Render & Rope Access Window Cleaning, Colchester
Years of organic growth and run marks soft-washed from the render of a student accommodation tower and its neighbouring block, with every window cleaned by rope access and spider lift.
Overview
A national student accommodation provider asked us to restore the render and clean the windows of two occupied residential buildings at a site in Colchester: a tower and a long curved block finished in acrylic render.
The render had collected years of streaking, darkening below the sills and run marks along the render bands. These were heaviest on the exposed curves and the tower, the areas most exposed to the weather.
Wash the render first, clean the glass last, elevation by elevation.
The work
We soft-washed every rendered elevation with a render cleaning solution applied at low pressure and rinsed. A soft wash lifts organic growth and atmospheric soiling without opening the surface of an acrylic render.
Access was by IRATA-trained rope access technicians working from the roof, and by a tracked spider lift where the ground allowed. The windows, frames and ledges on both buildings were cleaned elevation by elevation as each one was released.
The buildings stayed occupied throughout. Each morning we told the site team which elevations were in use, so residents could keep their windows closed.
Dust from the render wash then settled on glass we had already cleaned. We went back by rope, cleaned every affected window a second time from the top of each drop, and cleaned the three glass entrance canopies on the same visit.
The results
The render now has an even finish across its bands and curves, and the tower reads as one colour again. Every affected window on both buildings has been cleaned twice: once before the render wash and once after it.
The client received a completion report with before and after photographs, video from the rope and a certificate of completion, giving their team a clear record for the building file.
What we learned: where render cleaning and window cleaning are done together, wash the render first and clean the glass last, elevation by elevation. That is now the sequence we use on combined facade work. To keep the finish, we recommended a lighter soft-wash maintenance clean every two to three years, with window cleaning on a regular cycle.
Rated excellent for communication by a student accommodation client
"Good comms, great team."
We offer everything you need to keep your facility clean, safe, & efficient.
Reach & Wash
MEWPs
Rope Access
Eye-bolt testing
Commercial decorating
Roof repairs
Bird-proofing
Solar panel cleaning
Rainwater clearance
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