Kate2603
Member
- Messages
- 8
- Location
- Oxfordshire
So I just had the beams in my c.1650 cottage done.
1. This particular company advertises "gentle non-abrasive" "soda blasting" and this is what I told my CO. The company told me what I needed to say to the CO to get the go ahead. I thought I'd booked one of the top companies in the country.
2. Their website talks a lot about the dangers of hard abrasive sandblasting. They arrive with a half ton of Restofine G-500 glass bead, described by the manufacturer as "a hard abrasive". I queried it immediately but they reassured me it was "gentle", wouldn't damage wood and this was the right medium for my beams.
3. It is not definitely NOT gentle and it HAS damaged my beams, leaving the solid ceiling beams with the texture of felt. The more fragile wall beams now look like driftwood. In other places there's a rippled effect because they blasted away the sapwood.
4. They told me my beams would not need any further treatment but I now need to pay someone to try and fix the damage.
5. They told me it was a messy process but reassured me that they do a "professional clean" before they leave. Mid-process, your home will feel like Hades and the floors will be 2-3 inches deep in sand. Your neighbours' washing will be ruined. Your neighbours' windows will be covered in dust. Your own windows will look post-apocalyptic. Glass blasting media will be all over your driveway and in your flower beds. Your cat will sparkle like an early Christmas decoration.
6. Their professional clean was nothing of the sorts. My plug sockets are filled with sand, expensive taps and my brand new range cooker hinges now graunch when operated, and everything everywhere, including inside every cupboard, is covered in sand and dust. Glass media is piled up behind doors, on window sills, between tiles and behind appliances. We tried to clean it ourselves and it broke our hoover. I need to book professional cleaners.
I'm telling you all this so that you don't make the mistake as me.
You can gently strip and sand beams. I wish I had.
1. This particular company advertises "gentle non-abrasive" "soda blasting" and this is what I told my CO. The company told me what I needed to say to the CO to get the go ahead. I thought I'd booked one of the top companies in the country.
2. Their website talks a lot about the dangers of hard abrasive sandblasting. They arrive with a half ton of Restofine G-500 glass bead, described by the manufacturer as "a hard abrasive". I queried it immediately but they reassured me it was "gentle", wouldn't damage wood and this was the right medium for my beams.
3. It is not definitely NOT gentle and it HAS damaged my beams, leaving the solid ceiling beams with the texture of felt. The more fragile wall beams now look like driftwood. In other places there's a rippled effect because they blasted away the sapwood.
4. They told me my beams would not need any further treatment but I now need to pay someone to try and fix the damage.
5. They told me it was a messy process but reassured me that they do a "professional clean" before they leave. Mid-process, your home will feel like Hades and the floors will be 2-3 inches deep in sand. Your neighbours' washing will be ruined. Your neighbours' windows will be covered in dust. Your own windows will look post-apocalyptic. Glass blasting media will be all over your driveway and in your flower beds. Your cat will sparkle like an early Christmas decoration.
6. Their professional clean was nothing of the sorts. My plug sockets are filled with sand, expensive taps and my brand new range cooker hinges now graunch when operated, and everything everywhere, including inside every cupboard, is covered in sand and dust. Glass media is piled up behind doors, on window sills, between tiles and behind appliances. We tried to clean it ourselves and it broke our hoover. I need to book professional cleaners.
I'm telling you all this so that you don't make the mistake as me.
You can gently strip and sand beams. I wish I had.
