These stained boards up against the house are dry. As always, Biowash Natural Deck Oil. The color is a private blend of X % Redwood, Y % Natural, Z % Cedar.

These boards were stained the day prior to this picture. This particular back deck is about six years old and is located in Aptos California off Clubhouse Dr. I think it’s about 10am with flat light. Gorgeous right??

This was a gutter AND a deck project in the Seascape area of Santa Cruz. These are before and after the cleaning only. I like these pictures because they showcase a situation that I see quite frequently which is damage that occurs to wood boards when pots or wood piles or small trees, or the like are left directly on the deck over time. It turns into sow bug and termite central.  Not good!

The moral to the story is to keep things UP off the deck, AND also move things around from time to time…especially big potted plants that get watered often. As you can see from the square marks on each side of the foot of this bench, this was a potential disaster waiting to happen to this beautiful deck. Luckily it was caught in time. I suggested putting their boxed lemon trees on sturdy rollers, and for a year or so..moving them to a different place on the deck.

some are big some are little

some form on the end some form in the middle

As it stands now, I have stained this deck just 2x, the first time being April 2007. I believe the deck was built in the fall of 2006. I advised the client to wait until spring to wash and stain for the first time. I don’t have pictures from that day, but here is how it looks in April 2008 after a quick stain job. My next bit of advice for this sweet lady in Aptos was to call me again in October and I will throw another coat of Biowash Natural Oil on it for $50. The key to brand new decks is to let them age a bit before showering them with love. It’s all about the love!!

This is a front porch in Capitola off 41st Ave. Evening sun only. This deck obviously had a planter of some sort on it for many, many years.  Before having me out,(as you can see) they had this area reinforced.  No wood needed to be replaced.

By 2010, providing the homeowner keeps this area free n’ clear AND has it professionally maintained, you won’t even see the planter mark. True Stories…

This old deck which is located way up in Nisene Marks somewhere needed a real expert.  This deck is in upwards of 25 years old with minimal sun exposure.  These three pictures comprise the wash cycle only.  The last picture is merely a clean, wet deck.  The final step was of course to cover the deck flooring with Biowash Natural Deck Oil and for the rails we decided on a Semi-Solid stain by Cabot.  It turned out just beautiful!!  If I only could have convinced the client to give her entire house a bath as well. 🙂

Water will bead on newly stained wood boards. This phoenomenon will not last forever on a very exposed deck.  By exposed I am referring to decks that get a real good amount of hot sun on a daily basis, AND/OR decks that are susceptible to lots of rain with perhaps limited or no drying times in between.  The water beading in these pics are from a transparent stain job four years ago. This happens to be a covered porch area, protected from sun and rain!!

Read the rest of this entry »

I liked how these shots turned out.  The sun was directly behind me @ around 4pm.  If you have a recently built deck(within 5 years or so…) that has NEVER EVER been stained or sealed since being first built, the first picture you see will give you a real close idea as to what the rails will look like after being stained with Biowash Natural Deck Oil(Redwood Tone)

The closeup shot shows big fresh beads of water on this newly renovated decking rail in Aptos, Ca.  It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing!!  You should try it!!

I think this was the project that ruined my camera. I was like 18 ft up on a ladder with the wand in one hand and the camera in the other. I wanted the before and after and my camera paid the price for it. Better it than me!

Rails will typically be stained prior to flooring…

I thought I was finished cleaning this 1700 square foot deck in Scotts Valley when it dawned on me that to properly make this deck right for the client, I would have to cut back the hedges that were growing over the remaining two feet of boards.  I normally ask the client to clear the deck and cut back any flowers, shrubs, or the like.  In this case I forgot, but in the true spirit of fair business practice, I made it right.  I DON’T DO WINDOWS THOUGH!!! 

…when the deck looks somewhat like this.  Stripping existing materials is time consuming and environmentally disruptive.  Although a quality transparent stain is usually the material of choice, if the deck has an existing solid stain or paint on it already, the most cost effective and environmentally sound approach is to wash and re-apply a “water-based” solid color decking stain.  This particular run-down, two-tone deck on the upper West-Side of SC was in desperate need of a face lift before being put on the market for sale.  Mas mejor!

..it’s a common theme

 

This one took several passes..

This deck railing is about five years old.  It is located in the Carbonera area of Santa Cruz.  It receives about ten hours of sun per day in the summer time.  No stain yet on these rails, just looking cherry from being recently washed and still wet. What a difference a little love can make…

There’s nothing you can do that can’t be done.
Nothing you can sing that can’t be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It’s easy……………….

I like this series of pictures because it shows something that is very, very important!!  The picture on the far left is obviously a “before shot”. However…had I not washed and stained this very deck two years prior, the before shot would look much, much different than it does here. The boards would most likely be heavily greyed in color taking on a very weathered look.  Instead, albeit dirty and riddled with bird shit, they aren’t grey or weathered whatsoever which really says alot about this quality staining job.  The rest of the pictures in this series kind of speak for themselves.  It’s rare that I get a fully cured “after shot”.  Nice color huh?

Although these Scotts Valley residents were thrilled with the end result,  I felt a bit differently with this 500 s/f deck.  There was definitely a night & day difference after it was finished, it’s just that  sometimes a deck needs a couple of years of good old fashioned TLC before it finds its groove for the long haul.  This was one of those decks.  It was fairly new construction.  It was neglected.  It was built in several stages.  It had fading material on parts of it.  We definitely got it going in the right direction.

Santa Cruz pressure wash Santa Cruz pressure wash Santa Cruz pressure wash san sant sa ss Santa Cruz, Soquel, aptos, capitola, live oak, San Jose Soquel avenue hwy 17