cleaning brickwork

[Hgrove]

Can anybody tell me how much it would cost (per sq.mt. preferably) to hire a specialist company to come and clean the brickwork (front of my house-outside);  mainly dust/grime/dirt accumulated over generations.  Thank you very much.

[woofgang]

where do you live? I am fairly sure that this would vary according to geography

[jake-the-peg]

If you're in a listed building talk to your historic buildings officer first.

In either case be very carefull about what you decide to go for hash blasting of brickwork can damage or weaken the brick faces causing them to "blow" a few years further down the line which would be incredibly costly to repair.

Have a good read here: especially the links down at the bottom

http://www.eastherts.gov.uk/guidnote/cleaning_historic_buildings/introduction.htm

You'll find a ton of companies that tell you how good they are, how they won't damage anything and how many scare stories there are.

Insist on references and follow them up.

You might also be interested in this document from IHBC and SPAB on Historic building maintenance

http://www.ihbc.org.uk/stitch_in_time/SPAB%20PDF's%20(D)/Stitch%20in%20Time.pdf (it's about 1MB if you've a slow link) 

[Hgrove]

thanks for the info.  I live in Greater London and there is absolutely no issue with listing.

[jake-the-peg]

Good luck then, but watch out for the cowboys - remember "No references, no deal!" ;c)