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Replies

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  David Beasley Garden Design November 5, 2009 at 7:08am

  Hi
  
  Good idea in theory, but how long does it take you to do a deck.
  
  I've constructed a pretty big softwood deck (8m x 6m ish) for a customer in the past with the 'ribbed' surface of the boards facing up. I treated it with a couple of coats of Arch deck oil and after a season, I was asked to re-seal it.
  
  I used their Karcher pressure washer (with the normal jet attachment) and it took quite a long time and the finish was streaky.
  
  This year, they had a 'handy man' do the same and the finish was amazing and done quickly. However, this chap was aided by the fact he was using a specialist wire brush to 'get into the grooves' and this gizmo seemed to do the job.
  
  If you think you could clean and re-seal a deck this size in half a day (i.e. £75 + cost of seal), then I think you may be onto something (and if you are, please tell us and I might think about offering the same service myself!!).
  
  Just one point though, are their not a lot of operations existing that offer a driveway cleaning service that could quickly adapt to doing decks? You need to know how much they charge and out-market them...
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  Richard Boyd November 5, 2009 at 3:45pm

  Extreme power washing causes wood to fir up and this leads to other issues you need to select a jet wash that is on the less powerful side from memory up to 1500?psi
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  Mark November 6, 2009 at 6:22pm

  Thanks for the replies....If I were to offer a cleaning service I would want to do it right, so jet washing with or without a suitable head on it sounds like a no no...good news is that means no investment into new gear apart from some suitable brooms and elbow grease...
  
  Was thinking a pressure fed roller might be handy for sealing/oiling them ?
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  Mark November 6, 2009 at 7:17pm

  OMG....small clean cloth...the size of decking some of my customers have I would be there for weeks !!!! Took 8 hrs solid jet washing for the one at the start of this thread & that was just a quick go over ???
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  Kirsty Blair November 6, 2009 at 8:43pm

  Have you looked at using a sprayer for the decking oil - have seen an attachment for my fence sprayer specifically for decking. I oiled a deck last yr with roller/extension pole but found it had to be loaded quite heavily before the oil would go in the groove - I ended up with a fencing brush and was soooo slow. Quite tempted by the sprayer attachment - might be worth looking at??
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  David Beasley Garden Design November 7, 2009 at 7:10am

  When constructing a new softwood deck (with 'grooved' boards) from scratch, it is easier to apply deck oil to the boards before they are actually laid.
  
  Pile up all the boards you think you will need, and sett up 2 sets of tressles (one for application, one for drying.
  
  Place the board to be oiled on the tressles and apply oil with a cloth. Make sure oil gets in the grooves and also covers the edges of the boards (there is nothing worse than seeing bare white wood on the edges of nice oiled boards).
  
  Place the boards on the other tressles to dry.
  
  This method is a bit messy so you will need to wear some latex gloves (or similar), but as mentioned enables edges of boards to be oiled (which is virtually impossible once laid) and saves wear and tear on the back and knees of the deck fitter as the work is done at waist height.
  
  There is also no rush to get the oiling done in one session to avoid patchy areas/double-coating etc.!!!
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  Tim Horner November 7, 2009 at 3:50pm

  All good advice guys. I would agree with using the Owatrol Prep Deck cleaner to get the best result for a clean sound surface for re-oiling and it also works great on new hardwood decks as a prep before oiling to get rid of mill glazing and banding.
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 9, 2009 at 12:30pm

  good idea - if you can get the work.
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk November 9, 2009 at 12:34pm

  or a generator for £180 as new (honda engine) if customers electric access is difficult. and pressure washer £80?
  
  =£260 is a bit cheaper if not too many a year to do. - geny can be used for grinder/cement mixer etc too
  
  i have the above system (although recently). need to sort my 110v and house plug leads out now !
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  Graeme @ BGS November 9, 2009 at 1:51pm

  Robin Ainsworth said:

  or a generator for £180 as new (honda engine) if customers electric access is difficult. and pressure washer £80?
  
  =£260 is a bit cheaper if not too many a year to do. - geny can be used for grinder/cement mixer etc too
  
  

  Also great for plugging in the kettle!