Building Cleaning Refurbishment – A Guide to External Building Cleaning and Refurbishment

Any building that includes materials such as glass, plastic, stone, brick, rubber waterproof membranes, wood, cladding etc requires regular cleaning to prevent the decay of any such substrates. Carbon emissions within cities are a major cause of this decay and if not cleaned will significantly reduce the life of any buildings external facade and will do little for the aesthetic nature of the structure.

The heavy staining visible on many modern buildings

The heavy staining visible on many modern buildings is a direct result of carbon deposits that have then suffered at the hands of natural weathering. Carbon deposits have a strong molecular bond with many subtrates and although not always directly visible to the naked eye, over time will eventually build up to produce heavy dark staining that if ignored requires more abrasive techniques to clean effectively.

Natural elements such as wind, rain, snow etc continuously drive at buildings all year long and play a large part in a buildings decay. Wind staining is evident on many buildings especially around corners and parapets or roof structures, rain water produces staining wherever there is a constant flow especially underneath window ledges and areas of roof edging. The carbon deposited over time combines with the natural weathering effect to produce this damaging grime which in turn creates heavy staining that if ignored can Gebaeudereinigung completely damage an entire building resulting in costly refurbishment.

The answer to avoiding substantial building decay is through regular external cleaning. Owners of buildings often require cleaning as part of commercial rental agreements and the building insurers likewise insist on comprehensive building cleaning as part of any insurance cover. Not only is the external facade cleaned but also all guttering, windows, roofs, delicate weather proofing, gaskets and membranes, paving, structural steel and timber.

Cleaned regularly will seriously

All of these areas if cleaned regularly will seriously help to enhance and protect any building. For example regular window cleaning not only enhances the buildings outlook but just as importantly prevents the damaging carbon molecules from running with the aid of wind and rain on to the facade and gaskets potentially damaging the sills and assisting with the decay of the building.

There are many techniques available within the industry to facilitate the cleaning of exterior building surfaces, generally the more time a building is left uncleaned the more abrasive the approach needs to be to provide an effective clean. With plenty of time and money any building can be beautifully restored to its former glory without any damage suffered to its surfaces. However most building owners require a cost effective method and do not have the resources available to provide costly refurbishment as in the case of some listed stone buildings. This normally means that the cleaning company is under pressure to provide results with limited time and budget and this usually is at the expense of the buildings surface. To the untrained eye a stone building for example could look substantially cleaner after a wash down with a pressure machine, but if investigated the building without prior soaking techniques will likely have had many microns of stone removed to achieve this clean.

High pressure, blasting techniques have their place on many buildings but care must be taken in choosing the correct company to provide a professional service that will not only clean and enhance your building but also protect it whilst cleaning and for years to come until the next clean is due.

Regular cleaning is recommended to ensure the cleaning techniques can be administered with little environmental impact and over abrasive techniques avoided. Leaving a building for 10 years will not only prove very costly to clean but will also leave the Gebäudereiniung vulnerable to questionable cleaning techniques.