Madison back at Donner Lake. June 08′
some are big some are little
some form on the end some form in the middle
After all these years, I have to give a shout out to all the Santa Cruz County residents/clients that decided it was time to clean up and fully utilize their Concrete Side Yards. What is a Concrete Side Yard? It is either one side, or both sides of your house(usually just one) that houses(pun) your three trash cans, BBQ’s, gardening junk, rusty ten speeds, opened up potting soil, surf and boogie boards, and a ton of other crap. The concrete is usually pretty dank because it gets limited sun, and is disgusting because it never gets any love. I have more to say about Concrete Side Yards, but I’ll save it for a rainy day…..
1800 PSI on this three year old flat to semi-pitched roof in Santa Cruz. This one story beach style home is situated beneath Eucalyptus trees. There are no gutters on this home…just spouts. The spouts(and there are several) begin as small holes within the “rubberized” roofing material itself. Most flat style homes use this design. Typically they are useless because if the roof is flat…..well then it’s flat. Water won’t run uphill and it won’t run without a hill. I know the roofing material companies these days claim these roofing materials are designed and built to hold standing water and debris etc.. I don’t doubt that whatsoever.. But what about the odor and infestation that begins to occur during that water and debris gathering process that, if left too long, can gag a maggot? Huh Mr. Roof Salesman?? Bottom Line..Do yourself and your neighbors a favor and keep it clean, or have someone keep it clean for you. We’ll leave a light on for you..
I was going for a bench before and after even though the after isn’t really a true after because the stain is still wet there. Plus the pictures are at different zoom levels. I wasn’t going to post such amateur art.
I couldn’t put my finger on why these pictures appeared so different until I realized it was the cleaned concrete aggregate that made picture two seem so different than its counterpart.
With the magical appearance of the BBQ, I had myself a legitimate before and after.
Mothers Day Special 2008, Aptos, California. BBQ season is open!! Clean Concrete IS GOOD.
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…
We wash a lot of homes in Santa Cruz County! Three stories cost more than two stories which cost more than 900 s/f beach houses. Whatever the size or the square footage, having the exterior of your home carefully washed is a wonderful way to go.
Very important to keep the runway free and clear of debris.
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!!
I encounter my fair share of dogs. Thankfully, I am a bit of a dog whisperer. For example, this old cat saved this old dogs life a long, long time ago. Besides giving up her bed, this here dog has since spent the last 12 years offering the cat the protection it earned once upon a lifetime ago. Notice my progress with Suzy the dog:
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…
Biowash Natural Deck Oil(Cedar Tone) on this Santa Cruz Shingled Home off 26th Ave. The shingles on the South and East facing sides of this gingerbread house will need another coat in about a year AND need much more regular maintenance. The front of this home faces due South and gets a ton of sun all day long. The other two sides of the home are good to go for many, many years.
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!!!
…you get the idea
