Bad power wash and seal job. Help!

[homeowner1]

We just had our deck power washed and sealed with Wolman's clear coat. The deck had a Thompson water-based seal with honey gold that was wearing off after 2 years, and the fence had a clear coat that hadn't been re-applied in at least 4 years. The contractor power washed everything so hard, the wood is splintered and looks feathered. He said it's not his job to sand it, but it would look better after applying the clear seal. He applied sealer after less than 24 hours, and it was very humid over night. The Wolman's he applied (with a sprayer) was milky white, and he said it would dry clear. It didn't - our deck and fence are covered in milky white, waxy spots, drips, and uneven areas. Our grass is stained white, our plants are covered in the old seal which was powerwashed onto all of them, and he also didn't rinse it off.

Please help - we want to give this guy a chance, but this job is a disaster. It looks awful.

Any ideas on how this can be fixed? Our grass is also trashed from the extreme amount of water used to powerwash the fence - it became a soupy mess and when they walked all over it, they created bald spots.

Please let us know what you would do to fix it - we just want this guy to fix it, and would hate to have to sue or go through all of that. But we don't want our yard or the wood to take any more beatings.

 

[CaroliProWash]

There is a higher likelihood that he WON'T be able to fix it - since he was uneducated enough to do the damage in the first place. What did he charge you - couple hundred bucks? This is unfortunately what happens many times when folks don't check out a contractor's qualifications. Wood professionals don't use Thompsons and most won't use a clear. High pressure is never necessary and the rest, that was just bad.

If I was my property, I wouldn't have cut a check at all, much less considered letting him back in my yard to wreak more havoc on my property.

A job like that should have cost over $1000 to perform, therefore requiring license in Virginia. ?? Could be that the low price was what prompted the hiring? Did he provide you with a Certificate of Insurance?

I don't mean to sound unsympathetic to your problem now - it just reinforces our position of "you get what you pay for". With that said, he probably didn't do anything that can't be fixed. We have a number of colleagues across Virginia that I would be comfortable providing contact information for if you want to email me. Most have free estimates and at least you could get a professional opinion of what the damages are.