RCS offers a complete Masonry cleaning service. Whether it is nebulous spray cleaning for Heritage Stone work, DOFF Ultra Heated System to clean porous stonework or dry ice blasting for compound removal in new builds, RCS will assess each job and select the appropriate cleaning method to suit stone/brick type and budget.
APPROACHES
There is a multitude of different cleaning methods, which may be wet or dry, chemical- or water-based, abrasive and nonabrasive, many of which have a place in conservation cleaning or construction site work.. There are positive and negative points to all methods and there is rarely a single method suitable for all situations. The least harmful method or combination of methods should be selected for each case.
To select a cleaning method or even to assess the need for cleaning, it is important to survey the building first. The aim is to establish the types of material, their condition, the architectural style, previous treatments and the nature, cause and pattern of the soiling for each area. All these criteria must be considered in the context of the building itself, its history, construction, location and proximity to other buildings etc.
Next, cleaning trials should be carried out on inconspicuous areas, preferably using the operator who will be doing the work finally, as skill is just as important as method. The trial will help to:
- further ensure that the correct method or methods are selected
- determine how clean the surface can become (the ‘level of clean’) without risk to the fabric
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highlight potential problems.
