MMI Enterprises 289 Report post Posted June 8, 2009 Charlie, ..many ouchy hours perhaps the answer..That's alot of work :) I had 300' ipe deck lead today. Can't say I would go with same product or methods though. Mike, I am sure it's a fine job as a labor of love usually works out swell in the end!! Have a cool one and ENJOY! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrmichaeljmoore 14 Report post Posted June 8, 2009 Here's the ten thousand dollar question....how many hours did you put into the deck? Ahhhh yes....the most important question..... well, it broke down like this: Saturday: Run to store to get chemicals and stain. About 1 hour. Both cleanings/rinsing took about 1.5 hours total Brightening/rinsing. About 30 minutes total Sunday: Sand Deck and blow off...About 3 hours. Stain Deck and Wipe down....About 1-1.5 hours So the grand total was about 7-8 hours total or so.... Having done it now, I think I could get it done a little quicker. So....all in all....not too bad on time, I think. I am hoping for a couple years or so, I don't have to do a full clean/brighten and sand.....I am hoping I can get away with a Dawn/Bleach solution and a maintenance coat for a few years. we'll see.................. Out of curiosity, and I apologize in advance if this question is unfair/unethical, how much would a job like this cost if one you pros did it???? thanks again for everyone's advice. great website here.... mm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plainpainter 217 Report post Posted June 8, 2009 Out of curiosity, and I apologize in advance if this question is unfair/unethical, how much would a job like this cost if one you pros did it???? thanks again for everyone's advice. great website here.... mm I knew it was going to come to this. Any figures we would tell you would be meaningless. If you are thinking about doing this on weekends for a few bucks - you would be doing the industry a disservice, since by the time you did everything to be fully legit as to protect yourself from lawsuit - you would have to charge similar to us. If you are looking for an hourly rate - then you are going down the path of cash-under-table-handyman - so I guess what ever you are comfortable asking for. Because it's just cash. The problem is - not every deck has a nice easy strippable 4+ year old stain that will come off it just by looking at it. Not every deck is going to be adjacent to vinyl siding - not every deck is going to have vinyl balusters - not every deck is going to be located just a few feet above dirt, where it's inconsequential of whatever stain makes it past between the boards. It seems like perhaps it is easy cash now. But when you start getting 'professional' {i.e. - you have the means to accomplish any task} your price will go up and up and up. You can have your 'day' job - or you can restore decks - but it's not easy to do both. If you make anything over 60k have bene's, retirement, and have no business experience - keep the 'day' job. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPetry 564 Report post Posted June 8, 2009 Mike, As a guess from your pics, about $900. Dan, I do not think Mike is going to give up his "day job". I offered and all he wants to do is go to the beach! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigchaz 157 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 12x24? I'm guessing off the number of rail sections 860 materials included Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plainpainter 217 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 Wow - you guys are ultra high in your prices! Charlie - that's just decking and nothing else - are you really at $3/SF???? That would meet my minimum price to do decks - $750 - but much cheaper if going by square feet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bigchaz 157 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 Dan, depending on how I was feeling I'd probably hit the railings with some soap to rinse the dust off free of charge. Nothing more than 5 minutes though. But yes, 3/ft for horizontals. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
plainpainter 217 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 Maybe I make it back up in the way I count railings? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James 625 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 $600 dollars 3 hours work maybe done the same day? Ipe dries fast. Maybe 4 hours you have to wait for the product to set up and wipe excess off. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
John Doherty 126 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 Wow it looks really good! Good job! This is one of the few homeowner posts that I've seen go this way, good job Michael. They usually go like this, h/o says I'm gonna do a,b and c what do you guys suggest? The answer is d,e and f. H/o says I'm doing a,b and c anyway, it ends up looking like crap, they get defensive and insulting. Looks good Michael! