f.a.q.'s - frequently asked questions

As often as you want- some people have never had a house wash, while others have it done 3 times a year. On average, every 1-3 years.

This depends on the type of stain you have had on it, how well the deck was prepped, and how well the stain was applied. There are many different types of stains, and they all last a bit differently. Typically, a clear coat or oil based with minimal color will last 1-2 years, a traditional semi-transparent stain will last 3-5 years, and a solid paint-like stain will last 4-7 years. Some other complicating factors are things like how well protected ad maintained the deck is. Is it covered by an awning? Do you get the leaves off every fall? Is there salt used on it? 

Yep! You will notice many products on the market contain bleach- a.k.a. Sodium Hypochlorite. The ratio is diluted so that it is not as dangerous as undiluted bleach. However, if the product is used carelessly, it can still create a problem. Many house washers are "soft washers" and use a low concentration of S.H. to clean houses; it does work well. However, I do NOT use this product. I achieve great results using a harmless product and some good old fashioned scrubbing with a brush made for siding and windows. After the scrub, we power wash your home to get that high quality sparkle!

YES. It can if you are using too much product, pressure washing too often, or if you are not paying attention to what you are doing, you definitely can cause damage to your home. When pressure washing anything, there are certain "tips" that attach to pressure washers that are used to help control the amount of pressure at a given distance. If you're working from a closer distance, you have higher pressure with any tips, but if you are ten feet away with one tip vs another, you could have a difference in pressure from 200 psi, to 2,500 psi. This is where many homeowners who chose to DIY pressure washing can struggle with damaging their home.

There is ABSOLUTELY an art to pressure washing. When using the machine, you have to understand and respect it, 100%- it is much more than just an "upgraded garden hose". There is a LOT that goes into professionally pressure washing. Some pressure washer machines have adjustable pressures, and some are fixed. There are different tips that actually can react differently on different surfaces. The amount of water, GPM (gallons per minute,) coming through also is important to understand. The angle of the pressurized water, the direction of travel, the distance from the tip to the surface being serviced; all those things need to be weighed when working on a pressure washing project. Once experienced, you can feel a relationship between the pressurized water and the surface you are servicing. Unfortunately, I have seen many incidents of poorly managed pressure washing where you can tell that someone didn't take all of these different elements into account.Whether you're rinsing a window streak free, stripping old stain off a deck, or finding the right angles while cleaning and prepping a stamped concrete patio.

Well, what is most important to you? Color longevity? Protection? Appearance? Ease of application? It's difficult to say one is better than another, but in the spirit of respecting all products, due to my experience, I can explain details of one over another depending on what your needs and wants are. 

Some oils make your deck shine like furniture! Some toners enhance the woods natural colors and give a well maintained natural mature look. Some old school semi transparent stains give a great color, low luster and allows you see the grain of the wood! Semi-solids (Cabot, maybe other companies as well) allows some wood grain and also fills in cracks better, giving a stronger layer of protection. Solid stains; like paint, although we do not usually think of this as a stain' , it covers and conceals, giving the longer protection for your wooden projects. 

Deck-Over/Restore and similar products have been in the spotlight for the good, the the bad, and the ugly. I typically shy away from these as I have seen many projects with failing products. In some instances, the manufacturer made good on replacing the product, and even paid myself for my time, but the product failed again. Some projects that I have used it on turn out great, but with an estimated  25% failure rate in my experience... I avoid it if possible. 

Yes, it really was. In 2021, the high cost of pressure treated lumber made composite a new option to use for many home and business owners last year. As the cost of the lumber was varying and making composite more affordable; homeowners could also bump up their deck project to having 2 x 6 pressure treated lumber for your flooring in lieu of the traditional 5/4 x 6" deck boards/planks. I prefer to use the 2 x 6, as it will last longer than the 5/4" x 6" deck boards. 

Despite what many contractors from the 80's and 90's say; this is not a capital improvement and does need to be charged tax for ALL RESTORATIONS. 

Some examples of a tax free-capital improvement are an addition to an existing deck, or a new something: new fence, new tree-house, or new deck.