Kind of back from the dead. Do you believe in resurrection? - Pressure Washing and Contractor Cleaning Forums

RPetry

Last big job of the year. Been restoring exterior wood seriously for 5 years. Have never seen anything close to this. After stating twice that "I would replace the wood", the customer near had a heart attack on the estimated cost. And I was not going to do the work.

This deck needed the proverbial toothless guy with a banjo in a rocking chair with gasoline and a match. Mold and I guess mildew actually calcified on the surface of the wood. PT SYP split, cracked, and in areas severely warped. Went through a ton of SS screws trying to reattach to joist, replaced some of the "real bad" wood, and belt sanded the p*ss out of butt ends to allow for reasonably safe walking. Removed someone's great idea of caulking between deck boards near the rear wall of the home. Actually shoveled a friggin' pile of dirt off the wood where a planter had once resided, before it rotted to dust.

I'm honestly proud of the job. A bunch of repairs and preparation, along with 24 gals. of RS med. red, at least got the property presentable. What a way to end the season. We all can show off our designer properties, and I most certainly do, but try coming down to the pits and showing real hard work. Its not easy, fun, or gets the credit it deserves. I just might of saved this neglectfull homeowner 15K or more.

**James** · Oct 18th, 06, 05:40 PM

looks great Ricky...

**StainlessDeal** · **I've Said it Before... -** Oct 18th, 06, 05:51 PM

Rick is NOT afraid to go the extra mile for his customers. He's a pro and a great guy.

Nice work, my man!

RPetry · Oct 18th, 06, 06:02 PM

Jim,

Dam*ed right it looks good and more importantly, will continue to look good with periodic repair and maintenance. Its never going to be a portfolio picture but its one h*ll of a lot better and the property is at least marketable and useable.

I'm as guilty of the next in posting a few nice pics, but our real value as contractors is in saving and/or preserving wood, not just making it look pretty. Took me a few years to actually learn that.

RPetry · Oct 18th, 06, 06:25 PM

Scott,

Thanks, appreciate the comment. Maybe I'm naive but I would like to think that all "woodies" on this board have the same goal. It is not that much more effort or cost to do great job as opposed to a "get it done" type job is premier. Its a matter of attitude, pride in craft, and pricing. Tell your customers what you are going to do, explain why, and do it. Simple.

BTW, tell your brother in law to send me some pics. He's the first I've ever needed a wetsuit to stain wood!

seymore · Oct 18th, 06, 06:29 PM

Looks friggin SUPER Ricky nice job!

That could win you the photo contest??

**PressurePros** · Oct 18th, 06, 06:49 PM

Did you have to go the bleach route for that one? just finished one today that sodium percarbonate didn't touch.. HD-80 didn't touch. finallyran and grabbed a gallon of fresh 12%. I love the decks that are FUBAR. They may not come out like you said as a portfolio pic in themselves but when people se what you can do with someone's POS deck they fel more confident you can handle the run-of-the-mill stuff. Great job Rick!

RPetry · Oct 18th, 06, 07:14 PM

Ken,

This stuff would have laughed at bleach. I do not use bleach on bare wood anyway. Course this was no where near straight wood with all the dirt and mildew. I'm telling you, this stuff was like Caribbean coral.

Used a percarb on half of the balustrade, and a new "test" percarb on the pergola (not seen but a fairly small one to the right of the pics.) Hate pergolas. Anyway, the mold/mildew/coral was so bad, went with the "test" stripper on the deck floor and the remainer of the balustrade. Much better, not nearly as much water pressure and cleaned off nicely. Do not like using NaOH on bare wood, but this was extreme. Finished off with a "test" brightener and my usual citric acid. Told the manufacturer that I will not use new products on customer wood, but jeeze, I could not do any harm to this wood.

In five years, by far the worst wood I have seen.

JFife · Oct 18th, 06, 09:11 PM

Nice work Ricardo!! That 'after' shot looks good in any book, much less a disaster deck. Good one to finish on,

RPetry · Oct 18th, 06, 09:22 PM

Jon,

I'm beginning to believe in munchkins. I truly am. Please change your avatar, it makes me want to go postal.

JFife · Oct 18th, 06, 09:31 PM

check back in about 5-10 minutes Rick.....

RPetry · Oct 18th, 06, 09:32 PM

Shane,

No photo contest on this one. No Extreme Solutions products were used.

JFife · Oct 18th, 06, 09:33 PM

Rick, in honor of your love affair with acrylic finishes, I pay homage with my new avatar

RPetry · Oct 18th, 06, 09:39 PM

Jon,

Thanks. I nearly trashed my monitor with an arthritic fist when I saw the SPF. Season's over, I'm done for the year. Can't get serious or really give a * at this point. I think a lot of us need a good rest.

FYI, I'm headed back up to Maine next week to frame out a new house. Will see if I can learn more about moss chinking while I'm there.

seymore · Oct 18th, 06, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jon Fife

Rick, in honor of your love affair with acrylic finishes, I pay homage with my new avatar

Now that's funny Jon nice avatar!

I found an avatar also for Rick

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