One on One with Jim Grant

A Wood Doctor is in the House

By Gina Dostler

You might have seen him, watched him sanding and coating one of the many benches Laguna Beach provides for its residents and visitors. Jim Grant aka Jim the Deck Guy, loves what he does, taking weathered wood and making it shine to its former beauty, restoring not only its look, but its structure as well. Wood moves and breathes with its own life and Grant, with his years of knowledge and unbounded enthusiasm, knows how to make wood better, whether it’s an old deck or fence in need of repair.

Q:  What are the main problems with decks?

A:  Basically lumber deteriorates slowly over time with wear and tear from weather, dogs, kids, and sprinkler over-spray the main culprits, making the wood split, crack and turn grey. This also includes fencing, overhead patio coverings, garage doors, and entry-way gates. Time is the biggest catalyst, and about 8-10 years wood will start to splinter and crack if it is not properly constructed and maintained. And many times, the problem isn’t self evident.

Q: And that is where you come in.

A: I have been working on decks for over 24 years, restoring and making them beautiful again. There are those decks that need attention because they had a flaw in the design and not properly maintained. For instance, people don’t understand the importance of proper coating. Applying the wrong coating that ends up breaking down more quickly causes the deterioration process of the wood to start faster. Think of the coating as sunscreen for the lumber. It protects it from sun, wind, and rain. And depending on the type of wood, it’s exposure to the elements and other factors determine the type of coating necessary to keep it sound and beautiful for its natural duration.

Q: Is all lost if a deck is cracking and splintering?

A:  Absolutely not. We restore the most damaged lumber such as softwoods like redwood or cedar; as well as hardwoods like ipe, mangaris, and teak. We do it all. Pressure washing, sanding, whatever it takes; we restore the wood. Again, it is so important to get the proper finish and keep it properly maintained. But we use wood cleaners to get rid of mold and mildew, hand scrub the wood and then do some moderate use of pressure washing for the final clean. We also incorporate sanding if necessary to smooth out the finish of the wood.

Q: You mentioned someone might not even know there is a problem with their structure.

A:  This is where safety becomes a factor, like a railing might not be safe. Railing codes have changed a lot in the past 10 years. Glass panels as rails might not be safety glass if they were installed 10 plus years ago. But the real important thing is for people with decks, they need to have them inspected every two years. The post that extends from the house often times if not maintained properly and can start to rot at the concrete base.

Q:  Then you come out to inspect as well?

A:  I like to make initial site visits at no charge with every customer to verify what is going on, look at the structure and determine the nature of the problem. This way I can come up with a game plane to rectify the issues on hand and find any other problems the homeowner might not have been aware was happening. A north facing wood wall might be susceptible to moisture since it has limited sun exposure. Or a severe south exposed deck can get a lot of sun damage if not treated properly. By catching things early on before changes, decay, termites, etc., create a hazard will eliminate the big financial black hole that ends up if not maintained. Wood moves and breathes constantly. With simple maintenance, the decay that happens can be managed with less time and money involved.

Q:  The city of Laguna Beach has you on a project right now restoring benches.

A:  It’s been a fun project getting 35 plus benches looking beautiful again. We’ve been doing benches day after day the past weeks. We just keep restoring one bench at a time and it’s been a fun adventure for sure. Our goal is to have the benches done in time for the dedication coming up on the lifeguard station.

Q:  You even fixed up Jack King’s favorite bench. How happy was he?

A:  Oh, man, he thought that it was the living end. It made his day. You could see his face beam as he sat on the newly finished bench. I had met him the day before. We were working our way down the boardwalk, south to north. That particular day the next bench in line sat Jack. I ended up sitting down and chatting with him, how he’s been living here 68 years in Laguna. And since he’s been retired, he’s come to the same bench everyday, guitar player at one end, Jack on the other listening to the music. I asked him why this bench. He said it has the best view of the ocean and he can look at all the pretty girls. I had a great time talking with him, and now everyday that we are up here, when we see him coming we put our tools down and greet him. He’s one of Laguna’s living icons, most everyone in Laguna knows Jack. He’s a great guy.

CONTACT INFORMATION
Jim Grant, Owner and Operator
Jim the Deck Guy
Carlsbad
619-955-2719
jimthedeckguy@gmail.com