Owner Dave Forman did the estimate and was able to convince me their team knew how to solve the problems, in particular the need to chemically strip all the cedar soffits and power wash after stripping to get them back to looking like the interior cedar ceilings adjacent to the soffits. Other estimators either thought it could not be done, or wanted to sand {$$$} all the soffits, or said they would "try to find out" what chemicals to use. The stripping involved applying one chemical (sodium hydroxide), allowing it to work, then hitting it with a neutralizer, then power washing with bleach. Certapro was not the cheapest estimate, but the thoroughness of the estimate write up, inclusion of patching woodpecker holes etc. was convincing. I was not disappointed in any way by the actual job! The top-notch stain materials they used covered perfectly without resort to a second coat. CertaPro was not the low bidder, but they were the ones whose estimate I could "believe".
The crew, lead by Oliver, were delayed a week in starting due to rain on the previous job, but they told me they would be behind schedule ahead of time. Once they arrived and started work, they worked steadily, if not "fast", except when rain again delayed things for several days in progress. They moved all the lawn furniture, grills etc. off the decks and planned to put them back after the decks were allowed to dry for 4-7 days. As the house had lots of 4'x8' two-story vertical glass, they had to place ladders at right angles against beams 8 ft. apart and strip/wash/stain over their heads and behind themselves. Before actually staining, they applied sample materials to small inconspicuous areas and asked me to verify the color selection for primary stain, beams & trim, and clear coating. The job turned out looking fantastic everywhere, and the clear coating on the signature mahogany "waffle" door of my Deck House (tm) restored it to its original glory. During power washing, some small water leakage occurred, but as soon a we spotted the leaks they quit power washing where the leaks came through and handled those areas by hand. The men worked M-F but also on the only non-rainy Saturday we experienced.
As it turned out, it was over a week after finishing that the crew returned to replace the deck furniture, so we had put all but one heavy article back in place ourselves before they returned. However, they did return while I was gone and replaced the heavy outdoor "chiminea" exactly where it belonged.
Bottom line: These people know how to do a good job at a fair price and get the job done RIGHT. I would recommend them to anyone.