Guys I have been offered to give some advice to a client who wants their coral tiles cleaned and sealed. I plan to SoftWash them but don’t know much about sealing and if they should be at all. I have seen contractors seal surfaces and everything remains with a yellowish cover.
Some information on this type of natural tiles would be great.
Thanks.
I’ve never come across coral tiles. Do you have any pictures?
Would posts after the visit but I found this on the Internet
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Few pictures from the visit. Did my research and called a supplier. Problem solved, tender submitted.
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For those that may come across this type of tiles, this was my proposal:
Hope this helps…
Job Description: Cleaning and Sealing of tiles at location.
Surface Composition and Properties:
Coral Stone: A natural organic stone which contains various marine fossils and minerals, along with other organisms that are often more than 65 million years old. This rock mainly consists of calcium carbonate and the fossil remains of marine creatures.
Types of Coral Stone
The Coral Stone comes in several colours, each of them with different densities and strength. The pink colour shade is due to the iron oxide with which it is mixed, the yellow are dense and highly resistant. The black tone, on the other hand, tends to be not very strong and is used above all in the cladding of pathways and gardens.
Main characteristics features that contribute to coral stones’ in its natural state are:
• Temperature resistant: Coral stones stay cool even when exposed to sunshine.
• Non-skid surface: Walkers, shoes and wheels do not skid on coral stone surfaces.
• Non slip material: Coral stones are inherently manufactured to be non-slip material.
Observations: Colonization of Gloeocapsa magma.
Gloeocapsa magma(MOLD):
This organism is slowly eating away at the calcium granules which can play a major role in causing decomposition.
Cleaning Recommendations; Steam Cleaning:
Due to the composition of this complex yet natural material we recommended that no acid or harsh chemicals to be used; however a mild alkaline can be incorporated into the cleaning. Natural surfaces require a natural cleaning; steam cleaning at quarterly intervals or when necessary as to kill and remove the residing micro-organisms within. With this process the surface keeps its true colour and superb properties.
Sealing; Not Recommended:
In keeping with the composition of this material and its present surroundings, there is no evident threat that renders jeopardizing its natural properties. It is a material that can be maintained, worked on and repaired to perfection, maintaining the beauty of the piece without synthetic alterations.
Please find attached the quotation as you requested; should you require any further information that may assist All Aspects Maintenance Limited in carrying out our recommended services at your location, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
I’m guessing an SH application with a stucco strength cleaning application would do best for this job?
If you insist on using SH it should be used after the steam application… On this particular job i am not going to use SH, only because its a quarterly contract and from the time i use SH they are going to realises that regular cleaning is not a must. I allways pick and choose when, where and how i uses SH…
If i was going to rid this surface of all the mold with SH and not have to come back for an entire year then the cost may have doubled.
When dealing with large clients, you wanna be always around, so much can happen in a year…for example: Change of directors…
Hope this helped.
I don’t know your market down there, but do you have any competition? There is no way in the states we could pull that off consistently with commercial clientele. First time someone came in to give them a demo and got it cleaner than my job, I’d lose the account. I do a building like that yearly and it comes out wonderfully. I am all for getting what you can get but here in the states, that strategy wouldn’t work (or would for the first quarter or two until they realized it could come clean with just a yearly cleaning)
I’m afraid this kind of mentality and form of selling will come back to bite ya, Laurie.
Do the best possible job of cleaning. Offer the highest standard of cleaning possible. Sell them on the fact that after your services the surface will stay cleaner for a longer period of time, this will allow you charge accordingly.
Be the professional expert in your field, deliver the highest standard of clean, and you’ll stay so busy that you would prefer a yearly cleaning then quarterly. At least this method has worked for EcoClean.
I fully agree with you but just like the low ball contractors, they are low balling clients. When it comes to the private sector I so use that approach but these property managers don’t care about you service. If there was a visual difference in the end result of the cleaning I could understand but If not stick to a contract method. Don’t get me wrong please but we live in a different culture zone.
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When they are on a budget they don’t care to pay more to save less. Next time the same amount of money would be available once again.
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How much is SH for you?
Please don’t get me wrong. I have tried that and they don’t care. Their is a budget and they stick to it. I have lost many jobs to the fact of being technical. I keep it simple now. Please note that commercial is considered private here. I am referring to large corporations that don’t care here.
Perfect eg. A rat can find different grades of cheese the further he travels, you think it matters to it that if he goes further the grade gets better and does not have to eat as often!!! Try explaining that to a hungry rat when all it knows is basic cheese.
Because my business is at the top where Technology is concerned its not an easy task to educate and get the job at the same time. So I keep it simple when necessary.
I hope this clears up any misconception about my quality of work.
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It’s 225$/ 55gal @ 10.5%
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With a product like Fresh Wash, you would only have to use very little SH to totally kill and prevent the return of the mold/algae.
If you apply the SH and completely clean the surface, your one time cleaning may cost more then one quarterly cleaning. But if your client looks at the cost spread over a year, as they have budgeted, a one time cleaning would more then likely be cheaper compared to 4 quarterly cleanings. You would have less time involved, meaning a higher profit margin.
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EcoClean is right.
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