Some brick help please...

[Curb Appeal 14]

Hey all,

I just got a call from one of my realtor clients to do a driveway and house. I went and took a look at it today. It's brick. The only brick I've done is algae removal. This house looks pretty bad. When you look at it from the street, you get a grimy feeling.

I took some pics to post here 'cause I have no idea what this black stuff is or what chem to use to get it off. I was hoping someone here may have seen this before.

Please help, this is a big house in an old neighborhood where home values have gone through the roof and there are a lot of dirty houses around...

Thanks again,

Here they are...

The whole house is like this. Black stuff on the brick everywhere. Any ideas?

Front of house...

[Celeste 341]

Call Steve Rowlett - he's right around the corner from you and will have any chem you need to take care of that yuck :)

Celeste

[PressurePros 248]

That is old, very porous brick. That is not a housewash it is a restoration. I'd would start the bidding at $1000 for that front facade and go from there. You have some limestone to contend with as well. Mortar looks questionable and usually is on older houses. You can increase the value of that house by at least $20,000 with a good restoration. Prosoco, EacoChem or Diedrich are where you may want to start your search.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Hi Joel,

Those are some great photos. Would it be possible for you to please edit your post and add them as attachements? It's hard on the database when they are added to a thread that way....

Have a great day and thanks again for sharing your job with us!

Beth :cup:

[Curb Appeal 14]

Sorry about that Beth. Will know better next time...

Here's more...

Walls near gutters...

[Curb Appeal 14]

Close ups...

[Curb Appeal 14]

Front steps and under window...

[Curb Appeal 14]

Ken,

Thanks for the help. Do you like any one of those particular companies' products better?

Prosoco has a distributor near me and I'm going to head over there today to see what they have to say and see if I can get a test kit or some samples.

Also, I just got a call from the new owner and she will spare no expense to get this restored. Music to my ears, and my wallet!

Thanks again for the help and I will post pics after...

[Celeste 341]

EacoChem or Diedrich would be our choice.

Celeste

[PressurePros 248]

EacoChem or Diedrich would be our choice.

Celeste

As would be mine but its hard to argue with local availability, customer service and being able to perform tests with various products. See how you make out with the Prosoco stuff and you can always go from there.

[Curb Appeal 14]

Thanks all,

I met with Chris at Exterior Materials in Nashville today. They carry the Prosoco line. He was very knowledgeable and experienced. He specializes in historic restoration and recommended that I start off with their light duty Restoration Cleaner and move to the Heavy Duty if need be.

I'm waiting on some product samples so I can do a test area & I'll go from there.

I also have an email out to EacoChem and Diedrich but no response so far.

As I stated earlier, this will be my first brick restoration. I think I have all my bases covered regarding saftey but does anyone have any tips or tricks that they could shoot my way?

Thanks,

[John Orr 206]

I also have an email out to EacoChem and Diedrich but no response so far.

EaCoChem 800/313-8505, ask for Mike.

[Richard 17]

Every time I've been a little unsure or even just want confirmation I'm on the right track, I call Larry at Diedrich.He has been very helpfull.

[Curb Appeal 14]

Just got off the phone with an area Prosoco rep. They are sending a technical team out to meet me at the property tomorrow. The team will go over the house and perform some test areas and make a recommendation.

How's that for customer service? And I'm just a potential customer. So far, so good. Now let's just see how good their product is...

[PressurePros 248]

That is outstanding!

[Dan Stapleton 14]

Thats awesome. Keep us up to date.

[Curb Appeal 14]

Got a call from the homeowner today. They want me to do the job but they want to delay it until the spring because they are having an addition put on the house first. I'll have to wait until after.

Keep you posted...