[fireandrain]

Thanks Rick. I remember you saying that you had an IPE yourself. Man, I really wish I had done more research before my initial consultation with IPE owners! These folks seem plenty prepared to pay for tip top service, now I'll just have to figure out how to "re-package" my proposal to them. I have not sent a proposal to them yet, but I talked a big game with respect to longevity (1 year minimum) on staining. Big time rookie mistake. Like I said above, perhaps I can tell them that I've been re-thinking their IPE situation and am concerned about promising that the wood will stay looking its best a year down the line. Rather, propose a strip/brighten/de-furr this time around,seal with RS, and build in a maintenance guarantee through next year. So, when they call next year to complain that their deck and fence are fading, they know that that I will re-visit their IPE w/ a free-of-charge clean/re-seal. Does this make sense? I hate doing things all fishy and fuzzy like this, not how I like to do business, but I made a pretty good impression on these homeowners when we met, and I can't really back-out on a providing them with a proposal...at least.