Masonry Magazine June 2012 Page. 38
Pressure and Masonry Cleaning
Relaying some lessons learned from professional cleaners
While there is always pressure to finish masonry cleaning quickly and thoroughly, this article focuses on the use of pressure in the application of water and chemicals in the cleaning process.
As the time approached for the masonry cleaning of Black Forest Hills Elementary School, a part of Cherry Creek Schools in Aurora, Colo., the architect took a strong position that the walls needed to be cleaned with only water and a brush. After some conversation, he relented and allowed the use of chemicals and pressure washing on the beige and split-face bricks, brown CMUs and red bricks. However, the architect's stipulation was that the chemical and water needed to be applied under very low pressure.
BY RANDY WEIL