Case Study – Jones Lang LaSalle Leeds

Client Details
Leeds City Centre
Leeds

Jones Lang LaSalle

Type of Work
✔ Algae Removal
✔ Bird Fouling
✔ Cladding Cleaning
✔ Limescale Removal
✔ Masonry Cleaning
✔ Soda Blasting
✔ Stone Repairs

The Challenge

We were contacted by the client to provide a proposal and detailed schedule of works to carry out dilapidation repairs to a historic building, when River Island moved to new premises. The site is in Leeds City centre so, as you can imagine, this offered a unique and challenging set of circumstances including façade cleaning up to a height of 25 metres whilst the general public passed in the street below, as well as a tight 2 week deadline.

APT’s Solution

We were approached because of our expertise in the field of soda blasting, indeed it was this technique which was to form the hub of the cleaning and restoration project. There were considerable areas of sandstone, marble and brickwork that needed to be cleaned, including the removal of graffiti.

Soda blasting uses compressed air to fire small crystals of sodium bicarbonate (blasting soda) at the surface to be cleaned. It has a low environmental impact and is very gentle on masonry and other materials used in construction including soft metals like copper and zinc. It has a hardness of about the same as talcum powder so will not abrade or scratch harder surfaces. Unlike conventional blast cleaning systems, it doesn’t work by abrasion. The crystals of the blasting soda ‘explode’ on contact with the surface and it is the energy released that disrupts the bonding within the soiling and between the soiling and substrate. The compressed air that is used to fire the blasting soda at the surface to be cleaned then simply blows the contamination from the building.

We needed to take three distinct approaches to the soda blasting. Firstly, the sandstone was dry blasted using a vortex spinning blast head nozzle with a pressure set at 2 bars. The operators varied the pressure as required to remove the stone staining and obtain a perfect finish.

Secondly, we used our mobile soda blasting equipment with a fan nozzle set at 1.5 bars pressure to restore the brickwork.

The third soda blasting task was to clean up the marble. We needed to remove ingrained dirt as well as graffiti without damaging the surface. Conventional blast cleaning or chemical cleaning could have damaged the stonework so we chose to use a soda blaster with a vortex spinning blast head wet nozzle and pure soda blast blend.

In addition, we were required to carry out limescale removal, cladding cleaning, bird fouling removal and stone repairs. We used a variety of our own formulated cleaning chemicals to achieve the desired results. The cladding was cleaned and protected with our superb single-visit Easy Metal Clean and Polish whilst the bird fouling and associated odour was dealt with using Dekon 50 and Citrus RTU.

What The Client Said

Another successful commercial cleaning project was duly completed on time and budget by the UK’s most respected soda blasting company!

Testimonials

Andrew Williams – Private Client

“Thank your for your professionalism whilst carrying out a difficult task in bad weather. I would be happy to recommend APT soda blasting services”
Phil – Dental Surgery

“Thank you to APT for acting quickly to remove the latex compounds and the effervescence at the dental surgery, your help is much appreciated. I would be pleased to recommend your services.”
Colin Bowen – Private Client

“Thank you for responding so quickly. It was such a relief that not only could you do the job which another company failed to do, but your professionalism and suggestions has really made a huge difference. I am happy to recommend your services.”
Loosely Ice Creams

“Regular maintenance clean in the factory, we have previously used other methods but none that got the finish of Soda blasting. H & S are happy.”
Neil Muir – Haberdashers Schools

“Time is crucial in our business, as is a professional finish. APT Soda Blasting delivered both; they finished before time and left an immaculate finish. Good to work with them.”
Mr Richard Watkins – Classic car and boat owner

“The gel coat and my boat was unscathed, I was delighted. It usually costs me weeks of hard work, preparation time, not to mention all the mess that usually made, I had none of this. I was so happy I got them to soda blast my old vintage car, lovely job, thanks chaps! And I recommend them to all my fellow men.”
Matthew Perry. Head of Environmental Services – Blaenau Gwent Council

“We’ve used APT for years on many, many jobs from graffiti removal, to stone cleaning to mass scale historical building renovations. They are very practical in their approach and always look for methodical and professional ways to approach the task in hand. In essence they are thinkers. I cannot recommend them highly enough.”
Derek Thomas – Property Surveyor Carillion Contracts

“Dear Andrew. I would like to personally thank you and your team at APT for the great work you carried out on the Sardis house refurbishment project. Both Senior Surveyors Edwin Hanly and Alun Roberts, have both asked me to pass on their thanks and appreciation in managing and carrying through this difficult project and your endeavors in overcoming the logistical and safety issues in order to meet the budget cost.”
Dirk Shelling

