sealing a deck

[woodstock]

has anyone paid a contractor to do this?

I am having someone make some curtains for my kitchen and when she came over to measure everything she said her husband has a deck sealing business - they will sand, seal, etc.

Since we've had a warm winter he's doing occasional jobs when it's nice out.

He quoted me a price of 600 bucks to fully sand and seal my deck, which includes all railings, the posts in the ground, and the small fencing below (you know how they have fences b/w townhouses - this isn't a full fence, it extends maybe 10 feet out or so). He said his normal in season price is 1000 bucks. it's 14x18, and that's it - railing of course.

even 600 seems kind of high to me. I know it's a lot of labor but I can't imagine it's more than 10 hours? even if 20, that's 30 bucks an hour then.

thoughts?

 

[Dean]

Here in MO most people power wash their deck and then coat them with a water repellant. You could do it yourself for 1/2 what he wants. You can rent the washer for about 75.00 a day and the repellant will run you about 30 bucks for 5 gallons. If you have a Lowes, Home Depot or local lumber yard, they can figure out how much you will need. I would do it myself and use the extra money for flying.

 

[Greebo]

Ditto what Dean said. Power washing and sealing a deck is not rocket science. Ask the home depot people how to use the power washer and go for it.

 

[Greebo]

And I'd bet she can do it for closer to 1/3 of the asking...

 

[ScottM]

Here in MO most people power wash their deck and then coat them with a water repellant. You could do it yourself for 1/2 what he wants. You can rent the washer for about 75.00 a day and the repellant will run you about 30 bucks for 5 gallons. If you have a Lowes, Home Depot or local lumber yard, they can figure out how much you will need. I would do it myself and use the extra money for flying.

That is what I do too.

 

[Matthew]

My trick when sealing our deck was to use a painting pad instead of a roller & brush. It doesn't splatter and if you get one wide enough, can cover several deck planks in one pass. It's also much more convenient for getting under/around/through things like handrails and balusters.

I used the Thompson's deck seal on a CCA deck.

 

[wsuffa]

As the others suggested, I also do it myself and save. Bought a power washer a number of years ago for just this purpose.

The sealer is probably $25-$30 a can, you'll need 2-3 cans. It's applied just about the same way is paint. Power wash, then paint the sealer on.

$600 bucks is probably not unreasonable for a metro area if they do a good job. Figure 6 man-hours of labor to do a good job power-washing plus the application of sealer, plus material costs.

 

[woodstock]

he just lowered it to 525. yeah, it's the whole thing - cleaning, sanding, sealing. that includes materials... thanks everyone.

 

[Richard]

You guys....

No one bothered to ask what species of wood. (assuming it is wood)

No one bothered to ask what finish is on there now.

No one bothered to ask if new finish is compatable to existing finish.

No one bothered to ask if the intended finish is compatable with the deck material.

No one bothered to ask what is proper prep for new finish.

And many more Q........


Yes, she'll save some money but it's gonna' take Elizabeth twice as long and it's likely she won't get as nice a job if she doesn't answer all those questions before she does anything. Nice, as in durable without cosmetic blemishes and without compromising structural integrity during the prep. The guy's price to Elizabeth is not composed of just labor & material, there's real knowledge behind all that.

I know, it's only an exterior deck but a job done badly is the basis for comedic movie scripts about homeowners.

My best calls are the ones that start with, "Help, I started a project and now I don't know why I'm having this problem...I have guests coming in 3 days.".

Here's a question just for Elizabeth: hon, if you do use a pressure washer is there adequate drainage for the water so that it does not collect against the structure thereby becoming a source for water damage? Also, is there adequate sunlight and air circ to allow the moisture content to drop into the tolerance as spec'd by the finish mfg?

Also, pressure washers can be very aggressive on wood or other materials. You do need to be cautious that you are not tearing into the wood fibers or forcing water into areas where it doesn't belong, such as under flashing, etc.

 

[Richard]

Another thing...

If I'm paying a guy $15/hr I'm billing $42/hr. My after tax profit hovers 'tween 3 and 11%, mostly around 5, Public Works at 11% if I want to be competitive yet stay in business.

