Browse Forums Building A New House 1 May 28, 2010 1:18 am Hi all Just would like to know has anyone ever not had their bricks washed. Or was told they had been washed but have their douts. Who is responsible for the wash, the brickie or the builder? Thanks kindly KW............ “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: BRICK WASHING. 2May 28, 2010 5:01 am Not entirely sure who is responsible as it may change from each construction job. I built thru Masterton Homes so it was my building supervisor that arranged to have them cleaned by a brick cleaning contractor. Just a heads up for you, there are some reactions that can happen from getting your bricks cleaned. As you may well know they use a really acidic solution which can react to different minerals and substances in the brick. In my case it reacted with the ferrite materials within the brick and made some of my bricks turn a rusty golden colour (check out my blog pics). Some solutions can cause flourescents (white coloured) to seep from the bricks as well. Hope this provides some help cheers Re: BRICK WASHING. 3May 28, 2010 12:29 pm Also, the acid can cause mortar to crumble or have a corroding look. Not sure about others builds, but we are having that problem currently, and with the white residue on our bricks as well. I preferred our bricks before they were cleaned Dear J.K. Rowling, Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two friends? Sincerely, Anonymous Re: BRICK WASHING. 4May 28, 2010 12:56 pm So, If the brickie has done a neat job is there a real need to risk getting a high pressure acid wash and risk a colour change? KW......... “It's just as unpleasant to get more than you bargain for as to get less” George Bernard Shaw. Re: BRICK WASHING. 5May 28, 2010 1:27 pm Our brickwork was really neat, and really didn't need to be cleaned, but unfortunately they were cleaned anyway Dear J.K. Rowling, Your books are entirely unrealistic. I mean, a ginger kid with two friends? Sincerely, Anonymous Re: BRICK WASHING. 6May 28, 2010 1:46 pm Hi kw, Your brickies have done a neat job. However there is stills cope for them to be cleaned and made to look better. On the bright side there is not much work for them to do so hopefully the acid can be made a litter weaker and not much pressure is required, If the brick cleaner damages your brickwork he would have to be pretty bad. A lot of times I see brickcleaners get blamed but it is often the bricklayers fault. They may for example not have mixed the mortar correctly and it washes out to easily. If mixed correctly the acid even in in stronger form should not eat at mortar by taking out big chucks. This is usually a mortar issue. Re: BRICK WASHING. 7May 28, 2010 1:59 pm Hi KW We have had disaster with our mortar after brick cleaning. We have been advised the damage is due to excessive use of hydrochloric acid and incorrect brick cleaning techniques .... brick wall not adequately flushed down prior to and after acid application. The following is what we are left with ..... Mortar Staining (coming from within the bricks out into the mortar bed) Mortar Staining (coming from within the bricks out into the mortar bed) Crumbling/Dusting Mortar It is quite a concerning issue in a brand new home! Re: BRICK WASHING. 9May 28, 2010 2:16 pm Hi borg......thanks for the info ...... you obviously have bricking knowledge. It has been so dissappointing to see this happening. Our own independent investigations have revealed what you have indicated .... excessive strength and inadequate washing down ..... plus the fact our brickwork received three acid pressure cleans!! We have been told also that the problem will be ongoing. Re: BRICK WASHING. 10May 28, 2010 2:19 pm One way to prevent this is to neutralize the acid once finish and this would have stopped it etches further. The neutralizer cancels out the effect of acid. Trouble is that this additional etching would have most likely occurred once the brick cleaner left. Re: BRICK WASHING. 11May 28, 2010 4:57 pm My fiancee went to our house today to see the brickies. What they can do is roll it on and someone behind them will hose it down, so the acid doesnt affect mortar etc. He said that it takes longer but thats the correct way of doing it.... Re: BRICK WASHING. 12May 28, 2010 7:48 pm Excuse my ignorance, but why do you need to wash new brickwork with an acid wash. cannot just a plain water high pressure hose get rid of the building dust? The sight of that brickwork crumbling on the corner scared me, can you repoint it? Re: BRICK WASHING. 14May 29, 2010 12:07 am I'm not really familiar with the process that is normally used, but I understand the principles of cleaning cementitious materials.... Mineral products are generally affected by acids, and calcium will readily be dissolved in acid solutions. Bricks will vary in their composition, but are generally less acid sensitive than the calcium rich mortar. So prolonged exposure of the mortar to acids is to be avoided. The affect of 'cleaning' these surfaces with acids is to eat away at the exposed layer and rinsing off exposes fresh new surfaces, giving a nice clean look. But there are ways of getting this affect without causing damage to the materials. If acids are applied directly to dry surfaces, they will dive directly into the material, and possibly cause some destructive damage. By wetting the surfaces out well firstly, and the applying a suitable acid solution to the surface with a roller or broom, it stays near the surface where it is needed. Then after a short dwell time, it should be thoroughly rinsed off with lots of water. High pressure water would be ideal. Naturally, care would need to be taken throughout the procedure for workers to prevent exposure to themselves and to any other sensitive surfaces. There are normally contractors who specialise in house cleans near the time of handover, and they are the ones who do the brick cleaning. I believe an hydrochloric acid solution is normally used, but not sure about the strength. Phosphoric acid is probably safer though. Efflorescence can happen under certain circumstances, but this can usually be rectified. Ash. Re: BRICK WASHING. 15May 29, 2010 9:25 am Ash i am very impressed with what you say. Mainly because your not a brick cleaner but you are able to apply the skills you learnt from a different application it seems. I think thats very hard to find. I am not trying to be funny. However more often than not in the building trade people dont understand the theory behind applications and therefore knowledge doesnt always get tranfered correctly from one generation to another. Hence from the experience from my build i have come accross individuals who swear that they are good only because they have learnt from someone who was usually rough in there work and only work to this level. In saying that I have also come across people who dont realise that they are very good in there work only because who ever they trained with had very high expectations and i think they have taken this as the norm. My point is that people who are not in the trade often get looked down at, yet there are people in this world who probably have a greater understanding of hows things work then the people in the job. Re: BRICK WASHING. 16May 29, 2010 10:29 am Cheers Borg. I just find that I'm not satisfied with pushing a button and making something happen. I like to know WHY and HOW it happens. This makes any task that may otherwise be mindless something interesting and engaging. Not saying I'm necessarily right about stuff, but it helps to keep the grey matter active at least. Ash. Re: BRICK WASHING. 19May 30, 2010 2:14 am Hello Suh, I am currently living in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, I am a New Zealander with a house in Tauranga, New Zealand which we have had rented out for the past two years. All the inside is very dated and we have a full renovation starting on the 5th June. I will be home from the 14th June to oversea the reno. I have organised everything so far online with contracters, so am looking forward to it all coming together. Its being great hearing the stories people have to tell and some of the things to look out for Re: BRICK WASHING. 20May 30, 2010 10:21 am kiwichick Hello Suh, I am currently living in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, I am a New Zealander with a house in Tauranga, New Zealand which we have had rented out for the past two years. All the inside is very dated and we have a full renovation starting on the 5th June. I will be home from the 14th June to oversea the reno. I have organised everything so far online with contracters, so am looking forward to it all coming together. Its being great hearing the stories people have to tell and some of the things to look out for WOW very interesting, I have a friend who went over there to care for someone's children and is loving it. Hey all Currently renovating our laundry, bought a new washing machine but have found that the drainage hose is alot shorter than the old machine (which I used to get the… 0 17520 2 8358 I should have followed up on this thread. 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