Are you managing a heritage property or do you have a commercial building in need of a facelift? With graffiti, algae or other unsightly stains, it’s crucial to hire experienced facade cleaning companies like APT to restore your building’s appearance. With 30 years of industry knowledge and specialised equipment, APT provides expert building cleaning services to commercial and heritage properties in need of a deep clean.
Why invest in the exterior cleaning of your building? Regular facade cleaning should be part of your property maintenance schedule for several reasons. From preventing damage to the building’s structure to creating a welcoming first impression for visitors, there are numerous benefits. Don’t hesitate to contact APT for expert building cleaning services and maintain your property’s appearance and value.
The exteriors of heritage and listed buildings are often made from traditional materials with intricate architectural details. But over time, the facade of a building can become unwelcoming due to airborne pollution which darkens the brick and stonework. Such pollutants can become firmly fixed to the facade and slowly weaken the stone and degrade the detailing, making it essential to hire facade cleaning companies to tackle this issue.
Additionally, rootless organisms like algae, lichens, and moss can take hold and cause significant damage to the building’s fabric if left to grow unchecked. Lime and cement-based mortar can be particularly susceptible to such damage. When the structural integrity of the building is compromised, water can penetrate the walls more easily. In Leeds, with more weathering than most cities, this damage can be even more severe, making it crucial to employ reputable facade cleaning companies to prevent further damage.
We are proud to regular support some of the UK’s leading conservation architects. As a facade cleaning companies we often are called on by English Heritage, Historic Scotland & CADW to support them with their cleaning works across the UK.
Since the 1970s, business parks, retail parks and industrial estates have been extensively developed using steel frame and cladding building methods which can be erected rapidly. The cladding façade is usually a form of corrugated steel, often coated with a protective polymer layer to keep out the weather.
As with heritage buildings, airborne pollution, algae, lichens and mosses can damage the protective coatings, leaving the steel beneath open to attack by the elements. This will eventually succumb and your stock or manufactured products can be damaged, losing your business a lot of money. Regular building cleaning in Leeds can save you thousands of pounds in the long run and is money well spent.
The location and the large flat expanses of cladding are attractive to graffiti artists and if your business is subject to an ‘attack’ you have a couple of options. However, the option of leaving it in place sends out a negative message to potential clients and your staff, directly and indirectly affecting your business.
Roofs and Gutters… not to be ignored
Unseen and often uncared for, the roofs and gutters of any building are your primary defence against precipitation, of which we do have our fair share here in the UK! As with cladding, if mosses, algae and lichen are not removed, over time, it can lead to roof failure and a large capital expenditure. With regular maintenance cleaning, your roof should reach its expected lifetime.
Your guttering channels the rainwater away from the roof and into the drainage system established when the building was first put up. Blocked gutters mean that water overflows and locally increases the algal and moss growth, accelerating damage and shortening the life of the building. Additionally, since the overflowing water is not being directed to the drains, it soaks into the ground and this can ultimately damage the foundations of the building.
To the inexperienced, the solution might be simply to pressure wash the building or sandblast it if it is stone or brick. That gives us the heebie-jeebies! Pressure washing might be OK for some applications, it is rarely the best solution… and sand blasting is a definite BIG no for building cleaning, especially in Leeds where there are hundreds of historical buildings.
For living materials, our proprietary Hot Box steam cleaning system is perfect. Low pressure, high temperature steam not only removes the moss, algae and lichen completely, it also kills any remaining spores, slowing down the inevitable re-growth, without the need for chemical inhibitors – great for the environment and a one-visit solution. For general cleaning of your facade, low pressure water vortex systems are highly effective and sensitive to the fabric of the building.
But for graffiti removal and the cleaning of fine architectural detailing, the unique APT’s facade cleaning companies soda blasting system is second to none. This uses small crystals of sodium bicarbonate (blasting soda) in a stream of compressed air to gently remove the layers of paint or grime. Since blasting soda is the same hardness as talc, it does not damage the cladding or masonry substrate. APT are the leading soda blasting company in the UK and been approved to work on many heritage buildings as well as commercial properties.
If you’re still struggling to find a facade cleaning companies in Leeds, or even across the UK. Talk to our experts who have years of experience on a huge variety of building facade cleaning jobs, they can advise on the right cleaning method for your façade today 0800 0723 773
