Tips for Super Looking Wood Deck and Siding

Whether your wood deck, fence or siding is new or old, you want to protect it. If you want your wood to look as natural as possible, we recommend the SUPERDECK Transparent stains. There are many different products on the market but we feel that this product is one of the best, because it is a linseed oil based product. Here at Mountain Hardware we will suggest that you use an oil based product to protect all exterior wood surfaces. I feel that a linseed oil based product is best for preserving and protecting wood from the damage due to weather and the sun. Also, Mountain Hardware's beautiful location in the mountains means that we are able to carry products that cannot be sold or used at the lower elevations. This way you get the best product for your home here.

CAUTION:
Anything that you get the linseed oil product on, such as brushes, rollers and rags ,must be put into a metal bucket filled with water. Leave the items in the water for 1 WEEK ,then remove the items and let them dry. Once dry, you may put them in the trash the day that your trash is picked up or haul it to the dump yourself.

NEVER put items with linseed oil on them in the trash, as they may SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST. Use the above treatment method!

STEPS

Prep

a. New wood. New wood will have a seal on the wood this is called a "mill glaze." This will prevent anything from penetrating the wood so it must be removed first. You can let your wood weather for about 4-6 weeks or you can use our WOOD brightener AND REJUVENATOR. This will remove the mill glaze.

b. If the wood is old, make sure there is no sealer left on it. A good way to do this is to do a water test. Put some water on the deck. If the wood turns dark, the deck is ready because the water penetrated into the wood. If the wood did not change color ,the wood is still sealed and will have to be removed before you seal it.

c. Clean the wood surface. This can involve just sweeping, brushing or washing with a garden hose. Also, we do carry a wood cleaner product. The important part is to let the wood completely dry before you apply the sealer. I feel 2 days is best.

Application Methods

A. The transparent products are very easy to apply. You can use a paint pad, brush, roller or a pump up garden sprayer. I do not recommend using a paint sprayer because it will be very hard to clean the unit after you finish.

Paint Pad: Works great on horizontal surfaces (deck and steps). We sell one that is 9" wide, the same as a roller, which also has a straight side edge to make it is easier to apply the product where the deck joins the house (you do not want to get this product on your walls if they are painted).

Brush: Brushing works the product well into all surfaces and will give you a smooth, even coverage. You can use either natural or poly bristles brush

Roller: Works great on rough surfaces. Use a short to medium nap roller.

Garden Sprayer: Sprayer works great on hard to paint surfaces such as a louver fence.

Decks

When you apply a linseed oil product to your deck, you need to apply and let it penetrate about 20 min and then do a back wipe. If you apply excess product on a flat surface such as a deck, it will just pool and could take months to dry completely. A back wipe means that you remove any excess material after the 20 min of dry time. A paint pad is the most common tool used to apply product to a deck. First, cut in all the gaps between the deck boards with a brush in the area you are going to work. Then install the pad onto the handle from your push broom (or we can supply you with a handle), this way you do not have to get down on your knees. Apply the product in an area you can reach with the pad on the handle, then stop and let it dry 20 minutes. Set your paint pad on the side of your paint tray to drain. You can either use this pad, a dry paint pad or rags attached to the pad to do the back wipe. After 20 minutes wipe off any standing product and move down the deck repeating this process (do not work yourself into a corner make sure you have a way off the deck!

Siding

Use the same methods as above (section under PREP paragraph B) to make sure the wood will allow the stain to penetrate the surface. You can use any of the application on siding. Also, on siding you will not need to do a back wipe, as when you over apply the stain, it will run off. If you are working with siding that has dramatic high's and low's like "T-1_11 you may want to brush in the low areas first, then apply with a Pad, or roller to the rest of the surface.

Drying Time

Keep foot traffic and pets off the deck until completely dry 1 to 2 days depending on the temperature and humidity.

Then you are ready to seat back and enjoy your deck this summer.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, at Mountain Hardware 760-249-3653 or mtnhardware@mtnhardware.com

Mike

Water Softner and Filtration System

Water Softener

Do I need a Water Softener?

If you are not sure if you need a water softener, you can bring in a sample of your water (in a clean container) and leave it with us. We will test it and tell you what hardness it is.






Soft water is 0-1 grains of hardness



Slightly Hard 1-4 grains of hardness



Moderately Hard 4-7 grains of hardness



Hard 7-10 grains of hardness



Very Hard 10 + grains of hardness





Wrightwood's water per Golden State Water is on a average 24 grains of hardness.



Another way to tell if you need a water softener is if you find calcium deposits in your washing machine or dishwasher. These deposits form as the water evaporates, leaving the calcium behind.





When you mix soap and hard water (anything over 8 grains per gallon) it makes a sticky substance that clings to everything; your skin, clothes, dishes, plumbing fixtures and of course, your hair .... which will have a sticky substance in it and will be very hard to rinse out. If your clothes come out of the washer looking dingy or your dishes come out of the dishwasher spotty or with a film on them, think about getting a water softener.





A water softener will also add life to your hot water heater . The heating costs can be up to 30% less with no scale build up on the elements and on the bottom of the tank.



How to select a Water Softener



When looking for a water softener, you should consider:

• the amount of grain removal (the higher the hardness, the higher grain removal unit you will need),
  
• the type of regeneration it should be... (DEMAND TYPE),
  
• the warranty on the tanks and on the valve head.

Sizing a water softener


First off , you need to understand how a water softener works. It trades hard minerals (calcium-magnesium) in water for soft minerals (sodium) in water. Inside the softener, there are a bunch of magnets called ion exchange resin. They are little chemical magnets that do the trading. The more chemical magnets, the higher the capacity. The capacity is the amount of gallons a softener will exchange (soften) before it needs to regenerate(recharge) itself.





We recommend a Water softener with 32,000 or greater grain removal capacity for a normal family.





Demand Type


Metered regenerated is the type we recommend. These softeners regenerate by keeping track of how much water you actually use. This type of unit will save you money in usage of salt and less water use.






And of course the price and knowledge of the sales person.




When deciding on a water softener system for your home, you will want to understand that it will NOT filter your water, it will NOT remove bacteria or nitrates and it does not make the water "healthier" to drink.





Also, you want to be concerned when you have a water softener that you DO NOT water your plants inside or outside with soft water. You need to use your un-softened water for plant watering, otherwise your plants may not thrive.