# PW factory ceilings



## WAGGZ (Apr 2, 2009)

I have a customer that just bought a factory is remodeling it so another guy can open his business January 1. I am handling all the painting and pw'ing. Got a call end of last week wants to add-on pw'ing the ceiling. (Steel truss, electrical conduit (yikes), plumbing, air lines, etc.). Because there is several inches of dust on all this stuff. My idea was to suit up in the proper gear take an air compressor and a sisscor lift and blow everything off (after everyone else left) then let the laborers sweep the following day. But the customer insist on pw'ing it. The building is close to 40000 sq ft give or take. So what are suggestions on the best way to accomplish the task at hand?


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

will there be oily dirt? or just dust? sounds like quite the paycheck if you ask me


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

I don't get it, he wants it power washed. The way I would handle it is..........
Power wash it. 
Just gonna have to get extra line and be very careful. Blowing it off doesn't seem it will work to well. Sense it just will make the dust rise and settle back down on the beams.


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## WAGGZ (Apr 2, 2009)

Mainly just dirt and dust. Building has been unoccupied for probably 20 years. The painting is just 3600' office which was gutted and redone so its basically NC.


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Ya, but even on a NC job. We have to PW it. I'd just give the client what he wants


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## WAGGZ (Apr 2, 2009)

The NC I was talking about was sheetrock. Is there a drywall PW technique I need to know about?:jester: J/K


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## ewingpainting.net (Jun 2, 2008)

Hey, waaattcchh yoa bacck.:thumbup:


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## johnpaint (Sep 20, 2008)

I think picture would help.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

I think you are begging for it. I was prepared to give you some technique pointers until you mentioned new 'rock.

Can you get some pictures and post them?


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

This may be way off, but has anyone tried dry ice blasting? I think it is more for blasting in fire damage, but the thing I remember is that it left no mess because it evaporated before it hit the ground.


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## WAGGZ (Apr 2, 2009)

Went to take pics today and realized I left my memory stik in the computer. Maybe I can clarify. The office and the factory are like 2 buildings under one roof. Painting the offices.....pw'ing in the production area. The area that will be pw'ed has block, brick, or metal walls. I will try to get pics tomorrow to maybe clarify more.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

High pressure air/Diesel compressor


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## johnisimpson (Oct 5, 2007)

We've done a few of these and they aren't too much fun. You're either using extension wands and breaking your neck looking at that ceiling and also not getting a very good clean or you're in a lift and blowing a lot of that dirt and dust from one truss to another and always messing up what you've already cleaned. Just be prepared to go over the majority of it multiple times. Also, have a floor scrubber rented to help clean the floors and pull up the water when you finish. We've always had the power turned off at the main breaker for the building and tell the customer not to turn the power back on for as long as possible. We bag and tape what we can as far as outlets and fixtures go but the conduit and junction boxes just allow too many potential water entry points to feel comfortable to me.

I like your idea of blowing off the trusses with the compressor. Maybe you could 2 stage it and do that first, then light wash to keep the customer happy. Getting the bulk of that dust gone would make the rest go much easier.


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## WAGGZ (Apr 2, 2009)

The office is behind the OSB. Do a 180and there is the ceiling that needs to be cleaned. It's not so much the ceiling as it is the pipes, steel beams, etc. The building is about 150' x maybe 400'. THey want the ceiling cleaned in about 50-60% of it.


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## nEighter (Nov 14, 2008)

high compressed air and HUGE ****ING HUGE FANS TO Exit the bad **** out


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

I worked 10 years for an industrial/commercial contractor. GM plants,Honda,Chrysler,Tool Shops,Etc...We ONLY used high pressure air! To much liability with water. Compressor outside with large 3" hoses running in tappering down to a 4" metal "conduit" crimped at the end with an on/off valve. I believe we called them Chicago Lines. Worked like a charm. You do the best you can. the real bad stuff just isn't worth the cost involved to most.


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## PressurePros (May 6, 2007)

Shooting water up there, my guess would result in a bunch of shorted ballasts and eletrical issues. That's a ton of masking and water will absolutely find its way through the smallest crevice of a plastic wrap. I would talk to your guy and explain the possible pitfalls of a water wash. You are going to have to factor electrical issues into your price and/or the cost of a good amount of defensive prep. If he is willing to pay for it, you will have to wrap those flourescents and fans. When done I would have a scissors lift still on site and use a compressor to blow dry the entire area before I reconnected power. As you can see, this is going to be expensive. If he is willing to pay for it, you can sell him on it being a one time cost to get things up to par. But he will also have to understand that this is still a temp fix or factor into his budget future maintenance cleans. 

For the actual clean, you should shoot a good surfactant/soap up there via downstreaming to loosen dirt and dust. This will prevent having to use higher pressure. Make a plan for accumulated water and quick removal. That MDF gets wet at the bottom and it will get brittle and leave water stains. Having written this, I would advise the owner against it. At the very least call in a pro washing company for consultation. If they feel comfortable and have verified insurance, sub it out.


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## CamillusPaints (Jul 12, 2009)

As you can see there are different schools of thought. 
1 being pressure wash and 2nd being blowing down with air. Judging from the couple of picture I didn't see much electrical especially major power, just conduits. the ceiling does not look to cluttered to miss these, so you could cover all electrical with plastic,wash ceiling and do sections with major power by hand. 
Something else to think about if the ceilings are oily they should be cleaned by hand using a cleaner like a lacquer and need to be wiped down by rags. Not fun with that size section, but only way to get a good adhesion. If you wash oily areas using just water it will bleed threw the dryfall and peel within a year.


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## ColorScapes Painting (Nov 5, 2009)

Shopvac and or have a vacuum truck (small one ) come in and suck as much crap down off the ceiling first, then a light pressure wash with ICI/Devoe DevPrep or commercial pw agent. You can always mount scrub brushes on extension poles (Bennett polybrushes) on 8-16 poles work well. Plan it out one corner at a time and work towards the middle, plastic all electrical junction boxes with tape - rest should be fine. As long as no exposed circuits, you will be ok. Then you can shopvac all floors and squeegee em clean. Then the real fun begins if you are spraying dryfall - suit up and spray away !!!


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## WAGGZ (Apr 2, 2009)

After the project went way over budget and the unrealistic deadline got closer, the ceilings have been forgotten about. Thanks for the replies though.


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## Induspray (Dec 10, 2009)

RCP said:


> This may be way off, but has anyone tried dry ice blasting? I think it is more for blasting in fire damage, but the thing I remember is that it left no mess because it evaporated before it hit the ground.


C02 blasting wouldnt work very well for dust, it works by freezing the outer layer faster than the substate so the thermal shock of the top layer (usually paint) fragments the outer layer causing it to disintegrate it.


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## aaron61 (Apr 29, 2007)

Induspray said:


> C02 blasting wouldnt work very well for dust, it works by freezing the outer layer faster than the substate so the thermal shock of the top layer (usually paint) fragments the outer layer causing it to disintegrate it.


:blink::blink::blink:


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