sealed, cleaned, and new wood

[sturgisjr 14]

Okay, I am bidding on a job in which the homeowner has used a pressure washer to remove previous dark (unknown) stain. He got most of it off but only used a consumer grade product. He also has a section that he did not have the time to do. And lastly, he had the whole front porch that connects to the deck redone so its all new wood.

I should use HD-80 on the section he has not touched yet, 1/2 strength on the rest of the deck or EFC-38? Also, do I clean the new wood before I proceed to seal the whole deck/porch combo?

Also, Im looking around for good sealers and semi-transparents. I will be using Olympic Maximum Redwood on his pressure treated deck. Is that a good choice.

As much as Id like to try Wood Tux or Ready Seal, I would prefer to use something I can get locally to save on shipping charges. I have available the following in my area...Olympic Maximum and Olympic semi-transparents, Cabots, DeckScapes, and Wolmans FP/DuraStain. Which one would you reccommend that I offer to my customers. Im sure its a matter of preference, but I am in this to give satisfying results to my customers.

Thanks.

[James 624]

Why are you saying wolman Fp is linseed oil based ? I do not think it is. It would form a film and it does not. Recheck ?

[sturgisjr 14]

Wolman F&P includes tung, linseed and other proprietary oils. Olympic Maximum is an Alkyd oil formula. Im trying to understand all the "oils" involved and how it compares to others. I am focusing more on Wolman, Olympic and WoodTux. I am open to others (cabots, deckscapes and superdeck) just basically want to understand the products better in terms of performance, price, coverage and durability. I have looked at specifications on each product but want to hear from personal experience. I appreciate any comments.

Thanks.

[James 624]

Sorry I haven't looked at there stuff in 10 years .

[Aplus 525]

Paul,

If you purchase supplies as tax exempt, aren't you required to charge the tax to the customer, then report and send it to the state? I'm fairly certain that's how it's done here in Michigan, so I would rather just pay the tax and not have to worry about collecting sales tax from customers and sending it in to the state tax authority.

The Weatherbeater solid stain at Sears is manufactured by Olympic, and retails for between 14.99 - 18.99 per gallon, depending on whether any sales are in effect. I always prepare the surface the same as for any other application, washed and neutralized.

It seems that the labor cost of applying three coats would make most two tones cost prohibitive. I understand what you're saying about the possiblility of it lasting ten years, but I still think nearly tripling my price would not be an easy sell.

Beth,

At what strength should I mix the EFC-38 so as not to strip RS? For this particular job, I mixed at about 12oz in 5 gallons. I recently did another cleaning job where I mixed it at 8oz in 5 gallons, and it seemed to be about the right strength. What do you think?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

If 8:5 worked for you to clean but not strip then I would work with that. That's a nice light duty amount.

Can't wait to see more of your photos this season. Your work always rocks!

Beth

[James 624]

Tony just use bleach and soap. No matter what you do with RS some color will come off. Its the mildew you have to get off. On some of my maint. jobs it takes Half an hour to clean 300 sqft. I use to use pre- carbs all the time ? Some things do get easier....

[Paul B. 523]

Tony,

I do not have the option of paying sales tax at the supplier only.

I have to charge sales tax for all services that we do and products we use in Ohio under the pressure washing classification. At one time, you only had to charge sales tax on products and not services, but in recent years, more and more service type businesses are being made to collect sales tax on labor. What that means is if I do not get a tax exemption for the materials at the supplier, then I'm double paying the sales tax. Collecting sales tax has not been an issue with any customers to date and it's one more check that gets made out to the state of Ohio.

I understand how cost prohibitive the Cabot 2-tone (primer and 2 top coats) can be and is the highest quality and priced service/product I offer. It's not for most people and I tell them so. Some take it as a financial challenge but there are customers that recognize that the initial higher cost of high quality will be offset in the long term. I only try to sell it to select customers that I pre-qualify during the sales process.

Cabot primer claims 400-500 sq ft coverage on smooth wood and 150-250 on rough. The top coat coverage claims 150-250.

200 is about the coverage we get with the primer on most PTW. However, the top coat gets excellent coverage on 1st coat and gets even better on the 2nd coat. We average 400-500 sq ft per gallon on the 1st coat.

My point was that with the contractor discount the Cabot price is very close to most other products in the $20-$22 range (without extrapolating the coverage factor). The labor is what it is - you will not get an argument from me there.

I am curious how many contractors ask for contractor pricing on their products (Home Depot and Lowes do not offer it).