So this was a first for me and I wanted to see if anyone had experience with this. I was called out to a construction site that had brand new tilt structures. According to the guy the buildings have to be rinsed to remove the release agent on the concrete, so they can properly apply texture to the building and paint it.
All the walls around the building have to be cleaned from top to bottom and it is about 3 stories tall. The specs equal a total surface area of 42,000 sqft.
Attached is a photo of one of the buildings for example. Does anyone have experience with this? The gentleman claims Sherman Williams said it should be cleaned with hot water but I want to confirm this. I have hot water so not a problem if necessary but definitely an increase to my estimate if I do have to use it.
Water is on site and the lift is provided. According to the guy no chems have to be used just a rinse…
If anyone can share some insight on this it would be greatly appreciated. Supposedly there was a contractor before me cleaning the buildings for $1,800 but he has stopped showing up and has avoided communication. Im assuming because he got in over his head for that price. What do you guys think?
I was thinking the same thing. $1800 is slightly less than $0.05/sqft. Considering the risk of having to use a lift and also the fact that they called me today and need it done by this coming Sunday… $0.05/sqft just seems super ridiculous
Thats about the price I had in mind. I was thinking the same thing about doing it from the ground. The guy told me the last PW company used the lift and a huge fan tip and just worked down the building. My thoughts were to just put the lift about 1/2 way up and use my long range soap tip and do as large as a section as possible to prevent having to constantly move the lift. I guess it all depends on whether the soap tip would have enough pressure to remove this residue off the wall?? I would think it does however being this is the first time dealing with this I have no idea. You just gave me a brilliant idea however, to possibly go out there tomorrow and ask to do a quick test spot to figure out if a long range soap tip would work. Thanks Rick!
Check for release agents by throwing water on the wall and see if it beads. Then try and find out what the concreter used and remove accordingly.
It can be easy job or it can be hard it depends on what they used.
You’re not going to be able to use your soap tip. You need a minimum of 2100 psi per SW specs for prepping standup concrete walls and don’t miss any spots. Will cause paint to bubble. Need to grab you a high pressure longer range tip. May be why other guy was using lift and you may need to also. The contractor knows properties of the release agent and may be why he specified heat to remove it. You can ask him what type he used. Ask him
Thanks guys! @Racer@AUSSIE just reached out to the contractor and he said they used Killz Latex. Going to go out and do a test spot today to see how I’ll need to do it. Probably will pick up a high pressure long range tip and see if that will work some magic
