Façade Cleaning – Cobalt House

Facade Cleaning - Cobalt House Before

Years of grime and carbon-deposits had built up on the 17-storey Cobalt House tower block in Birmingham, discolouring its pre-cast concrete panels. As part of a complete restoration programme, EcoLogic was tasked with refurbishing the external elevations.

The façade of the building was treated using a mild restoration cleaning solution together with very high temperature steam. Unlike jet-blasting methods that can leave permanent watermarks, the EcoLogic facade cleaning process was gentle on the absorbent concrete panels, while providing a deep clean.

Façade Cleaning Procedure

This gentle cleaning technique uses no chemicals and is highly regarded by historical building restoration specialists. The system passes water through a high pressure pump before it enters the ‘hot box’ where the temperature is increased to up to 150 degrees Celsius. The steam is then applied, through heat-resistant hoses, to the building.

Facade Cleaning - Cobalt House After

Colbalt House is over 60 metres high, so EcoLogic cleaned each elevation in two sections to ensure the hose-length did not exceed 35m, which could seriously affect the temperature of the steam and the effectiveness of the process.

Cleaning on all four elevations was complete in less than two weeks.