acsipresident
New Member
[hello] First, allow me to say how impressed I am with the knowledge and generosity of those who contribute to this forum. Coming from the corporate America climate I wish people were as forthcoming as all of you.
As of today I am formulating my strategy and approach to a new business that includes deck restoration. Being a general handyman, I’ve accumulated most of the tools I see discussed here. During the past several years I’ve contributed a good amount of my time cleaning and sealing decks for family, relatives and friends all of which have been relatively small. As an exercise to create a foundation in approach I will be stripping, brightening and sealing my own deck. I feel this is a good launching point because of it’s size and complexity (complex to me anyway). The deck is 54’x15’ with octagon shaped sitting pods on each end. Additionally, in the middle of the 54’ span is a trellis (12x14x9’tall) which is built with 6x6 lumbers as the 4 main supports.
Here is my question. With what I’ve read, there is approximately a 15 minute dwell time between applying a stripper (or cleaner) and it’s removal. With a structure this large how can you achieve this? Since you don’t want the deck wet when applying these solvents, where do you start (trellis, rails, floor) and how do you move through the rinsing process without allowing the stripper to dry? The trellis alone will take me a good amount of time since I’d have to stand on top to treat the PT wood.
Hopefully I will stumble through this enough to log a great list of tools, procedures, techniques and timing. I am truly looking forward to your input.
As of today I am formulating my strategy and approach to a new business that includes deck restoration. Being a general handyman, I’ve accumulated most of the tools I see discussed here. During the past several years I’ve contributed a good amount of my time cleaning and sealing decks for family, relatives and friends all of which have been relatively small. As an exercise to create a foundation in approach I will be stripping, brightening and sealing my own deck. I feel this is a good launching point because of it’s size and complexity (complex to me anyway). The deck is 54’x15’ with octagon shaped sitting pods on each end. Additionally, in the middle of the 54’ span is a trellis (12x14x9’tall) which is built with 6x6 lumbers as the 4 main supports.
Here is my question. With what I’ve read, there is approximately a 15 minute dwell time between applying a stripper (or cleaner) and it’s removal. With a structure this large how can you achieve this? Since you don’t want the deck wet when applying these solvents, where do you start (trellis, rails, floor) and how do you move through the rinsing process without allowing the stripper to dry? The trellis alone will take me a good amount of time since I’d have to stand on top to treat the PT wood.
Hopefully I will stumble through this enough to log a great list of tools, procedures, techniques and timing. I am truly looking forward to your input.
Don't put that Behr stuff back on! There are plenty of much better quality stains out there. Most woodies wouldn't put Behr or Thompsons on their dog houses!