Two First Deck Biddings

tcolborg

tcolborg

New member
I was sent two deck referrals today from Matt at Colorado ProWash, thanks for helping a new guy out, and would like some input.

The first one is about 650sqft, 30lf of railing, and one step all the way around (just going to add sqft from this in). The deck was built in two phases 1981 and 2001, and has been sealed here and there. It gets a lot of wear and tear from 3 dogs. The deck has a solid stain on it that is peeling and the customer said it is Behr. I have read on here to use a solvent based striper that also has caustic soda in it. Any recommendations on this? I also know that I may also have to sand down the floor and railings to get it all removed. After I strip I will use Oxalic to brighten and neutralize. Lastly I will use Ready Seal for the stain and sealer. Just looking for advice and insight you guys have. I was looking at being in the $3-$4sqft range that includes supplies, sanding, staining, and labor is that to high?

Second deck is similar situation, but this customer just had it done. The company he used did a solid color and he didn't want that. He has called to get it fixed but they haven't been returning his calls. I think the rest of it is the same as above except for the size.
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Here is the deck 2 pictures


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Both are extremely difficult strips. Is the first photos of a cedar deck? If you get it right and take your time to learn use these decks as a starting point .
 
Diamond Jim said:
Both are extremely difficult strips. Is the first photos of a cedar deck? If you get it right and take your time to learn use these decks as a starting point .
Click to expand...

Yeah I knew they would be difficult to strip. I have heard Everett on here saying he has had luck getting 90% of solid colors off with a striper he used. I also knew I would have to sand them some too. What do you think on my pricing?

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Just did one this week very similar to what you have here. It was about 600 square feet with no railings. It had 3 coats, which is typical for homeowners, a transparent, a semi, and then Behr. Used Strip It solvent based stripper applied at 3pm and then put a tarp over the entire deck. Went back at 8am the next morning and removed everything to about 90 percent or a little better. Went over it with a floor sander real quick, about an hour and we are staining it on Wednesday. I charged $2.50/sq.ft. If there were railings I would have charged more or given an option of two-tone. In regards to sanding we do the entire deck for consistency. You do not want to spot sand the floor or you will have an inconsistent result where you sand and where you do not. After we sand we do not stain immediately because the wood is somewhat smoother and should be allowed to "weather" for about 5-7 day so the cells of the wood open back up and are more receptive to staining..Sometimes you can not go back to a transparent, sometimes you need a a semi-transparent or what I do is intermix a semi-transparent to a transparent usually at a 50/50 mix.
 
Boy your jumping in the deep end quick! I think you'll find most that bid and complete these type of projects learn quickly that they underbid and underestimate whats involved. If you've never stripped a solid I would recommend doing a test area before throwing out a solid bid. We have a finish remover made for us that works awesome on solids but they generally still need sanded out after the strip. It ALWAYS better to sand wood than finish so see to it that your able to strip 95% + of the finish off even if you have to restrip. Good luck.
 
I just got two small jobs 400 sqftage (2k) and a 300 sqftage (1.5k) both suck and were priced not to recieve. Both just floors and top of rail.
 
Everett Abrams said:
Just did one this week very similar to what you have here. It was about 600 square feet with no railings. It had 3 coats, which is typical for homeowners, a transparent, a semi, and then Behr. Used Strip It solvent based stripper applied at 3pm and then put a tarp over the entire deck. Went back at 8am the next morning and removed everything to about 90 percent or a little better. Went over it with a floor sander real quick, about an hour and we are staining it on Wednesday. I charged $2.50/sq.ft. If there were railings I would have charged more or given an option of two-tone. In regards to sanding we do the entire deck for consistency. You do not want to spot sand the floor or you will have an inconsistent result where you sand and where you do not. After we sand we do not stain immediately because the wood is somewhat smoother and should be allowed to "weather" for about 5-7 day so the cells of the wood open back up and are more receptive to staining..Sometimes you can not go back to a transparent, sometimes you need a a semi-transparent or what I do is intermix a semi-transparent to a transparent usually at a 50/50 mix.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the insight here Everett and I think that is a good idea letting dwell overnight. Where do you get the Strip It solvent stripper from? Also you price was that included supplies in there or was that a sperate line item?

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Greg Rentschler said:
Boy your jumping in the deep end quick! I think you'll find most that bid and complete these type of projects learn quickly that they underbid and underestimate whats involved. If you've never stripped a solid I would recommend doing a test area before throwing out a solid bid. We have a finish remover made for us that works awesome on solids but they generally still need sanded out after the strip. It ALWAYS better to sand wood than finish so see to it that your able to strip 95% + of the finish off even if you have to restrip. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yeah we are jumping in quick who knows we may bid it and the homeowner may pass. If not then guess it will be a good learning experience.

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Diamond Jim said:
I just got two small jobs 400 sqftage (2k) and a 300 sqftage (1.5k) both suck and were priced not to recieve. Both just floors and top of rail.
Click to expand...

So are you saying that you bid them high thinking you wouldn't get them, but you did?

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In your area try Peel Away or Smart Strip, I know Sherwin Williams carries it. It is expensive so ask for a contractor price and it should save you a few bucks. If you charge $3-$4/sq.ft. you will not get hurt the issue is will a homeowner pay for it. Basically, I tell them that they pay one time this price to fix it and then we maintain it at the "normal" price. I also tell them that we are fixing 6 years or whatever it is of mistakes and going the cheap route anyway. If all else fail we two tone with a solid on vertical and the natural or intermix on the horizontals. To get this price per square foot you have to be able to justify your procedures and why as well as sell it to them. Eye contact, knowledge, credibility, and references may all factor into this, remember what Greg R. said because someone will lowball these jobs because they do not know any better.
 
Everett Abrams said:
In your area try Peel Away or Smart Strip, I know Sherwin Williams carries it. It is expensive so ask for a contractor price and it should save you a few bucks. If you charge $3-$4/sq.ft. you will not get hurt the issue is will a homeowner pay for it. Basically, I tell them that they pay one time this price to fix it and then we maintain it at the "normal" price. I also tell them that we are fixing 6 years or whatever it is of mistakes and going the cheap route anyway. If all else fail we two tone with a solid on vertical and the natural or intermix on the horizontals. To get this price per square foot you have to be able to justify your procedures and why as well as sell it to them. Eye contact, knowledge, credibility, and references may all factor into this, remember what Greg R. said because someone will lowball these jobs because they do not know any better.
Click to expand...

Everett you prefer this over doing a mixture of like caustic and butyl?

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