Porch Pergola equals PITA

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Finished this pita job today.... Does anyone enjoy doing pergolas or arbours?

My arms are way sore from monkeying all over it. :) . Takes longer then doing a deck...maybe as long as a raised deck. Likely should have been priced that of a deck that for sure but I gave the guy a break.

[RPetry 564]

Kevin,

Hah! Found out. Pergolas are pure hell. Shane of Texas has a neat trick, he builds a "paint booth" around the d*mn things with a lot of plastic sheeting and then sprays Bakers. Respirator and full body suit recommended.

Want an eye opener? Spend some time figuring the total sq. footage of wood treated on a pergola. Way more than one would ever guess. Obviously due to treating all four sides of the wood. Price accordingly.

Here's a pic of our worst one to date. Stripped with NaOH, neutralized with citric, then sanded(!), and finally finished with Ready Seal natural cedar stain.

This monster seemed to take forever to complete.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yea that be pure pita factor too..can't imagine one not being.. :)

I was not shy with the tarps for windows and walls (mainly to protect during cleaning) and I was fully suited up with face respirator during cleaning and staining both. Felt no need to protect concrete below since I use HVLP properly adjusted..I would never want to do this type job without full on atomization.

p.s.-and about the sq. footage..when I first eyeballed it I thought it 15'x10'..It was 20x12=240. This one I did with the 2x2's should probably be priced x3 considering the two sides and the joists. Ya think that one you did would be about x2 since there be only joist?

[RPetry 564]

Kevin,

I remember this job, it was a big one. Recall measuring and counting the pergola board runs. Including the support posts, I was shocked at the sq. footage. With that many boards, even the 1.5 inch sides add up.

Felt no need to protect concrete below since I use HVLP properly adjusted..I would never want to do this type job without full on atomization.

Now there's a trick I'd like to learn. We would have had a bunch of canvas tarps covering the patio below. We "flood" all wood with RS trying to get the maximum amount of oil into the wood, and drips and runs are inevitable.

[PressurePros 249]

Nice work guys. Rick, I cannot even imagine what you went through on that maze of wood.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Yes, big Big BIG PITA, but the results speak for themselves.

Great jobs guys.

Here is ours from another link.

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/attachments/wood-cleaning-restoration-decks-fences-etc/7657d1181300551-ipe-brazillian-cherry-furniture-ipepergola.jpg

At least we could walk on it to do the top. No spray booth-ability for us. The whole area was flagstone patio below.

Rod!~

[RPetry 564]

Ken & Rod,

It was a tough job. 'Course yours truely did all the "high" work, ie: prepping, staining, and walking all over the top of the pergola. Did not want my college graduate helper risk his neck!

The job turned out well.

The customers were great, had a very nice pool and we were invited to use it. The night before the 2nd day of staining, I had a viscious hangover. Had been out with friends the night before and closed down a local gin mill. That morning was hot and humid and I lasted until about 11:00 AM.

Jumped into the pool, and fell asleep on an air mattress. Woke up about an hour later and yelled to my helper Jordan, "Its good to be boss!".

Don't think the kid ever forgave me for that!

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yea that is some nice wood there Rick. Mine was all knotty and the 2x2's parched like a stranger in a desert. Owner was considering trashing them due to all the moldy moss junk until I told him I could clean it off.

As you mentioned drips I went back over and touched up the stucco above the slider. :)

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Yes, big Big BIG PITA, but the results speak for themselves.

Great jobs guys.

Here is ours from another link.

http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/attachments/wood-cleaning-restoration-decks-fences-etc/7657d1181300551-ipe-brazillian-cherry-furniture-ipepergola.jpg

At least we could walk on it to do the top. No spray booth-ability for us. The whole area was flagstone patio below.

Rod!~

Mental note to self...everyone is speaking in singularity or past tense...lol.. CAN YOU SAY PITA?? :)

[PressurePros 249]

Kevin, they are out there. I cringe when I see them and I bid them very high (most times more than the remainder of the deck. Did one last week that had thick vines encircling every path. We had to strip and stain the deck without disturbing them.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Mental note to self....Don't picture Ken with vine in his mouth getting ready to dance..... :)

got pics?

[PressurePros 249]

I'll have to go back and take a picture of the finished product. I don't think I have taken more than one set of pics this year and that was an ipe deck which is sitting in my camera's flash memory with no way to transfer it to my compter (unless youcan advise me) HP camera.

[RPetry 564]

Ken,

Didn't the camera come with a USB cable? Don't know much about Windoz XP or Vista, but downloading from flash memory should be near automatic. Works in an instant using Linux.

[PressurePros 249]

I have no idea where the cable is. I had it last year. Tore apart my office looking for it.. nada.

[seymore 90]

I love arbors I look forward to staining them every few weeks i get one!!

[seymore 90]

I have no idea where the cable is. I had it last year. Tore apart my office looking for it.. nada.

Ken you can buy a generic USB cable for cameras @ Best Buy etc..:lgwave:

[PressurePros 249]

Nope, tried it.. best buy said the cable is proprietary. I jst found an online sight dcables.com that has them.

[seymore 90]

Nope, tried it.. best buy said the cable is proprietary. I jst found an online sight dcables.com that has them.

Friggin propietary HP :angryfire

That's why i build my on pc caue the factory computers/electronics are built so you have more headaches trying to repair them

[acegot 14]

Shane, How do you spray the tops of the arbor when you have it bagged.

[A C F 14]

Ken, Instead of buying a cable, buy a generic card reader. Just pull the SD, Xd, etc. from your camera and load it into the card reader. Wally World.

[PressurePros 249]

Thats what they told me at BB and I bought the reader but the problem is, the photos are in the flash memory. I didn't want to unscrew the camera to ruin it (even though a 5 MP HP isn't worth a helluva lot) Can I remove the flsh memory or should I just wait for the cable to arrive?

(Kev, sorry about the thread hijack)

[seymore 90]

Shane, How do you spray the tops of the arbor when you have it bagged.

When i'm done spraying the inside of the arbors i remove the top keep the sides on and walk the top spraying down.

[MMI Enterprises 289]

Thats what they told me at BB and I bought the reader but the problem is, the photos are in the flash memory. I didn't want to unscrew the camera to ruin it (even though a 5 MP HP isn't worth a helluva lot) Can I remove the flsh memory or should I just wait for the cable to arrive?

(Kev, sorry about the thread hijack)

ah no prob long as we end up with more pics.. I'd say it depends on camera. Even some the cheapest things have a chip burried under a battery.

I'd ask you to show us a pic of the cameras output jack to confirm it is a problem child but ummm you can't likely do that right now..lmaof :)

[MMI Enterprises 289]

I love arbors I look forward to staining them every few weeks i get one!!

my God man....I'd ask if your arms get sore but perhaps you beat that condition with your wand setup?

[Ron Musgraves 240]

This was a Good ole thread