My 1971 521

[wayno]

It looks good.

 

I think they look good wood color, but wood changes color the more the sun hits it like fences do, so in the long run paint is likely going to look better longer.

I have learned something over the 25 years I have pressure washed for a living, the uglier the color the longer it will last, Pumpkin Orange lasts forever, if you want to get rid of that color you have to paint over it with some other color.

Edited July 23, 2020 by wayno

[d.p]

I agree as I have an IPE deck as well and that turns a silver gray if I don’t stain it.  Those doors are cedar so they will do the same if I don’t seal or stain them.  

[wayno]

They make stuff for log homes that appears to keep it's color for a long time, but maybe it keeps its color because they are putting it on the wood every couple years.

Wood is high maintenance unless it's siding and sealed/painted like the front of my house(Cedar siding), the rest is T111(sides and back), I would never have a wood deck or roof, that wood used for that now is crap wood and don't last, the deck wood rots in 5 years if nothing it done, and the cedar shingles they sell only last 12 years if a big tree is within sight, but I would not own a tile roof either, they all leak in about 12 years also unless they do not have a valley, they last longer before leaking if they have no valleys and the leaks are not as bad.

[d.p]

IPE (what my deck and porch are made of) is hardwood and lasts forever my man.    I have cedar shingles on the side and front of my new garage along with the rough cedar doors and trim.   And my other house is all cedar shingles so I am pretty familiar with what to expect if I don’t do anything.  
 

Woods a bitch to take care of but looks great when you do.  

 

[mainer311]

Looks good. You have a green thumb too, or does your boyfriend take care of that?

[wayno]

I just read a little about IPE and it appears it is a different animal than what they sell around here for wood decking, fact is the wood they sell around here is so terrible for decks that most buy composite material for decks now, it lasts way longer but gets dingy looking and stays that way till replaced, most around here are from somewhere else now and they never had to do anything to their deck where they lived before(CA), so why do they need to do anything here.

I have seen decks made of other types of wood around here and when I see the wood I get scared, they just want it power washed with pressure and I use chemicals because it works and makes the end result so much better than using pressure, but I am afraid my chemical will cause the wood to turn black as I have seen that happen before, I cannot afford to be replacing expensive decks so I pass on the job, let someone else take the risk.

The photo below is of a deck I cleaned, I don't have a photo of it finished, maybe they put the stain on, I don't remember.

[thisismatt]

24 minutes ago, wayno said:

I just read a little about IPE and it appears it is a different animal than what they sell around here for wood decking, fact is the wood they sell around here is so terrible for decks that most buy composite material for decks now, it lasts way longer but gets dingy looking and stays that way till replaced, most around here are from somewhere else now and they never had to do anything to their deck where they lived before(CA), so why do they need to do anything here.

I have seen decks made of other types of wood around here and when I see the wood I get scared, they just want it power washed with pressure and I use chemicals because it works and makes the end result so much better than using pressure, but I am afraid my chemical will cause the wood to turn black as I have seen that happen before, I cannot afford to be replacing expensive decks so I pass on the job, let someone else take the risk.

The photo below is of a deck I cleaned, I don't have a photo of it finished, maybe they put the stain on, I don't remember.

 

Who puts all their joints on the same joists?

[d.p]

48 minutes ago, mainer311 said:

Looks good. You have a green thumb too, or does your boyfriend take care of that?

I’m married so he’s my husband. Lol 

 

Anyways here’s my deck halfway through staining it which was a huge bitch to do. IPE doesn’t take stain that well because it’s so hard and non-porous.  but you can see the silver gray it turns when left exposed to the sun.   

[wayno]

That is not how you should stain a deck as it shows over lap marks that way.

