need some advice for upcoming season

[Aqua Pro 22]

I began this business late 2005 and will be expecting some repeat customers this year for the decks that we did.

1) Do I charge more, less or about the same as I originally did for that customer?

2) Do I strip/stain the deck again or just clean/stain the deck again? My opinion would be to treat each deck individually and see just how it wore over the last two years. I know it probalby also depends on the type of sealer we used then. I was in the "experimental" stage then and did not have a set brand of stain. Some decks were sealed with S/Williams, some with Pittsburgh paints, others behr.

Some of that was becuase I was trying different stains, sometimes the job called for a specific stain. I now only use to different brands. Ready Seal and B-moore.

I know the above posed questions may seem vauge or naive but like everything else in this or any buisness there is a first time for everything and simply put, I'm not sure how to handle these scenarios.

Thanks for your help.

-Tom

[PressurePros 248]

All sealers are sacrificial. Some have rapid slopes of decline. So, if for instance, the sealer started failing in November of '06 but you don't get to it until May 2007 it may be past the point where you can just clean and reseal. You'll probably end up with a blotchy mess. You have to evaluate your customers' decks frequently and perform maintenance as needed. I don't know if this helps you but there is no definitive answer to your q.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

I began this business late 2005 and will be expecting some repeat customers this year for the decks that we did.

1) Do I charge more, less or about the same as I originally did for that customer?

2) Do I strip/stain the deck again or just clean/stain the deck again? My opinion would be to treat each deck individually and see just how it wore over the last two years. I know it probalby also depends on the type of sealer we used then. I was in the "experimental" stage then and did not have a set brand of stain. Some decks were sealed with S/Williams, some with Pittsburgh paints, others behr.

Some of that was becuase I was trying different stains, sometimes the job called for a specific stain. I now only use to different brands. Ready Seal and B-moore.

I know the above posed questions may seem vauge or naive but like everything else in this or any buisness there is a first time for everything and simply put, I'm not sure how to handle these scenarios.

Thanks for your help.

-Tom

What did you apply when you did the deck before? (solid, semi-transparent or what)

How did you clean and prep the deck before you sealed it?

Has the customer done anything to the deck since your last visit?

Personally, I think after being in business two years, you should expect you need to go look at the deck until you get the hang of maintenance and product performance. What you are saying is you are not sure how to proceed, so to me, getting all your info together should include visiting the deck, so you are better prepared to quote.

Typically, we find at two years you are doing horizontal maintenance mostly, but this can vary depending on many things, such as climate, exposure, product applied, and so forth. You should not have as many costs to maintain it. But again, this will depend on the condition it is in. You should not have to strip the deck if the product is intact.

Go look at it, take a few photos, and post them here. Photos help :)

Beth

[RPetry 564]

Tom,

Cannot lend any info on Ben Moore stains, but I do know a bit about Ready Seal. For nearly all of our jobs, it is the only stain we use.

Unless there is virtually no stain left on your maintenance jobs, it is probably best to strip the wood. Strength, dwell time, and pressure is another subject, but unless there is another compatible, paraffinic oil stain already in the wood, strip it. Ready Seal is a true penetrating stain, and requires raw wood for the first application.

Two other tips. Make sure you have a moisture meter and use it. The first time treating exterior wood with Ready Seal, do not skimp on stain. Two wet on wet or even better, wet on dry applications, are best. Your customers will have the best looking wood in the neighborhood.

Evaluate each job at the two year mark. Dependent on wood species, sun exposure, and climate, the wood typically requires a very light cleaning and more Ready Seal applied (ballpark, ~60% of the amount first used).

I cannot tell you how much to charge, but I guarantee the labor and materials are substantially less on retreatment as opposed to the initial hard clean or stripping and oiling. Think in the range of 30 - 40% less. And the best of all, one of the key features of using Ready Seal, you will never have to strip the wood again.

[Deck Guy 14]

Rick,

Do you completely strip Ready Seal too?? I thought that a big benefit of RS was that it could be properly cleaned and re-applied.

[Jarrod 22]

Is the B-more water based? If so, strip it all off and put an oil base on the deck. Honestly, after 2 years, you should really strip all of them and put a good sealer on them. If R.S. is the best you use, then use that. I have never used R.S. I have heard both good and not so good about it.

[RPetry 564]

Larry,

Do you completely strip Ready Seal too?? I thought that a big benefit of RS was that it could be properly cleaned and re-applied.

NO! and YES!. You are correct, there is no need to ever strip RS. Even if an existing customer wants a much lighter color, a percarb cleaner with a bit of pressure or scrubbing will take a lot of weathered 2 yr. old pigment off the surface. On maintenance I now use a light bleach/soap wash, as IMO percarbs are a bit too aggressive in removing remaining pigment and surface oil. A RS maintenance is a simple replenishment of product.

There's a lot of benefits to using RS, and again you are right, no more stripping is near the top of the list.

I was responding to Tom's specific question. He seems to have used Sherwin Williams, Pittburgh Paints (do they make exterior wood stains?) and Lord forbid, Behr's for the first two years of his business. His repeat customers are going to get a pleasant surprise if he restains their decks with Ready Seal.

