Render cleaning rough render

[Samd223]

Hi there, I’ve been asked to clean some render on a large house with a rough tender finish.

I have attached a picture of the property. It’s not that bad but the customer noticed another house in the neighborhood had appeared to have had theirs done.

Is there anyone who can give any particular advice or share experience with cleaning this kind of render. Is it cleaned the same as k-rend, do I need to be more careful when cleaning this render, and what results can I expect to achieve?

Many thanks, Sam

 

[Pjj]

Cleaning will be basically the same as k rend , with respect if you haven’t done this type of work before and dont know what you are doing this is a bit of a big job to start on there are many pit falls with little or no knowledge and you could damage the building , surrounding vegetation etc , best ti get some training or try and do the job with someone with experience , don’t know ware you are based but you are welcome ti come out with us for a day if it’s close to Cornwall .

 

[Samd223]

Thanks @Pjj that's helpful. I'm in Gloucestershire. It is a friend who has asked me to do it, I do know a bit about softwashing, but could do with some further guidance. I would plan to do this job on a still day, I would make sure surrounding vegetation is watered down, I would use a 2% mix and take care to make sure my insurance covers that type of work, also making sure I have the relevant PPE to protect myself.

 

[Pjj]

Thanks @Pjj that's helpful. I'm in Gloucestershire. It is a friend who has asked me to do it, I do know a bit about softwashing, but could do with some further guidance. I would plan to do this job on a still day, I would make sure surrounding vegetation is watered down, I would use a 2% mix and take care to make sure my insurance covers that type of work, also making sure I have the relevant PPE to protect myself.

Any questions just ask always happy to try and help ?

 

[mossclear]

Hi there, I’ve been asked to clean some render on a large house with a rough tender finish.

I have attached a picture of the property. It’s not that bad but the customer noticed another house in the neighborhood had appeared to have had theirs done.

Is there anyone who can give any particular advice or share experience with cleaning this kind of render. Is it cleaned the same as k-rend, do I need to be more careful when cleaning this render, and what results can I expect to achieve? View attachment 28858

Many thanks, Sam

Hiya mate.Rinse the areas done.Then apply a mix of 40 to 1 ie GKPRO or equivalent. Brush the areas in , giving particular attention to heavily soiled areas. Rinse off then apply a 50 to 1 mix and leave.Pay particular attention to any plant life .If there's alot of plants give them a good soaking with water before hand.

 

[Samd223]

Thanks guys! I rang my insurance company today and they said I was not covered for this type of work currently. However, they said I would be covered for it under the 'Jet washing' business type, but when I asked them to add it on; no insurers on their list would cover it. I went searching and found a broker that specialises in exterior cleaning insurance. I found one called 'gleaming insurance'. They quoted me £139.00 a year for the cover. Seems pretty reasonable to me, does anyone know of this broker?

 

[Pjj]

Gkea

Thanks guys! I rang my insurance company today and they said I was not covered for this type of work currently. However, they said I would be covered for it under the 'Jet washing' business type, but when I asked them to add it on; no insurers on their list would cover it. I went searching and found a broker that specialises in exterior cleaning insurance. I found one called 'gleaming insurance'. They quoted me £139.00 a year for the cover. Seems pretty reasonable to me, does anyone know of this broker?

gleaming are a popular choise but there are many out there that offer this type of insurance

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Gkea

gleaming are a popular choise but there are many out there that offer this type of insurance

I'm with Aplan and my van and £10k tool insurance renewal was yesterday and was lower than last year. ??

 

[DeLaCruz]

Anyone else dislike softwashing these almost clean type buildings ? Much prefer a stained mess to transform as I always feel a bit funky explaining to customer there is no such thing as a “quick softwash” when I present them with the quote haha ?

 

[Samd223]

What does rinsing the render down achieve before applying the chemical?

 

[Pjj]

What does rinsing the render down achieve before applying the chemical?

If it’s a porous surface it stops all the mix being absorbed into the substrate, if it’s got lichen etc on the surface it encourages it to open up to absorb the mix , it cools the surface on a hot to to slow down evaporation and a few other things .

