Staining a Deck: The Hard Way

Staining a Deck: The Hard Way

We all love getting a bigger and better deck added onto the house, until the day comes that you have to stain all that extra wood. I think when it's done right, a stained deck not only last much longer, but looks great for years.

We had our rickety side deck removed and replaced it with a much wider and heavier deck that went to the back of the house and connected to our larger deck. The back deck , also in bad shape, and wobbly from being ten foot off the ground with 4x4's supporting it that weren't cemented in or nailed down was twice as stable now too. The porch looked great, but I was eager to give it a little color once the wood seasoned the first year. I knew it was a big job, but I didn't prepare for the mistakes that I was about to make ahead.

My first mistake was choosing a cheaper, but faster way to apply the stain. After some research I figured the bean sprayer was the way for me seeing that I had two lying around. I needed to pressure wash the whole deck first and let it dry. The back deck having new rails and some boards replaced was off colored already, so the pressure washing was extra important for blending and removing the eight years of mold and aged stain. I used a smaller 1100 karcher electric pressure washer reviews which worked fine when new, but would suggest for better time, rent or borrow a larger one from a friend. After, a couple of sunny days it was time to apply some stain. Cedar stain is always appealing to me at first glance, but from experience, I know the color doesn't hold well and appears dreadfully red when done.

Now I prefer a nice oak or lighter cherry color that will fade naturally without any apparent splotches. One mistake I made as usual is underestimating the amount of stain I would need, due in part to that bean sprayer, but more on that later. Just to note, make sure you have paint thinner and different size brushes on hand for the cleaning up and the touch ups that are expected. Let's get back to that bean sprayer. The sprayer started off nicely with an even spray and making good coverage, but it was a hot day and before long I noticed the quality of my coverage was diminishing fast. The tip was clogging up with dry stain that caused me many hours of removing the tip to soak in thinner or bang dried stain out of. I'm a relatively patient person when it comes to projects, but besides cleaning the tip of the sprayer, I spent a lot of time filling and pumping the sprayer. When the pressure washer surface cleaner reviews would get low, the width of the spray and mist would start streaming. This caused for a lot of waste and an arm workout.

The porch turned out nice as you can see in the pictures, but in addition to the other tribulations was a bigger mess, overspray. In all, I ended up with 6 five gallon cans of Thompson's wood stain from Wal-Mart, of which I have about half of one left under the house. Of those cans, one full can is now applied to my shed, mower, yard, and most of the vinyl siding around the house. I figured on some overspray and we used cardboard wedged in around the top to protect the siding, but with the quality of the sprayer and my desire to finish, I just stopped caring at some point. It has faded on the vinyl siding some, but now I have a large cage out back made of wood, and this year is when we should stain it. This time I will shop for a quality sprayer that is designed for stain with a larger tank, and I plan to have old blankets, cardboard, plastic and tape on hand. In addition I will work one section at a time to ensure any overspray isn't staining everything I own. Leave the bean sprayer for something small.

See more at: https://pressurewasherguides.com/

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How to Avoid Common Brick Maintenance Mistakes

Brick Cleaning and Repair for the Beginner

There is more to brick cleaning than meets the eye and common maintenance mistakes can lead to the ultimate error in judgment: painting brick. Put down that paintbrush and learn a few tips on how to get (and keep) your brick clean and looking great.

Brick Maintenance 101: Getting to Know Your Brick

Not all bricks are the typical red square you see in the garden shed and by the side of a construction site. Keeping brick clean means knowing what kinds of brick maintenance tasks are appropriate. This, in turn, depends on the kinds of brickwork used in the home. Possible options include the brick panel that is a veneer-like covering rather than the full sized brick, the raw building brick and also the thinner flooring bricks with one or more coats of sealant. Taking a "one size fits all approach" to brick maintenance is a cardinal error.

Insider Tip: Don't know if bricks are sealed? Splash a section of bricks with water. If the material soaks up the water and features a dark, slowly drying stain, there is no sealant. Pearling water or minimal darkening indicates one or more coats of sealant.

Brick Maintenance 102: Brick Repair Is a Must to Keep Brick Clean

Basic brick maintenance dictates that damaged pieces must receive a bit of extra attention to avoid spreading problems. Fix chipped brick panels by replacing the affected portion of the panel with a new one. Loose panels must be refastened to the underlying studs with new screws. Patch any remaining gap with paintable cement filler. Neglecting proper brick repair tasks prior to cleaning is a common mistake made by homeowners, who believe in the indestructibility of the medium; bricks are tough, but they do need occasional repairs.

Insider Tip: For small holes, chips and cracks, paintable cement filler is an excellent solution when touching up individual bricks. Place a blue piece of painter's tape on each treated brick, since this makes it easier to return and apply coloring and coating as needed.

