We're having our 22X9 front porch rebuilt by a contractor (who won't be
doing the staining/painting/sealing of the wood). The porch is under a
roof and has a ceiling; except for a balustrade, its sides will be
exposed to the elements.

We live in New Jersey, which does get snow. The porch faces east
(morning sun); one side has northern exposure (rain and snow), and the
other has southern exposure (sun for part of the day).

We're having a mahogany tongue-and-groove floor installed. (I'm not
sure whether it's true mahogany or another wood that's just called
mahogany. It sure is dense, though!) The lumberyard delivered the wood
very dusty and dirty.

What's the best way to clean the wood and prepare it for installation?
Is there a book you could recommend that would instruct us on how to
seal and stain the wood? Should that be done before it's installed?

Thanks!

Anne

wrote in message
We're having a mahogany tongue-and-groove floor installed. (I'm not
sure whether it's true mahogany or another wood that's just called
mahogany. It sure is dense, though!) The lumberyard delivered the wood
very dusty and dirty.

What's the best way to clean the wood and prepare it for installation?
Is there a book you could recommend that would instruct us on how to
seal and stain the wood? Should that be done before it's installed?

Best to do it before installations on all sides can be sealed. I have no
idea why you'd use a stain on this wood, but Penofin Oil would make it look
very nice as well as offer a lot of protection. You can see a couple of
Penofin oiled mahogany benches and tables on my web site.

Brush off the dirt, wash with a hose if it is that dirty, let it dry a few
day, then put on the oil. After the deck is completed, go back and touch up
any pieces that were cut so they can be sealed also.
--
Ed
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome/

Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
wrote in message
We're having a mahogany tongue-and-groove floor installed. (I'm not
sure whether it's true mahogany or another wood that's just called
mahogany. It sure is dense, though!) The lumberyard delivered the wood
very dusty and dirty.

What's the best way to clean the wood and prepare it for installation?
Is there a book you could recommend that would instruct us on how to
seal and stain the wood? Should that be done before it's installed?

Best to do it before installations on all sides can be sealed. I have no
idea why you'd use a stain on this wood, but Penofin Oil would make it look
very nice as well as offer a lot of protection.

We would stain it only out of ignorance, because we didn't know any
better!Thanks for setting me straight! :-) Your wood products are
beautiful!

Is the Penofin oil a sealer as well, or should we use a different
product to seal? Would Penofin oil make the surface slick? How often
would we have to reoil?

BTW, I've done a lot of reading on the Internet about this, but I've
seen many different opinions. It's interesting to me that there's not
just one right way to do something like this.

Anne

wrote in message
We would stain it only out of ignorance, because we didn't know any
better!Thanks for setting me straight! :-) Your wood products are
beautiful!

Thank you.

Is the Penofin oil a sealer as well, or should we use a different
product to seal? Would Penofin oil make the surface slick? How often
would we have to reoil?

It will seal and offer UV protection. I'm probably going to put a second
doat ont he outdoor furniture but it sill looks as good as new.

www.penofin.com
Maintenance
A maintenance coat of Hardwood Finish should be applied within 3-6 months
after the initial application or as soon as oil looks depleted. The next
maintenance coat should be done again in approximately 10-12 months or
whenever wood looks depleted. Over time, the wood fibers become fully
protected and the maintenance will become less frequent. Wash the wood with
a mild cleanser and warm water. Rinse well. Allow wood to dry for a minimum
of 48-72 hours before application. Apply maintenance coat of Hardwood
Finish. After 20-30 minutes of absorption time, wipe the surface with a
nap-free, clean, dry cloth.



BTW, I've done a lot of reading on the Internet about this, but I've
seen many different opinions. It's interesting to me that there's not
just one right way to do something like this.

Often times the "best" way for one person is different that "best" for
others. Sort of like all ice cream is good except coffee is wretched, but
vanilla is still the best.