Do you know what a wood stain pad is, link is example.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cabot-6-Inch-Adjustable-Wood-Stain-Pad-application-For-Decks-Siding-Fences-New/193583914148?epid=1800025032&hash=item2d12801ca4:g:c~wAAOSwsQpfFKGM:sc:USPSFirstClass!98683!US!-1

 

You do one board at a time the full length of the deck, I tape off the siding/house/sides then I spray 3 boards at a time the full length and then let it sit on the wood until I see it being soaked up in a few places, then I take an already soaked stain pad and set it on the deck at one end and then I push the pad all the way to the other end of the deck making sure there is a puddle in front of the pad as I push it down the deck board, this puddle has 2 purposes, it puts the stain on evenly and it runs down the sides of the boards so even the sides were stained(sort of), after doing them 3 boards I spray 3 more boards and I then I push the pad down 4 boards till I am done with the deck, I do 4 boards because of over spray/lapping, I use a 9" stain pad but never over lap the stain pad on the last board I did the full length, I don't want to leave any marks on what I have finished, I want it to be perfect.

If you don't have a pump sprayer or want to do it by hand you dip the stain pad in the stain then start pushing down the board, when the puddle is gone dip again and start pushing making sure to not make an over lap mark, once to the end go back the other way all the way to the end, it's all about getting it evenly put on the board.

 

52 minutes ago, thisismatt said:

 

Who puts all their joints on the same joists?

 

I don't build them, I just clean them/stain them, yea it looks goofy but they likely seen it before buying the house.

Edited July 24, 2020 by wayno

[mainer311]

I’m about to redo my rear deck and I’m using Trex. I’m friggin done with painting/sanding/staining.

[d.p]

@wayno Do you see any overlap ???  And I don’t mind staining it.  The biggest bitch is moving all the pots off or around as I stain it.  
 

 

[wayno]

I may be wrong but I see everything, and photos can deceive me and rarely do anything justice, also if one starts when it is shady the stain goes into the wood better than when put on in direct sun later in the day as it will look different, it appears to me that it was brushed from one nail head to the other nail head or half past the next nail head, but that could be how the deck was cleaned, nail to nail.

I pressure wash them the same way I stain them, put the stripex on maybe a 3rd of your deck then walk from one end to the other without stopping, I never stop unless I lift away from the deck, but then it is hard to get started again without leaving an over lapped mark, that is why I use a stripper(LYE/sodium hydroxide) then a blonding agent like citric acid to lighten the wood as LYE darkens wood, I don't need to get close to the wood and splinter it, but that is the wood on decks around here, soft wood, it didn't used to be soft but it is now.

I don't know the wood, it appears to be dirty to me, but it may not have been cleaned very hard or only cleaned with a garden hose and broom, I am used to using chemicals where all the gray is removed.

I have seen so many decks ruined by the homeowner from stopping on the wood and reversing direction making gouges everywhere.

 

The best deck I have ever seen that still looked good after several years was plastic(white), it may have been plastic covered wood or some other material, but when cleaned it looked new except for spots where pots were and where metal table legs were sitting on it and left rust marks, but plastic is slippery when wet.

Edited July 24, 2020 by wayno

[d.p]

@wayno I busted my ass cleaning and prepping that deck with chemicals and a sander to get it too look like that.  It is exposed to the sun nearly all day and nothing I was going to do was going to get it looking brand new.  I am happy with how it turned out and that's all that matters. 

[Greaser2]

Is this the This Ol House forum. 

[mainer311]

1 hour ago, Greaser2 said:

Is this the This Ol House forum. 

 

No, but it is Ratsun, and we all know how long things stay on topic.

[d.p]

1 hour ago, Greaser2 said:

Is this the This Ol House forum. 

 

Might as well be that along with everything else. 

 

More of a meeting place of the minds of people who enjoy old japanese shit boxes.    Many of which are older and set in their ways and like to repeat themselves.  

 

L O L

[wayno]

You have to keep in mind that I have pressure washed for a living for 25 years, I have done hundreds of decks over the years and one thing I can say for sure, if someone pays someone like me to do their deck it has to be perfect, if they do it themselves their standards suffer as the hours goes by.

Where that table is and everything left of the barbecue looks awesome in the photo, I do not see any over lap marks, it appears that is the side you started on, from the barbecue and to the right the wood starts to look darker and have slightly darker lines on the nail rows or every other nail row, now as I said in my last post photos can be deceiving, the deck can have less light on that end of the deck, or even the angle can play tricks with the camera, if the whole deck looks like to the left of the barbecue then there are no over lap marks/shadows.

I only brought this up because of that first photo, the wood next to the house is way darker and there is a light spot in the middle, it appears to have over lap marks in the last 8 feet, but the stain might also still be wet in that photo, that is why I mentioned over lap lines/shadows and why I described how I do it.