Painting Brick: Finishing Touches to Brick Repair

The ultimate mistake of brick maintenance is painting brick in a color other than the one intended by the brick maker. It is unclear why a painted brick wall is more appealing (to some) than a properly maintained raw brick counterpart. That being said, there is a place for painting brick: the judicious application of touch-up paint after brick repair. Return to the taped bricks and restore their appearance where paintable cement fixes a gash or crack. Paint and seal over the cement in keeping with the brick's color scheme and texture flow.

Insider Tip: This kind of painting brick work might require multiple color matches, especially to accommodate weathering, natural shading of the material and also color differences. Applying brick paint that is matched to one brick color to an entire wall is a common mistake that leaves an area with numerous repairs and touch-ups look a bit like Swiss cheese. Invest in as much paint as needed; it's worth it!

Brick Cleaning 101: Keeping It Looking Beautiful

Do not use a wire brush, harsh solvents or the concentrated spray of a best electric pressure washer. All these things will get the brick clean, but they will also cause hairline cracks, scrape off any coatings, lead to discolorations and overall do an extraordinary amount of damage.

Do use a garden hose, bristle brush and diluted dishwashing detergent. Wet down the bricks with the garden hose, apply the soapy solution with the bristle brush, rinse off the bricks with the hose and it's finished.

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How to Clean Your Window Air Conditioner so it Runs Like New

How to Clean Your Window Air Conditioner so it Runs Like New

Does your window air conditioner seem to lose its ability to cool over these last few years? Does it seem like your air conditioner is working harder and harder? In this article I show you how get that old air conditioner to function like new again.

Remove from the window

Depending on the size of the air conditioner its best to take it out of the window if at all possible. Some air conditioners that cool large size rooms take almost two people to remove. If the unit is too big than we can try to clean it where it sits. Smaller units are easier to remove and you can take those out easily. Once removed you can take it outside in the driveway or garage. Where you remove it to will depend on what cleaning method you choose. I will discuss those options later in this article.

Remove the faceplate

When removing the faceplate there are two or three screws that you have to remove to pull of the faceplate. If your room air conditioner has knobs on the front remove those too. Take the faceplate and wash it. The easiest way to do this is to use the garden hose on it and spray out all the spray and dirt. When your done you can wipe it down with wet wipe to remove any excess dirt. Clean the faceplate throughly so it looks like new.

Remove the filter

Most air conditioner filters you have to clean as well. You can use a hose or compressed air and make sure it gets cleaned thoroughly. The older window air conditioners had replaceable filters. No matter which one you have make sure to replace or clean it so that no dust or dirt remains. If you use water just let it dry for a little while.

Cleaning the air conditioner unit

Now its time to clean the unit. The methods you choose to do so entirely depend on you. Its not enough just to clean the filter. You want to clean the coils and the fan. I used a garden hose and took the unit outside and sprayed water through the coils and the fan. Not only did this take less time it did a great job. If you use this method just let the water drip out. If you let it drip out for awhile you should be okay before you plug it back in. The electric motor is sealed and water won't get inside. You can use a tooth brush to clean in the coils but this takes a little more time. You can also use compressed air. I would recommend if you use this method use two cans of compressed air to make sure its throughly cleaned of any dust and dirt. The larger units you leave in the window you can use the compressed air, tooth brush, or drag a hose through to wash it out the back. However using water inside the house could make a mess. Better to use the compressed air method.

Dust and dirt makes the unit work harder and use more electricity. The unit will cycle more often when dirty which can cause blown fuses and circuit breakers.

Wipe it down

Once you have cleaned the coils wipe the unit down and put it back together. You can put it back in the window. Once you run it you will notice the difference right away. Not only will it look brand new but it will work like its brand new.

No need to replace that old air conditioner just clean it and watch it work like new.

2 Comments

Greg 2/28/2013
Thank you for your information as a former owner of a large window air conditioner service and warranty business I find that to many people fail to pull there units out of the window and really get them clean once and a while. I have cleaned thousands and here are a few more tips. Put a plastic bag around the motor, even though its sealed it helps with the bearings. Prop the ac up on one side that the water runs out as you clean it. Really clean the inside coil good with top job or simple green I always liked to know my air was recirculation across a clean coil.
Sometimes because the condenser wont come clean, you may have to remove the screws and very gently pull it out of its shroud to get it clean.It may take some strong detergent or even an electric pressure washer reviews, using the fan tip of course.
good luck

Juan Huang Lo 6/27/2012
LOL. "Coils"? Really. Perhaps if you knew the subject a bit better you would have earned the $25 Yahoo paid you. An air conditioner pulls room air through the filter and then the evaporator. The evaporator will not get horribly dirty for quite a few years. The dirt will accumulate on the room side. It is the condenser that generally gets fouled with dirt and the by product of certain trees; cotton wood trees are the worst! A fan blows through the condenser and blows particulate matter with it. You can tell it is clogged when you feel the output while it is running. Stand outside and feel the air coming out. It should be equal in the corners as it is in the center. If the air is weak in the corners, it needs cleaning.

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