CWF application techniques

I have a customer that is insistant on applying CWF on his deck. I have never put it on before and I am a little nervous about what it will look like. I will be applying it with a roller and brush. He painted the railings with latex, so those aren't an issue. Another issue that I have is that he has powerwashed the deck himself, pressure only. It doesn't look that bad, but not that great either. It does have some furring and zebra stripes, but he is insistant that it doesn't need to be cleaned again. 50-55 degrees will be the high temp when doing this job. My biggest concern is lap marks while staining. I normally wouldn't take this job, but his son is doing this as a Christmas gift and he has assured me that he will make it worth my time. 5 gallons enough for 800 square feet? Do I need to make sure that I don't get any CWF on areas that are drying/have dried? Thanks for your help in advance.

Food for Thought...

It may be a matter of pride to the customer if you do it over, he thinks he did a good job. By doing it over you are telling him he didn't do a good job. You should try to manage this perception tactfully. Why not give him a written text of the proper way to prepare a deck, there are many areas on these bbs and on the net to get that info and present it to him.

I won't do ANY wood job when some body else Pressure washed it because I can't be responsible for their methods and procedures. I would go the other way and prepare it for them to seal or stain it.

Another problem is when you do this job you are putting your name on it. If anything goes wrong with the job other folks and maybe even the people you do the job for are going to blame you or worse , people see you do the job and six months later it doesn't look up to par, some folks might just remember you or your sign and think that is the kind of work you do and never call you. I wouldn't want anyone saying;
Guest- "What happened to you deck?"
Owner- " I do't know."
Guest- " Who did it ?"
Owner- " ABC Company"

Now ask yourself it was worth it? Only my opinion but I hope it helps. By the way I would never use a roller. Try brush or lambs wool. Also, you shouldn't have lap marks if you go board by board not in sections.

Worth your while???? I don't think so. Get a price before you do the job, don't trust them to "be fair" with you. They may think "being fair" would be to give you $35 an hour, of which you'd probably bring home about $8 or $10. This whole scenario sounds shady to me, unless you are desparate for the work, I believe i'd pass on the whole sha-bang.

jon

I agree, this says pass all over it. Nothing in writing on price and you didn't wash it and homeowner won't let you, I say pass, don't let this come back and bite you in the a$$.

I fourth that notion..... we have been asked to seal someone elses prep work before and simply tell them we don't offer that due to the same reasons everett offered.

Spell the process out for them...

We require it be cleaned with a percarb to kill off any residual mold or mildew. A treatment with a brightening acid is necessary to condition the wood and allow for better penetration and uniform application. A borate is applied to treat for insects and offer an additional mildewcide...yada yada yada. Make him aware of the importance of these steps and he might think twice about his prep work.

CWF is a very picky product.. roller would not be the way to go here. The product laps extremely easy so I think your going to be stuck brushing this one.

Take Care.. if you have any questions feel free to call or email me.

Greg Rentschler
TimberSeal, Inc.
866-WOOD-CARE

Ditto to the above, but I'll add the fact that you have to worry about your overnight temps in addition to day time.........I believe after you apply it, it needs to remain over a certain temperature outside for 24, 36, hours or whatever.............ask the manufacturer or try their website if you care to proceed.

Thanks for all the great insight folks. I guess I'll have to pass on this one. He wants it done by Christmas, but I told him it's very difficult to get enough good weather days together this time of year.

Here's an idea, you said it would be a Christmas present for someone, right? Why don't you tell this guy to buy a gift certificate from you for the amount of washing and sealing and you can let him give the gift cert. as the gift on Christmas. You can then explain that you will do the job as soon as the weather breaks in the spring and also let him know that it will have to be cleaned again anyway by that time. You don't hurt his feelings and you also do the job complete. You could just print up a gift cert. in word or something. Hope this helps. Should be a win/win situation.

I'd have to pass too. When that sealant fails he will blame you not the ill prepared deck and ruin your reputation in his area if he talks to the neighbors alot. But before you give up on the job get some literture on the importance of deck prep and let him read it. If you educate him maybe he will be more open tp your suggestions. Also you can tell him to read up on the matter himself at www.deckguide.com great site for wood care for the contractor and homeowner alike. I get alot of my customers to take a look. Helping them to educate themselves helps to build a strong bond betwween you and them and lets them know you care about more than their money.

Good Luck

Hey folks, Extreme may have something there. Gift Certificates. That could really work out if done correctly. Offer it as a 20% discount off the full price, or have the customer pay for it up front and give it as a gift that way.

Great Idea Extreme.

Reed

Thanks Reedstr. I was thinking about doing some advertising for the gift certs. to be used for X-Mas presents but I haven't gotten to it yet and I think it is a little late for that now. I will be running the gift cert. thing for now on in all of my ads. I will let you know how it works out. If anyone else would try it, please let us know how it worked for you.