probably win!! Matt