An excerpt from an email...


"Prior to the work done by Pressure Pros, the deck was solid - no creaking, minimal gaps between the deck boards, and smooth, solid board surfaces. After the job was completed, the entire deck creaks, the surface of the boards is rough (possibly from sanding or powerwashing), has developed cracks in some areas (both at the ends and in some cases in the middle), there is warping and cupping, and gaps have developed where the boards shrank significantly."

This was ipe deck #200+. Cabot's ATO, sodium hydroxide strip, brighten, application of Armstrong semi trans.

Deck was exposed all winter. You gotta love some people. How would you handle this?

That's a tough one. Problem is when a customer thinks he is correct it is hard to explain otherwise.

Have you seen it?

PressurePros wrote:


Ken,

Sorry for the pun but this statement "cracks" me up. It would take Chuck Norris and a sledgehammer to purposely crack ipe'.

Was this fairly new ipe'? If so, hairline cracking and cupping is entirely normal as the wood ages and dries out. In particular, 1" or 5/4" x 6" deck boards are susceptible. It is normal aging of the ipe', especially if it was not properly kiln dried stock prior to installation.

Yes, Scott. I looked at it a month ago. A newer crew leader had flash drying issues with the A/C and I agreed to fix the finish. They told me to wait until their house was painted. This was the first follow up email I received.

We washed with 800 psi, no sanding, deck was not even furry. The deck was stained when new (fall 2009) with Cabot's ATO which was completely failed by, I'm guessing, December. We then had multiple snow storms tallying nearly 60" and that snow sat on everyone's decks for months.

Ken , I feel your pain at the moment. Upe' people fit into a couple of categories . Group one- Told it can be maintained and look like a dinning room finish all the time and unhappy all the time! Pissed they paid a fortune for something that will not last and looking for a scape goat !!!! These are the most troublesome people unless you meet them in year 6. Group two- Tried to finish there own deck 2 or three times in the first two years and failed. Turn into good customers ! Group three-the ones who have done a ton of reading on the subject. These can be great or suck. The Ones who suck still don't get it!. Group four- Bought the wood for its longevity and easy care and don't care if it goes grey. Best customers !!

I am involve presently in a nightmare situation . I was called into a problem deck. The deck is three years old western red cedar Number one clear. The home owners were ready to bring a suit against the builder ( not his fault). The deck had been sealed 3 times already. The last guy spent 100 hour trying to remedy the situation and failed. He did not accept any payment. I did a test spot and found two finishes. I noticed some real dark areas ( too much product) and some grinding marks in some areas. Gave a high price and prepared them that the wood wood probably not take a finish very well when we get back to bare wood. The whole New Cedar thing I know about. I get the job. Did I say high price ? I thought............

Took 16 hour to strip( very small deck). The first layer of finish remove started to reveal a very troublesome history. One of the Sealing professionals tried to sand , grind and what ever mechanical means to remove one of the prior finishes. The finish I started to remove had masked the problem and filled in the voids. All of the vertical wood has dips, angles grooves and is uneven . Basically I have never seen anything like this. Then I found out the floor has had a 1/32 of stock removed already. Did I say 3 year Old DECK???. I was growing sicker the more this deck revealed its history. After 16 hours of stripping and 2 days of drying . I go to do some prep and oil. Show up to a historic nightmare. All the brightening after stripping is deceptive sometimes. There where metal shards in the floor rusting from grinding ,glue type goop material on the floor in spots. There was one of the finishes burnished into the wood in areas that was black. Only could tell this stuff after drying. Called customer that night and talked about the history of what went on before me. Was not much help and got another 600 dollars for more stripping and prep work. Spent another 8 hours doing that. Got sick the day after and have been dealing with Bronchitis for the last three weeks. I went back after a week and the deck looked pretty good to seal. Started to put down RS very light coat and stains in the wood started to pop up. I have no idea what they are and no answers from the home owners.

Went to do a little touch up and get paid. The Wife is sick about it and can't look at their dream deck and it looked better before I started. Will not talk about the three times before me that the deck was sealed. I never yelled at a customer before but guess what, I did ! They want a second opinion. They gave me a check for 2/3 after a two hour heated conversation. They will not except the fact the deck was butchered and I revealed the history. Except I have the photos ! A match is the best remedy for this deck and some people should not be allowed to have wood decks. COMPOSITE for them.

Dead on about ipe' customers. Have one right now that after two years does still not understand that a finish will not last for 24 months!

Why is it that cedar is our biggest problem wood in this business?