exterior wood

We hired Andre to refinish a covered back porch and associated rails and fence as well as a simple exposed deck.  The deck was in pretty bad shape, not having been refinished for about 12 years.  Andre was responsive when called for an estimate and came out within a few days.  Scheduling was a bit of a problem because (a) Andre had many other jobs he was trying to coordinate and (b) we had visitors and several trips scheduled.  Eventually, the job was scheduled and Andre came as promised.  He did a fine job pressure washing the wood.  He came back about a week later after the wood had dried to apply the stain and he replaced several rotten boards in the deck.  The stain came out a bit darker than I thought it would because of our older wood, but the final job looks very nice and it was certainly worth the price.
There were two problems with the job, but Andre took care of both right away.  First, it must have been a windy day during staining because there were 20 or so drops of stain on our stone patio.  When I told Andre about these, he came right away to take care of it and his quick work removed everything.  Second, I noticed a few days later that there was a spot missing stain on a lower part of the handrails.  Again, Andre came out right away to take care of it and even left a bit of stain so we could touch up any other problems that occured in the future.  Overall, we are happy with the job and would hire Andre again.

The job started out well enough, with us both understanding that the work would not start until the weather was dry enough. This arrangement was fine. After starting it did take a long time to finish, again because of the weather. Once things got under way, I had multiple problems.
When Andre power washed the deck, tons of water came into our house. We have wood floors and I was not prepared for the resulting mess. When I mentioned the problem to Andre, he did not offer to help clean up or anything alone that line. He stated that if the seals are weak around windows or doors, water will come in the house. This makes sense, I just was not aware that our seals were broken. If Andre had simply stated beforehand that this might be an issue, I could have watched for it and been prepared to clean it up. Instead I had soaked wood, carpet and rugs to deal with. While power washing, Andre also covered all of our windows with wood coming off of the deck. I don't know how preventable this is, but rather than just leave it to cake onto our windows, it would have been nice to have the windows covered beforehand or if Andre would have cleaned the windows after the deck was finished. Our balcony was power washed with such force that the paint was sprayed off of the flooring of the balcony. The power washing also sprayed wood debris all over our landscaping. It would have been nice if tarps had been set to prevent this and I can only hope that our heavy winter rains will wash the debris clean from the plants so they won't have to be replaced.
Andre said he sanded the deck but honestly it doesn't look like it was sanded in a lot of areas. I wasn't home to see if this was done, so I can only take him at his word.
We also had problems with the staining. Not only is the deck stained, but so is a good portion of our house. There is stain spray all over the paint of the house from about five feet and down. It is also all over the windows. I can scrub it off of the windows, but I can't get it out of the paint. Perhaps Andre is not aware of just how expensive house painting can be that he wouldn't care to be more careful while spraying the deck. We also have stain marks on our concrete pad behind our deck. The stairs that lead up to our deck are not stained as dark as the rest, and part of the handrail never even got stained. Another part of the deck is much darker than the rest. The deck was very wet with stain when finished. I had to wipe my feet off on something to prevent bringing stain into the house for quite a while. It took multiple weeks for me to no longer need to do this.
When the deck was completed Andre insisted upon being paid IMMEDIATELY. I never really had a chance to inspect the deck as it was still soaking wet. He was unclear with me regarding when he would finish, and I was not home to hand over a check at the hour that he finished. I said I could mail it to him the next day, but this was not good enough. He decided he would camp out in our driveway until I got home. I found this to come off as very unprofessional, especially since the phone call beforehand, when I explained that I was not immediately available, Andre found it appropriate to hang up on me while I was trying to find a solution to the problem. I feel that if IMMEDIATE payment is such a big deal, then he should ask for half of the money up front or another arrangement. Andre insisted though that he didn't want to be paid until the job was done, but then needed to be paid immediately. This provides a ridiculously small window of time for payment.
Overall, I can say two things. Everyone says the deck looks better than it did but that it cost too much, but more importantly, I will NEVER refer Andre to anyone.

