Cedar, decks and docks

Deck stripping, sanding and re-staining

Stripping, sanding and re-coating for wood decks, and low-pressure treatment for composite that has gone black in the grain.

There is a right way to do this and several fast ways, and the fast ways are what people regret.

What people notice first

Green slick on the north side of the deck that is genuinely slippery when wet
Composite decking with black spotting that a hose will not shift
Boards that have gone grey and furry and give you splinters barefoot
A stain that is peeling in sheets on the sunny half and still sound on the shaded half

The way this is usually tackled

On a wood deck the honest sequence is strip, neutralise, sand and re-coat, and skipping the sanding is why so many re-stains fail in one season. On composite the job is different: the black spotting is usually mould growing in the surface texture, and it wants a low-pressure treatment, not a pressure washer, which will permanently stripe the boards. Ask which one you have before anyone quotes it — plenty of island decks are a wood frame with composite boards and a wood rail.

$1,800 – $6,500

typical range, not a quote for Long Beach Island and the mainland.

Not a quote, and not a judgement about your property. What a job actually costs comes down to height, access, what the surface is made of and how far it has been left — which is why it takes someone standing in front of it.

Rather just ask somebody?

Say what needs doing and whether there is a deadline. If nobody can realistically make it, we will tell you rather than waste your week.

Tell us what it needs →

Coverage

The stretches this covers

Four kinds of ground, and each asks for this for its own reasons.

North end

Large contemporary houses on deep lots, most of them clad in cedar and most of them with water at one end.

Central island

The narrow middle, where ocean and bay are close enough that one house routinely needs two different treatments.

South end

Older cottages and Victorians alongside a marina district, ending at the most exposed address on the island.

Mainland

The easiest ground we cover to work, and the heaviest for organics and irrigation staining.

Patios, drives and pool decks

Concrete, walkway and pool deck washing

Surface-cleaner washing for drives, walks, patios and pool surrounds — even, without the striping a hand wand leaves.

$275 – $850 typical range, not a quote

Windows and gutters

Window, screen and glass door cleaning

Glass, screens, tracks and sliders, including the ocean-facing salt film that ordinary cleaning puts back within a week.

$275 – $950 typical range, not a quote