It is hard work doing decks, especially if they cannot be cleaned with chemicals and a pressure washer, I have had to sand the old stain off a few decks because the chemicals didn't work(water based product), I decided that no one wanted to pay me that much to have their deck restored, and since this country is moving away from oil based products I have quit doing decks for the most part except for one customer.

Edited July 24, 2020 by wayno

[d.p]

Question. How much room do I need for a cherry picker?  Like how many feet in front of my truck?  
 

I ask becuause my driveway is gravel and I don’t have a ton of room in my garage to move a cherry picker around.  I could back it in and use ply wood over the gravel ??
 

 

[thisismatt]

Like 5 feet? You could go on plywood but the wheels will probably dig in and be hard to roll.

[MikeRL411]

On 7/24/2020 at 10:54 AM, wayno said:

You have to keep in mind that I have pressure washed for a living for 25 years, I have done hundreds of decks over the years and one thing I can say for sure, if someone pays someone like me to do their deck it has to be perfect, if they do it themselves their standards suffer as the hours goes by.

Where that table is and everything left of the barbecue looks awesome in the photo, I do not see any over lap marks, it appears that is the side you started on, from the barbecue and to the right the wood starts to look darker and have slightly darker lines on the nail rows or every other nail row, now as I said in my last post photos can be deceiving, the deck can have less light on that end of the deck, or even the angle can play tricks with the camera, if the whole deck looks like to the left of the barbecue then there are no over lap marks/shadows.

I only brought this up because of that first photo, the wood next to the house is way darker and there is a light spot in the middle, it appears to have over lap marks in the last 8 feet, but the stain might also still be wet in that photo, that is why I mentioned over lap lines/shadows and why I described how I do it.

It is hard work doing decks, especially if they cannot be cleaned with chemicals and a pressure washer, I have had to sand the old stain off a few decks because the chemicals didn't work(water based product), I decided that no one wanted to pay me that much to have their deck restored, and since this country is moving away from oil based products I have quit doing decks for the most part except for one customer.

 

The Japanese use a lye solution.

[d.p]

Yeah shiat.  I think I have 3-4’ if that.   I could plywood part of the driveway and back my truck halfway out the garage and do it that way.  I would then have more than enough room in front of it.  

[datzenmike]

If plywood get the driveway as smooth as possible. Use the thickest plywood you can or layer several sheets.

[d.p]

8 minutes ago, datzenmike said:

If plywood get the driveway as smooth as possible. Use the thickest plywood you can or layer several sheets.

I could just pull my truck in halfway or so.  Leave the bed hanging out and do it that way.  

Edited August 22, 2020 by d.p

[Charlie69]

When pulling an engine I get the hoist in place raise the engine trans as much as possible, then move the hoist back to clear tunnel & firewall.  I then raise the hoist as high as possible, lift tail section of the trans high enough to clear the radiator support while turning the engine and trans to be parallel with the front of the truck, then I move the hoist out from under the truck.  I then get the engine & trans lower an sit it on the concrete driveway.   Then spray the engine, trans, engine bay, & bottom side of the tunnel  down with Purple Power Degreaser, (I use it straight), let it sit about 10 minutes the spray it all down again & wait 10 minutes a& the I pressure wash it off.  I also the night before I pull the engine and transmission I go to the DIY car wash &  Purple Power the engine & engine bay and then wash it as best as I can.   I hate working on filthy dirty stuff.  I have to at the junk yards so at home I try to keep it clean as possible.  I also do this with all used parts & wiring harnesses.

[wayno]

15 hours ago, MikeRL411 said:

 

The Japanese use a lye solution.

 

That is what I use, but you have to be careful with that stuff, I had a DIY customer that got it in his rubber boot he was wearing and he ended up in the hospital for skin grafts from his butt to his foot, that stuff is nasty and he used over the counter stuff bought at paint stores(stripex) while I use lye(pellet form) bought from chemical companies.

The first time I mixed a batch in a 5 gallon plastic bucket I opened my garage door and moved it outside because it started boiling in the plastic bucket, I made too strong I guess.

Edited August 22, 2020 by wayno