[Richy L]

ive been asked to price a job where there has been a fire in a kitchen. (see below). There are other pics, but the two below give the gist of the problem. There are no more marks on the brick, but there are 7 windows that need cleaning and a front door, and patio doors.

They only want the exterior cleaned. So it is the brickwork, and any windows left in one piece.

Has anyone done anything like this?

[Neil kell]

Santrax brick cleaner. HCL based. And a wire brush. Thats all only smoke damage, that'll wash right off. Cif and a green pad should take care of the frames, then blast them too. Get a good wire brush into that brick. Hardest part of that is water supply for the washer and setting up the MEWP. Piece of pi*s other than that. I've never done one now mind you, but I can't imagine it being too awkward. Do the heavy part down below as a sample, just to see if you can get a result. I doubt you'll even need an acid based cleaner.

[Blast Away]

Santrax brick cleaner. HCL based. And a wire brush. Thats all only smoke damage, that'll wash right off. Cif and a green pad should take care of the frames, then blast them too. Get a good wire brush into that brick. Hardest part of that is water supply for the washer and setting up the MEWP. Piece of pi*s other than that. I've never done one now mind you, but I can't imagine it being too awkward. Do the heavy part down below as a sample, just to see if you can get a result. I doubt you'll even need an acid based cleaner.

Says it all!

To be perfectly blunt, you don't half spout some shiite on here.

Wire brush? HCL? MEWP? Cif and green pad?

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

just sub it to blastaway job done lol

[Blast Away]

just sub it to blastaway job done lol

To be fair though, anyone that recommends a wire brush on brickwork for smoke damage when they haven't done it before is kind of taking the p!$$.

Like previously I don't mind telling Richie how. Publically I won't, he has my email.

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

my thought exactly
if i was askd to clean
n i didnt know id say il rec sum one who does this work
that way everyones happy 

[Richy L]

The reason i am taking on this job is because it is for an insurance company that has given me other jobs in the past, so i want to take on anything they throw at me - and work is a little slow coming in at the moment.

It doesn't seem too far out of my comfort zone, i just need a bit of advice.

To be fair though, anyone that recommends a wire brush on brickwork for smoke damage when they haven't done it before is kind of taking the p!$$.

Like previously I don't mind telling Richie how. Publically I won't, he has my email.

Thanks Lee,
you have email

[Neil kell]

That exactly what I was trying to say with my post. As an insurance job, the client has the right to have the job done correctly. Anyone could get up on a ladder, hard brush and fairy and hot water and get a result. Anyone can drive a taxi. Anyone can drive a cherry picker. Its all about insurance and safety and paper work. I didn't mean you wound need acid or wirebrushes, but bring them along in your bag of tricks. The chap from blast away would have these done the whole time and can give you specific advice. I was just trying to help you out generally to get the ball rolling. What would he use? Red Bull to get up the top. Oh and his trusty Yanmar.

[Richy L]

I have been cleaning for over 10 years, so im not new to the cleaning industry. I have just never tackled this particular thing before.
I have used acids to clean brick work many times, but I have never dealt with smoke damage.

How did Lee(blast-away) learn? He must have been told how to do the job. Now he is being kind enough to tell me what is needed.

[Richy L]

Its all about insurance and safety and paper work.

I also have the insurance in place and carry out a risk assessment and method statement.

[Blast Away]

That exactly what I was trying to say with my post. As an insurance job, the client has the right to have the job done correctly. Anyone could get up on a ladder, hard brush and fairy and hot water and get a result. Anyone can drive a taxi. Anyone can drive a cherry picker. Its all about insurance and safety and paper work. I didn't mean you wound need acid or wirebrushes, but bring them along in your bag of tricks. The chap from blast away would have these done the whole time and can give you specific advice. I was just trying to help you out generally to get the ball rolling. What would he use? Red Bull to get up the top. Oh and his trusty Yanmar.

Please don't encourage me to put  my photoshop skills to use here.

