Cleaning a Grade II listed building

Being a harbourside city Bristol’s residents can enjoy the sound and sight of seagulls wheeling and diving in the sky. But have you ever thought about the flipside of having these beautiful birds share our city? Its guano (seagull poo) and a whole lot of other sticky, feathery mess that nesting birds create, and if you are managing a building in the centre of Bristol it’s a problem that you will be very familiar with.

We recently carried out cleaning on a Grade II listed residential building in the centre of the city to remove guano. The General (thus named because it used to be the Bristol General Hospital) is a prestigious residential development located on the waterfront. The building is of significant historic interest and has been beautifully restored by City and County – a company with a reputation for restoring historic buildings and creating outstanding homes.

Maintaining high standards

The apartments provide a unique blend of old and new. Elegant and stylish interiors look out over the docks or onto a pretty interior courtyard with a water fountain. Of course, the residents of The General expect their property to be maintained to the highest standards, but being right next to the waterfront, the seagulls have been doing their worst! So, we were asked to come and clean the historic stone and remove the seagull droppings.

Best for cleaning historic buildings

When it comes to cleaning historic or listed buildings, extra care needs to be taken as the stone may be vulnerable. We use steam cleaning, a cleaning system that is used throughout the world for cleaning historic buildings and monuments of note. It is an excellent option because it has a far lighter impact on the surface material than standard jet washing systems. Being able to precisely control both the pressure and the temperature of the steam jet makes it ideal for cleaning delicate stonework and enables us to achieve a far superior clean whilst mitigating the risk of damage.

We used a cherry picker to access the high window ledges and clean the sills, brick work and stone leaving the surfaces looking as good as new. Our staff are experienced at high-level cleaning and are fully IPAF trained so customers can rest assured that HSSE is fully covered off.

If you would like to know more about our process for cleaning historic buildings please give us a call. We would be happy to visit your premises and carry out a test clean to demonstrate exactly what we are able to achieve.