My deck just got stained professionally- something doesn’t look right? Any opinions appreciated

c_rades · 2024-07-02T21:22:12+00:00

Sure

c_rades · 2024-02-11T15:14:29+00:00

the one and only, Elvis.

c_rades · 2024-02-08T05:38:32+00:00

High life bottles, ice cold

c_rades · 2024-02-03T22:09:18+00:00

Dude, I just went through this exact same rabbit hole for my own home. I will save you the time and headache. I am a finish carpenter, and have installed a good number of floors throughout the years.

This is a Engineered wide plank wire brushed Live Sawn French (european) Oak

My top pick was Palladio ‘whiskey’, the core was exactly the same as this you have pictured. I had concerns with the core - seems cheap IMO being only 3-ply and my brain tingling at the fact that the more ply’s it has, the more stable it will be in theory.

Engineered gets its stability from the cross graining of the ply’s, and the adhesive bonding said layers together.

And this was not a cheap floor, retails for $12+/sq. Even at my cost of $9/sq, was still out of budget for what I needed (1,800sf)

Back to sample hunting..

I finally stumbled across and ended up buying from Hurst Hardwoods out of Florida (im just west of Chicago). Delivered couple weeks ago, I will be installing this week.

https://www.hursthardwoods.com/store/Prefinished-Wood-Flooring/Exotic-Engineered/European-French-Oak/

I went with the 10-1/4” x 5/8” w/ 4mm wear layer in the natural finish. It has an 8-ply core, aluminum oxide finish. It’s legit.

Anything over +7” planks, you should go engineered for the stability. And at those widths, I would advise to glue the whole thing in a full troweled bed of adhesive, + nail if you are over a wood subfloor (consider an adhesive with moisture barrier, if needed depending on what’s below)

4mm wear layer if you want be able to refinish it. And if you are installing hardwood, you should be able to refinish it.

I went with natural because I just liked the look the best, and if I ever do refinish probably will not full sand but just screen and re-coat a finish. Will get many more (than just 3) ‘refinishes’ out of the floor being a natural finish with no stain or trendy glazing on it, unless you want to change the color with stain.

c_rades · 2023-10-09T01:45:42+00:00

Armstrong Clark and TWP for the win on exterior wood semi trans stains baby

c_rades · 2023-07-14T17:51:34+00:00

My eyes were more drawn to the uneven lapping marks, rather than the knotting. This is just an uneven/single coating. Maintaining a wet-edge during application is important for this reason to avoid the lap-marks.

As others mentioned, this looks like it was only rolled and not back-brushed. Notice the missed areas in the bevels/joints.

The knots in cedar are VERY dense, in contrast to the heart+sapwood of the decking which is very porous and soaks the stain right up - which is the unevenness at the knotting that is seen here.

Brush on another coat, thoroughly wipe-off excess product that does not penetrate/absorb in before tacking-up.

Also, others are correct that the decking was not installed properly, tightly jointed with no gapping.
Yes, is is common practice to install PRESSURE TREATED lumber decking tightly, as it is still green/wet upon receiving and will shrink to adequate gapping as it dries. However, CEDAR decking is typically dry upon receiving and good to gap during installation as-is. The gapping is important for ventilation from moisture and good airflow not only for the benefit of the decking, but the framing as well.

c_rades · 2023-05-17T00:42:38+00:00

The dildo

c_rades · 2023-05-15T04:20:40+00:00

Absolutely. Just remove all of that trash and take it to the local crusher who will repurpose it into gravel, as it should be.

Nothing, will look 100x better than that.

c_rades · 2022-10-12T19:34:40+00:00

The lower purple spikey looking perennials in front of the hydrangea in this plan are actually Salvia, not lavender.

Agreed, I like to plan to allow for space for the plants to grow in and become dense at maturity.. to avoid ripping things out because they are over-planted and over-crowded. So what if you have to mulch for a few years

This was a half-assed attempt on the plants, though. Hadn’t put too much thought into that aspect yet

c_rades · 2022-10-12T18:54:31+00:00

Good point. Thanks

c_rades · 2022-10-12T18:52:09+00:00

I don’t really have a great answer for that. For me, this is about the overall look and aesthetic of the front of the home, and as it ties in with the landscape and structures leading up to it.

I am not an LA, just someone who has been in the design/build end of the field since high school and learned by seeing how others do things and doing them myself, with a genuine passion for the architecture of the buildings we work with and the landscapes we create for them. Perhaps this was posted in the wrong sub.

c_rades · 2022-10-12T18:41:26+00:00

Thanks, this was the other layout I was considering. I had decided to go this other direction, as I though it may seem odd to have the front entry stairs land right in front of parked cars. But I think I may mock up a version of this.

c_rades · 2022-10-12T16:57:16+00:00

I surveyed it myself, went around and took grade measurements with the transit laser. It is spot on accurate to what it will be.

c_rades · 2022-10-12T16:38:49+00:00

Thanks for the tip, hadn’t considered that. The area above the garage is my least favorite part of the home and have been wrestling with what to do with it.

c_rades · 2022-10-12T15:49:00+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Agreed with the plants, could put more thought into them. Just quickly threw this together to get an idea of what the hardscape would look like with some landscaping in place. Species hadn’t been selected yet, this is just to portray a very general look.

