Firstly! we would like to thank you for viewing our web site, we hope you will find the information you’re looking for.
We are a family run business that specialise in the safe gentle cleaning & removal of paint, grime and other coatings from wooden beams and many other surfaces.
Our family run company have created a process that is gentle & friendly to the surface by using low pressure air and a number of soft mediums. Over the years we have tested and used a number of systems. By bringing these together we are left with what we feel is the best surface removal process that can be used inside or outside on a large number of different surfaces in the domestic, marine and industrial sectors to provide a perfect renovation service.
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When to clean?/ Our system / Examples / More examples / Other uses / Preparation, cleaning and our personal touch
When is the best stage of a restoration project for beam cleaning?
A question we are asked on a number of occasions, is “when in a restoration project is the best time to have our beams cleaned or renovated?” The answer to this sometimes surprises people as the most sensible and cost effective time to clean or renovate is after all the other messy jobs (i.e. plastering) have been finished. This enables us to clean all splashes, fingerprints and other marks from the old/new timbers leaving the room ready for painting.
The cleaning system we use is so accurate and gentle that we can clean right up to the plaster edge without causing any damage to the new plaster. This will save on time and cost at a later stage in the restoration. We have attached a sample of photos from a recent restoration/renovation project in Kent to show how plaster has been cleaned from old beams, leaving the room ready for painting.
Our Unique System
We are able to adjust our cleaning pressure and select from our approved media’s to achieve the best results on many different surfaces.
The process we use is a low pressure (28-32 psi) system using a range of very fine and soft mediums. These are used in low amounts (25 kg per hour). This process although looks similar to sand blasting is very different as the paint or varnish is not ripped from the beam but gently lifted from the surface layer by layer, without damaging the lovely protected timber below. there is no introduction of water with the use of this system in any form, as this is never a good thing (electrical problems, mess and moisture damage just to mention a few). With the water introduction systems large amounts of smearing across walls and ceilings are caused, this normally requires a complete decoration of the area in question. With the dry system the medium and surface covering just simply fall to the floor ready to be cleaned away. (We have used both systems and have had to clean up the mess afterwards, please take our advice that the dry process is more efficient and friendly to your property).
Our process can be used for restoration and renovation in many areas including:
- Boat and marine application
- Beam cleaning
- Brick, stone and masonry cleaning
- Graffiti and paint removal
- Metal restoration
- Paint, varnish & grime removal from old beams
- Historic and listed property renovation
- Green oak cleaning
Examples of our work on various surfaces
Recently we have been asked to revitalise a pair of wooden gates in Wiltshire. As you can see these had a dark varnish stain which over a number of years of weathering had started to make these timber gates look tired and old. After cleaning back to the natural oak colour this has given them a lighter more pleasing look and a new lease of life.
Here you can see how much light can be increased in a room by cleaning the dark black gloss coatings from these beams in this property in Shropshire.
The project you can see in the below photo’s involved the property loft rooms being raised into the remaining roof space to increase height. This exposed painted natural elm beams. The owners of the property wanted the paint and grime removing ready for plastering and finishing of the area. As you can see this blended the look of the beams nicely once we had finished our beam cleaning process.
Examples of our work on various surfaces
Here we have old beams painted with a number of layers of thick varnish in a property near Northampton. This was removed with our special beam cleaning process leaving a lovely natural colour to the timbers. This was then ready for a coating of soft wax to bring out the colour and graining of this lovely historic timber.
Here we have an example of thick black gloss paint being cleaned from old beams in a property in Dorset. These beams had been painted over the years with a number of layers of black gloss,We have removed this paint leaving the lovely natural colour of the old oak.
This example of our cleaning system shows a number of surfaces that can be cleaned leaving a lighter natural finish, you can see the old beam, brickwork and slate hearth have all been cleaned back to original condition giving a much lighter appearance and natural look.
This lovely joist and mantle have been restored to original condition with our beam cleaning process by removing the layers of old paint and grime. even the candle burns from past occupant’s have been exposed and now make a lovely feature and talking point in this lovely 16th century thatched cottage in Dorset.
Other uses of our Bespoke Systems
Another use for the system we operate is for cleaning new timber frame buildings. As these structures are manufactured and assembled they are prone to contamination with oil, grease & grime. We can remove this with a slightly more abrasive media and a higher pressure setting. this process is best accomplished after main construction is finished before final fittings are complete. This leaves the new green oak ready for the desired finish.
Preparations
A big worry for a lot of people when choosing to have beams cleaned is how much damage will be sustained to plaster and paintwork in surrounding areas. As you can see in these close up pictures from Oxfordshire, this is not a worry as there is minimal paint removal from the surrounding area and no damage to the underlying plaster. This usually only requires a small amount of painting rather than totally redecorating.
We understand that your home is your castle, and as a company our policy is to leave the work area as clean as we would expect our own home to be left.
Firstly the area to be cleaned will be isolated from other areas of your property with polythene isolation curtains where needed . All floors are covered with high grade sheeting and electrical points and sensors sealed. This contains any disruption or mess created and aids with the comprehensive and thorough cleaning of the work area.
Secondly we use extractor fans that remove air born particles from the area, this minimizes dust. It also virtually eliminates the risk of dust travelling to other areas of your property by reversing the air flow from the work area. Once again this is different to sand blasting that uses higher pressures and volumes of medium that causes large clouds of dust in your property.
Finally the whole work area is cleaned and all media and dust is removed completely, this is disposed of by ourselves and your property is left totally clean and dust free. please take the time to read our numerous Testimonials as these hopefully relay the feeling of many of our past customers and the clean up service we insist on.
We understand you will probably have many questions and concerns. Please feel free to Contact Us for further information or to answer your questions. Send some photographs if possible as this will help to give a better idea of what we are dealing with.