Beamers Better Builders

[cederella]

I am currently looking for a company who can cob blast my log home and then apply the necessary products (Perma Chink). It looks as though there will be a 3 step process involved - blaster, stain, sealer. I have spoken with these folks and they seem knowledgeable. My house is rather large and the quote is over $20,000 for labor only. I am supplying all the materials. Is anyone familiar with Beamers Better Builders and their work? Is this price way out of line? Thanks.

[BradBradstreet]

We had the exterior of our house pressure washed and then stained with 2 coats of Weatherall stain a couple of years ago. On one side they did 3 coats of stain. Plus, they stained the window and door trim, and the doors themselves (including 2 garage doors). I provided the materials. Take a look at the pictures of the house at the link below to have an idea of size comparison with your home. Our place is 45' x 45' plus a garage. The total cost for us was $5,000.

We had a lower bid but I did not feal he knew what he was doing - or bidding on. Another bid was $12,000. Because of the extra coat needed on one side the cost should probably have been a bit higher than the $5,000 price.

[cederella]

Brad -
I must admit that your figures are much more attractive than those I have been given so far. I just got another quote from another company and am still in that $20,000 range. Apparently, since the house was stained previously with something that was oil based, everyone feels it needs to be brought back to the "natural" state before anything else is applied. I have looked at your house previously and it is indeed very attractive. I want this job done right (whatever that is) and don't mind paying what is reasonable. I just want to find what is reasonable and also the best method to use so that the old girl can look great again.

Thanks for the response.

[riata]

Cederella,

Great name by the way!! I was looking over the topics and curious to see if you found anyone to take care of your home? Where are you located? How big is the place?

Take care!

[Jim Bilyeu]

"It looks as though there will be a 3 step process involved - blaster, stain, sealer".

There seems to be something wrong with this statement. Are these your words, or are they the contractor’s words? If this is what the contractor said, look for another contractor. You can tell the experience of your contractor by some of the things he says or doesn’t say. If you plan on cob blasting your home, here are some of the steps your looking at.

#1. Do any repairs needed first.
#2. Remove all screens and mask windows and doors.
#3. Remove down spouts and store in safe place.
#4. Mask gutters if necessary.
#5. Mask any area not to be blasted.
#6. Cover all plants to protect from damage.
#7. Remove exterior light fixtures.
#8. Cob blast.
#9. Rinse to remove dust and excess corn media.
#10. Apply Oxalic acid/citric acid wash if needed.
#11. Sand or buff to remove damaged wood and to prep for finish.
#12. Apply Perma-Chink finish.
#13. Apply Perma-Chink topcoat.
#14. Clean up the area.

I am assuming this is a log home! Steps may vary depending on the contractor. Be sure you understand that the texture of your logs are going to change because of the cob blasting. You did not give any size to your home so I can’t say weather or not the price is reasonable.

To me, cob blasting is over kill on most homes. You may be able to save money by just having it chemically stripped. Just because it has an oil base finish on it, does not mean that it has to be cob blasted. Perma-Chink Lifeline and Perma-Chink Ultra Plus are very good finishes. Make sure your contractor knows how to apply them properly.

If you have any questions, let me know.

[cederella]

Thanks for the responses. Riata - we are in southside VA. Jim - I really appreciate your specific info. Beamers is actually on a list of preferred contractors supplied to me by Perma Chink. The house is pretty good sized at 55x36 (2 story) with a full front covered porch and deck on back. We really wanted to have the work done this fall, but the cost was too darned high. The price quoted did NOT include any possible repairs or anything else other than blasting and staining. I have checked out a couple of other companies which were not too impressive but all wanted to corn blast. Apparently, that is where the profit comes in :-))

Riata - you sound as though you might be in the business. If so, I can send you pictures, etc. and you are welcome to offer a bid.

[riata]

Cederella,

Please send pictures so I can take a look at it..Can you give me a more exact exterior square footage so my estimate will be more accurate?

riatarestoration@yahoo.com

Thanks alot!

[Stephanie]

Hey neighbor! I'm in Petersburg. We just had Crystal Clear do some work on ours. They seemed knowledgeable. Their site is Crystal Clear (http://www.loghomefinishing.com) .
Phone number 919-413-6760

Shoot me an email if you want to take a look at their work on ours: stephanie@easternwoodlands.us

[dr.]

Hi cederella,
Another company you might want to check with;
http://members.tripod.com/~acmewoodmagic/company.htm
I haven't seen Mike post in a couple of years and don't know him personally, but he seemed like a straight shooter. I'm sure you remember some of his posts here and on another forum. He helped me diagnose a problem via e-mail several years back knowing it would not profit him, goes a long way with me.

[Jeff Kyger]

I really have no vested interest in what the homeowwner does.

By no means am I saying the house in questions needs or doesn't need to be cob blasted; It may need to be. I have no way of knowing since I haven't seen it. It also depends on what the level of acceptance is of the homeowner. I will say cob blasting is a very popular finish removal system that doesn't beat up the wood to the extent that sand blasting can. It can also be relatively expensive if done by a contractor who knows what they're doing. Do not hire a contractor who doesn't have a history of blasting.

In agreeing with Jim Bilyeu, and I've said this for years, as good of a process as it is it restoring homes better than other methods, it is often an overkill. If a log home is relatively tight or if someone isn't overly concerned with a few drops of water getting in their home, pressure washing at times can bring the same results (either with or without a chemical stripper first applied) at a fraction of the cost and time. Strippers aren't quite as popular as they once were perhaps, but there is still a place for them. Also, pressure washing a log home doesn't "saturate" the wood as some believe. It'll soak the top 1/64" of a hard, sound log, and a pressure washed log home often dries out enough in 24 hours (sometimes much less) to be able to stain.

There's my 3 cents...

Jeff Kyger, Redmond WA
Perma-Chink Systems

[Jeff Kyger]

In addition to my above contribution, it's only fair to say that I have no reason to think Beamer's does anything less than very professional and thourough restoration work on log homes. They certainly have the credentials and track record of being a very good, trustworthy and respected organization within the log home community.