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrmichaeljmoore 14 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 I knew it was going to come to this. Any figures we would tell you would be meaningless. If you are thinking about doing this on weekends for a few bucks - you would be doing the industry a disservice, since by the time you did everything to be fully legit as to protect yourself from lawsuit - you would have to charge similar to us. If you are looking for an hourly rate - then you are going down the path of cash-under-table-handyman - so I guess what ever you are comfortable asking for. Because it's just cash.The problem is - not every deck has a nice easy strippable 4+ year old stain that will come off it just by looking at it. Not every deck is going to be adjacent to vinyl siding - not every deck is going to have vinyl balusters - not every deck is going to be located just a few feet above dirt, where it's inconsequential of whatever stain makes it past between the boards. It seems like perhaps it is easy cash now. But when you start getting 'professional' {i.e. - you have the means to accomplish any task} your price will go up and up and up. You can have your 'day' job - or you can restore decks - but it's not easy to do both. If you make anything over 60k have bene's, retirement, and have no business experience - keep the 'day' job. No no no no no noooooooooooooo.......not looking to give up the day job....very very happy where I am at. I was wondering how much if I paid somebody to do it.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrmichaeljmoore 14 Report post Posted June 9, 2009 Wow it looks really good! Good job! This is one of the few homeowner posts that I've seen go this way, good job Michael.They usually go like this, h/o says I'm gonna do a,b and c what do you guys suggest? The answer is d,e and f. H/o says I'm doing a,b and c anyway, it ends up looking like crap, they get defensive and insulting. Looks good Michael! Thanks for the compliments! mm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mrmichaeljmoore 14 Report post Posted June 15, 2009 Penofin seems to scratch pretty easily. I was putting my deck furniture back on the deck the other day.....put some scratches onto the deck surface. Even though it was a lot of work to get the deck finished, I am not overly concerned with them....after all, it is an outside deck, scratches are gonna happen......I may take a rag dipped in Penofin to "buff" them out... But my question is in regards to other stains and their scratch resistance. Do other stains scratch pretty easily on IPE? Or are there others that are pretty durable and scratch resistant? If I get a chance, I'll post a picture of the scratches. mm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PressurePros 249 Report post Posted June 15, 2009 Just about every finish for ipe will scratch easily. You can cover by doing what you said. Apply a bit, wait a few minutes then wipe off so deck does not remain wet. Its not a perfect solution but it will cover the bare wood exposed. Use your finger under the rag to make a thin line of stain over the problem spots. To lessen future occurrence, get yourself some of those teflon coated half moon disks that are used to make furniture slide around easily for moving. They make small ones that will adhere to deck furniture leg bottoms. If you have a dog, knit him some socks. :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MMI Enterprises 289 Report post Posted July 7, 2009 (edited) Maintenance"A maintenance coat of Hardwood Finish should be applied within 3-6 months after the initial application or as soon as oil looks depleted. The next maintenance coat should be done again in approximately 10-12 months or whenever oil looks depleted. Over time, the wood fibers become fully protected and the maintenance will become less frequent." What some do is they notice their ipe starts to look like a failed coating with a slight dingy or whitened look to it (resembles fade, leaching, or water staining or even failed lacquer, etc.) without actually getting up real close and personal to it and thinking about what is going on. They then take a strong washer to it and go about removing what offends them. This is fine and all as it can be hard to hurt ipe with pressure but basically they end up back at brand new fresh wood with tons of extractives right at the surface. Looks good being way richer looking prior to the restaining and all but what they have actually done is they have extended the problem of getting stains to last on ipe by removing what it needs to grip and absorb to. They usually do this blasting away for sake of instant gratification of course. In reality the fake aging/weathered wood is needed for any chance at a longer run between stainings. Think of it as a micro version of the larger fur/velvet we regularly have to remove from other woods for them to look good ..some will never get this and are likely to repeat the cycle over and over. It is tricky as parts may show the dinge/faded/leached look and other don't and look fresher. The fresher looking areas will be the shaded parts or parts protected from the elements or washings and have the extractives and coatings right at the surface... So what can be done to remedy such situation one may ask??.. well you can try to only slightly clean the faded/dinge looking area with less pressure and but you use stronger chems and less pressure on the richer looking areas in goal of fake weathering/removal of extractives without removal of the micro fur. The effect will only be slight and but a mock up/test will confirm that the areas will blend nice once they are oiled. Curiously the same effect takes place when dealing with recoating of concrete coated with lacquer coatings.. Only the gross dirt buildup or oxidized/crystalized lacquer should be removed in such case. On wood you do have to remove the finishes though that are of a coating type nature or your risk delamination, non drying, or non color matching situations. Just try doing it chemically is my current recommend... All such jobs deserve a mockup rather than a 'go for it' attitude. Edited July 7, 2009 by MMI Enterprises Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
