Pricing help

JDhomeservices

JDhomeservices

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What do you guys think? Strip and re-seal. I have no idea how long this will take me or how much product I will need. Wood decks were pretty rare in Florida, but everyone up here in North Carolina seems to have them. I'm going to have to learn how to do this some time.


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Hi josh
Working with wood is totally different than pressure washing. I am far from an expert and not real confident doing this type of work. You might try teaming up with someone who will teach you how to do this work properly. If not done right you could end up stripping it and doing it all over again. Learning on someone's deck could be risky. Learn from a pro and learn how to do it right. just my opinion.
 
Just food for thought, but why not sub it out to someone who's in that line of work that is willing to teach you the basics?

Hmmmm... seems Mark beat me to the idea. lol
 
Did they tell you what the stain was? Kinda looks like behr that could be tough but then again looks old enough where stripping it might not be too bad. It's always best to do a test spot to see what you up against to clean.

Pricing would depend on your material cost of what stain you are going to use. I would think that deck would take between 5-10 gallons of a semi transparent stain.

If it was me I would bid at least 1K or more depending how the test spot comes off.

Do you keep sodium hydroxide and Oxalic on hand?
 
Seymore_BlEaCh said:
Did they tell you what the stain was? Kinda looks like behr that could be tough but then again looks old enough where stripping it might not be too bad. It's always best to do a test spot to see what you up against to clean.

Pricing would depend on your material cost of what stain you are going to use. I would think that deck would take between 5-10 gallons of a semi transparent stain.

If it was me I would bid at least 1K or more depending how the test spot comes off.

Do you keep sodium hydroxide and Oxalic on hand?
Click to expand...

You're right. He did say he got it at Home Depot. He didn't say what the brand was though. Believe it or not, he said it has only been on there for about 7 months.

I do always have bleach with me. I usually have some oxalic acid with me also.

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Well unless you are using the same stain you would need to strip using sodium hydroxide and brighten.
 
tape, plastic, 50 grit sand paper, sanders, brushes for spindles. 9 or 12 inch pad for floor, stain, oxalic, sodium hydroxide, protect the house and plants from chemicals and stain. 3 hours to strip and brighten, 6 hours to sand and stain. $80 dollars for sand paper, chems, plastic, brushes etc. $300 for stain. $900.00 for labor. total price $ $1300.00
 
Yeah looks like an "oil" based product with alkyd in it, not the easiest to strip but doable. Sodium hydroxide is different than bleach, not sure if you caught that. We like F18 from pressure tek followed by a citric/oxalic britener/neutraliser. I personally like to xjet the stripper on cause its crazy fast but you need almost full hazmat gear and prewet surrounding siding and plants. Plus if you need a stronger mix of stripper you might need to apply it straight with a pump up or 12v sprayer. I think its pretty common to develop a love/hate relationship with wood restoration if you get into alot of these. Good money, but hard work and very weather sensitive. I'd probably charge around 1500 for that deck.
 
Oh yeah. I saw Shane say sodium hydroxide and for some reason I thought sodium hypochlorite. Thanks for the advice though guys. I appreciate it. How do you go about figuring out how much stain you're going to need? It's hard to calculate square footage with all the rails and stairs and stuff.

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I would say that's about 5 to 7 gallons. because of the free shipping with Armstrong Clarks 5 gallon pails I can usually get the homeowner to buy the other 3 gallons. so if I say to them it will need 7 gallons I get them to buy 10. if its sealed up real good it will keep for a few years so they can keep the other three gallons for the next recoat. after time you will be able to get a good grip on what the decks will use. factors such as age, condition, type, and location can dictate how much you will use. You can use whatever brand you want but I personally use A/C. and Ready Seal. It is easier for me to use one of these rather then a whole assortment. They are very easy to use and work just as good if not better than anything out there.
 
I am just assuming this deck is 14 X 14 and then add square footage for steps and railings and I get approx. 600 total square ft. (just guessing) It is important to get square footage for two reasons, one for pricing and one to figure out quantity of sealer or stain is needed. I would then figure out what to charge for what is needed for the job, in this case it is definitely sodium hydroxide stripper with a dwell time of 30 minutes to an hour to effectively remove Behr products, keep it misted and wet the whole time. After stripping brighten with an oxalic brightener. You should effectively remove at least 90% of the old product. Sand the remaining 10% or less when you come back as necessary. When you try to remove 100% of Behr off with the pressure washer you most often are too close and tearing up the wood. Rely on dwell time and not pressure. I would charge $2.00/sq.ft on this and get $1200.00. I then look at extra time to complete this job and in looking at this I know Behr isn't easy and it will take longer dwell time as well as ladder work since I doubt you can get to the top rail from the ground. Anytime I have to go up and down a ladder even if it is just two rungs I know it will take a little longer. With those factors I would assume at least 2 more hours of work over an average deck @ $100/hour (some call this the PITA Factor). $1200.00 + $200.00 = $1400.00 for this job. Don't know pricing down there but that is what I would get for this job in Southern Jersey. In any event you see how I come up with the price. In regards to the coating always look at the yield and figure how many square feet per gallon the product states and then adjust for things like new wood or old wood. In this scenario if my yield was 150 sq.ft./gal, I would need 4 gallons. Since that is so close I would be sure to have 5 gallons and leave a little for the customer. I do in case they scratch it or need some for a touch up down the road, just a nice touch. I actually buy pint cans and give them a "free" pint at the end.
 
+1
Not a hard strip with the right materials.
10 hr. project.
Whatever the stain is, it's old and failed at this point. It should come off pretty easy with hydrox / surf. / and 800 psi.
It looks like a good trainer deck to cut your teeth on. Nice open footprint and pretty straight shot for the stairs.

Wood is fun man. Once you get a few of these under your belt it will be old hat for you.
 
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