I looked up more on Roundup Plus - I didn't realixe there are so many different formulations. Maybe what jBaker used was "Roundup Concentrate Plus" which adds 0.73% diquat dibromide to cause faster burn down or the weed. Based on the following, I personally wouldn't worry about it. It bonds so strongly to soil that plants don't absorb it and it will not wash away or breakdown. Those passionate about organics will read this differently, but you wouldn't have bought the product if you were passionately organic. I expect those who view all non-organics as poisons would want to scrape off the top inch of soil that might be contaminated and throw it away, as it will never go away otherwise. Here's some info on diquat dibromide: ENVIRONMENTAL FATE Breakdown of Chemical in Soil and Groundwater When diquat dibromide comes in contact with soil, it becomes strongly adsorbed to clay particles or organic matter in the soil for long periods of time (Koc - 100,000 g/ml). The strong chemical bonds formed by diquat adsorption to soil particles make the herbicide biologically and chemically inactive. That is, in certain soils it is unlikely to be: carried away, or leached, by water seeping through the soil; taken up by plants; broken down by microbes in the soil in a process called microbial degradation; or broken down by sunlight (photochemical degradation). Traces, or residues, of diquat have been found to persist in soil for many years with very little degradation (8, 21, 32, 36, 40). Soil capacity for adsorption of diquat is so high in comparison to the rates at which it is applied that there is little possibility that leaching or groundwater contamination will occur. Field and laboratory tests show that diquat usually remains in the top inch of soil for long periods of time after it is applied (31, 32). However, there is also evidence that diquat has the ability to eventually use up, or saturate, all the available adsorption sites on soil clay particles. Groundwater quality can be affected if soil adsorption sites become totally saturated because water moving down through the soil can carry any non adsorbed herbicide into the groundwater. More research is needed for a better understanding of the potential effects on groundwater of long- term, repeated use of diquat. Studies on the erosion of diquat-treated soils near bodies of water indicate that diquat stays bonded to soil particles, remaining biologically inactive in surface waters, such as lakes, rivers and ponds Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell - Extension Toxicology Network

If you want the finish to be even and the pressure washing marks to not be visible yes you need to sand the entire deck. The next concern is how deep are the marks as your nails or screws may now all need to be reset deeper as well. Why in the world would he pressure washer it against your wishes and my other concern would be how much pressure did he use to put marks like that in an Ipe deck? You need to rethink whom you hire as well!

The powder that lost refers to is a dry release. I'm guessing you didn't get that. You can acid stain concrete. We had a friend who used to do this as his business. He had some left over stain, so we just acid stained our outdoor kitchen counter tops. It was a small area, so we used a sponge to apply the stain, and let it sit overnight. The next day we used a baking soda and water mixture and spread it over the counter tops, let it sit, and then washed it off. The baking soda mixture brings the ph back up to a normal level. The acid stains the concrete by a chemical reaction. The stains come in several different colors. Your concrete person should do a sample piece from your pour for you to look at for you to get a good idea of how it will look, but acid staining will give you more of a variation in color than if you had used stained concrete with a dry release over the top. You'll have lots of different shades of the color you choose, and it will be very random. You can only control it somewhat. I really like the look of our counter tops. I guess it just depends on the look you are going for. On the containers of stain, it said to let new concrete cure for 28 days, but we only waited 2 weeks. I'm not sure how much that matters. You have to have your concrete really clean before doing the stain. The concrete guy should take care of that. Hope this helps.

rmlanza - thank you! I love that tile, too. We made room for it in the budget by scrimping on floor tile. The nice thing about a 9x9 space is that you save on materials. remodelfla - See, fingerprints and smudges are fine. It's the potential for permanent staining that scares me. We have embraced the chaos. There was one morning last week where we had my husband, 22 month old daughter, her nanny, our contractor and his 3 workers, plus me and the 5 week old infant walking around our 950 sq foot condo (made smaller by the fact that the kitchen is blocked off)... and NO WATER! Some municipal worker hit a pipe somewhere.