How to and how much

DJT · Mar 17, 2019

Hi guys, had a customer request me to clean the bricks on his house. He has begun the process using a brick cleaner, elbow grease (his words) and a jet wash and basically has realised its to big a job for him. I've attached some photos, and was wondering what advice would you give me to complete the job and pricing. I have a 15lpm petrol pressure washer that I could use on the job. Thanks in advance, Dan.

P4dstar · Mar 17, 2019

DJT said:
Hi guys, had a customer request me to clean the bricks on his house. He has begun the process using a brick cleaner, elbow grease (his words) and a jet wash and basically has realised its to big a job for him. I've attached some photos, and was wondering what advice would you give me to complete the job and pricing. I have a 15lpm petrol pressure washer that I could use on the job. Thanks in advance, Dan.

i wouldn't personally touch it with someone else's, too much damage that could be done to the pointing for my liking.

If it were my own house I would coat it with a brick acid solution, let that set in and wash it off. Wouldn't want to comment on cost, I know @Pjj does a fair amount of softwashing and would probably be able to point you in the right direction though.

Pjj · Mar 17, 2019

From the pictures Ime not sure why they want it Cleaning ? What is the contaminant ? Algy and is it red green or black ? Or is it carbonatious dirt ? There appears to be a clean bit around the ground floor window ??? Depending what the contaminant is will depend how you clean it

Doff ( hot steam cleaner ) low pressure is good for this type of building will remove most dirt without damage , but is slow to do , and expensive to buy or hire , and really you need experience doing this type of job as you would need a cherry picker or scaffolding, or scaffold tower .

Cold pressure washer may work but as above access issues and the potential to blow out mortar in between bricks

softwashing , depending what the dirt is this would be the easiest way to clean and the quickest , oviously you cannot see the whole building so it’s difficult to say how long it would take ,price wise I wouldn’t consider anything less than what most charge for this type of work per day so £1400 + vat , you could easily do that in a day softwashing,it’s a nice little job but I don’t know what experience the op has as to be fair this isn’t a job for someone without any experience

Incheck · Mar 18, 2019

Pjj said:
From the pictures Ime not sure why they want it Cleaning ? What is the contaminant ? Algy and is it red green or black ? Or is it carbonatious dirt ? There appears to be a clean bit around the ground floor window ??? Depending what the contaminant is will depend how you clean it

Doff ( hot steam cleaner ) low pressure is good for this type of building will remove most dirt without damage , but is slow to do , and expensive to buy or hire , and really you need experience doing this type of job as you would need a cherry picker or scaffolding, or scaffold tower .

Cold pressure washer may work but as above access issues and the potential to blow out mortar in between bricks

softwashing , depending what the dirt is this would be the easiest way to clean and the quickest , oviously you cannot see the whole building so it’s difficult to say how long it would take ,price wise I wouldn’t consider anything less than what most charge for this type of work per day so £1400 + vat , you could easily do that in a day softwashing,it’s a nice little job but I don’t know what experience the op has as to be fair this isn’t a job for someone without any experience

Yes Pjj’s words are sound advice. I also came to the conclusion that a doff steam cleaner would be the preferred method for this, if not a softwash. I was asked to quote a job pretty much exactly the same the other week & i turned it down + recommended a commercial softwashing company that are local. I felt well out of my depth and it’s exactly the type of job that could seriously damage a reputation if i risked taking the leap of faith and i wasn’t prepared to do that. I’ll Stick to me patios & driveways let the big boys handle this stuff, that’s why they’re there and they have the financial mussle, equipment & experience + necessary high access equipment which is way beyond my budget.

one guy local to me says he pressure washes them. I know he has a hot pressure washer but i still didn’t like the sound of it. If a lot of water got through to the insualtion or cavity’s and they started having internal damp issues you’d be in a world of trouble. Brick is quite porous and from what i’ve been reading, pressure washing only serves as to drive the moisture deeper in to the bricks. Head scratcher innit

DJT · Mar 18, 2019

Update... ive been to see the property and there was a big ivy or something growing up it and left some "bits" behind which he wants removing. Ive attached some more pics

Adman · Mar 18, 2019

that stuff is a nightmare to get off. Id run a mile or its a wire brush by hand job IMO.

Pjj · Mar 18, 2019

Doff steam cleaner will take that off easily but as I said before it’s slow and expensive to do + access issues and working at height unless you have an ipaf licence , I wouldn’t want to say softwashing would take that off it would certatake a few weeks before it would fall off , bio products like algo clear pro would probably work but again it would take weeks to fall off naturally, and most customers want to see instant results as would I if I were paying a heafty price

scottish cleaning service · Mar 18, 2019

I would do a sample patch with Softwashing and see how it goes. Maybe biocide might be a better option and go back in a week to see the effect.

DJT · Mar 18, 2019

I'm going to see him tomorrow evening and see what he is expecting as results!

Adman · Mar 18, 2019

I've never tried any chemicals on ivy remains like that, so can't be sure but why would they work? It's dead already! They have to be manually removed from the brickwork somehow surely?

DJT · Mar 18, 2019

I think its a wire brush on a stick job. If it was me I would let it fall of with weathering

THL4KEL · Mar 18, 2019

Id be worried about causing efflorescence using a pressure washer. I.e salt in the cement rising to the surface due to water penetration.

scottish cleaning service · Mar 19, 2019

Reminds me of the days when I was an apprentice joiner and we had a dry rot job. I spent all afternoon burning the fine white strands to prevent it coming back. Maybe a gas burner is the way to get rid of them.

Adman · Mar 19, 2019

scottish cleaning service said:
Maybe a gas burner is the way to get rid of them.

Good call, mini blow torch about £30-40. Obviously test a patch first and don't burn the house down

scottish cleaning service · Mar 19, 2019

Adman said:
Good call, mini blow torch about £30-40. Obviously test a patch first and don't burn the house down

When I burn on felt, I always have a bucket of water and a hose just in case. Bucket of water is good when the gloves get too hot!

scottish cleaning service · Mar 20, 2019

I did a PW roof job today and there was strands left of wisteria on the wall. All I did was blast with the twin turbo lance and it came away no bother. I did it as an extra and the woman was very happy about it.

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