<p>DH is stripping the stain from the cedar on the front of our house with a powerwasher. If you have a house which requires stripping, I advise you to move. This is the worst operation I have ever seen :(</p>
<p>Paint can be striped because it’s a surface coating, but stain is penetrative and thus has to be excavated. Post pics.</p>
<p>Why is he stripping? Will you be painting or staining? Check out paintquality.com for tips…look under the “Paint tools and advice” in the “Paint professionals” section.</p>
<p>Whoooooaaaah, big stop here…Real stain can’t really be removed without removing wood. Some new products call themselves stain but aren’t, and many sidings call themselves wood but aren’t… if you are talking about real cedar siding, stain is a penetrating oil that soaks deep into the wood. Why would you power-strip to remove stain on such a wonderful but soft wood like cedar? Is there something wrong with the old stain other than color?</p>
<p>The wood was originally stained/coated with a water based product that is no longer made. It got darker with added coats and with time, and a section that had to be replaced was a lighter color than the rest so it just looked stupid, and it was peeling severely in places. </p>
<p>The product we will be putting on was recommended by the guys at the store, who said the old stuff had to come off (found that info online as well). The water chews up the wood, and the stain and chemical stripper fly off everywhere. It’s really a mess. Tomorrow, DH will put the first coat of sealer/stain (Sikkens) on one of the cleaned areas, and we will find out how well that goes.</p>
<p>Not sure how to post pics.</p>
<p>Oh I can relate to your problem. I’ve got a dark wood stained family room, that I want to paint sooooo bad. But it’s a good size room and I’m not sure how to prep the wood or even start the process.</p>
<p>Our neighbors had a dark brown stained cedar house which is now a light grey. They did NOT strip the stain. They power washed and put a coat of something on it first…but no stripping. I hope your house looks terrific when it’s done…sounds like a huge hassle choice.</p>
<p>nytreader - MIL/FIL had a fairly dark panelled family room. The contractors did some sanding to roughen up the glossy surface, put on a coat of Bin or some such thing, and painted over it. It came out great. The lines in the paneling give it a kind of rustic, beach house look.</p>
<p>thumper1 - a lot of our neighbors have gone with opaque greys or browns over their wood. We don’t like the look, but if it came to that or stripping again we will definitely do something easier than this. The weather is turning and now we are worrying about getting done before winter.</p>
<p>We had a 100yo original Sears kit home that we renovated. Much of the woodwork was stained and made the 1,300sqft (yes that’s right…tiny house) seem smaller than it was. We sanded and then primed with Kilz to keep it from bleeding through. We then painted with a semigloss eggshell. Obviously this is for inside, not out. It was a mess regardless.</p>
<p>I love my house. But I’m not loving the $20K I will soon spend on replacing all its 90-year old windows. I’m trying to keep my mind off thinking about the fabulous trip that $20K would buy: a business-class flight to Instanbul… meandering throughout Turkey… (stop it, stop it) a side trip to a couple Greek islands (I mean it: stop it)…</p>
<p>The upkeep on older homes, especially in termite prone areas is another MAJOR headache. We will have to tent the house & fumigate it – soon!</p>
<p>We also have to do something about the rotting window frames in our aging house, as well as paint. The list continues to grow!</p>
<p>As to homes and their constant maintenance and repair needs, my husband always says the following:</p>
<p>“If it’s not ants, it’s roaches.”</p>
<p>I’m a city person through and through and that includes apartment living my whole life until my husband convinced me to move and buy a house. I told him then that I am clueless and useless and have no desire to learn how to care for a house so if he’s not maintaining it we’ll have to pay someone to do that. That’s what we’ve done for the last 18 years, but I still prefer apartment living - call the super, get it done.</p>
<p>katliamom - not sure if they are still doing it but check into the energy rebates for new windows. You may get some of that 20k back at tax time.</p>
<p>You’re lucky katlia. Our house is 23 years old and we have ALREADY replaced over 1/2 of the windows.</p>
<p>fendergirl–your right on! We replaced a large window in my daughter’s room. Cost us $2000.00 with work and double window. But we got money back on taxes. So your right.</p>