BUILDING MAINTENANCE
Thomann-Hanry®’s unique ‘Façade Gommage®’ technique cleans the exterior of stone buildings whilst avoiding scaffold which is a huge benefit. Lack of scaffold also ensures vastly improved security during the operational period – a particular benefit to sectors where security is paramount such as embassies, banks or hotels.
“DIFFICULTIES COME WHEN DIRT OR
SOILING INCLUDES DISFIGURING
POLLUTANTS OR SULPHATE CRUSTS.”
When considering an exterior clean, using a unique system that does not require the use of scaffold, such as the non-abrasive ‘Façade Gommage®’ system from Thomann- Hanry®, can make the works significantly easier. Business can run as usual to minimise loss of trade and maintain that ‘as normal’ functionality throughout.
Most stone façades are normally quite easy to treat, and with the nature of our unique scaffold-free system it’s possible to arrive on site and get up and running within two hours. The main difficulties come when dirt or soiling includes disfiguring pollutants or sulphate crusts, which usually build up in sheltered or protected areas not regularly washed by the natural action of rain. They are particularly common under cornices, window sills, or other projecting decorative features - common with buildings in London – and, if left for some time untreated, the removal process can sometimes involve a loss of a small amount of stone resulting in further costs and issues to building owners alike.
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The system uses specialist cleaning operatives who work from a vacuum cabin attached to a hydraulic boom. Ultra-fine, non-abrasive powder is then projected under low pressure onto the façade and removes accumulated pollution deposits without affecting the masonry beneath. No water or chemicals are used in the cleaning process and all dirt and spent powder is captured within the cabin and removed for recycling.
The Bank of England received an exterior clean using Thomann- Hanry®’s ‘façade gommage®’ system last year. Taking just 25 days to complete, the works took place without the use of unsightly scaffold and at weekends only to minimise disruption.
Thomann-Hanry® also undertook the required stone restoration and leadwork repairs as part of the re- vamp. The works took place across Threadneedle Street, Prince’s Street, Lothbury and Bartholomew Lane and covered an area of 10,000 m2. The exterior wall, known as ‘the Soane Wall’ after the Bank of England’s renowned surveyor, Sir John Soane,
now looks in pristine condition since the project was complete.
Looking further afield Thomann- Hanry®’s restoration team are currently busy bringing the iconic Kings College, Cambridge back to its former glory. As well as an exterior clean by façade gommage®, the specialist restoration team refurbished and redecorated every timber window, metal grilles and the underside of the central archway passage. New stone balustrades were made and replaced as needed.
More recently The Porter’s Lodge that faces you as you enter the grounds of Kings College, has undertaken a restoration. Like any historic building, years and climate take their toll and with some signs of movement, which will have happened over many years, it is important to stitch and repair to protect the building for the decades ahead. Some of the works are as simple as pointing joints and cracks to prevent water ingress and the harm that comes with this. But also, much of the project involves the careful indenting of new carved stone to replace stone that has eroded, in some cases to almost nothing, over centuries. If these elements were maintained on an ongoing basis, such extreme restoration would not have been necessary.
“DAMP AREAS ARE
PARTICULARLY LIKELY TO ATTRACT DIRT, ESPECIALLY IN A
WET CLIMATE LIKE IN THE UK.”
In this environment, Thomann- Hanry® is bridging the space between ‘Restoration’ and ‘Conservation’. As a company, the majority of works are on listed buildings, often Grade I, Thomann-Hanry® ’s masons and restorers are amongst the most experienced in the industry and they are only too aware that all buildings need a different approach based on its history and based on the express desires of the client.
www.thomann-hanry.co.uk TOMORROW’S FM | 17
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