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Cedar Shake Cleaning / Restoration Alexandria VA by American-ProTech

waxman18324 · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute Of America

Ted,

Very impressive results in Alexandia, VA.

Hank

Guest

waxman18324 wrote:
Ted,
Very impressive results in Alexandia, VA.
Hank

Thanks Hank. How's the bass fishin' up north during the dog days?

waxman18324 · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute Of America

Ted,

This time of year we fish local night tournaments on the weekends to avoid the massive boat traffic on the lakes around here(CT, NJ and PA). I was up on Oneida during the day,several weeks ago, and we loaded the boat with smallies. I had a five fish count of 16.25 pounds, which unfortunately only allowed me a 5th place finish. Oh well.

Hank

Guest

5th is respectable Hank. Never heard of night fishing for bass - sounds interesting. I've locked on to a lunker or two at night while crappie fishing. That'll wake ya up.

Apex Roof Cleaning · Guest

Nice work Ted, do you soft-wash first, and then restain?

Guest

Thanks Dan. We "three step it". There's a light power wash / power rinse in between chemical applications (hence the 3 steps, not including the stain). Then, once the moisture content of the cedar is below the acceptable level, it's stained/oiled:

Step 1) sodium precarb

Step 2) light power wash / power rinse

Step ) Neutralize / brighten with ox.

Dry to 15% moisture content or less

Stain / seal / or not (This is a debatable topic)

We've got two other cedar restoration jobs in the works in addition to our run rate business. I'll try to remember to take pics of those too.

Dan, if you take on cedar, please be extremely careful and use ALL safety precautions available as it gets VERY slippery!!!

Hey Hank - there were more than 5 boats in the tournament, right? biggrin

Apex Roof Cleaning · Guest

Ted, I have been looking at taking on cedar house washing. I haven't got into the staining business (yet) because I don't know much about staining. I know you use pre car because of the wood furring. If you were to a cedar house wash how would you apply the oxalic? (or is this step only necessary if you decide to stain?)

If a phone call is easier, just let me know.

Thanks for the help,

Dan

Guest

Dan,
Apply the ox using a pump sprayer from ace. It has an adjustable nozzle that can reach 20 ft. Always try to apply a sealer to wood if none is present or you have stripped the old off. I use 10-16oz of powder to 1 gallon of water.

John Burdine · Aug 18, 2012

Great job restoring that cedar shake over in Virginia! This 3 step process is the best way to go in my opinion. Its a very similar method to what we use in all of our wood restoration, from decks to fences to cedar shake. I think it provides a more thorough cleaning and is healthier for the wood composition than an alternative method that I am aware of.

Guest

Apex Roof Cleaning wrote:
Ted, I have been looking at taking on cedar house washing. I haven't got into the staining business (yet) because I don't know much about staining. I know you use pre car because of the wood furring. If you were to a cedar house wash how would you apply the oxalic? (or is this step only necessary if you decide to stain?)

If a phone call is easier, just let me know.

Thanks for the help,

Dan

Hi Dan. Avoiding furring is part of it. SH is hard on the wood fibers so sodium percarbonate is the proper way to do it. As John mentions above, the same process can be used on decks and other wood restoration projects as well. (In fact, I'm in the middle of doing my own deck yet had to use something a tad stronger than sodium percarb.. It'll be hit with ox next.)

We neutralize and brighten with ox on every job, stain or no stain. It levels out the ph as you well know, yet it also brings the color of the wood back to a more natural state. Applied with a dedicated roof pump system, it's quick and economical as well. In our opinion, to not neutralze it would be cutting corners, something that we never do. (not that you would either)

John - care to share which stain/sealer is your preferred choice for shakes? What we're using is extremely good quality but is very, very expensive. I just spent nearly 2k on stain alone for one big job!! (50 gallons)

Kleen Roof and Exterior Cleaning · Aug 20, 2012

Ted, great job on the cedar shakes. The turned out wonderful. American-ProTech is the go to company in Virginia for your roof cleaning needs.

zjim · Guest

Dammmmmmm Ted that looks awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

John Burdine · Aug 23, 2012

Ted,

Our sealers of choice include Ready Seal for decks and fences, and some silica based stabilizer for shake, or decks and fences when the client doesn't want to tint the natural color of the wood. Creto Wood, P-Wood, and Cedar Shield to name a few that we've tried.

Guest

Thanks John. I'll be trying out Ready Seal on my own deck soon and will do some research on the silica based product for shakes that you reference.

larrykilby · Oct 25, 2012

Ted, That looks Great! Looks like a good job for sodium percarbonate and 3 step process. A lot of the cedar roofs here look like this. Sod. Per. would not do the job with this jungle growing on it. Larry

Guest

Thanks Larry.

We tend to grow some pretty nasty stuff on shakes here in the mid-Atlantic region too. If the growth is too severe to release with a mild PW post sodium percarbonate, then some may be inclined to use a little 'kicker' to give it some punch.

Ugly Shingles LLC · Dec 9, 2012

Ted,

Awesome job on the cedar shakes. How did you apply the stain? confuse

Roof Cleaning West Chester PA · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

Roof Cleaning Northern Virginia (571) 250 9650 wrote:

Thanks Dan. We "three step it". There's a light power wash / power rinse in between chemical applications (hence the 3 steps, not including the stain). Then, once the moisture content of the cedar is below the acceptable level, it's stained/oiled:

Step 1) sodium precarb
Step 2) light power wash / power rinse
Step ) Neutralize / brighten with ox.
Dry to 15% moisture content or less
Stain / seal / or not (This is a debatable topic)

We've got two other cedar restoration jobs in the works in addition to our run rate business. I'll try to remember to take pics of those too.
Dan, if you take on cedar, please be extremely careful and use ALL safety precautions available as it gets VERY slippery!!!

Hey Hank - there were more than 5 boats in the tournament, right?

Excellent job cleaning that cedat shake roof Ted, and nice to see you're going the extra mile by doing it the proper way. We have a lot of cedar near me and me and some of the PA boys are gonna be tackling cedar next year.

As our industry is growing fast it's work like this that's gonna separate the men from the boys ... no doubt on what side of the fence American ProTech will be on with such professional work like this!!!

Maverick Contracting · Premium Member Roof Cleaning Institute of America

You can apply stain, sealers using a pump up or a low gpm 12v or airless sprayer. we remove downspouts and using wire, hang empty 1gal cans to collect any runoff material. usually not much reclaimed. Make sure to saturate the bottom edges, then coat the flat sides. work from furthest point back to ladder so as not to need to stand on wet oil or water based sealers.

The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Training & Certification Forum "Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"

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"Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"