Mystery stains

[Mike Hughes]

This deck was stripped and sealed back in June..........customer called me last month and said there are some dark spots on the deck, that started appearing in August.

Anyone seen anything like this before???


This deck is Pressure Treated wood, sealed with Ready Seal Natural Cedar..........and even has a roof over it! House is stucco, as is the ceiling over the deck. These spots are pretty much all over the place, on about 50% of the deck........and it comes up on your finger (also gets tracked into their house).


I dont think I'll have any trouble removing these stains..........but the big question is............what are they?? and how to prevent it from happening again??

By the way........the chimney is nowhere near the deck, and the marks are not scratches........they are on the surface.

 

[charlie]

Mike

Why are the boards grey?

Charlie

 

[ron]

i agree

why are the boards gray? i hope its your camara and not the deck.
it looks like something got splashed on it.
your pics are hurting the sale of ready seal please exsplain the pics.

 

[ron]

another

could a driving rain spill over the gutters that's covering this deck and splatter crud on it?

 

[Aplus]

Maybe a kid was playing with his toy cars there, and left black marks from the wheels.

They look like they will probably clean right up though.

Why don't you ask the owner if he knows what the stains are from? Even if he doesn't know, at least it's the perfect time to point it out, and mention that there is always a slight chance it may not come out.

Whenever I spot strange things on decks, I always point it out to the customer, because if by some slight chance I can't remedy it, I don't want any assumtions made that I can.

I also note irregularities within my proposal, for cya purposes.

Just my two cents.

 

[Aplus]

Looking at the photo, it appears to me that the deck is gray because it is dirty.


Ron - Charlie, what other color would you expect them to be?

 

[Mike Hughes]

The color of the pic is just in the lighting........it really doesnt look that bad.........and doesnt look grey. It was a fairly neglected deck though, and I'm sure it will need a recoat sooner then average.

Nothing splashes on the deck........not possible...........the gutter is over ten feet away from where this pic was taken.

Tony, this is a callback.........not anything I saw. They are on the surface, not scratches...........rules out the car idea. The owner doesnt know what they are. I'm supposed to know! lol

This will be no big deal to fix......a quick wash job............however, we need to determine what it is so we can prevent it from happening again.

 

[charlie]

Aplus

Light Brown, Still looks grey to me. As for the marks It looks like dirt from a plant stand. Get some samples and take it to a University lab they might be able to tell you what it is, if you really want to kno.

Charlie

 

[Mike Hughes]

Thats a good idea.

These marks are all over the place........maybe on 50% of the deck.

 

[jimspowewash]

Is it possible they have fireplace ive seen similar stains on vinyl like black ash .Maybe the ash is ending up on there deck?Looks like wind must have carried ash it looks exactly like isee from a chiminey

 

[PUREPOWER]

Hey Mike,

Looks like some type of ash or soot to me also...Did the owner say how long it has been there? I know we had some strong winds the last couple of weeks...don't know if the winds made it out your side of the state. Keep us posted on how it goes.

Jordan[sb]

 

[ron]

is there

any chance that they have a chiminay its a outdoor fireplace thats looks like a "i dream of gienie" bottle and is made of ceramic lots of people have them on there decks,patio's,ect..
because it looks like wet soot.

 

[Steven Rowlet]

Mike, Not sure what is but I will tell you this we have the same thing in our yard sometimes. You get it all over your shoes. If they are doing any kind of burning near by it could be soot llike a few people said. You should be able to give it a light cleaning with a mild solution.

 

[Target P/W]

I know those markings.
Those particular markings were left from Groblius Articulus, a relative of the lawn gnome, indigeneous to Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.
Those are his dancing cider buckled boot scuff marks from the celebration of the twin moons of Rigel 12.
Cheers!