I have been asked to refinish a deck. Part stained and part painted.
It is in fair condition just worn.
I plan on pressure washing and then rolling on the finish.
A little work for steps and benches, but I can figure that separately.
But I don’t have a clue about how many sq ft/manhour to use for applying the finish.
Replies
Other than the time I did a deck that was 2k sf (!) most of them can be cleaned and washed in a half a day. The finish part depends on what you are doing. Stain or paint takes longer obviously then just sealer. Most of the time we figure power wash using deck cleaner with a pump sprayer at a half a day and a couple hours for sealer. Sorry I don't stain or paint much, by choice. DanT
Would this take two trips... one to wash, then let it dry, then come back to finish?
Yeah, 2 shots. We usually schedule half day on Monday then half a day on Thursday. Obviously we try to do 2 or 3 in a week to keep it simple. Good money for the time. Just not a lot of time. DanT
This one is about 2k sq ft.I was thinking about 6 hours to wash it.
Most of it is fairly clean. Just need to get the surface dirt off.One small part with some mildew on it.
What can you do to make money for those other 2 hours? I would charge for 8... pick up the washer, move it to the job, get it running, do the job, clean up, take it back to the rental yard... the day is shot. I stopped using numbers like 6 hours on my estimating spreadsheet for small jobs, I either use 4 or 8, and I only use 4 if there is something else I can switch to right away.
I think I had 6 in the one I did. I was fortunate on that one as it also needed repairs. I washed in one day, repaired the next and sealed it on day 3. All took about 4-6 hours. That wash is boring as hell though. 6 hours of listening to the power washer.......what a drag. First thing I teach new guys we hire now is how to run it so I don't have to lol. DanT
I would recommend that you charge by the square foot instead of by the hour. I do a lot of them (like a couple hundred a year) and I would never do any of them by the hour... what incentive do you have to do it faster.. from using better equipment to just developing your technique. It takes some skill to be really fast and have professional looking results (i.e. no start and stop marks from the powerwasher) and if you use a really good washer it makes it much faster than some guy using the 599 special from the Depot. I would charge at least ninety cents a square foot for the wash and sealer total.. more if they want solid color stain, because it takes more work. I would also let it dry for at least three nice days to get the moisture back out of the wood... they have a system that can be applied to wet wood but I've never seen one yet that turned out right... mostly just hacks using it around here.
I appreciate the input. However I do a half dozen a year and I am the guy with the $599 special (only from Northern Hydraulics). Thanks though. We seem to do a few more each year mainly because we build a few decks each year and that gives us more to seal! DanT
Theres really nothing wrong with some of the cheaper powerwashers... they just need a lot more rebuilding if you use them on a regular basis. The one that I have cost about three grand new ( with hoses ect.) but it gets a LOT of use and has lasted over five years without being rebuilt.. I just change the oil in the pump and the motor once a year in the spring. What cracks me up is the guys who think that they are "pros" with a Craftsman special that puts out 2-3 gpm at 2000psi... what I can do in two hours or less takes them all day.. that's why I don't do it by the hour.
Don't forget drying time, and possibly the need to rewash if it rains incessantly for days after the first wash.
jinks
Realist. At least whenever I try something like that that's what happens. Or it will be the perfect day to apply the finish but we gotta go to a wedding or some such instead, then it'll start raining that night.
If Tyranny and Oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign enemy. --James Madison
When I was a kid, if two of us said the same thing at the same time, one of us would try to say 'jinks' first. Then the other person would have to be silent until they were allowed to speak again. Maybe it was just the weird place I grew up.
We had "jinks" here.
We also had "jinks, buy me a coke." Which meant you couldn't talk until you provided a Coke to the person who called "jinks" first.Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me?
Whoa.... maybe I wasn't in a backwater after all. I remember the whole thing as pure torment sometimes, as there was a major code of honor around it and sometimes it took hours for your nemesis to let you speak.
Our version of jinks was that you could only speak once your name was said by another (non-participant)person.