Sanding a deck floor

[Ronniels]

I need some advice.....by the way, I have been without my computer for the past three weeks and I really missed this board. Glad to be back online...anyway, had one of my guys do a deck all on his own....he has done many decks with me and does well as long as he listens to me.
The deck I went and looked at this morning he had said it was hard to clean, but it looks like he used a 25040 tip on the 4.0 gpm 4000 psi machine that is in his truck.
The floor of this deck is destroyed.
I need to sand it at this point and re seal of course...
Any suggestions on the sanding method/machine? (I'll hope to rent one if possible...since my guy will be paying for it and the sealer)

I'm too mad to even call him right now....

Anyway,
Thanks in advance!

 

[JR Wood]

Home depot rents floor sanders for $35 a day.Also that tip should have been a 5.5.The minumum for that machine is 4.5 you can screw up your pump running a tip that is not rated for the gpm.

 

[Dan Flynn]

It's funny when you have someone work for you, and when they make a mistake. Instead of stopping they just keep going. Wouldn't be good enough to mess up a little spot. They make sure to mess up the whole thing.

I had a job that had a finish that would not come off. I rented a hard wood floor sander and a circular sander. They are a bit hard to get use to. But when you do, you can pretty much do a perfect job.

This machine is a way better method that a belt sander. Better result and way less work. The floor will look like new wood. When you seal it. It will look better than any deck you cleaned before. The surface is smooth and new looking. The rental cost is $50 or so.

Be cautious at first, the sander can dig deep very easily.

Good Luck

 

[ParadiseProWash]

Just curious what guy will be paying for the rental and the sealer, the customer or the employee. I understand that you are mad and all but you own the business not your employee and to me it was your responsiblilty to make sure whoever did the job would do it right. I do not feel that your employee is resposible for paying to redo this job. I feel you should except your resposiblity and try retraining your employee. You said it was his first time by himself maybe he is not to blame maybe you are

Im not trying to jump on your case or nothing but to make an employee pay for your job that he is making an hourly wage on is rediculous. Calm down and reevaluate the situation everything will work out in the end and you will have learned a valuealbe lesson. I go by the DTA rule Dont Trust Anybody to do as good a job as you. However I do work alone and will always because I dont want what happened to you to happen to me. Just my two cents worth

 

[Deck Works]

I completely disagree with you charging your employee.....things happen. If the employee had his own motivation and business sense he'd realize how easy this business is and start one of his own. I believe in treating employees how I would want to be treated. I would revaluate the situation. For $100 is it worth the stress having your employee be pissed off at you?

I've had this situation happen. On real tough solid stain strip jobs I put a clause in the contract indicating if the stain cannot be removed a floor sander will have to be rented. Charge: 55/hr and cost of sander and pads.

Good Luck
John

 

[Greg Rentschler]

Ahh the fun of employees!!! This past week while working on a log home we used a 10,000 lb 45 foot genie boom. While one of my guys were TRYING to navigate it around back it slid down into a ditch.

150 ' away..... I still dont know how it made it over there. He calls me and asks for me to try and pull it out of the ditch, uphill none the less with my 4x4..... in the end it took a semi of a tow truck to wench it up and out. The tow bill came to $235 in the end..... bummer no doubt.... but things happen.

 

[JR Wood]

I had the same thought about the employee,It's your responsibility not the employees. That is the cost of doing business.That is one of the reasons I work by myself.I also think that it is against the law for you to charge an employee for damages.You can only hold them responsible if they are a sub-contractor.

 

[PUREPOWER]

WELLLLLLLllllllllll.

If my boss would try to charge me for the mistake..I think I would be rather jerked off, and probably intentionally screw up the next job EVEN BIGGER just for the love of pissing off the boss.

Point is, think like your employees. What would you expect your boos to do if it was YOU that made an error? Employees are only as good as the leader. Employees need to be trained, coached, praised, evaluated, and most of all not talked to like a piece of crap!! Lead by example. KISS(keep it simple stupid)

If I have irritated you...GOOD!! Take a step back and look at the situation again. I don't like when people hold the employee responsible. It is the blame game. A better owner would suck it up and admit to fault for not supervising the job. Hope your going to be there when it gets sanded. By the way...what has been the home owner's response to all of this by now? If I were the home owner, I would be rippin' your ass apart and not paying for the job, until I got new wood put down.

Make sure any nails or screws are counter sunk and a floor sander shoud do ya just fine. What about the spindles and rails, any damage?

Have a GREAT day. Cowboy up and treat your people as you would want to be treated.

Jordan[sb]
PURE POWER
High Pressure Cleaning
White Oak, PA

 

[Mike Hughes]

Greg........I knew a pickup wouldn't have a chance at pulling a 15 ton Genie lift..........interesting story.


As far as the deck goes, remember to check if the boards are warped or cupped at all. If it's an older deck and the floor is not level, a large sander is going to do more harm then good.

 

[Ronniels]

The deck is good enough to use a sander. We'll be in good shape there.
As far as the guy, I let him go...there is more to the story than what I put in the initial post...my only screw up was not doing it sooner...oh well live and learn, sometimes you're stuck with a bad one when you're too busy training new hires while trying to keep up, this spring and summer has been so busy I'm getting backed logged something terrible...

But it all works out well in the end...always does!

(Just have to keep positive)