Expert: Stephen Major (Owner--Major Design Group) - 6/7/2007

Question
I live in Southeast Alaska and it rains quite a bit here. We have a house with cedar siding. We love the house but have developed a real disdain for cedar siding. The house was beautiful when we bought it but now it is covered with mildew giving it a gray color over the once gorgeous golden hue. We have had the house for about ten years now. We have had it stained twice and it cost about two to three thousand. This time it is going to cost eight. I'm going to attempt to do it myself as a teacher's summer project. I have been told that I should power wash it first.Is that right? The last guy who did that blew out the seal of two or three windows. Is there a pressure maximum I should use? I have been told that oxy-bleach is better than regular bleach. Is that true? If I use regular bleach what is the best mix. Someone said half and half.I plan to rent a lift as this is a two story house. Are they really safe? My wife says pay the eight grand and get it done. Am I biting off more than I can chew? I'm sixty but I'm in pretty good shape. What do you think? Am I forgetting anything to do the job? Thanks for your time. I'm sorry I asked so many questions but the other sites have been very little help. I really appreciate this site. Thanks so much. Ken

Answer
Ken,

I don't know what you have been using for stain in the past - solid color?  Semi-transparent?  Clear?

If you have the physical ability to do this job, then by all means go for it.  Power washing is very dangerous with cedar.  It can dig into the grain in no time.  You need to be sure to use a fan tip and add your bleach through the chemical feed inlet on the washer.  Oxy-bleach is safer and less aggressive.  Strong Clorox (1 part to 2 parts water) generally works well, but you need to be especially careful about splashing.  It also kills earthworms.  Test any bleaching product first, to be sure it does what you want it to.  You should also add some detergent into the wash stream to promote wetting, and follow each wash pass with a brushing.  Use a long handle on a soft 12" brush head.  Rinse thoroughly and allow the siding to dry well, even up to 2-3 weeks.  If the work seems overwhelming, then consider doing half the house this year and half next.

I would recommend a solid color oil stain (be sure it contains a mildewcide).  At this stage in the siding's life, it is not worth trying to preserve the wood grain appearance with a transparent or semi-transparent product (if that is what you are doing).  It becomes more important to apply a product that will look good and give long life (to the siding and itself).

A man-lift can be safe.  You need to be sure that it rests on stable soil.  If the area around your house is not level, you will need to rent one that compensates for this.  A bucket type is best for this work.

Lastly, ALWAYS work from the top down.

Best of luck with this, and let me know if you need additional information.

--Steve Major