Wood Cleaning.
Surface Preparation – Nationwide
Sand Jet Cleaning of Wood
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 low pressure sand jet will clean wood without injecting large quantities of water into the surface, and with minimal surface damage. At the same time, the ‘wet’ system also captures dirt and abrasive, preventing the health and safety risks associated with dry blasting. This ‘wet’ system will also effectively capture lead paints and the like – which could be a significant hazard with dry blast systems.
However, the damp nature of the blast does mean that the abrasive and removed dirt / paint stick to surfaces – this can be washed out, or left to dry and brushed out. But… the cleanup issues for this damp system are significant, and only in specific cases (such as lead paint etc) would we recommend this technique.
Traditional (but low pressure) Dry Sandblasting of Wood
We will undertake sand blasting of wood (also known as grit blasting) anywhere in the country, although we obviously work most often in our local communities such as Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, or cities such as Nottingham or Derby; but we have dry sandblasted as far south as London, and did a ‘sizeable’ job in Cheshire a few years ago. Traditional gritblasing or sandblasting relies on gravity to regulate a smooth flow of abrasive into the blast air stream, it tends to be more agressive than some of our other methods, is very dusty, but can be very cost effective.
Traditional sand blasting can be aggressive and rapid, we aim for minimal damage rather than speed, and have used it effectively on many listed buildings. The process is very much more dusty than our damp system, but the dust it does produce falls to the floor and can be swept and vacuumed rapidly.
Environmentally Friendly Chemical Paint Stripping
Blast Systems are not ideal for complex shapes – ideally we need to blast across the grain of wood – to minimise damage. Surfaces such as staircase spindles cannot be approached this way – and the only effective routes are chemical stripping or possibly using the laser – neither system is rapid!
Pressure Washing, rapid environmentally friendly cleaning.
For external woodwork such as patios and decking, superheated steam cleaning or plain pressure washing may be the answer – but care must be taken as too high pressures will ‘rip’ wood.
Dry Ice Blast Cleaning
We are very often approached to dry ice blast wooden beams, because the customer believes that there will be no mess as a result. While there is certainly no abrasive involved , all the paint and contaminants on the wood (i.e. the stuff they want removed) comes away as dust – and it is this dust that is the problem with all blast systems – fine particules of paint and cobwebs etc. So there is a fine dust issue even when using dry ice, and the cost of the dry ice is very significant compared to traditional abrasives…
Laser Cleaning
At long last, laser cleaning is becoming affordable for domestic and jobbing industrial applications. The system applies a scanning laser beam to a surface, and the contaminant is vapourised. We can now offer this service, it is possibly not the cheapest option, but if you are living in an open plan property then this could be the solution for you. It is very effective at removing smoke damage, less effective at removing white paint!
Sprayed Foam Insulation Removal
Over the last twenty or so years, sprayed polyurethane foam (closed or open cell) has been used to provide an consistent, rapid and structurally sound insulation to the undersides of roofs. However, in more recent years, householders have found that when they come to sell, surveyors are unable to assess the wood work of the roof spaces (because the foam is stuck to it) and won’t give any guarantee of a roof’s quality as a result. The knock on effect of this is that prospective purchasers of the property can’t get a mortgage.
We can remove the foam, although it needs to be noted than none of the 3 methods we use is without its drawbacks – and all are very messy, particluarly if there is no rooflight / window in the loft – and the only access is through a small hole on a landing. If that is the only way in, it is also the only way in and out for us and the only way out for the foam!
