Terms & Conditions

1. Scope of Work

We perform the services described in your estimate or contract. Depending on the project, that may include pressure washing, sanding, stripping, staining, sealing, painting, varnishing, minor repairs, or new construction.

Anything not written into the estimate or contract is not included in the price. If you want additional work, it is handled as a change order under Section 4.

You are responsible for telling us, before work begins, about any known pre-existing damage, prior coatings or treatments, structural problems, or past repairs to the surfaces we will be working on. Conditions we could not reasonably have known about may change the scope and the price.

2. Estimates and Contracts

Estimates are based on the condition of the property as observed at the time of the walkthrough and on the measurements and information available to us then. An estimate is valid for 30 days unless it states otherwise.

If measurements, wood condition, substrate condition, or the amount of preparation required turns out to differ materially from what was observed, we will stop, tell you what changed, and give you a revised price before continuing.

3. Payments and Deposits

A 50% deposit is required before any work is scheduled or any materials are ordered. We cannot hold a start date without it.

The remaining balance is due upon completion of the project unless a different schedule is written into your contract. On larger projects we bill progressively at milestones set out in the contract.

We accept check, cash, and card. Card payments carry a processing fee of 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.

Overdue balances are subject to late charges at the rate stated in your contract. If we have to pursue an unpaid balance, you agree to pay the reasonable costs of collection, including collection agency fees and attorney's fees actually incurred.

4. Change Orders

Any work you request beyond the original scope, and any additional work required by conditions discovered after we start, is a change order.

Change orders are priced and approved in writing before that work is performed. Payment for a change order is due on completion of the additional work. Unapproved work is not performed and not billed.

5. Cancellation and Rescheduling

A signed contract is a binding agreement for the work and price stated in it. If you cancel, we retain from your deposit an amount equal to the costs we have actually incurred and cannot recover, which may include materials ordered or cut to your project, subcontractor or supplier commitments, permit fees, and labor already performed. Anything left over is refunded to you.

Custom-ordered or custom-tinted materials are not refundable once ordered.

If you reschedule after materials have been ordered or crews have been committed, we will do our best to accommodate you, but the new date depends on our schedule and may carry a rescheduling charge.

6. Scheduling and Weather

We give you an estimated timeline, not a guaranteed one. Coatings, stains, and sealers require specific temperature and humidity conditions to cure correctly, so weather routinely moves dates. Material availability, permit timing, and conditions found on site can also cause delays.

We will tell you promptly when a date has to move. We are not responsible for costs or losses caused by delays outside our control, and a delay does not entitle either party to cancel the contract.

7. Site Access, Water, and Power

You agree to give us access to the property and to the work area on the scheduled days, and to let us use the on-site water supply and electrical supply as needed to complete the project, at no charge to us.

Make sure the water is turned on and working and that outlets are live before we arrive. If water or power is unavailable, or if an external supply has to be brought in, additional charges apply and the schedule may slip.

If your property is in a community with an HOA, architectural review board, or gate access requirements, obtaining any required approval or access is your responsibility.

8. Furniture, Grills, and Other Contents

We will move furniture, grills, planters, and similar items off the work area as needed. We handle everything with care, but we are not responsible for damage, breakage, or wear that occurs while moving, storing, or replacing items, and we are not responsible for items that were already weak, cracked, rotted, or unstable.

Move or secure anything fragile, heavy, valuable, or irreplaceable yourself before we arrive. Excessive contents, unusually heavy objects, and complex setups may carry an additional charge.

9. Safety on Site

While we are working, you are responsible for keeping children, pets, and other people out of the work area. Our equipment, chemicals, and dust are hazardous.

Keep children and pets off any newly finished surface for at least 24 hours so the product can cure. Longer cure times apply to some products and we will tell you when they do.

Some processes require us to set up containment, drying systems, or temporary barriers that make part of the work area inaccessible for a period of time, and this may affect a door or path you would otherwise use to exit the building. Plan for it and tell us in advance if a specific exit must stay clear.

10. Deck Restoration

Deck restoration typically covers cleaning or pressure washing, sanding, staining or sealing, and minor repairs, as specified in your estimate.

We select high-quality products appropriate for your wood and its exposure. You may request a specific product, at additional cost and subject to availability, and where you do, the result is governed by that product's performance rather than our recommendation.

11. Deck Maintenance Program

A finished deck in the Lowcountry does not stay finished on its own. Salt air, sun, and humidity break down any coating. After a restoration we offer an ongoing maintenance program to keep the finish intact and delay the next full restoration.

Maintenance service is performed twice a year, roughly every six months. Billing for the program runs quarterly. The initial term is one year, after which you may continue on the same schedule or stop.

Program pricing is reviewed at the end of each term and may be adjusted to reflect changes in material and labor costs. We will tell you before any change takes effect.

If the maintenance schedule is not followed, the finish will degrade to the point where maintenance no longer restores it. At that point the deck needs a new full restoration quote, not a maintenance visit.

12. Construction and Carpentry

Construction work is performed to industry standards and applicable local building codes. We may make minor adjustments to materials, methods, or layout where needed for safety, structural integrity, or code compliance.

Structural damage, rot, or code issues found once demolition or teardown begins are, by their nature, not visible at estimate time. Where we find them, we stop, show you, and price the additional work as a change order before proceeding.

Construction projects require a 50% deposit before work begins, with the balance due on completion unless your contract says otherwise. Where a permit is required, permit fees are billed to you at cost unless the estimate states they are included.