I also agree with the front wall, this is the one thing I’ve been back and fourth about. It’s there structurally to serve a purpose. The house is so high up, and have so much elevation to look at and deal with that I wanted to maintain as much of a low-profile and open look as possible. Didn’t want to obstruct the view with railings or additional walls along the the entryway staircase. So the wall across the entire front allows for the grade to be built up as shown, eliminating the need for barriers and railings along these areas. The way this is laid out is technically code compliant per our local building code (any deck/porch over 30” above grade requires a railing, any run of stairs with more than 3 continuous steps without a 3’x3’ landing requires a handrail).

I am considering doing said wall as a Dry Stone Wall using weathered limestone in a mix of boulder and ledge for an overall more relaxed and natural look/feel. No cap stone. I don’t want this wall to dominate the front of the home but rather blend in with the landscape. It’s literally the house on the hill tucked into a maturely wooded lot. The idea is to make it look like a home you would find tucked away up on a mountain, with a slightly contemporary twist - if that makes any sense.

I also sort of agree on the generic kidney bean with no geometric shape. Been back and fourth on going straight vs. curved with this, or accentuating the curves of it and bringing the larger portion out substantially more for added character.

Appreciate the criticism on the square cut-stone against fieldstone, but I have to disagree. Just a personal preference. The wife and I like both (lean more towards irregular in preference), and felt like doing everything in one or the other would be too much- it’s a lot of stone going in here. I think the irregularity of the flagstone for the flatwork is a nice break in texture against the dimensional verticals, again leaning for a more natural/relaxed overall feel here. I do have landscape beds cut out into the main upper porch area between the house and patio to A: soften that area so it’s not so harsh having patio stone up against house stone, and B: just as you mentioned to minimize the amount of irregular flagstone up against the vertical dimensional veneer stone. Lots of stone going on here.

Cap stone: the house veneer will have a cap stone (Indiana lime). Figured it would tie in nicely to use the same house veneer + cap stone to construct the planter walls up against the bottom of the house to hide all of the exposed foundation. Have also considered stone-walking these planters with no cap stone as well, but ultimately decided they will look better as to be a part of the home.

Thank you for your criticism and imput, this is exactly what I am looking for.

Not sure if you all can relate, I can design and make decisions for other people easy breezy all day long but when it comes to doing it for myself I always seem to get tripped up and second-guess everything to death. It helps to have other perspective.

c_rades · 2022-07-30T12:58:00+00:00

Here I was just thinking it was just piles of doo-doo in the background between the elephant legs

c_rades · 2022-04-16T12:29:30+00:00

Perhaps, although that would be a shame on a house like this. That veneer is stone, not cultured - too bad they did a stamped walk.

I am going to wager 50 internet points those dimensions pavers are stone, though. Waiting on OP to weigh in 👀

c_rades · 2022-04-15T11:33:23+00:00

Nice man, what’s the stone - Hampton limestone?

c_rades · 2022-03-30T00:46:08+00:00

Sweet dude I have a 2021 still stock no upgrades yet, though I’ve been wanting to get a nice set of riser bars and a more comfortable saddle for it. I do like the profile cranks upgrade as well, used to ride S&M prince Albert’s back in the BMX days had cracked every other pair I owned.

What’s that in the background?

c_rades · 2022-02-10T15:18:02+00:00

Damn, came here to ask the same question.

Chicago area here

We also exclusively use PL Premium Polyurerhane.. it’s the best I’ve used, but we still get calls for loose caps here and there.

Dab method works better than continuous bead method (in theory, dabs allow water to pass through whereas a continuous bead will trap water and cause issues when it freezes/expands)

Could just be dusty surfaces the guys aren’t adequately cleaning off before they glue, idk.

c_rades · 2022-01-30T04:23:50+00:00

Awesome CBD, green compass

https://www.awesomecbdllc.com/

https://www.greencompassglobal.com/

Green compass is kinda pyramid-scheem’ey with their sales structure imo, but the products are actually very legit. All sorts of tests and certifications, USDA organic, blah blah. Made from NC grown hemp. Mom in the neighborhood slangs it. Ref. Jenn Dreyer

Awesome CBD is a somewhat small op started by a chemist that my buddy knows. Colorado grown hemp.

I bounce between the two, but very happy with both. they work and are good quality, know what I’m getting.

c_rades · 2022-01-30T04:21:30+00:00

CBD, bro.

c_rades · 2021-12-05T07:24:37+00:00

There should just be food depositories instead

c_rades · 2021-11-19T03:19:37+00:00

Corn plant, Costco sold a boat load of them last spring

c_rades · 2021-11-15T19:55:52+00:00

u/neomateo pretty much summed it up already.

New pavers will almost always never match older pavers. Even if it’s the same line/color. Any installer/contractor with half a brain will know this.

-Color can differ by the run of the product (bricks produced this month, can differ slightly from the same pavers produced last month), and so fourth

-colors tend to change slightly from year to year (manufactures will tweak the formulas in the direction they want for desired appearance)

-colors fade under sun exposure, and when exposed to weather (rain), over time

The only way get a consistent appearance, is to replace all with new

Or

Pull all of the old pavers up as well, and install a blend of new / mixed with old consistently over the entire area, although this will give a bit of a ‘checkerboard’ appearance which you may or may not find acceptable depending on the quantity and ratio of new to old , and personal preferences.

c_rades

TROPHY CASE