Brick Cleaning - a comparison of options

We can clean dirty bricks, or remove paint from them; we have various techniques or options for this depending on the dirt or paint, and the quality or softness of the brick - from the Sand Jet, to a full on Sand Blast, or even more aggressive high pressure water systems.
The photos below show samples of our work throughout the UK, and by using the menu selector on the top left of the picture box you can choose to see just painted brick samples, or just dirty brick samples In the photos below you can choose between dirty brick and painted brick .

  • Dirty Brick
 
 
brick016

A data sheet on our brick cleaning services, a suitable summary for printing is available in PDF format, Brick Cleaning Data Sheet

We specialise in using a listed building approved low pressure sand jetting system that has been used nationwide for property restoration. The system, in our trained hands, causes minimal damage to an underlying surface and is flexible enough to tackle most property restoration cleaning tasks.

Sand Jet Cleaning

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, paint and abrasive, preventing the health and safety risks associated with dry blasting. It is a safe way of removing lead paints from brickwork - for the lead paint is captured in the sludge and can be disposed of as a hazardrous waste

brick cleaning, blast cleaning, paint removal, sandblasting, sand jet

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 - and when removing lead paint this can be a very significant cost saving. 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.

 

Dry Blasting

For some internal tasks, damp blasting can be awkward - for the sticky / sludgy nature of the end product from the sand jet does typically need a hose or pressure washer to clean up. We have therefore developed a low pressure and low consumption dry blast pot that can be used to gently clean bricks. The dry waste is relatively easy to sweep up - although dust will get everywhere in the room being cleaned. Occasionally though, we are asked to 'Sand Blast' internal walls to give the impression that the walls have been Sand Blasted - on more than one occasion we have had to come back to a site as we have cleaned a wall without damage, but the designer or architect wanted a "damaged effect" - but hasn't passed that message on - assuming that all sand blasting is equal! So we do offer a sandblasting service as well.

brick cleaning, sandblast, paint removal, sandblasting, York, Lincoln, Nottingham, uk

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.
  • Meeting the requirements of BS 8221-1&2 :2000 the British Standard Code of Practice for Cleaning buildings.
  • Quick efficient Graffiti Removal. No interference with other work in area.