First off, hat's off to John and Ken! You two are true pros and have a way of answering our questions without making us out like dummies!

So here I go with mine! TWP it is (I think!). Since the 100 series is not available where I live in....wait for it.....wait for it.....California (no shock there), I ahve the 500 series available at KM. I've narrowed down to three choices:

Ceder Tone

California Redwood - questionable name later in my post

Light Cedar

Opinions? frankly they all look alike on a sample piece i've treated.

Last weekend, just finished a really nice looking, massive redwood arbor over my patio. Got a killer deal from my next door neigbor lumber yard owner on the wood. The wood is impecable and absoulutly stunning. he picked the best stuff. Took me 3 1/2 weekends, and that was helping the guy build it.

So questions:

- TWP 500 instructions say "NEW WOOD: All new wood must be thoroughly wetted by rain or tap water at least twice to open wood grain and remove excess surface tannins. Allow a minimum of 48 hours of good drying conditions before applying TWP." - is it really necessary to water the wood at least twice?

- also, my 6x6 posts are very smooth - need to pre-treat? Absolutely necessary with TWP?

I'm anxious to start the process as I have one more weekend credit with my wife! She said I owe her a vacation from our 2 yo and 4 yo! probably true - harder to take care of 2 little ones than to build a deck...

Thanks again to all who contribute here. Don't lurk like me though. I wish I had just posted earlier so my time crunch is not as bad.