Andre Orlov from Exterior Wood Care is an expert in restoring exterior wood and did a terrific job on our deck.
When I started my research, I was trying to determine whether this was a task my husband and I could approach ourselves but I soon realized that to do it correctly involved various processes, knowledge about the type and condition of the wood and then using the right products and equipment based on that knowledge. As neither my husband nor myself were very good at DIY, we thought it would be best to get it professionally restored. 
I found Andre Orlov from Exterior Wood Care on Angies List and upon reading the reviews and checking out his website, he seemed an expert in his field. I liked the fact that he specialized in exterior wood restoration and carried out the work himself. Andre replied promptly to my request for a quote in addition to all my subsequent questions. Due to his expertise on wood care I felt confident that he would do a great job.
On his first visit he cleaned, stripped, washed and brightened the deck surface and stairs. He was very honest by informing me that we had a couple more years left on our rails and posts so we took his advice and will get those restored at a later date. As a result the initial quote was reduced substantially.
He worked alone and I felt that he really put a lot of hard work into ensuring the deck was clean of dirt, mildew and the multiple layers of previous stains. After the necessary drying time, Andre used an electronic moisture meter to check that the wood was thoroughly dry before sanding the deck followed by the staining/sealing process. Andre uses top quality, deep penetrating oil-based sealers which should preserve and protect our wood until the next routine maintenance.
I am very pleased that I choose Andre Orlov from Exterior Wood Care to restore our deck. He is knowledgeable, responsive, honest, polite and hard working. I trust his advice and would highly recommend him.   

I sent Andre some pictures of the deck, explaining what I would like done, and he responded with an estimate.He gave me an estimated time frame for starting the work, and held to that timing.The initial work was completed within a day, and the sanding and staining was completed on a second day.
Andre was knowledgeable about the wood, and how to care for it. He gave me options, and suggestions, for the properstain to use. He's a no nonsense guy who works hard, and knows his business. These days when "contractors" try to be all things to all people, it's refreshing to find someone who specializes in what they do, and does it well, without over reaching in their timing or abilities. Andre isn't cheap, but you get what you pay for. It's a lot less expensive to take care of the wood properly the first time around, rather than having to rebuild the deck because the wood turned grey and rotted due to inferior maintenance.Have Andre do it right!

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The experience went well. Andre was very prompt in returning my emails and calls. I really appreciated receiving multiple back and forth communications over email in the same day rather than multiple days in between as is standard for most contractors.

He came out, was on time, looked at the work and wrote up a detailed estimate. The estimate was a bit higher than some of the other contractors I spoke with, but based on reports here I had confidence the additional cost would result in higher quality work.

As it was the end of the season Andre was busy with other jobs, but he got started with the stripping the day he came out and did a quote. It took another week or two to come back and complete the job, as he had other project he was juggling and had to work with the weather which was turning for the worse. However, the next good day he was available (only a week and a half later) he came out and completed the staining. He worked hard when he was here, had a no-nonsense get it done approach, and finished exactly at his original estimate.

The deck looks beautiful and I will happily use him again for maintenance and repair!

I like them very much. He was very knowledgeable about the care of the deck. He was very competitive price-wise and had a pretty low price. He worked very quickly and the result is beautiful. He did very, very good work.

Andre was thorough and explained each step he would take and when. The price was fair for the work. He came out within a few days and completely stripped the awful stain that was there before, then allowed it all to dry over the next days. He then came out and put down the new stain and oil and it turned out wonderfully!!!! It rained just 2 days later and it beads up so nicely. Would recommend Andre to anyone, professional,courteous, and timely.

Andre simply was fantastic.  The results far surpassed by own.  Andre is extremely knowledgeable, hard working, punctual, and met my expectations.  He was among the first contractors that I have selected using Angie's list and the added value paid for my subscription in this job alone. The deck looked great as it was drying but we love the finished product even more after a month of use.  The stain that he recommended is beautiful and the sanded finish makes the deck look brand new. He was a pleasure to work with.  Most of our communications was via the internet.  I sent him my dimensions and history of care.  He communicated back and forth and he was able to suggest the best path forward.

Andre showed up Thursday am at precisely the time we had set. He gave me his estimate, then explained our railings and posts could go another 2-3 years, saving us half the cost of refinishing them. I accepted his bid and he started work immediately!  He power washed the deck in one day, removing all the old stain and also applied a brightener. He knows how to use a pressure washer without damaging a deck. He did find gouges in our deck from a previous company and recommended extra sanding. . We have a large deck, approximately 5 years old. It had been treated with Olympic stain every year, yet was suffering.Early the following week he sanded the deck and applied the stain. He also applied stain to our top railings for no charge.Very professional, polite and precise. I especially appreciate his commitment to honoring the time we agreed to meet for the bid, and his quick work to finish the project so timely.

Once Exterior Wood Care saw the property, they gave us an estimate.  The job turned out to be very challenging - the old finish was the wrong product for a wood deck, which required multiple days of sanding. They sanded down to the bare wood, and refinished the wood with a proper stain/sealer.  Finally, they discussed ongoing maintenance and how to know when it's time to call them again for refinishing.  Despite the difficulty of the job, Exterior Wood Care honored their estimate.