 

[scottish cleaning service]

What does rinsing the render down achieve before applying the chemical?

Path of least resistance.

 

[Samd223]

If it’s a porous surface it stops all the mix being absorbed into the substrate, if it’s got lichen etc on the surface it encourages it to open up to absorb the mix , it cools the surface on a hot to to slow down evaporation and a few other things .

Nice one PJJ! Thanks for the knowledge.

 

[K in Kent]

Hiya mate.Rinse the areas done.Then apply a mix of 40 to 1 ie GKPRO or equivalent. Brush the areas in , giving particular attention to heavily soiled areas. Rinse off then apply a 50 to 1 mix and leave.Pay particular attention to any plant life .If there's alot of plants give them a good soaking with water before hand.

Just to clarify that sort of dilution - 40:1 - is for biocides like Bio Cleanze and not for a hypo mix.
Biocides are fine if you want to upsell the service with their long lasting, residual benefits the manufactirers claiim. They can also be applied the same day so can be an extra earner if the customer is willing to pay and for minimal effort.
They do the job so it's a perfectly legitimate and honest thing to offer customers, but how much more effective they are in the longterm than hypo alone is another matter completely.

 

[Samd223]

Just to clarify that sort of dilution - 40:1 - is for biocides like Bio Cleanze and not for a hypo mix.
Biocides are fine if you want to upsell the service with their long lasting, residual benefits the manufactirers claiim. They can also be applied the same day so can be an extra earner if the customer is willing to pay and for minimal effort.
They do the job so it's a perfectly legitimate and honest thing to offer customers, but how much more effective they are in the longterm than hypo alone is another matter completely.

Yes, thanks @K in Kent I think a 2% mix is suggested for render cleaning. So that would be 1 part hypo 6 parts water (14% hypo). Hope that is correct? I usually use 4% for driveways and patios. Seems to work well.

 

[Pjj]

Yes, thanks @K in Kent I think a 2% mix is suggested for render cleaning. So that would be 1 part hypo 6 parts water (14% hypo). Hope that is correct? I usually use 4% for driveways and patios. Seems to work well.

Depending what’s on the wall I think that’s a bit weak we normally use 4-1

 

[K in Kent]

Depending what’s on the wall I think that’s a bit weak we normally use 4-1

Yeah I agree. Obviously depends how bad the wall is but I'd be using a stronger mix on render and definitely a stronger mix on drives/patios where algae and lichen are present - too weak a mix means having to keep re-applying it. That's not only a time issue but also I think a false economy cos you end up using more hypo but in a less effective way

 

[Samd223]

Hi all, just an update on this, thanks for all your advice.

I did this job back in the end of July, but I wasn't happy with the results. I told the customer i'd be back as I thought it needed another treatment. Anyway, so the day came around today where I said i'd come back and give it another treatment. This time I had a bit more Hypo with me so I was confident this would clear up that shading effect.

I focused on the gable end first as this was where I believed the most prominent shading was. I used a really soapy mix this time (4%) as I thought this would help the hypo cling to the wall increasing the cleaning effect. I left it for ages and then rinsed it down with my pressure washer with a pole as a lance. It sort of looked a bit better, but I could still see those lines! I thought to step it up a bit as maybe the strength needed to increase. I went for a 2 parts water 1 part hypo and just focused on those dark lines to see if it would clean them. Left it on there to dwell, again, a really soapy mix.

Still those lines where there! What the hell?! Anyway, I went and knocked on mateys door who had appeared to have had his render cleaned. He said that he'd been onto the builders because apparently where they put the scaffolding up originally it has caused the render to appear stained and unsightly. He said they got a company out and they had a cherry picker and basically painted it with some sort of special paint. It took them three days on a cherry picker.

So, long story short, the render is inherently discoloured by virtue of the way it was applied in the first place! So I had no chance of getting them off! Has anyone come across this before? Now I look at the pics, the lines are very linear on each side.

Sam

 

[ched999uk]

I recently watched a video where they where acid washing a new build to remove construction debris:

I'm not sure he says what type of acid it is and his methods and ppe look 'interesting' but it might give you some clues?