I love that you are doing a traditional T&G porch floor. Most people would
just tell you to get some green pressure treated pine boards and nail em up.
Post some pictures when complete. If you can get a first coat of finish on
all six (or is it 10 because its T&G ?) sides. make sure you installer does
not face nail when at all possible. It will look a lot better. Also, make
sure you have a slight pitch away from the hose to properly shed water. Even
though you will apply finish before its installed you should then coat again
after its installed. (Will fill any small gaps, etc.) I have never used
penofin but Ed P seems to know what he is talking about.

Edwin - I have used Sikkens Cetol 123Plus on exterior Western Red Cedar
siding in the past. It looks great and touch up was easy. Has lasted many
years with minimal maintenance. I just did a Mahogany deck rail with
aluminum Dekarators balusters. Since I had good luck with Sikkens I
suggested they try their 'Dek' product. It calls for multiple coats and
recommends 6 sides. Well that's impossible unless I would stop and treat/let
dry after each cut. So, the entire thing is up w/o finish. They are going to
finish themselves in a couple of weeks. It will be a pain for them with the
aluminum balusters but that's what the wanted. Anyway - have you used any
other products that cause you to lean toward penofin? Can you make any
comparisons to Sikkens? I know Sikkens penofin is apple and oranges as far
as technology but they both get you where you want.


wrote in message
ups.com...
We're having our 22X9 front porch rebuilt by a contractor (who won't be
doing the staining/painting/sealing of the wood). The porch is under a
roof and has a ceiling; except for a balustrade, its sides will be
exposed to the elements.

We live in New Jersey, which does get snow. The porch faces east
(morning sun); one side has northern exposure (rain and snow), and the
other has southern exposure (sun for part of the day).

We're having a mahogany tongue-and-groove floor installed. (I'm not
sure whether it's true mahogany or another wood that's just called
mahogany. It sure is dense, though!) The lumberyard delivered the wood
very dusty and dirty.

What's the best way to clean the wood and prepare it for installation?
Is there a book you could recommend that would instruct us on how to
seal and stain the wood? Should that be done before it's installed?

Thanks!

Anne

I have a 12X50 cedar deck that faces South so it gets a lot of sun.

On recommendations from "those who should know" I put Sikkens on it.

It looked great for 1 year and I applied the finishes as per =
instructions.

By the second year the finish had lifted in spots and I reapplied the =
product as per instructions.

By the forth year most of the deck was again peeling and the spots I =
fixed in year 2 were again looking real bad. I cussed Sikkens and let =
the deck weather.

By the fifth year the deck was clear of Sikkens and had started to turn =
a nice shade of grey.

Since then, I have had opportunity to discuss deck finishes with several =
"pro's". =20
The consensus is:
1. Varnish, Spar Varnish, Marine Varnish, etc. do not work and need =
lots of replenishing.
2. Sikkens is a fine product for walls as long as it is not is =
direct full sun.
3. Nothing works on a South facing deck (except Penofin Oil???? =
SHMBO says this is next and if it does not work, natural =
grey will be the choice)
Even the folk from Penofin say their product need to be re-applied =
bi-annually in my case.

All in all, I like silver grey and am willing to use the oil if it will =
help prolong the life of the deck.
=20
--=20
PDQ

"No" wrote in message =
...
| I love that you are doing a traditional T&G porch floor. Most people =
would=20
| just tell you to get some green pressure treated pine boards and nail =
em up.=20
| Post some pictures when complete. If you can get a first coat of =
finish on=20
| all six (or is it 10 because its T&G ?) sides. make sure you installer =
does=20
| not face nail when at all possible. It will look a lot better. Also, =
make=20
| sure you have a slight pitch away from the hose to properly shed =
water. Even=20
| though you will apply finish before its installed you should then coat =
again=20
| after its installed. (Will fill any small gaps, etc.) I have never =
used=20
| penofin but Ed P seems to know what he is talking about.
|=20
| Edwin - I have used Sikkens Cetol 123Plus on exterior Western Red =
Cedar=20
| siding in the past. It looks great and touch up was easy. Has lasted =
many=20
| years with minimal maintenance. I just did a Mahogany deck rail with=20
| aluminum Dekarators balusters. Since I had good luck with Sikkens I=20
| suggested they try their 'Dek' product. It calls for multiple coats =
and=20
| recommends 6 sides. Well that's impossible unless I would stop and =
treat/let=20
| dry after each cut. So, the entire thing is up w/o finish. They are =
going to=20
| finish themselves in a couple of weeks. It will be a pain for them =
with the=20
| aluminum balusters but that's what the wanted. Anyway - have you used =
any=20
| other products that cause you to lean toward penofin? Can you make any =

