Podcast # 7 The Wizard of Wood Everett Abrams - a podcast by Caleb Roth

Caleb Roth interviews Wizard of Wood, Everett Abrams

Stain & Seal Experts Fence and Deck Stain and Sealer

ZERO VOC, best on the market

Everett Abrams

Deck Restoration Plus

Started with their own product line and franchising and stopped that to sell to the public.

He earned the nickname 'Wizard of Wood’ from on Online Bulletin Board many years ago

Evert’s best success comes from developing plans with his customers to best suit their needs.

Advice for cleaning and restoring decks-

There are three popular ways to clean the wood using Sodium percarbonate, Oxygenated bleach, and Sodium hypochlorite. These products work great when used properly.

Everett recommends using Sodium metocylic to clean older, more weathered decks because it is more of a lifter or mild stripper than cleaner.

He also recommends Sodium hydroxide, when cut in half or less, also works well to kill and remove mold, mildew and other organic growth.

Caleb asks Evert for his opinion on using household bleach to clean decks and fences. He says that if used properly, it is an affective tool in cleaning and restoring wood.

Caleb then asked Evert about how he deals with fuzz. He said the cause of fuzz is too much cleaning product or the product being left on too long. He also suggested using Osborne brushes to remove the fuzz as an alternative to sanding.

Pressure doesn’t clean or restore. He suggests to use pressure washers for rinsing only, because too much water at a high pressure will do more harm than good.

His best advice is to research and find the best cleaning product for the project at hand.

He uses water based stains that do not leave film on the wood surfaces. He uses this and achieves great results for his customers.

When asked about his business advice for people wanting to step into the world of wood restoration and staining, Everett suggests making sure that you learn all that you can about wood restoration so that you can properly and honestly answer questions from potential customers. He says to make sure that the knowledge and hard work that you put on the initial contact, so that you are always ahead of the competition. He reiterates that learning all that you can about wood will set you apart from any competition. The more knowledge and education you have, the better you will be able to help potential clients.

If you stay inside your four walls, that’s all you’ll ever see.

Everett advises that you set up a maintenance program for customers so that they will protect their initial investment while guaranteeing you repeat business. He also suggests to give time frame windows for everything from estimates to product longevity.

Everett has been featured on the cover of Deck Builder Magazine. He says they reached out to him about pressure washing techniques

Popular Mechanics Magazine.

Caleb and Everett discuss pricing jobs and the different factors that determine the price of projects.

Everett teaches classes on wood restoration. He offers a two day course that covers different wood species, cleaners and cleaning techniques, then different coatings. He also reviews the business side - giving proposals, marketing, and more specific products.

Everett has taught classes for:

Power Washers of North America https://www.pwna.org/

United Association of Mobile Contract Cleaners http://www.uamcc.org

International Window Cleaning Association https://www.iwca.org/

Deck and Railing Association http://www.nadra.org/

Powerwash.com out of Texas

Ways to connect with Caleb and the Stain & Seal Experts’ team

Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/StainandSealExperts

Facebook University https://www.facebook.com/groups/1908314446162321/

Website https://stainandsealexperts.com/

Store https://stain-seal-experts-store.myshopify.com/

Ways to connect with Everett Abrams, Wizard of Wood

Facebook page and YouTube links

https://www.facebook.com/deckrestorationplus/

https://www.youtube.com/results?sp=EiG4AQHCARtDaElKbFNJNGktYzZ3WWtSLTZYTC1TQU95YTQ%253D&search_query=Deck+Restoration+Plus+LLC

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWFJS5wvnujM_8SyPpkh5Xw

deckrestorationplus.com

Resources mentioned in this episode

The Wood Handbook https://smile.amazon.com/Centennial-Wood-Handbook-Engineering-Material/dp/1484859707/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1544481339&sr=8-1&keywords=the+wood+handbook

Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau http://www.cedarbureau.org/

Western Red Cedar Lumber Associationhttps://www.realcedar.com/

Understanding Wood

https://smile.amazon.com/Understanding-Wood-Craftsmans-Guide-Technology/dp/1561583588/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1544481558&sr=8-2&keywords=understanding+wood

Further episodes of The Stain

Further podcasts by Caleb Roth

Website of Caleb Roth