Cleaning Santa Cruz

I know why water beading doesn’t get old even though it isn’t the “end all” indicator as to whether or not a wood deck is in need of maintenance.  It is however safe to say that if water is beading on your deck, there is likely plenty of product protecting the boards.

These photos are of identical nature, taken one after the other, at 3pm in the shade.  They help explain a thing or three which likely answers many questions.  Hopefully yours too.

Where you see water beading means that those boards have been washed and stained AND the stain is dry.  Where you see water that has penetrated the wood means that those boards have been washed only.  It’s safe(enough) to say that the stained boards don’t look all that much different than the wet boards.(And for the record, the “wet” boards are really only damp, certainly not soaked.)

This is a new Redwood Deck off Escalona Drive in Santa Cruz built in early October 2018 that was washed and stained in late May 2019.

This photo lined up nicely to show some tone examples.  The picnic table isn’t quite as new as the deck itself, the deck was newly constructed early in the summer 2019.  The location is the Pleasure Point area of Live Oak.

We waited about three months before washing and applying the initial coat of stain.  We chose a very neutral tone,(middle portion of deck) almost a base coat for the deck, and fattened the picnic table up with a much more aggressive, darker bit of pigment.

All shots worth sharing, especially if you have a cedar deck, in this case Clear Cedar.  Again, each picture here can definitely tell its own story.  This deck is under a year old with a horror story or two attached to it prior to me getting my hands on it.  We decided on a very neutral transparent pigment.  The client wanted to begin the process slowly, promising to maintain the deck as needed.  The goal to begin this deck’s journey was to create a tone that would look like the deck looks when it gets wet.  This beauty takes on eight hours of hot sun per day in the summer time.

This is Ipe’ in Santa Cruz.  Same deck, same corner of deck, same exact transparent blend.  Just a different angle, and a different time of day.  Santa Cruz County Deck Maintenance.

This was a new(ish) east-facing backyard deck up near UCSC.  This redwood deck was built in the late summer 2016.  This client happened to be an accomplished wood worker himself, and knew the importance of letting brand new redwood boards age in place.  He and his wife happened to wait a couple years, which certainly was not too long given the fact that the deck only gets morning sun til about 2pm.

Naturally, the deck had opened up, and oxidized grey.  Obviously it cleaned up very nicely.  The clients wanted a dark, richer tone to match the modern look of their home.  We used a Butternut Tone blend from Extreme by Defy.  We washed and stained some of their Ipe’ furniture as well.

Another quality deck maintenance project completed in Santa Cruz County. 

Beautiful Deck on The Peninsula.  My second time out to this property, first time being 2014.  This deck takes 6+ hours of hot afternoon sun daily.

Water Bead Test more to show just how natural the finished look of the Extreme Stain by Defy is when professionally applied.  This combination is 1/4 Driftwood Grey, 1/4 Light Walnut, 1/4 Cedar, 1/8 Redwood, 1/8 Butternut.