Nasty Redwood House

[Celeste 341]

We have been asked to clean (not stain yet) a redwood home. The last pressure washer left quite a mess behind 2 years ago as well as removing most of the sealant. The house sits on a pond (not that living in the mildew capital state of the world isn't enough) so there is a definite mildew problem. We are also to wash the roof. They just stained their deck last year and do not want it touched.

So......suggestions? At this point, we're thinking that a sodium hydroxide product for the roof will cause more damage to the deck below than bleach so the roof gets the bleach treatment. We're thinking that the house is already so bare that a percarbonate cleaning will be the way to go (also less chance of altering the deck)

This house is on the market so I really doubt that they're going to go the way of a proper prep treatment for staining.

The biggest thing we're questioning is that it's redwood - is there anything special that has to be done to redwood that we would normally do or not do with our standard PT wood experience?

Here are some partial pics of the house as well as one of the "signature" of the last P/W there. Any help is much appreciated

Celeste

[Celeste 341]

We'll just let all know how the project turns out....it seems that no matter what product is suggested or asked about, someone will have negative remarks or experiences.

If the bid is accepted as we propose it, we'll do it. If not, we'll move along to the next project.

Thanks,

Celeste

[JFife 14]

Thanks Beth, I enjoy your site. I don't normally advise newbies much, as I see mistakes and failures as part of the learning curve that is very valuable. Also helps to "weed out" those that are not serious. On a deck, a mistake or failure is great, and you can recover and learn something valuable. I just don't like seeing a newbie have to learn a tough lesson on a 10K or 15K job, since that can put you out of business or worse, especially when the homeowner probably has the resources to leverage you. Remember on this particular home, they've already had one p'washer damage their very expensive siding.

Celeste,

Is there a clear sealer or anything else on this home??

[aph111 14]

Celeste,

Being a newbie you should be glad people are giving results that can happen

from certain products.Your last post seemed like you posted a question on the board,but do not want it answered.

[Celeste 341]

Art,

We (a) don't consider ourselves "newbies" anymore, except where cleaning redwood siding is concerned. (b) My question as originally posted produced as much information as we needed to make a decision as to how to proceed with the BIDDING. © We don't conduct all of our business on the bbs - we speak with others on the phone.

Most folks who frequent this board know that I accept advise readily, however, this thread began an age old debate that had nothing to do with our question.

Thank you for your insight.

Celeste

[aph111 14]

Just my insight that 1year 5months (according to your post) is a newbie.Yourself and others may disagree.Being a newbie is not a bad thing.I am a newbie in all aspects of pressure washing except hood&ducts,and learn something every day from posts on here(yours included).

[Celeste 341]

You're right as far as longevity in the business - less than two years still leaves us subject to the second year failure statistic, however, we clean on average of 4-5 houses per week (year 'round). We have established a reputation in our area as the leading brick cleaner.....but, as admitted, we've never dealt with redwood siding as it's just not common here. My reason for ending my question about what to do in this scenario was not that I didn't want help but more of trying to avert any further disagreement with what to do or not to do.

This is one thing that I do find frustrating when questions get posed - and I'm not only speaking of mine when I say this. Quite often, there is more than one method of achieving good results. It is great to hear you have options, especially when someone takes the time to fully explain, whether it be to an asker that has no experience in an area or to an asker who may just be looking for another way. This actually has nothing to do with whether one is a veteran or not, however, if a newbie is asking and those that have all the experience are arguing about what is okay and what's not......it gets folks confused! There. That's why I said we'll do it our way and thank you. Between posts and phone calls, we were no closer to our solution than when we began the post because on any direction, someone had a problem with it.

Sorry to continue ranting.

Celeste

[JFife 14]

To clarify my point, Celeste,

As far as pro's disagreeing on methods--that happens. Most that suggest not using bleach have something to sell you other than bleach. I use all of the above mentioned chems--they all have their place. Sometimes bleach does a horrible job, sometimes it is just what the doctor ordered.

I'll say this one last time, so that I am not confused with those arguing the bleach point---my suggestion is that there is either a finish or heavy mildew/uv greying on this wood, and it will take significant chems/pressure to remove it. See the way the house looks totally grey?? If you hit that with pressure and a chem, it will look just like you are stripping and everywhere the wand goes is going to turn a dark pink color, and will dry to a light pink color (and VERY fuzzy). My fear, since I don't know you or know your experience level, is that you are thinking that this is an xjet-and-rinse job, and all of the mildew and greying will fall off. It will not be that way. LogWash is not going to restore this wood, it is for cleaning off surface contaminants from a fresh, finished surface. Again, they have something to sell you. I certainly hope it has not/does not feel that I am in any way talking down to you. But I probably have more exp. doing this type of work than anyone that is going to respond to you on here, and I've done 25K jobs and lost money. It is not fun, and I don't want to be the one that lets someone else gamble on a big job without knowing the consequences. Losing money is not only financially destructive, it also kills your spirit. If you guys do this job, call me and I'll help you anyway I can, 615-498-5260

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Celeste,

You should call Jon. He's a very knowledgeable guy with alot of field time under his belt, and he's right, all chems have their place and so do various methods. We prefer percarbs to bleach for wood. But, we do use bleach for other things. It has a place.

Jon, thank you for sharing your insight, hope to see more of you here.

Beth :groovy2:

[Celeste 341]

Jon,

I absolutely understand what you are saying and I sincerely appreciate your willingness to speak with us. I don't feel you have talked down to me - again, I appreciate your candor and will in all likelihood be calling to speak directly with you. You cannot do a job over the internet through a keyboard....no one has the time to even try it.

I'll give you a call for certain :)

Celeste

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

There is excellent info in the thread. Step by step how to restore a home is alot to cover. If you have some specific questions, I'm sure someone will answer them.

There are also some excellent wood care sources out there you might want to read. Have you been to: http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/

Beth :groovy:

[JFife 14]

call anytime Celeste,

jon

[James 624]

So celeste. Tell us what happened with the test spots or are you doing the job?

[Celeste 341]

Bid submitted to the realtor.....we figure we won't hear anything since they were probably looking for a $200 housewash but oh well.....after all of the advise, we wouldn't have dreamed of doing it for near that :) We also submitted a bid for a proper job to the homeowner with a cover letter of why we felt a housewash was not sufficient, blah blah blah. If they don't sell, they may call this spring. On to the next biggie bid.......a large deck with a wood walkway to the dock & boathouse and an owner that knows it's gonna be EXPENSIVE! (:))

Celeste