Deck Expert takes steps to becoming a Listed Applicator of Mer-Kote

So March 19th found me at the warehouse of Mer-Kote in Torrance, with about 20 other guys from various waterproofing firms around California. I have taken the first step toward becoming a listed applicator of Mer-Kote, as surprising as that may seem to some...eductaion (sic)is the name of the game, and I want to learn...

We were there to learn from master decorative concrete finisher Ken Rhodes, who would show us how easy it is to do decorative concrete overlays, staining and stamping, by doing live demonstrations on each of several different Mer-Kote products.

It looks like a new Mer-Kote with an open inviting staff, eager to show me and the other attendees hospitality and good will.

I and the others learned a lot, Ken was a great teacher and I took home a new knowledge and sense of capability on a subject that looks harder than it is. If your not doing decoraive overlays as part of your decka nd concrete coating business, you should look at Mer-Kote for some help and some interesting products...

Removing Old Urethane Coatings at 6th & Pine

I sold this very large job in Long Beach; we have a courtyard of apx 14,000 square feet with old failing urethane coatings. In some areas they sloped the deck and the urethane is 1" thick. Tough stuff!
So it was time to call in the big boy toy's, thanks to Sunbelt Rentals, who consistently stepped up to the plate after a competitor of their's in Anaheim dropped the ball on us several times.

Here is our first video post of a ride on scraper taking off the coating on part of the job. Uncut, raw hard hitting footage! Sic More footage shows a grinder taking off an old texture overlay and a cutter is featured last.

After scraping, scarifying and then we had Dyna Guard come in and bead blast the deck clean. Victor and his crew from Dyna Guard are great! I recommend them for your concrete prep work and will be using them again for mine. I'll post up a movie with Dyna Guard beadblasting....

Call Bill Leys, the Deck Expert, for your next big job.805-801-2380

A Wise Waterproofer Once Told Me, "Bill, Water Has Nothing But Time On It's Hands

The pictures above are of a deck in Thousand Oaks; I was bidding the job and took the first picture on the right when inspecting the job. You can't miss the dirt and water pond stains where water pooled by the scupper area without draining. The picture on the left shows what we found when we stripped the old deck coating off...The real bitch was that the plywood is soft, and I couldn't tell when stepping on the deck during inspection because...the plywood is 1 1/8" thick plywood!
There was so much damage to these decks underneath, a lot of plywood at a huge additional cost ($60.00 a sheet for materials alone!) needed to be replaced and the customers budget was blown out of the water, no pun intended...
It appears to me that water sitting for extended period sof time was able to percolate down through the deck coating over a 15 year or so period to cause the damage you see.
Today's lesson (and guiding principle in building low slope roof decks) learned is, "No water may pond on a deck for more than 48 hours after cessation of rain."
Learn the lesson or pay the cost.

Introducing our New EZ to remember web address

In an effort to make it easier to remember our web site address and not having to type out such a long URL, we bought the easy to remember
www.deckexpert.info
for you to put into your favorite's.

Bill Leys Ten Commandments of Deck Waterproofing (for Builders)

Having been i n the waterproofing business now for over 5 years, I see the same errors made over and over.
In order to assist builders and consumers,I have developed what I call the Ten Commandments of Deck Building for Waterproofing.
Easy to follow, easy to understand, set these basic principles in stone and don't waver from them when working with your clients, you'll help protect yourself, your deck contractor and most importantly, your client.

1) Thou shall build thy deck with framing suitable to sustain the maximum load that 12)will be placed upon the deck.
2) Thou shall rip thy framing to provide slope of ¼” per foot.
3)Thou shall only use exterior grade plywood substrate. (5/8” minimum, ¾” preferred, blocked and glued) (Thou shalt not covet thy neighbors OSB sheathing.)
4)Thou shall use screws or ring shank nails only with glue and blocking.
5)Thou shall gap thy plywood to allow for expansion/contraction.
6)Thou shall raise door thresholds a minimum of ¾” above the highest point of the deck.
7) Thou shall not penetrate the deck with railings or bases if possible.
8) Thou shall build thy walls straight and true so that flashing can be installed tight against the wall.98) Thou shall flash the door(s) to the deck with door pans tied into the L flashing.
9) Thou shall provide a stucco stop on the outside edge for drip flashing to terminate over the siding.
10)Thou shall install Quickflash Products to all exterior HVAC, electric, gas and plumbing penetrations on contiguous building materials above the deck.

