New and Old Masonry cleaning.

Pabowhtr

New Member
Is there anyone out there. Some good advice here to give and recieve. This is one of the best kinds of cleaning service. This is all I do. I have not cleaned a deck or house in 3 years. I only do masonry and concrete. And last year alone I cleaned of 500,000 Square feet of it. But I am never to old to learn something new from someone else in this field.
 

grasshawg

New Member
Hey, Pabowhtr. I need all the help I can get on masonry cleaning. If you don't want to post it here, you can email me if you like.
There's a HUD apartment complex close to where I live. Some of the units are income based rentals, so I don't know to what extent I'll be dealing with HUD itself.
Anyway, they look dull. Roofs, too. The manager is a personal acquaintance of mine, so that may help.
I'm reading oxalic acid for masonry cleaning. Is this just a brightener, or does it cut through the grime, too? And how do I find it?
Any help you may be able to provide would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Randy
p.s. You can call me too if you want. After 7 am, before 9 pm, please.
 

Pabowhtr

New Member
Couple quick questions for you. Do it have graffiti, and are you to clean it. ARE THERE BLACK STREAKS IN THE MORTAR JOINTS AND BRICK. Alot of mold and mildew, Any white scum marks or efflo on the building. I have made tons of poltices for such jobs, (actually just mixing manufactured chemicals.) Cleaning these can be real easy. Time is a factor, heat for your machine, if not let me know, general layout of the ground, hopfully alot of grass and shrubs, not parking lots, priceing depends on your coments. and sq footage.
 

grasshawg

New Member
They are quadraplex units, a mixture of dark red and earth tones on the brick. Trimmed by brown painted wood. No grafitti. Buildings themselves are surrounded by grass and shrubs. Parking is close, but grass separates building from parking by about 20 ft. 4 apartments per building, two floors, a breezeway in the middle of the building with wooden stairs/handrails and cement floor.
I would have to more closely inspect to answer your black streak question. None visible at a distant look. They just look dull, more so at the bottom up to about 10 ft above ground level. The dullness is a gray/black color, preventing the color of the brick from its full potential.
Sq footage? That's a tough one. I'm just guessing at the dimensions of the buildings, but I figure for 4 buildings, 30,000 sq. ft.
I did finally talk to the manager last night. Home office has informed her that they will be giving the entire complex (and one like it in a town 4 miles away) a complete makeover. New roof, new stairs and handrails, windows/screens, etc. She didn't know to what extent they will be interested in cleaning the exterior, but will ask them.
She invited me over to pick up some bid sheets (I guess they have their own) and submit my proposal. They won't be ready to do all this until the end of the year, or the beginning of next year.
I plan to get the "big dog's" # and explain to him/her that it would not be adviseable to wash in the cold weather because it may take several days for brick to completely dry. If there's and water in the fine cracks in the mortar, it can freeze and make a bigger crack, getting to interior fixtures and causing rust and damage to insulation, and drywall, not to mention getting to electrical wiring. Am I pretty much on base there?
I appreciate your response. If necessary, I can get a picture of one of the buildings and email it to you, or post it here. I hope I have answered all your questions thoroughly enough. If not, hit me again.
Thanks again!
Randy
 

north coast

New Member
"If there's and water in the fine cracks in the mortar, it can freeze and make a bigger crack, getting to interior fixtures and causing rust and damage to insulation, and drywall, not to mention getting to electrical wiring."


Good lord if you tell them all that just from washing in the cold they may not want it washed at all.
 

grasshawg

New Member
I asked for assistance and correction if I was off base. I didn't ask for your insults.
Ref: Power Washing thread, Parking Deck question, as well as here.
Why do you have such a problem with me, North Coast?
 

Pabowhtr

New Member
If you would not have told them about washing the cold, and you created a problem then you are liable. good call on your part. And for the guy who went off. sorry about your bad advice to this perr in the industry. I always tell the good and bad on masonry. It is just good business. It sound like a couple of test patches sould be done. I will give you a call.
 

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