$15/hr will get a guy with 2-5 years experience who doesn't yet own all the tools he should have and he'll need supervision. I pay my top guys $28/hr and I bill $63/hr for them. These are pretty common figures but many larger companies bill way above that for the same wage structure.

That $30/hr Elizabeth mentions implies either the guy works alone with one helpless helper paid maybe $10/hr (young kid, maybe his son); he's doing this as a labor of love because he likes what he does; or he's not an astute businessman. If it takes him 3 days to do this job he has done no better than barely broken even.

 

[woodstock]

I have no idea if he charges 30 an hour, it was a guess. if it takes 5 hours he charges 100 or so an hour.

 

[NC Pilot]

he just lowered it to 525. yeah, it's the whole thing - cleaning, sanding, sealing. that includes materials... thanks everyone.

That actually doesn't sound too awfull bad. If you don't want to do it yourself (and there are a lot of folks that don't) I would say go with this.

What is the contingency plan if the weather turns cold and blustry? Will he keep his price if he gets delayed into the busy season?

 

[wsuffa]

At $525, I'd have him do the work. I pay for yard service; they pressure washed my sidewalks last year - took a full day, and cost me a couple of hundred extra... No sanding, no priming, no sealing involved.

 

[Richard]

I have no idea if he charges 30 an hour, it was a guess. if it takes 5 hours he charges 100 or so an hour.

If it takes 5 hours it's because he knew from experience how to mobilize his assets to git er done. Experience is measured in years and is a tradesman's currency.

 

[Len Lanetti]

Beth,

Personally I don't like the idea of power washing wood.

At the old house I had a cedar deck...an english walnut tree provided shade but the deck needed cleaning every spring...I liked the Thompson's deck wash...I'd brush it on using a stiff brush on a mop handle...work in sections and time how long the wash was on before rinsing well with a garden hose. The secret was leaving the wash on the same amount of time for each section so all the sections were bleached about the same amount. I forget how long I'd leave it on there might have been a suggested time on the container.

I would wait at least a full day so that the deck could dry then I used Thompsons clear deck seal. I tried several application methods but the one that worked best was a 4 inch brush attached via duct tape to a mop handle. Two coats usually did the trick for another year.

The work isn't hard but it does take time to do a large deck. You also have to have 2 or 3 days of good (ie flying) weather.

Len

 

[Henning]

I have no idea if he charges 30 an hour, it was a guess. if it takes 5 hours he charges 100 or so an hour.

It all depends on a bunch of factors Elizabeth. The big wildcard in this bid is "Sanding". I've run century + old wood schooners, and I know about sanding. With railings and posts and all, I cannot see a good sanding job being done for the money being asked, I wouldn't do it. So this leaves to question, "how good is the sanding job?". This leads to the next question "How good does the sanding job need to be?" The job can be done with a highpressure washer (2500psi+) to blast away the oxidized surface layer and then a quick scuff down to knock down the edges the pressure washer caused, then seal it with something like Thompsons Water Sealer. That I could get you for $525. If I was to scrub it with a brush using some lye to clean, fill imperfections, sand smooth and bleach with oxalic acid, then seal and top dress with a few coats of raw and boiled linseed with varying parts of turpentine and parafin, I would have to charge you about $7500. It all depends on the result you are looking for. You can do the easy method yourself. Really you don't necessarily have to sand either, and you can use a Hudson Sprayer (those pump up jugs the bug man uses) to just spray everything with a Thompsons like product after pressure washing. If you own the house, the pressure washer will have future usage value, just don't get one of the little wimpy ones, get one that'll go 2500psi. For the fine finish job, the labor may be a bit to much for you, lots of deck sanding is hard work unless you buy $20,000 of equipment, and then it still ain't easy.

 

[JRitt]

If you power wash the deck make sure you use a low pressure or it will eat into the soft sections of the wood. It could take quite a few hrs to seal if all of the rails and deck are to be done. $525 does not sound like a bad price to drink beer while someone else deals with the mess.

 

[woodstock]

I decided to let the guy do it for 525. now, for the weather to cooperate. I got stuck in Savannah last night...

 

[Len Lanetti]

I would have to charge you about $7500.

