Archive for April, 2010

Leveling a deck that is heaving is a full day or two job.  When it comes to getting quotes on leveling a deck make sure you company or person has the liability insurance paid up.  The deck is cut loose from its support and is basically on temporary support and could fall off the house.  Hire a company that has experience doing this and not a guy with a jack.  There is also a good  chance that it will do the same thing in the future.  A bad understructure is expensive to replace, it usually means a complete tear out.

Olympic deck stain that is semi-transparent stain only requires 1 coat.  Twp as well only requires 1 coat.  If more coats are desired they need to be thinned down based on how the first coat took to the wood.  Many companies either put on too much stain or not enough.  Spraying the stain will  puddle under the rails and looks very unprofessional.  Most start up companies like to spray their stain and back brush it.  This is where most puddling will occur.  I am speaking from experience because that was how I was taught 19 years ago until I was shown the right way, which is brush out the entire deck including the rails.  By spraying oil stain ot gets air borne it never dries and will kill everything it touches.  By bushing you also get a feel on how much stain the wood will absorb.  Usually one and a half coats is the right amout to have the floor look even and a closer match to the rails.  The temperature will play a big role as to how well the floor will turn out.  When temps are 50-60 degrees the product flashes slower and sets up better than much higher temps.

Once you have any solid color deck stain or paint on your deck DO NOT expect to go natural again.  The only way to remove 100% of it off is to sand it off or replace the boards—PERIOD!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have tried everything and give up.  There are not any chemicals on the market(that I know of) that are hot enough to soften the solid stain and don’t kill everything in sight.   Don’t be fooled by a guy with a hot water machine with a high quote claiming he can get it off.   Easiest and least expensive to just apply another coat on top and live with it.  Sikkens Cetol is the same thing.  It won’t budge.  Best just to re-deck the floor, in my opinion.

If you installed a new treated wood deck we recommend that it weather for 30 days before applying a sealer to it.  Olympic has a new waterborne toner that came out a few years ago that actually holds up pretty well for a new deck.  New deck sealers seem only to last for a summer before they need to get reapplied.  Most people would like to see them last longer.  Olympic semi-transparent in the oil we are seeing some new decks last for 2 summers.  Cedar tone is by far the most popular color.  You can order these products from our online store and have them shipped to your door step.

If you would like to recieve a quote on deck  repair, deck cleaning, or deck building I will be in Waterford on Saturday April, 17th all day.  Please contact the office directly at 313-242-1000.

Any outdoor deck requires yearly maintance.  Many people simply let their outdoor deck weather.   You can treat your deck with a oil sealer to help protect against rot and decay.  Cedar decks are very expensive to build, so maintain them or you will be replacing it.  We offer free estimates.

Do you have a cedar log cabin or house in Commerce that needs cleaning.  We offer TWP,  Olympic, and Sikkens finishes for them.  Try our online store demo to order products if you would like to attempt staining you rainbow playscape in Superdeck Heart Redwood.  It is Rainbows factory finish, it will probably take a few hours to do yourself, or call us and enjoy the weekend.  We have completed hundreds of them.    Good Luck– Craig.   I personally look forward to JULY 4th when our season is over