It is going to take a couple of days to sandblast the outside of the property, the fireplaces (x3) and the oak trusses and purlins in the roof. This work is being done at the weekend, so that it doesn’t interrupt any of the building work – no one can really work on site while the sandblasting is going on due to the noise and dust.
Proceedings didn’t start until just after lunch, but by 4:30pm the rear and one side of the property had been cleaned including one of the fireplaces. The idea is to gently lighten the stone and remove some of the black grime and soot that has built up over the last couple of hundred years. This dark outer layer keeps moisture out, so once the stone has been cleaned, it will need to be treated with a sealant.
The stonework to the right has been lightly sandblasted to take some of the black soot and grime off the old stonework. Ironically, it is the grime that makes the stone waterproof, so once it has been sandblasted the stone will be treated with a sealant.
This is not a job for the faint hearted
Yup, he is still there under that plume of sand. It took about 30 – 40 minutes to sandblast the rear of the property once all of the kit was set up.
The rear of the property has been completely sandblasted. Tomorrow, it will be the chimneys, the front, the fireplaces and the oak roof trusses.
Hey, I was wondering then if a house is built out of stone is it then not waterproof? I’m only asking as we have been warned off some companies who ‘waterproof’ homes as a home needs to breath and in our house which is lime mortar pointed this effectively stops the breathing back out process but keeps the water trapped in. Our house is of rubble filled construction, I guess yours have an air cavity?
Aaron, ours is the same as yours – the walls are rubble filled. I guess in the old days when the cottages were origninally built that folks coped with a higer level of damp. Let’s not forget the flagstones were laid directly onto the soil and were inherently susceptible to damp. We are replacing all of the pointing and replacing the existing cement based mortar with lime based mortar. We may use a little cement to make the pointing a little more robust. We are just prodcuing some test panels.
It is important that when the stone is waterproofed that a product is used that allows the stone to breathe. Sovereign make a product that is suitable. It is expensive though.
Ah very interesting! We thought about waterproofing the house but our Architect and CO said not to, could you link me the product you are using please? Our house doesn’t have many bad damp issues, ours mainly seem to come through some of the pointing and the roof before it was re-layed and repaired.
The house is looking great however, i’m enjoying reading your blogs and thought processes. Regarding paint choices we chose ‘Sage Green’ by Little Greene Paint Co. which is fairly similar to your choice I think. A picture is attached below from a forum I sometimes right on.
Take Care, Aaron.
http://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/download/file.php?id=5030
Aaron,
Hadn’t forgotten. The product that we are being recommended by the architect is Belzona Clear Cladding (http://www.belzona.com/en/products/5000/5122.aspx).
It appears to be a micro-porous treatment that allows the materials to continue to breathe. Allegedly, it is one of the few products that English Heritage find accpetable for this purpose.
I have never come across this product before. Everyone seems to mention Sovereign as a good product. However, it is very heavy on VOCs. Clear Cladding, on the other hand, is water based.
Bizarrely, Belzona appear to be local – based in Halifax!
Cheers,
S.