Cedar Springs

Looking forward to see what blogging has to offer. I'll try to post pics, tricks and tips at install and interesting articles.

Cheers!

Ok I have to admit it took a little time to figure out how to enter another blog post. I'm better with a measuring tape honest :)

So in my efforts to make my website more effective in reaching new clients, I have discovered several forums and met many friendly people in the same business as I am. I've learned a lot such as SEO, twitter, facebook fan pages, and certain keywords can do for you. I've also discovered a downside to my website. My website is flash based therefore google and other search engines can only pick up on certain text based items. So like my business is my website in the sense that I created it myself with the help of experienced people to guide me through.

So its at this time that I have to thank my dad Frank. My dad never graduated grade school but you would never know it.  His construction backround and teachings have luckily flowed through me. The man has built and renovated homes fabricated kitchen cabinets & worked with my company to get us going. I call on him when ever I come across something out of the ordinary or when ever he wants to help. To many more jobs together my friend!

I think the spirit of the blog is to tell a story, rate a product and share information. I will take turns in writing my blogs with this critieria as the frame work.

Thats all I have for now.

Sal

I was recently forwarded a video where a roofing company was contracted to build a deck. That should be red flag. Its roofing company not a deck contractor or even a general contractor. By the description on the company website it appears they worked on the site on a roofing job and the customer was happy with the roof work. And it probably was a good job because a roofing company stuck to their speciality...roofing. Chances are that the home owner called this company to see if they can install a roof top deck and didn't bother quoting out to others or this roofing company was really cheap. Its companies like these whom lack experience and bid low that we have to compete with. Sometimes we get the job because the customer asks enough questions to know what they are NOT getting from the lowest quote. Unfortunately most customers focus too much on the cost and not quality of the build and bill of materials. Its the later customer who end up paying twice in the end. When issues arise with the deck, fence or other structure the contractor is no longer available and we get called to fix the problem. Most of the time it involves a complete tear down and rebuild, its unfortunate and sometimes very dangerous.

My moto is stick what you know and be the best at it. If you are the best you will never be short of work in your trade.

Some of things I found wroung with the build was the following:

2x4s used as structure, foam placed between the posts and the roof should have been tied to the structure. No lag bolts used, The posts were screwed to the beams not lagged. None of the "beams" were doubled up.

The moto of this story...please don't focus soley on the price, know what you are getting for your money and watch the progress of the build if you see something wrong raise the red flag!

So as discussed in an earlier blog I will swtich the topics up every post. So now I'm writting about staining your deck.

Wood decks require maintenance because of their constant exposure to the weather. What makes the beating they get even worse is that the deck is horizontally exposed to the weather so unlike your fence, water, snow and solar ultraviolet light beat down directly on the deck's surface all year long, and water does not run off. It is no wonder that the deck surface must be maintained every 1 to 3 years depending on the situation and products used. Also foot traffic will wear areas quicker as well. You may not notice it at first but over time a path will wear through the layer of stain. You will think to yourself oh ya I do always take that way to the pool, or that side of the stairs.

Before staining the deck surfaces must be cleaned, we use a power washer with a lower psi. Something like1500psi. And keep the spray safely away. If you get to close to the wood you will actually shave a layer off the surface will feel "fuzzy".

So my method to stain is to start with the obvious. The highest part. If you have a pergola or hand rails start with them first then move down to the decking. This way any drips will fall on unstained wood and you can wipe it off without marking up a finish. You want to always position yourself such that you are always on the to be stain wood. Before you start pick a good brush. Like a good deck & fence contractor you get what you pay for when choosing a brush. Use a high quality natural china bristle brush nothing else. When staining, you'll want to maintain a wet edge so as to provide a smooth blended stain appearance without dark spots from overlap. To maintain a wet edge just brush the stain into the wet area and blend by back brushing

Once the hand rails are done proceed to the spindles if you have wooded ones. Make sure to get the corners of all underside areas and places you cannot easily see. These areas will become very visible from the outside of the deck area especially if you have an elevated deck. This attention to detail is all part of doing a good job and it's much easier now, than touching up after the project is done. {C}

Next is the deck surface itself. This is the largest part of the deck and the most time consuming. It can be done several ways. Some people use a sprayer which is fine however you will have to cover up anything near by. With slight wind changes over spray can easily make it ways onto the home and windows. Then there is the brush and roller method. First take the brush and stain between the boards, then use a roller to stain the top of the deck boards. The final method is using a stain pad. The pad from a speed perspective is not as fast spraying but much quicker than the brush and roller method. From a quality finish perspective its much better and safer than spraying and once you get the hang of the pad you can reach the edges between the deck boards. So that's it pick a colour and a full free weekend and have fun! Remember if you want your deck stained by a professional call us. 519-817-4318