2381 Sandblasting

Hi
We've recently bought a house in the Garfagnana area of Northern Tuscany that needs a few jobs doing on it. One of them is cleaning up the ceiling beams and tiles. I was thinking of hiring a sandblaster to get the job done. Has anyone gone down this route?, is it cheaper to hire or get someone in?,all advice gratefully received.

Category
Building/Renovation

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 01/16/2006 - 14:19

Here in Southern Marche, weve been quoted €10 per sq metre, weve been told by locals that it shouldn't cost more than €7 - €8 per sq metre but haven't managed to find anybody at that price!

Hiring equipment is possible (We know of equipment for hire near us), it is much cheaper but be warned, it is an extremely messy job. Our last 2 houses back in the UK were very old and we had to sandblast them internally to clean them, the mess was awful, also best to be done in Spring or Autumn if you are doing it yourself as the suit gets extremely hot in Summer!

Hope this helps

wol

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 01/17/2006 - 10:46

Hi Dave and Jan,

Good luck with your sandblasting! I once had to do some, and it is a very unpleasant job, so you might find it better to get someone to do it. Move all the furniture out of the room you are working in, and cover other furniture in the house with a dust sheet, you will be amazed at how far the dust will travel, even with all the doors closed. Get eye protection and a face mask, the sand is toxic to breathe in. You will find a hat essential too.
Make sure the sand you get is dry, otherwise the spray head will clog rapidly.
don't let the spray head dwell on one spot for too long, otherwise pits will occur in the timber or tiles, or anything else for that matter.
I should also say think carefully before sandblasting, it can be a very destructive intervention, particularly with regard to historic paints etc, so check before using!

Hope this is some use,
David (Restauratore)