Proper brick cleaning and sealing services ensure the surface on your commercial building always looks its best and maintains its structural integrity. Presto Restoration provides exceptional brick restoration services that set us apart from other companies in the industry.
For centuries, builders have been using bricks in masonry construction. Constant exposure to air pollution, humidity, biological growths, and other contaminants can, over time, do a lot of damage. Improper brick cleaning and sealing treatments are also significant causes of damage to brick buildings, including historic structures.
Brick Cleaning Considerations
Brick cleaning and sealing are typically used for improving the appearance of a building by removing:
- Unattractive staining, including paint stains
- Cracking
- Leaking
- Other aging factors
The process can also be used to accurately match repointing mortars and patching compounds or to conduct a condition survey of the masonry.
Before cleaning brick, it’s crucial to identify the nature or source of staining or soiling so the restoration team can properly remove it. Soot, smoke, biological growths, and organic matter from plants like ivy each call for specific cleaning methods.
Earlier cleaning treatments of the brick and surrounding materials should also be considered. For instance, sometimes discoloration that was thought to be caused by dirt turns out to be the remnants of a previously applied cleaning or sealing solution which has darkened over time. Successful removal of such a stain will likely require a different approach than one used in removing organic staining.
Allowances must also be made for dealing with any unknown factors that might be potential problems.
How Sealing Services Protect Your Brick Structure
When water penetrates the façade of the brick, it weakens the structure of the wall. A sure sign that water has penetrated the brick on your structure is brick efflorescence, which is identifiable by its white powdery appearance. Efflorescence is simply crystalline salt deposits that often appear on porous building materials like brick. Brick efflorescence is the most common—and noticeable—but the condition also occurs on stucco, concrete, marble, and even wood.
Brick restoration services can remove the unsightly efflorescence from the surface of the brick, but efflorescence does not usually damage brick by itself. That’s why it’s crucial to also repair the areas where water is penetrating the brick façade. As experienced brick restoration contractors, Presto knows the most common entry points for water intrusion on brick buildings. Our skilled technicians have the knowledge and tools needed to quickly locate and repair any damage caused by water penetration.
How does sealing protect your building’s brick surface? Much like concrete, brick suffers from significant damage if it’s not adequately protected. As we know, water expands as it gets colder. If it expands in the brick’s pore spaces or between the brick and mortar, cracks can form and multiply. Over time, the severity of the cracking increases until either the surface is repaired and restored, or the brick fails. Sealing brick prevents moisture from penetrating the brick and surrounding joints.
Presto’s Brick Cleaning and Sealing Services
When it comes to any restoration service, including brick cleaning and sealing, Presto believes it’s impossible to overemphasize the importance of testing building materials and cleaning methods. As the leading exterior restoration and waterproofing service company nationwide, we know how important it is to take the entire building into consideration during any restoration process.
Other building materials like metal and glass can be affected by the cleaning process. And the building elements most vulnerable to deterioration, such as cramps and ties that hold masonry to the structural frame, are often not visible yet are often subject to corrosion. Our 25 years of experience have taught us the only way to get the restoration job done right is to study the building construction in detail and then evaluate possible cleaning methods. If you own or manage a historic building, it’s important to keep in mind that any clean and seal project involving must be viewed as unique to your particular building.
Presto tailors each brick cleaning and sealing project we do to the specific needs of the property and the goals of the building owner or manager. And if your building’s brick restoration includes repairing mortar joints or replacing broken bricks, we handle that, too. No matter which type of brick or masonry restoration services you need, Presto is the trusted expert to turn to. If you are considering a facelift for your building, call us at 1-800-785-9927 or request a quote.