[Deck Protector 14]

Hi,

Nobody really gave Tom's question a solid answer as to what he should do. If he has decks that he stained 2 years ago what is the proccedure to maintain them. Can he recoat over a previously stained deck? I contacted several manufactures about this and all say you would need to strip the old stain off first and then restain. Reason being that the new coat of stain would not adhear to the previous stain. Because the previous stain would repell the new stain and leave you with a mess on the surface of the deck. I really can't understand how you can effectively recoat a deck with a maintenance coat unless you can just strip off the top layer of the stain and possiable apply a thin coat . But how can this be done without stripping off the stain that is in the wood? Seems to be that all decks would always need to be stripped of an old stain then you could effectively apply a new stain to the bare wood allowing the stain to soak in and adhear to the wood. Some have posted that ready seal is capable of taking a maintenance coating. But wouldn't the previous stain on the deck repell it not allowing the new stain to bond correctly? Also I have heard of contracters just cleaning a deck then reapply a maintenace coat over the previous coat. So it is being done but will it look ok and will it last?

So can anyone answer the question of what is the procedure to apply maintenance stain coats to decks that have been stained 2 years or so ago?

If you need to strip the old satin off first then restain bare wood. How can you expect past clients to pay for this?As it would definately take more labor and materials to do this and your price to stain their deck 2 years ago would have to be much more to stain it this coming season. Most if not all past clients would not go for this and you would probably think your trying to rip them off. And your company would most definately get a bad reputaion therefore your chance of getting more work in that community would fail.

So what are your thoughts and or procedures on maintaining your past customers decks? The cost to the customer should be less or at least comparable to the price your gave them last year.

Thanks

Dan

[PressurePros 248]

Hi,

Nobody really gave Tom's question a solid answer as to what he should do. If he has decks that he stained 2 years ago what is the proccedure to maintain them. Can he recoat over a previously stained deck? I contacted several manufactures about this and all say you would need to strip the old stain off first and then restain. Reason being that the new coat of stain would not adhear to the previous stain. Because the previous stain would repell the new stain and leave you with a mess on the surface of the deck. I really can't understand how you can effectively recoat a deck with a maintenance coat unless you can just strip off the top layer of the stain and possiable apply a thin coat . But how can this be done without stripping off the stain that is in the wood? Seems to be that all decks would always need to be stripped of an old stain then you could effectively apply a new stain to the bare wood allowing the stain to soak in and adhear to the wood. Some have posted that ready seal is capable of taking a maintenance coating. But wouldn't the previous stain on the deck repell it not allowing the new stain to bond correctly? Also I have heard of contracters just cleaning a deck then reapply a maintenace coat over the previous coat. So it is being done but will it look ok and will it last?

So can anyone answer the question of what is the procedure to apply maintenance stain coats to decks that have been stained 2 years or so ago?

If you need to strip the old satin off first then restain bare wood. How can you expect past clients to pay for this?As it would definately take more labor and materials to do this and your price to stain their deck 2 years ago would have to be much more to stain it this coming season. Most if not all past clients would not go for this and you would probably think your trying to rip them off. And your company would most definately get a bad reputaion therefore your chance of getting more work in that community would fail.

So what are your thoughts and or procedures on maintaining your past customers decks? The cost to the customer should be less or at least comparable to the price your gave them last year.

Thanks

Dan

I disagree that he didn't get a solid answer. There really isn't one. Like all of us in our first years he was all over the place with products. VOC compliant reformulations made things real bad for those of us in the northeast. I am still stripping and redoing decks I did with consumer products (no Behr or crap like that but I have Sikkens, Cabot's, and Deckscapes stuff out there)

The solution is to choose a product or two you like best. I have two 'go-to' product lines we use. Like I mentioned and like Beth mentioned, you just have to watch them. Using Wood Tux has assured me that I won't have total failure in less than two years. A simple wash with EFC-38 (made by same manufacturer as Wood Tux.. Extreme Solutions) breaks the surface barrier while still leaving oil in the wood. Here is a PressurePros restoration/maintenace cycle:

April 2007

Strip deck w/ HD-80.

pH balance/brighten with Citralic.

Apply Wood Tux

April 2008, 2010

Wash deck with bleach and soap mix.. evaluate sealer integrity

April 2009

Wash horizontals with EFC-38. Apply light coat of Wood Tux. Charge customer 1/2 of original price.

April 2011 recoat entire deck after cleaning (3/4 original full price - adjusted for price increases)

repeat cycle a couple of times until I see the color darkening too much then I strip and start fresh.

[plainpainter 217]

Ken on the 'off' years of 2008 and 2010 - where you clean the deck, and evaluate the integrity. I assume there is a decision to be made to do something at those points in time - and if so, how does that affect the years 2009 and 2011? Is it possible you would have to move up the 2009 coating to 2008 and likewise with the 2011 coating moved up to 2010?

And this begs another question. Should we sell customers on yearly cleanings even if we have no intention of sealing their decks? I re-sealed a customers deck last May - should I be calling them up for a cleaning come this May? Is there any benefit to this, if there isn't an unsightly amount of mildew stains? I would love a little more change in my pocket - but wasn't thinking of contacting them until 2 years after I re-applied the stain. Is there a good 'sell' that I can pitch for yearly cleanings? I'd love this!