13. Door Refinishing

Door refinishing uses our own developed process built on industry-standard practice, which may include chemical stripping, cleaning, sanding, and application of stain, paint, or varnish as specified in your work agreement.

We need uninterrupted access to the doors for several consecutive days. Coatings cure on their own schedule and rushing them produces a finish that fails early.

Sanding and stripping generate dust and fumes. We take steps to contain them, but some dust is unavoidable. Remove or cover nearby furnishings, rugs, and electronics before we begin.

Hardware such as knobs, hinges, locks, and kick plates is removed or masked as needed. If you want specific hardware handled a particular way, or kept aside, tell us and label it before work starts.

Aged and previously finished doors carry history. Knots, grain variation, prior repairs, old filler, sun damage, and delamination may remain visible after refinishing. We will tell you what we expect to be able to correct before we start.

14. Furniture Refinishing

Furniture refinishing includes cleaning, sanding, and application of stain, paint, or a protective finish, as specified in your work agreement.

Some pieces are moved off site so we can control ventilation, dust, and cure conditions. A transportation fee of $80 applies to each off-site move.

We are not responsible for pre-existing damage, loose or failing joinery, structural weakness, veneer separation, or imperfections that were present before we took the piece. Refinishing reveals some of these; it does not cause them.

15. Color, Tone, and Grain

Wood is not a uniform material. Species, age, density, prior weathering, and the amount of sun a board has taken all change how it accepts stain. Color and tone will vary from board to board and from your sample to the finished project.

We do everything we reasonably can to represent the final result accurately, including sample boards where appropriate. Some variance across a project is normal and expected, and is not a defect.

16. Stains, Sap, and Long-Standing Marks

Some marks cannot be removed by washing or even by sanding. These include tree sap, artillery fungus, paint splatter, deep-set mildew, rust bleed, and tannin staining. We identify what we can during the quote and tell you what we expect to be left with. Specialized treatment, where it exists, is priced separately.

Sap and resin can rise through the wood and surface after staining, particularly in aged lumber, softwoods, and lumber that was not kiln dried long enough. This is the wood behaving as wood, not a defect in preparation or workmanship, and we are not responsible for sap or resin that appears after the project is finished.

Objects left in place for long periods — planters, outdoor rugs, grills, heaters, furniture feet — leave discoloration, trapped-moisture damage, and tannin leaching that penetrates well below the surface. Thorough washing and sanding reduces these marks. It does not always eliminate them. Expect some to remain.

17. Pre-Existing Conditions

We are not responsible for damage caused by conditions that already existed on the property, including improperly installed siding, shingles, windows, or doors; wood rot; failed or improperly applied prior coatings; loose or exposed wiring; defective products; and defective construction.

Restoration work regularly exposes these conditions rather than causing them. If masking tape lifts paint when removed, the paint underneath had already failed to bond. If washing reveals rot, the rot was already there. We will show you what we find.

18. Workmanship Warranty

We warrant our workmanship for 12 weeks from the date the project is completed. If something we did fails within that window, we come back and correct it at no charge.

This warranty does not cover:

• Normal wear, weathering, and UV fade
• Damage from failure to follow the recommended maintenance schedule
• Damage caused by other people, other trades, pets, storms, flooding, or impact
• Cleaning products, coatings, or treatments applied by anyone other than us
• Pre-existing conditions and defects described in Section 17
• Sap and resin bleed, and color and tone variation, described in Sections 15 and 16

Inspect the completed work and tell us in writing about any concern within 14 days of completion. Claims raised after that window may not be covered.

The warranty is void on any balance that remains unpaid past its due date, and does not transfer if the property is sold.

19. Product Warranties

Materials carry only the warranty offered by the manufacturer that made them. Ship Shape makes no additional warranty of any kind, express or implied, on any product we apply.

Where you request a specific product against our recommendation, its performance is entirely a matter between you and that manufacturer.

20. Older Homes and Coatings

Homes and structures built before 1978 may have lead-based paint. Federal law regulates how surfaces with lead-based paint are disturbed during renovation, repair, and painting.

If your home or the item being refinished was built before 1978, tell us before work begins. It affects how we prepare the surface, what containment we set up, the timeline, and the price.

21. Photographs

We photograph our work before, during, and after the project. These photos document the condition of the property, support the quote, and may be used in our portfolio, website, and marketing.

We do not publish your name, street address, or any identifying detail of your property without your permission. If you would rather we not use photos of your project at all, tell us and we will not.

22. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by South Carolina law, Ship Shape's total liability arising out of or related to a project is limited to the amount you paid us for that project.

We are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages, including lost use of the property, lost rental income, lost profit, or the cost of alternative accommodation.

Nothing in this section limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for bodily injury caused by our negligence.

23. Disputes and Governing Law

If a problem comes up, contact us first. Most issues get resolved with a phone call and a return visit, and we would rather fix something than argue about it.

These Terms and any contract they accompany are governed by the laws of the State of South Carolina. Any dispute that cannot be resolved directly will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Charleston County, South Carolina, and both parties consent to that venue.

24. General

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect and the unenforceable provision is applied as narrowly as needed to make it valid.

These Terms together with your signed estimate or contract and any approved change orders are the entire agreement between us and replace any prior discussion, verbal or written.

You may not assign your contract to anyone else without our written consent. We may use qualified subcontractors, and we remain responsible for their work.

We may update these Terms. The version posted on this page at the time you sign your estimate or contract is the version that applies to that project.