[Neil kell]

That exactly what I was trying to say with my post. As an insurance job, the client has the right to have the job done correctly. Anyone could get up on a ladder, hard brush and fairy and hot water and get a result. Anyone can drive a taxi. Anyone can drive a cherry picker. Its all about insurance and safety and paper work. I didn't mean you wound need acid or wirebrushes, but bring them along in your bag of tricks. The chap from blast away would have these done the whole time and can give you specific advice. I was just trying to help you out generally to get the ball rolling. What would he use? Red Bull to get up the top. Oh and his trusty Yanmar.

Don't suppose you'd clue me in on what you helped Richy with? I have never done one of those. Probably never will. I'd just like to know the procedure on those.

Please don't encourage me to put  my photoshop skills to use here.

[martin19842]

hi there

how old is the property??  looks quite new from the pics, say built after 1995, facing brick work now can be very soft.

it maybe worth taking a look at a soda blasting solution on this, as you need to release the contaminents from the substrate, as opposed to pushing them into the brick.

alternatively, a spray solution of ultarpac renovate applied, then allowed to dwell, and absorbed back off the surface with pads, would provide a level of result, but at time cost.

better stile would be a pultice mix applied allowed to cure, then peeled off.

it is difficult, we recently looked at a fire damaged  carpark, to clean the whole place, with correct procedures, and disposal methods, and another company literally turned sprayed it down and walked away, without taking any precautions as to where the contaminted water went.

so unfortunately you are not bidding on a level playing field.

regards

martin

[jasonl]

hi there

how old is the property??  looks quite new from the pics, say built after 1995, facing brick work now can be very soft.

it maybe worth taking a look at a soda blasting solution on this, as you need to release the contaminents from the substrate, as opposed to pushing them into the brick.

alternatively, a spray solution of ultarpac renovate applied, then allowed to dwell, and absorbed back off the surface with pads, would provide a level of result, but at time cost.

better stile would be a pultice mix applied allowed to cure, then peeled off.

it is difficult, we recently looked at a fire damaged  carpark, to clean the whole place, with correct procedures, and disposal methods, and another company literally turned sprayed it down and walked away, without taking any precautions as to where the contaminted water went.

so unfortunately you are not bidding on a level playing field.

regards

martin

There are plenty of bio remediation products on the market now which means run-off water can go into any water course ,with no problems , I started using Spillaway prodcts this week , I would use fleetclean from spillaway on this job , let it dwell for an hour and pressure wash off , a days work including clean up of the drive/paths. 

[martin19842]

hi there

jason thanks for that , i may have to take a look at that.

regards

martin

[pro-clean]

hi
    There is a lot to consider, a damage limiting cleaning should of being carried out immediate.P V C & Glass could of

     be damage by acid soot-yellowing P V C,  etching Glass,  rubber damage,   mortar maybe heat damage. You really need to know
         
     wot categories of smoke residue your cleaning.
     
      wet,  dry, protein, ect to determine the correct cleaning proses.the best i could suggest is as jasonl said - product's.     
     Dwell time is important as is testing -hot could set stain - cold could be ineffective. but first wipe must be at low presser
   
     IF it was a protein fire [Sunday roast ect]  you may need to deal with a odor problem after you  finish cleaning. Enzyme cleaner
   
     and deodorants may be reacquired   

     RICHIE

[The Great One]

Hi

For soot damaged paint work you can use a latex paint, it is expensive at around £80.00 a can but is dries clear and when you peel it off the soot comes off with it.

It is used in a fire damage situations.

You will need to find out the sq meteridge of the area to see how much paint will be needed and then add on your labour costs.

Regards

Martin 

[Richy L]

Here's the test peice I did for this job. They want me to go over the whole area once all the insides have been cleaned.

[Denise l]

Richie, you need Smoke & Odour Neutraliser from Prochem for the inside and chemical sponges to wipe down the soot first before you wash anything. I did a lot of fire jobs for insurance companies some years ago.

[Richy L]

Cheers denise.
It is only the outside that needs cleaning.

I bought a chemical from my local suppliers. It was for removing soot.
It seemed to be coming off ok just using that and a cold pressure washer. Will the marks show back through?