£62000 quote for paint removal

[noidea]

Hi there,

We have been quoted £62000 to remove paint + a further £17000 for replacement bricks excluding repointing. Excluding scaffolding.

Its a large 1700's 7 bed property that has a highbuild spray applied paint system to all elevations that is starting to peel and fail.

Is that an expected cost or totally unreasonable. It's not really viable financially.

d

 

[phillc]

I would expect quotes in the range of X - Y, where the only way to determine X and Y is to ask for multiple quotes ...

(What I am saying is: We'd all be guessing! But, if it is a large 7 bed property you may be in way over £10k just for scaffold.)

 

[noidea]

Indeed, I have another at £30K+ i.e. the skys the limit and once you start there is no going back!

 

[Kearn]

I’m presuming you’re planning on the Doff or ThermaTec systems, so contact Stonehealth or Restorative Techniques, the manufacturers of the respective systems. They both have accreditation programs where operators are registered and trained, kit is serviced etc, and can supply details of local accredited operators.

That said, these operators will still vary in their price noticeably, but that’s a function of their business model and desire/need for the job, as with all trades.

Ensure all costs are considered and clarified:
- initial trials to determine what can be removed, and how - type of paint, type of softener, if needed and number of coats, dwell time, pressure settings.
- application and supply of softener, plus protective sheeting if raining
- scaffold
- clean up
- travel
- net vs gross

It’s a relatively slow job, with multiple stages and very messy.

Restorative Techniques will analyse and tell you what your paint covering(s) are, and therefore what softeners will be needed to trial. This used to cost no more than the price of postage to get samples to their lab.

I’ll be honest, £62k sounds very excessive, but I’ve no idea what the total m2 is, location, ease of access and how challenging the job is etc…

Who is quoting to replace £17k of bricks (shouldn’t really be the same as the operators for cleaning)? And how do they know what needs replacing until they are all clean and possible to assess accurately?

Think there are a few red flags here…

 

[malcolm]

It has to be a hot water pressure washer system with chemical stripper to soften the paint first as Kearn suggests. Don't let anyone get near your bricks with a sandblaster. Sandblasting will require replacement of a lot of bricks. Doff and ThermaTec are more sensitive when used correctly.

I had 2 walls stripped on my house. Stripping alone was £5k in 2015. I already had the scaffolding. Some photos here: https://www.the-salutation.co.uk/blog/2015/04/ I can't see where £62k would come from.

 

[noidea]

He is suggesting a multistage chemical strip using Dichloromethane as well as DOFF or TORC. Lots of bricks are damaged he suspects near 1000. Its in a bit of state and he thinks approx. 4 months of work.

Will get further quotes so far every quote I get is scary! £75k + VAT for windows last week.

 

[Kearn]

4 months to clean and then replace 1000 bricks is a little nuts.

No point quoting in what you can’t yet see.

Where abouts are you based?

 

[noidea]

North Norfolk based.

 

[Kearn]

He is suggesting a multistage chemical strip using Dichloromethane as well as DOFF or TORC. Lots of bricks are damaged he suspects near 1000. Its in a bit of state and he thinks approx. 4 months of work.

Will get further quotes so far every quote I get is scary! £75k + VAT for windows last week.

And that sounds like a quote to replace all your windows with new slimline double glazing at £1500+ per window…

Different thread, but assuming you have original or at least 30+ year old windows, they will be reparable - which is the conservation approach, cheaper, and then adding in secondary glazing is cheaper and better performance.

 

[noidea]

 

[noidea]

image for reference

And that sounds like a quote to replace all your windows with new slimline double glazing at £1500+ per window…

Different thread, but assuming you have original or at least 30+ year old windows, they will be reparable - which is the conservation approach, cheaper, and then adding in secondary glazing is cheaper and better performance.

A mix of replacing with double glazing, repairing and secondary glazing. There is approx 40 windows.

 

[Lacan07]

View attachment 18720

why do people paint brick houses, its totally mad.

 

[Flyfisher]

I wholeheartedly agree. A lovely house with (what would have been) pretty much maintenance-free brickwork slathered with high maintenance paint.

 

[fernicarry]

Ditto stone houses. Next door to me has been sold twice in the last 4 years. Each time it got a shiny new coat of masonry paint prior to going on the market. Because that's how quickly it starts to look tatty and become a red flag to potential buyers. Each new owner talks of removing it then gets a quote and that's the end of that. Two houses up had the paint removed using glass media blasting with impressive results. No idea if that is suitable for brickwork though.

 

[IHateDamp]

I want to rip that green climber from the side of your house!

Apart from it looking tatty for years to come, is there any reason not to let time and the weather do the stripping and save a few bob?