FREE EXTRA BONUS COMMANDMENTS!
11) Thou shall not run downspouts onto decks from roofs above and expect scuppers or drains to drain off all the extra water.
12) Thou shall install all building materials in a weatherboard fashion to ensure water is properly channeled away from the building’s interior.
13) Thou shall not caulk to the materials of other trades to terminate waterproof deck coatings as a substitute for flashing, as flashing is the only industry accepted method to waterproof all deck terminations including doors, deck to wall, handrail posts; door thresholds, etc.

Picture of the week

We are doing a job in Solvang. The deck had some soft plywood at the scupper areas but the coating was intact.
This is what we found when we opened it...luck of the Irish I guess.

Deck Expert recommends Quickflash Weatherproofing Products

In the mind to recommend a few products and try to reduce our headaches in the waterproofing industry; Quickflash Weatherproofing Products Inc manufactures a unique line of flashings that enable one to quickly and easily weatherproof plumbing, electrical, hvac and gas lines that penetrate exterior vertical wall penetrations.

So many times in new production homes that i worked on, a leak complaint centering on the deck area would come in and after extensive time inspecting our work, we would look at penetrations adjacent to our work and invariably there would be an electrical box or gas bbq line etc. nearby. Pour some water from a hose into the area and lo and behold, there'a a leak.

The picture shows a Quickflash electric box flashing. One would slip the building paper up underneath the bottom of the flange, then drop building paper down over the top, completing a weather shedding barrier.

Deck contractors should recommend to their contractors to use these products on their job-you'll reduce call backs on leak problems that weren't yours in the first place!

Check out the "DeckLok Bracket Systems" for use in framing waterproof decks

Having seen my share of decks that leaked in around the 4x4 posts that penetrate many a deck; and the dry-rot that usually occurred, I wondered how one might stop the post from moving, the cause of many a flashings demise.

Well I saw this company with an interesting product called DeckLok brackets at a trade show. They challenged me to throw my weight against their display railing and see if I could get the post to deflect. I'm 200 pounds so I thought it wouldn't be that difficult to make it move.

Wrong, the bracket is a heavy duty kit that secures the post onto the framing and eliminates deflection. I could not move the post despite several attempts.

From what I see, this unique system would make a lot of deck guys feel better about posts penetrating their deck coatings when this system is holding the posts in place.
Check them out and see for yourself.
Check out the video demonstrating the strength of DeckLok brackets...

Carlisle Coatings introduces Barrier Coat waterproofing system for decks and foundations.

Carlisle Coatings and Waterproofing has broug Barriercoat to market for deck waterproofing and below grade as well. Traditionally below grade waterproofing hasn't been put on decks and deck coatings haven't been used in below grade applications.

Carlisle is a manufacturer of urethane type waterproofing.

Barricoat comes in 2 differnt systems, a single coat spray application (wonder how well spraying would work on decks) and a double-reinforced roller applied system.

More on the products later, when we get a chance to see them and how it's applied.

Excellent Coatings is now Excellent Coatings International

Saw an ad in the February 2008 issue of Concrete Decor for Excellent Coatings International. Ad line says "We have a new name...But the Same Great Products You've Come to Expect."
So what does that mean, International? I would guess we'll see metal lath coatings becoming common place around the world instead of just the Southwest US...

UPI bought the company a few months ago-we reported it in January from World Of Concrete. They are the makers of Tufflex and PolyTuff, similar coatings that are water catalyzed urethanes. Polytuff also has spray polyurea for fast curing waterproofing.

The purchase of Excellent Coatings opens the doors for them to contractors in So Cal and Nor Cal primarily, but it seems they intend to take the product beyond our regions.