Throughout the job, Exterior Wood Care kept us up-to-date with emails and verbal explanation about the progress of the job.

The quality of the job is excellent, and I'm confidant that this will last far longer than our original finish.

As before, Andre did a great job. This time, I asked him to also stain my front steps and landing, which I had rebuilt last year. I took his advice regarding the types of stain to use on each, and both look very good. I'll definitely hire Andre again in the future.

Not the cheapest company you can hire to refinish your wood, but probably the best. Quality really matters to me and I passed on lower bidders because I was impressed with Andre's knowledge and responsiveness. He really knows wood (he even correctly identified the exact type and brand of stain the previous homeowners had used!) and did a fantastic job cleaning, sanding and staining our deck and porch. The surfaces were in lousy shape after 5 years of neglect - but after Andre was finished with them they look practically brand new. It rained soon after application of the stain and he left me some stain so I could touch up anything I chose to (turned out not to be needed so far) and also said to contact him if there were any concerns or areas that needed more work. Our deck looks fantastic and we are very pleased with the experience and results.

I had been in touch with Andre for two years after we had a bad experience with another contractor who had no experience with Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood that requires special handling and knowledge.  He (the prior contractor) had over-washed the wood causing a very poor result when the final oil was applied.

I decided to look for a contractor who specialized in this type of deck refinishing, and spoke to Andre at length.  He was friendly, knowledgeable, and said we should wait at least one season before doing a refurbishing of the wood.  Frankly, Andre seemed more interested in doing the work properly than trying to get another job lined up right away.  That impressed me, so I kept his name and email address on file and contacted him recently after two years.

Andre had previously looked at the deck and provided an estimate.  This time I asked for a firm bid and a start time.  The bid was exactly as expected, and the start time was established with the condition that we would need at least three days of dry weather.  In our area that is very unpredictable, so our start time was delayed because of weather.  In the meantime he cleaned and prepared the deck for finishing.

Over the July 4th weekend we finally got the right weather, so Andre was able to sand and finish the deck as agreed.  He worked alone, and did the entire job himself, which, as anyone who has hired a contractor knows, is rare.  He took obvious pride in the work, and the final result was excellent.  He did not ask for payment until the work was done and we could see the finished product.

Andre started on the date he said and though he worked alone, seemed to do the work of two or three men. He removed all the furniture and grill from our oversized deck and began the process of renovating a deck that had not been maintained for about five years. The immediate difference was amazing. He had samples of stains from which we chose the finished color. He removed and replaced 23 post caps on both an upper and lower deck, as well as on the stair rails. We had to leave town for about a week and Andre emailed us when the job was finished. He returned for the payment and replaced all the furniture and grill back on the deck. We found Andre to be extremely conscientious and knowledgable and quite a craftsman. As with most folks we would have liked a lower price, but we certainly received our money's worth with the beautiful job. We wouldn't hesitate to ask Andre to help us again should we need help with our deck.

I've got a large back deck that wraps around one side of our house to the front porch. Andre of Decks++ gave a competitive bid, and began work promptly. One thing that stood out right away is that Andre is a very hard worker, and has no problem putting in a long day in order to achieve previously agreed upon goals. Also, he adapted to some unexpected extra work with no complaints, or additional costs. He is very responsive to questions or areas that you'd like to spend more time on. The prep work was the most labor intensive part of the project, but when Andre was finished it looked brand new. The deck had been stripped, sanded, and looked like it would be perfect after some stain was applied. After a few weeks of waiting for the right weather the seal was applied and the job ended. No contractor/job we've hired has been perfect, but Andre was far above average in our experience. We would definitely hire him again.

I neglected my 22 foot by 22 foot deck for more than 10 years. It was in very poor condition and looked horrible -- dirty, dark, and mossy. Andre, of Deck++, responded to my initial query immediately, came out and gave a professional estimate, and scheduled my job right away. Andre and his co-worker arrived when they said they would and set to work. They were thorough and meticulous in every process -- careful power washing, machine sanding that followed the deck grain, and then careful staining. The job was done in two stages: first power washing and then sanding and staining with a three day drying out period in between. He used a high-quality stain that went on evenly and dried quickly. He also power washed the rails and sanded the horizontal rail surfaces to prepare them for painting. The end result was fantastic. I can see beautiful wood grain and the deck looks great. I would highly recommend Deck++, not just for their workmanship (which was terrific) but also for their professionalism. Andre was highly responsive to both e-mail and phone queries, and was courteous and reliable -- providing me with advance notice of his arrival and showing up when he promised and on time. This was an excellent experience.