| comparisons to Sikkens? I know Sikkens penofin is apple and oranges =
as far=20
| as technology but they both get you where you want.
|=20
|=20
| wrote in message=20
| ups.com...
| We're having our 22X9 front porch rebuilt by a contractor (who won't =
be
| doing the staining/painting/sealing of the wood). The porch is under =
a
| roof and has a ceiling; except for a balustrade, its sides will be
| exposed to the elements.
|
| We live in New Jersey, which does get snow. The porch faces east
| (morning sun); one side has northern exposure (rain and snow), and =
the
| other has southern exposure (sun for part of the day).
|
| We're having a mahogany tongue-and-groove floor installed. (I'm not
| sure whether it's true mahogany or another wood that's just called
| mahogany. It sure is dense, though!) The lumberyard delivered the =
wood
| very dusty and dirty.
|
| What's the best way to clean the wood and prepare it for =
installation?
| Is there a book you could recommend that would instruct us on how to
| seal and stain the wood? Should that be done before it's installed?
|
| Thanks!
|
| Anne
| =20
|=20
|

"I love that you are doing a traditional T&G porch floor. Most people
would just tell you to get some green pressure treated pine boards and
nail em up."

One of the contractors who came to look at the porch for an estimate
wanted to do a regular PT deck on my porch. It would have looked
ridiculous, as this is a sort of Arts and Crafts type house built in
1940: http://www.geocities.com/anwinesp/1940_house.html.

"If you can get a first coat of finish on all six (or is it 10 because
its T&G ?) sides."

My husband and I are trying to figure out the logistics of this. Some
of the boards are 16' long. We don't have anywhere to put the boards
while we clean, sand, and oil them, or to store them out of the rain
while the porch is built. We might have to pay someone to take the wood
away and do it. It's a shame, because I think this is a job my husband
and I could have done, as unhandy as we are.

" make sure you installer does not face nail when at all possible. It
will look a lot better."

I'm not sure what "face nail" means, but I'll be sure to see what the
contractor says. (He's been in the business a while and seems to know
what he's doing.)


Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to respond in this thread!

Anne

See http://www.18004654533.com/images/In...oring/fig5.jpg The 1/2"
gap in the illustration does not apply to you as the illustration is from a
flooring website. The first board will need to be face nailed on the groove
side but all other nails should be able to be blind nailed. The advantage is
that the nail heads are covered by the next board. This blind nailing can be
done by hand, using a pneumatic finish nailer or by using a special nailer
for flooring.


wrote in message
oups.com...
"I love that you are doing a traditional T&G porch floor. Most people
would just tell you to get some green pressure treated pine boards and
nail em up."

One of the contractors who came to look at the porch for an estimate
wanted to do a regular PT deck on my porch. It would have looked
ridiculous, as this is a sort of Arts and Crafts type house built in
1940: http://www.geocities.com/anwinesp/1940_house.html.

"If you can get a first coat of finish on all six (or is it 10 because
its T&G ?) sides."

My husband and I are trying to figure out the logistics of this. Some
of the boards are 16' long. We don't have anywhere to put the boards
while we clean, sand, and oil them, or to store them out of the rain
while the porch is built. We might have to pay someone to take the wood
away and do it. It's a shame, because I think this is a job my husband
and I could have done, as unhandy as we are.

" make sure you installer does not face nail when at all possible. It
will look a lot better."

I'm not sure what "face nail" means, but I'll be sure to see what the
contractor says. (He's been in the business a while and seems to know
what he's doing.)


Thanks so much to everyone who took the time to respond in this thread!

Anne