Henning,

Jeez. She could get Bob Villa to build her a new deck for that. :<)

Len

 

[NC Pilot]

Henning,

Jeez. She could get Bob Villa to build her a new deck for that. :<)

Len

Nah, he's too busy flying around in his 421.

 

[Henning]

Henning,

Jeez. She could get Bob Villa to build her a new deck for that. :<)

Len

I can build the deck in less than 1/4 the time it would take to do a good finish on it. Building is quick and easy, sanding & finishing is slow and painstaking, especially the railing posts and bottom rail. Then there's also the material to build out of. If you use something good like Purple Heart or Teak, the lumber alone will cost you a couple thousand. Like I said, all depends on the quality you're looking for. If this was less than a $500,000 house, the $525 job should be adequate, on an $11,000,000 house, it most definetly would not be.

 

[Len Lanetti]

If you use something good like Purple Heart or Teak, the lumber alone will cost you a couple thousand.

I loved the cedar deck on my old house but not the work. Next deck I think I'll take a hard look at some of the Trex type products for the flooring.

Len

 

[Richard]

I loved the cedar deck on my old house but not the work. Next deck I think I'll take a hard look at some of the Trex type products for the flooring.

Len

Ewwww! Wash your mouth out, you said Trex.

Ipe is a hardwood from Brazil. Relax, it's sustainable harvested from highly regulated wood farms not the forest. It's mold and fungus resistant and classified as a Class A fire proof material which means the fire marshall and your ins company will love you for using Ipe. It looks like rosewood and has beautiful color and tight grain. Did I mention it's beautiful? It will take a stain and the grain just glows! It's all straight grain, free from knots and won't splinter. It will out last your grandkids. It costs less than or equal to Trex or similar products for a much superior product.

 

[Dave Krall CFII]

I decided to let the guy do it for 525. now, for the weather to cooperate. I got stuck in Savannah last night...

I'd sure want a string of dry, warm days for the covered finish to penetrate & cure unless there's some new product out there that doesn't require those conditions. I hate finish work in winter.

 

[Henning]

I loved the cedar deck on my old house but not the work. Next deck I think I'll take a hard look at some of the Trex type products for the flooring.

Len

I've got no real problem with synthetics, but there are much better woods to use than cedar. Like I said, all depends on what you're looking for. Me, If I was building a deck, I'd build in Purple Heart or concrete, probably both.

 

[Len Lanetti]

If I was building a deck, I'd build in Purple Heart or concrete, probably both.

Current house came with a concrete patio abutting a deck made of some kind of pressure treated wood. Both look like crap. To be remedied when cash flow permits.

Len

 

[Henning]

Current house came with a concrete patio abutting a deck made of some kind of pressure treated wood. Both look like crap. To be remedied when cash flow permits.

Len

I always find it amazing that contractors can take perfectly good material and waste them with a bad design.

 

[wsuffa]

I always find it amazing that contractors can take perfectly good material and waste them with a bad design.

I can guarantee you that it's not always the fault of a contractor....

 

[Henning]

I can guarantee you that it's not always the fault of a contractor....

No, that's true enough. At that point it's the contractors job to tell the owner/architect they have lost their minds and you require a release of liability from the ugliness of the thing you're about to build. Typically a good contractor will talk an owner out of a bad design.

 

[woodstock]

My Dad built mine and he did a great job. it's big and fairly basic - no stairs or anything. but still nice.

 

[wsuffa]

No, that's true enough. At that point it's the contractors job to tell the owner/architect they have lost their minds and you require a release of liability from the ugliness of the thing you're about to build. Typically a good contractor will talk an owner out of a bad design.

I've seen ones that have been owner-built, after said owner took a 1 hour course at Home Depot. Lucky they dont' collapse....

I've built one, it came out very nice, but a lot of sweat that went into it (got compliments from the buyer of the house).

 

[woodstock]

Finally had decent weather! He came by yesterday and power washed and sanded it. In a few days he will come by and seal it. It looks great, much better than if I had done it by far, and it's worth every penny of the 525 he is charging.

 

[Sonar5]

Here is my Old one when I lived in Illinois. I used to power wash it and seal it every two years with Thomson's.

Built it myself along with my brother.