“Andrew, I would like to express my thanks to Steve and Jordan for the hard work and service on my old sally. They had to work extremely hard on the deck but they got it done to my liking and I will certainly be passing on your details to others.”
St. Johns Hospital

“Thank you for the works carried out at St Johns. The property outlook is very much improved and we will be in touch to arrange to have further works when we receive future funding. Many thanks”.
Richard Turner – Cadw Senior Conservation Officer

“Richard turner and his team were so impressed at the capabilities of the machine, he granted us authority to be used on the Cadw site throughout Wales as and when required. Opus international consultants, who were the Cadw consultants, sent a memorandum to all its offices to confirm inclusion on any job specification drawn on behalf of their client Cadw, where surface cleaning was recommended or required.”
Maggie – Classic Car Owner

“The guys did a great job of blast stripping my TR4 I am very pleased with the results & service. Nothing was too much trouble for these guys.”
Sid Petit – Health and Safety Officer

“We have been using APT for some time and I can say nothing better than outstanding yet again. They have been quick to respond, offered positive solutions and taken the right action to deliver a safe working environment. They offer an all round competent package and we are glad to have them as our support for running our operation.”
Keith Davies – Fitzwilliam Estate Manager

He commented on the success of the trials and recommended the soda blast method be forwarded to the future contract for renovation.
Veronica – Structures and Highways Caerphilly Borough Council

“Hi Andrew, a big thank you to you and the APT team for carrying out a great job on the bridges at White Rose Way. The bridge structures look as good as new and I hope to use APT’s services again on other highways structures.”
Tim O’Donovan – Managing Director Horan Construction Ltd

APT were very instrumental in helping us solve a major problem. We really couldn’t see a way out of our situation without spending thousands and using a lot of resources, until Andrew came onto site and offered some very practical advice not only about Soda Blasting but other aspects of the job.

We saved time, money and got the finish we wanted with the added benefit of it being enviro friendly, so we kept the planners happy too! Really happy to work with a professional team and thank you.”
Peter Sutton – Monmouthshire Housing Association

We initially used a main contractor who tried to remove the efflorescence from one of our buildings using a wet blasting system, it simply didn’t work. We called in APT who offered their expertise and use different t a to graffiti also removed the efference. Huge improvement to the whole area.”
Terry – Newport City Homes

“I would like to again thank APT for carrying out the recent graffiti removal programme to meet our keep Wales tidy audit. We received good feedback from some of the residents and the area looks much improved (www.keepwalestidy.cymru).”
Graham Lowe – Project Manager for Overbury

“I would like to thank APT for their excellent work and assistance on the Barclays project. They delivered the project and additional works on time and without issue. Thanks to Andrew and his team for all your extra effort. I look forward to using them on future renovations.”
Neil Daniels – Cadw

“Dear Nicola, Andrew and the staff at APT, I would like to thank you for carrying out the stone cleaning programme and surface cleaning testing. Both myself and Richard Turner, were very impressed and have no doubt in calling upon APT for future work on Cadw projects.”
Kevin Hiller – Property Surveyor Neath Port Talbot Council

“I would like to express my sincere thanks to APT for the excellent job they carried out at Tai Bach. The project was a much needed one and now that it has been completed, it has really helped to improve the town. We have received many good comments from the public, which is always a good sign.”
Andrew Evans – Royal Mint

“I called APT in due to the very nature of our site here at the Royal Mint and the need for a professional, accredited company. APT successfully cleaned the building façade, safely and easily with a high level of competence.”
Gee construction – Tim Luke

“We employed the services of APT to renovate a grade 2 listed building. Under the directive of Cadw we were not allowed to use any wet process or chemicals within the interior of the building. APT blasted sandstone, brick, ceramic glazed tiles, metal work, paintwork on ceilings, coving, woodwork and ornate fixtures. It was a great achievement to have one system for all the surfaces that needed cleaning and restoring and one that also ticked all the boxes of the environmental and conservation officers. The process saved us both time & money in being able to have just one company on site. We are very grateful to APT for their hard work on this project.”
Dave Nicoll – Burleigh Church – Site Manager

“The superior finish left by Soda blasting saved us days of skilled labour and costs too. We tested two areas of paint and varnish removal on wood, (which was tongue & grooved) one using sodablast and the other using traditional methods of chemical paint remover. Soda blast by far outweighed the chemicals in terms of time, finish and its environmental properties; there was absolutely no comparison at all. We also used the soda blasting on the whole exterior stone work, incredible clean finish. I highly recommend them and will definitely be using Sodablast again for any architectural buildings I work on.”

Case Study – Jones Lang LaSalle Leeds

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