Cleaning crepi?

[Jonzjob]

We just had a bloke ring the gate bell and offered to clean the crepi on our house. It needs doing. The bloke has been around for a number of years and lives pretty locally. His van is always presentable and he is doing some local work. He doesn't appear to be a 'fly-by-night'.

He was talking about a product for cleaning and protecting the crepi and also using a hydrofugue and plastifier on it.

Does anyone have any ideas as to what is the best and is this type of cleaning the 'norm'.

[YCCMB]

Most of them seem to use bleach.

[Jonzjob]

ne of the things he said was that what he uses protects the crepi and that's one thing that bleach doesn't do int.. He doesn't use a pressure washer either.

[woolybanana]

JJ, most of the guys who come round here are semi-itinerant and use bleach. Not to be touches

My suggestion is that you pop into one of the better builder's metchants and ask them. If their advice coincides with your guy then you are probably safe to use him.

(Out of interest, guys, the guys with vans who come round to do roofs should be avoided too as their treatment damages to tiles, so I have been told).

[Jonzjob]

I have to get into a builders merchant in the next few daze so I will ask the question Wolly. Good idea.

In fact, as we have a slack handful of pressure sprayers with long nozles it may well be worth asking that question, buying some and doing the job me sen [:-))]

I don't care what they say about you, I think that you are a gentleman [Www][:D]

[suein56]

[quote user="You can call me Betty"]Most of them seem to use bleach. [/quote]

Many of them do, and it usually stinks to high heaven as they seem to use it undiluted.

When we lived in a rented house we used to give the crepi a spray with very diluted bleach every 3 or so years, it worked very well taking a couple of days to clear the reddish brown streaks. I googled the recommended concentration. Using over-concentrated bleach apparently weakens the crepi.

Sue

[YCCMB]

Yes, OH is very anti using bleach on our exterior walls. A few years ago, some halfwit came to our gate and offered to clean our walls (the boundary walls, not the house) for something like €300. I told him no, but, reluctant to take no for an answer, ("j'essaye de me faire connaître" he told me: hence his belief that I'd hand over that amount of money which either he thought was a bargain price or he believed I was more stupid than him) he gave the wall just next to the gate a good spray with the contents of his sprayer, nearly knocking me out with the stench of the bleach, and leaving a horrible, ugly tide mark on the wall.

Luckily (or not, depending on your point of view) the wall in question was subsequently partially demolished by my neighbour reversing a large bowser into it by accident during a snowy period that winter, and was replaced through his insurance, so I never did get to find out whether there was any permanent damage inflicted by the bleach.

[Cendrillon]

We have twice had a couple of guys with a van call and offer to clean the stonework.

The last lot mentioned  they just had a bit of produit left from another job they were in the neighbourhood and could give us a special price, (400 euros then reduced to 300 euros if they didn't include the garden wall) They were only in the area until Sunday and of course we had to make a quick decision. The little bit of produit left began to ring alarm bells and smacked of the scams in U.K. where certain blokes call and have just got a bit of tarmac over and will do your drive for you!

These guys looked official and sounded convincing, had business cards and the van had company logo etc. .

Our neighbour had the best answer when she said she would perhaps consider employing them next year![I]

We still have champignons on the front wall.[:(]