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Worst thing to STAIN?

Carlos Gonzales

New member
Okay Wood experts.....:got-hooligan:

In you opinion, what do you consider the most diificult task in staining? Meaning when you walk in a back yard and you see all sorts of lattice's, do you cringe? How about them spindles? OR the infamous childrens playset?

What about that boot ramp the sits over water? And you are not permitted to get one drop of cleaner or stain in the water because some "blue toed" frog that lived there for 100,000 years may be adversely affected by it. I mean come on, this "frog" survived an ice age, countless floods, a drought or two, predators....sorry for the rant...but you get my drift..LOL :yes::yes:
 

Mike Schoeben

New member
Decks with composite floors and stair treads, but cedar railings and stair risers. Its really tough to cover and mask off the composite areas, and not get stain seepage onto the composite. Seems that no matter how careful you are, there'll be an area (usually a highly visible area), that stain seeps through or a drop of stain hits the composite during cleanup. I will be passing on those type of decks this year, as every single one we've done in the past 6 years has had an issue. The problem is that they look like real easy money, but ALWAYS end up being a PITA.

A close second to the above type of deck is the playset. YUCK!!
 

James Foley

New member
I don't even bother with these any more( Composite Floor/wood rails )unless they are already a client. Many high end decks (wood floors) are using White composite type materials(many brands) for trim work, risers and these are terrible( some stain easily). Do a test first before doing these. I had a three story house with Ipe just stained on each level and a storm came half hour later. This house was all composite material and stain dripped all over the sides.
 

Ken Fenner

Active member
I agree with the above and in new pressure treated decks. You really should wait a period before staining a pressure treated deck especially if the wood is not built with KD lumber. the problem with that is, PT wood has very little tolerance for mositure transfer before it begins to warp, cup, check or crack. I usually tell people to wait 30 days, wash it, then seal it seven to ten days later. Even then, by the following year it often looks like crap.
 

CWheeler

New member
Arbors, lattice, and handrails in that order, we have allot of arbors with beams and slats(for lack of better terms) that require allot of detail hand work. Ive never done a playscape so can't comment on that, but sounds like allot of work.
 

James Foley

New member
New PT lumber is a new science all together . I am waiting as long as I can. The stuff looks the same in 6 months to a year after its built and does not suck enough oil? I have a couple of new ones coming up built last Fall. I hate Arbors and hate the Maintenance of Arbors more !! LOL
 

Mike Schoeben

New member
Carlos,
Any "by hand" work we use Shurline stain pads. They don't drip and you can get into corners and tight areas easily. They are slow going though. We try to spray any lattice, spindles, arbors, etc. A simple trigger sprayer and plastic qt. bottle can be very helpful for tight spots that you can't reach. Keep the brushes for painting.
 

Lyle Gottschalk

New member
Arbors, overheads, & two-one, composite decks w/wood railings. I really dont mind the hand work as long as I dont feel pressured, re: get enough $ to do the job.





Lyle Gottschalk
Ace Restorations
Deck Specialist
Pleasanton, Ca.
 
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opwdecks

New member
Interior ceilings of Gazebo/Sunrooms. The builders here have a tendency to use tongue and groove smooth cedar. It has zero absorption. It's a disater when staining upside down and it constantly drips in the grooves. You will spend hours just wiping the drips.
 

Carlos Gonzales

New member
geeez....not too convinced that wood staining is the ticket as an add on.

I enjoyed my first cleaning and brightening job a couple of weeks ago. It was cool and I really digged the way the chems worked.

Staining??? That is another subject!!!
 

Ken Fenner

Active member
Wood work is a hard way to earn a buck. You can expect a fair percentage of callbacks if you have employees. It takes a little bit to master technique and even when an employee gets it, he/she has to be diligent all the way until the last brush is on the truck. It only takes a few drips from a hose onto the sidewalk to get the dreaded callback.

You have to be very efficient to make money in wood. You can also get way off schedule. When using oil based products to seal, you have to wait at least two days to hit the right moisture content. You can have four decks lined up for the next day and a quick passing thunderstorm in the evening will set you back another two days. Its imperative to have other work lined up such as house washes or you may find yourself sitting at home waiting for wood to dry out. You can also get into a cycle where you keep stripping decks during that wet period and get wayyy behind. Last spring was very wet here. At one point we were behind 20+ decks. Even though you tell people you are at the mercy of mother nature, they get tired of hearing "Your next on the schedule". One rainy season and you take it on the chin.. hard.

I wouldn't recommend anyone getting into decks as their main source of revenue. It doesn't pay enough. For the last two years I've been weaning backwards from decks and hope to eliminate them all together except for hardwood specialty work such as mahogany and ipe. Just my $.02
 

James Foley

New member
I agree with Ken on being able to control wood scheduling in the Northeast is pretty much a nightmare. But it has gotten me into the Total Property Maint. since I started in Pressure washing and a good rotation of those properties is possible. I am more for getting rid of the Ipe people except for cleaning them. I have not done it yet but I leaning that way. Ipe does dry fast though !

On a side note: to do ceilings take a Lambs wool applicator not on the wood and control the amount of oil it absorbs and hand rub it in. I have had success with this method
 

thinkpaint

New member
Sometimes the best decks we do are the ones we don't do. I just got off the phone with a women who has a 12x32 ipe deck with pt rails, spindles all around and 2 sets stairs.

She wants to use Penofin(not me:pukey:) and her budget is $850. bucks....:headshakesmile-fast
 

Carlos Gonzales

New member
Sometimes the best decks we do are the ones we don't do. I just got off the phone with a women who has a 12x32 ipe deck with pt rails, spindles all around and 2 sets stairs.

She wants to use Penofin(not me:pukey:) and her budget is $850. bucks....:headshakesmile-fast

I dont even do wood and that price (budget) seems way low...Let me take a crack at this....+/-$2100.00? Just curious!!!
 
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