Brick Cleaning

A data sheet on our brick cleaning services, a suitable summary for printing is available in pdf format, here

We specialise in using a low pressure sand jetting system that has been used nationwide for property restoration, including gaining approval for and subsequently working on many Listed Buildings.

The system, in our trained hands, causes minimal damage to an underlying surface and is flexible enough to tackle most property restoration cleaning tasks.

The 'North Face' of the Grand Hotel in Scarborough, which we cleaned in 2006. Not the simplest of jobs, the ground slopes below the walls, requiring scaffolding (the full scaffold cost the customer about £80,000! - there were about 27 separate levels connected by ladders); the job was done in February, March and April to minimise disruption to the seagull nesting season and the tourist trade, and introduced 'cold weather' challenges that we could have done without.

The low pressure sand jet can clean bricks without injecting large quantities of water into the surface, and with minimal surface damage, at the same time, the 'damp' system also captures dirt and abrasive, preventing the health and safety risks associated with dry blasting.

A Partially Cleaned Lincolnshire House - cleaned by us in December 2001. Note also that the building has not been scaffolded - a significant saving compared to traditional dry blast systems that need scaffolding and sheeting to contain the blast media. Note that the 'working at height' regulations have changed since this work and ladder access is more restricted than it once was. However, access platforms also can provide a cheaper alternative compared to a full scaffold.

A further advantage of the system we use is that it also uses far less abrasive than traditional techniques, making expensive abrasives cost effective, but more significantly reducing waste. Abrasive does not need to be recycled, preventing cross contamination between jobs, and apart from in specialist cases, is not a major part of the running costs. In the example below - the debris on the floor is 'the lot' - paint and abrasive.

Museum Street Corner in the centre of York. A listed Grade II building cleaned by us for Lanstone Conservation in September 2008. Having cleaned the Assembly rooms (the building out of shot on the left) in February, we were invited to clean the next building in the block. The work required a full scaffold, boarded at all levels and sheeted to minimise disruption to pedestrians.

Close ups of brick cleaning on a house near Selby - the area below the window having been cleaned. Note that the Ivy has survived the ordeal, and there is little mess from the sand

Key Benefits

• The low pressures mean that the system is gentle enough to clean delicate surfaces, yet powerful enough to strip multiple layers of paint in one pass.
• It is not a chemical process so no noxious or harmful slurries or fumes are generated.
• As it uses only minimal amounts of water and abrasive the system is regularly used indoors.
• Considerably less mess than other systems, the low pressures mean that secondary mess (dust being blown out of floorboards etc) is also minimised.
• Cleaning to the requirements of BS 8221-1&2 :2000 the British Standard Code of Practice for Cleaning and Surface repair of buildings.
• Quick efficient Graffiti Removal. No interference with other work in area.