SOFT washing CEDAR roofs "a pack mentality"

Excellent post Bruce and I have always agreed with the phrase "agree to disagree" and when working for a customer they are ultimately the "boss" in most situations. If knowledge serves me right I believe there is a bigger issue than the statements we are all making. There are organizations and associations that put out recommendations that we all have to deal with and some of them are, in my opinion, incorrect. Ed Burke of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association and the Association itself do not recommend pressure washing cedar because of all the damage they see from the use of this equipment. Sam Williams of the Forest Products Lab always believed there should be paper written with pressure washing guidelines for wood. What most people do not realize is that it is not the PSI from the machine that should be used in "rinsing" wood. Usually it is the wood professional using a pressure washer that actually has 3 or more white tips with larger orifices to reduce pressure. Wood guys have been soft washing for years this way and really only use the pressure washer to rinse with and to save time rather than using a garden hose (though we do use these when needed too). Now, again from knowledge I do believe that it is the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau that recommend a coating after cleaning or pressure washing a cedar shake roof. So while I understand that cleaning will make it look better and if done correctly will in fact extend the life of the shakes, how do you get around the recommendation the the Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau just as we do regarding pressure washing cedar siding and the recommendation of the Western Red Cedar Lumber Association? I do it through literature I give to my customers and by informing them when I speak with them as well regarding our companies techniques and processes.
 
I talked to Everett the other day and he and I are willing to do any panel discussion concerning wood . The effects of soft washing cedar shakes with bleach. . So the March NJ round table wood be good ? Just e-mail or any wood info.

As I approach this subject in more detail I guess i need to lay more of a foundation to my expertise with cedar ,wood and pressure cleaning because i've been laying low over the last 5 years. Wood in general has declined in our industry. Those who do it have a great niche. Ive been doing it for 20 years along with pressure cleaning, roof cleaning and stone cleaning. Started window cleaning 30 years ago.

Was feature in Cleaner Times in 2008 for a job I did in 2005. The article was solving problems with Cedar Shakes. I started taking care of the property in 2002 solving the deck problems. The house was all new from a complete restoration I think in 1999. The whole house was bleached every year until 2003. From the bleaching of the shakes the moisture went right through to the back of the shake. I still had to use bleach to get rid of the mold because it was the only solution to reach the back of the cedar. Including the decks about a 100 gallons of oil was used. The oil re bulked the wood fibers like it was a tree !! This past year was the third time I oiled the siding . !5 gallons was used !! The house got pretty beat up from 2 hurricanes but still no shakes replaced.
 

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I talked to Everett the other day and he and I are willing to do any panel discussion concerning wood . The effects of soft washing cedar shakes with bleach. . So the March NJ round table wood be good ? Just e-mail or any wood info.

As I approach this subject in more detail I guess i need to lay more of a foundation to my expertise with cedar ,wood and pressure cleaning because i've been laying low over the last 5 years. Wood in general has declined in our industry. Those who do it have a great niche. Ive been doing it for 20 years along with pressure cleaning, roof cleaning and stone cleaning. Started window cleaning 30 years ago.

Was feature in Cleaner Times in 2008 for a job I did in 2005. The article was solving problems with Cedar Shakes. I started taking care of the property in 2002 solving the deck problems. The house was all new from a complete restoration I think in 1999. The whole house was bleached every year until 2003. From the bleaching of the shakes the moisture went right through to the back of the shake. I still had to use bleach to get rid of the mold because it was the only solution to reach the back of the cedar. Including the decks about a 100 gallons of oil was used. The oil re bulked the wood fibers like it was a tree !! This past year was the third time I oiled the siding . !5 gallons was used !! The house got pretty beat up from 2 hurricanes but still no shakes replaced.

Nice article Mr. BDA president!
 
No matter the forum I think it would be productive to have a conversation on Cleaning vs. Restoration regarding these type of projects. I think New Jersey is going to be a great event and I am looking forward to meeting and talking to quite few people from the industry.
 
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