I have read a significant amount of information both on PWR and on other forums but do not have a clear path to go. There is abundant information on organics but not as much on stains. I have a customer who wants his deck to “look like it did”. This is a solid stain purchased from Home Depot/Lowes. He is unsure of brand and does not have a can. I am looking for advice on a course of action to give optimal results. The horizontal surfaces are bad but the vertical surfaces are not that bad. I was considering stripping with Sodium Hydroxide mixed 8 oz/gallon H2O, rinse and apply OX afterwards. Sanding afterwards areas that need be. Is this appropriate for this stain? Would you do this on all surfaces including the verticals? I am new and trying to choose the right path including “running away” as some have said. I been told bid $6-8/square foot for this job. I appreciate solid advice. I hope the pictures load.
Go to the Deck 101 thread and reread it, because your questions are basic and you need to know what you are doing before charging a customer professional rates to do their deck.
It is well known, and is discussed often, that verticals always last longer than horizontals.
What does the brand of stain matter, or where they bought it? I could call it jim’s deck special stain and sell it from my garage. What matters is what type of stain it is. Did you do a splash test? Did you test your stripper in an inconspicuous area (patch test)? What have you done so far?
THe path lies before you, sometimes you just don’t see it. Before you think I am busting your chops, I recently had to be reminded by a member on here that I have hot water on my rig.
I just did a strip like this and had a local contractor who pays me a 10% referral fee come after to stain and build a new set of stairs for them.
Your mix is good, re apply as needed between rinsing. I brighten after with ox as well then rinse the ox off after 10 min or so. Make sure to water grass around the deck after. Plants don’t like acids.
If you’re stripping $6 a sq/ft might be about right depending on your area. If they’re willing to pay for stripping that’s great. Most people don’t due to the high cost. That $6 a sq/ft doesn’t include the washing or staining.
You need to figure out if it’s a waterborne or oil based stain. I’m guessing waterborne. To test get some denatured alcohol and wet a white rag. Rub on the stain and see if it turns the white rag brown. If stain does come up with rubbing with alcohol it’s waterborne.
Now that you know the type of stain you can offer another option if they don’t want to pay for stripping. Instead of stripping just clean and apply a stain that’s the same color or one darker that will cover up the original stain. I usually recommend this method because the decks usually turn out just as good as stripping. The only issue is you can sometimes see the “line” or “lip” of the old stain and where there was bare wood. You can prevent this by sanding though. Just be sure to charge for it if you do decide to sand. If you use the same color stain you could also just strip the deck boards and leave the railing alone. If you choose the right color of stain they should match just fine.
As mentioned checkout the deck 101 if you haven’t already. I don’t think there’s much info on stripping but there are some great posts on cleaning.
Thanks DJPWS and Marinegrunt. I have previously read through most of the deck 101 thread and based on that information came up with this basic plan. Marinegrunt, if offering the cover over option, do you still go through any prep work prior to applying the stain. The wood is weathered, gray, some organics on the latice? Do you have recommendations on chems based on pics? The current stain failed, I believe in part, b/c there was likely no prep work. It also looks like there was a second stain underneath.
Do you have recommendations for solid stains besides box stores. You are also saying is that I need to stick with the same stain as tested either oil or water based.
Does anyone ever contract by time and supplies instead of upfront all in one package bidding? I really have no idea how long this would take. Total surface area is close to 200 square feet with the vertical surfaces.
Thanks again for your input and to this forum! There are many members here that will be blessed for the time, energy and information that you all readily share.
Keith
That is a tiny deck, shouldn’t take long. Rinse, strip, rinse, neutralize, rinse, dry, paint/stain. Got a moisture meter? Looks like a film former from the pics, but I’m not there and it doesn’t give me the detail I need to see.
If you strip it there won’t be any organics left, nor paint/stain. THe weeds growing through the deck may remain though.
I would probably use Sodium Percarbonate. SH tends to cause stain or paint lift up. If you’re trying to get the loose stuff up you might want to use SH. I’d probably follow with Oxalic athough It’s not really needed unless you completely strip the deck.
I would sand down any high spots of old stain just so you don’t see any “lips” of the old stain. The more you smooth out with a sander the better it’ll look.
If you completely strip the deck you can use whichever stain you like. If you stain over the existing stain you have to use the same type. Either oil or water.
I wouldn’t contract out by time. I do add supplies into the estimate price. I wouldn’t contract out by time. If you tell a customer you’re going to charge the $150 an hour but you don’t know how long it’ll take they’ll definitely turn down the job. A lot of times they just don’t realize how much we make per hour. You’ll get the hang of it eventually. I go by linear foot on railings. How many square feet is the deck and linear of railings? Post those measurements and I’ll give you a ballpark price of where I’d be.
I guess as a part timer, I’m not sure how much to make. The the deck is approximately 238 sq/ft with 38 linear feet of railing. Also has the addition of 2 sets of 3 steps appox 3 feet wide. I downloaded Racer’s deck square footage calculator but haven’t plugged the numbers in yet. Would you strip the latice or just replace it?
Thought you would get a chuckle. Either at my pricing or at the customer, both are fine. He didn’t like my $375 bid to remove oxidation from his house after explaining to him what the problem is in detai. I thought my bid was high. He still texted me back and said I just want the basic house wash. I don’t want to go down a rabbit hole on this thread though. Was going to treat with Cleansol BC and DS it and brush as necessary.
$375 definitely isn’t too high for oxidation removal on a two story house. I almost charge that much for a regular 2 story house wash. Oxidation removal usually requires brushing. I know the cleansol bc might change that but sounds like it’s still not a brushless procedure. I would’ve been 3 or 4 times that price of oxidation removal.
Most shoot for around $150-$250 an hour. Just because you’re part-time doesn’t mean you should charge less. What makes your worth less than a full timer? Find the neighborhoods where people don’t mind paying a premium for quality work.
I truly appreciate everyone’s input. I’ll let you all know what happens.
