APT Client - Torfaen County Council

K Render Cleaning near Cardiff for Torfaen Borough Council

Client – Torfaen Borough Council, Garnteg SchoolPontypool, Wales
Project – K Rend Cleaning

What did the client need?

The school building was formulated with K Render and needed immediate cleaning. It was located in the borough of Torfaen, near Cardiff. The render had not been cleaned for over 15 years and was now covered in red and black algae growth which caused severe staining to the k rend, causing damage to the render. This coupled with moss and lichen build up gave the appearance of a neglected school, thus affecting the school pupil intake as well as morale.

K Rend is a coloured render which goes on the outside walls of your building instead of sand, cement, paint, or bricks. The colour pigment is within the render meaning you don’t have to paint it. It is a mineral based product, processed using limestone. K rend cleaning is often required a few years after the building is contaminated with algae, moss and lichen. APT have been providing k rend cleaning to organisations for over 30 years. 

How did we approach it?

There were several challenges with the cleaning programme;

  • The school was built over three levels with very limited access.
  • The Cardiff school needed to remain open whilst the K Render cleaning took place, meaning that young children, teachers and parents needed to be considered.
  • A pedestrian traffic management needed to be agreed and put in place.

What was the solution?

The Head Teacher recognised the issue and sought a resolution for the K-render cleaning and thus enhance the visual impact of the school. The local authority (Torfaen Borough Council near Cardiff) contacted several companies and invited them in to discuss a cleaning solution to the render problem. All three companies were also asked to provide a quote of works.

We provided our professional advice, (since we have been cleaning K render for three decades), along with a quotation. The two remaining cleaning companies quoted for repainting and cleaning the K Rend surface, they advised that cleaning alone would not suffice. Two commercial cleaning companies declined to quote on the render clean after seeing the severe algae problem.

We carried out a full survey of the property, over 3000 square metres of K Render surface coating over three levels, some with limited access. We then carried out a test sample for approval by the client. We advised the client on the type of cleaning and method necessary, along with the ongoing future maintenance programme to keep the building and surrounding areas pristine.

Once the approval was received, we engineered and organised the cleaning program, along with the Health and Safety risk assessment.  Our technician used a specialist environmentally friendly algae removal product Algae Free, this killed the algae spores, removed moss and other surface stains like lichens. They then used our low pressure, super-heated steam cleaner at a very low pressure.

The K Render cleaning and treatment works to the Cardiff School were carried out over a 10-day period, working late evenings and weekends to minimise the disruption to the children and school programme.

What was the outcome?

The K Rend Cleaning results speak for themselves (see images). Both staff and parents of Garnteg School based in the borough of Torfaen near Cardiff were amazed and delighted with the outcome, commenting “that the school is as good as new”!

After the k rend cleaning The K Render did not need to be painted as was first proposed by other companies thus saving tens of thousands of pounds.

APT scheduled the above factors into the works plan, we managed it vigorously making the necessary allowances. It was completed on time with excellent results.

Client Testimonial

“Another excellent job done by APT-ICC, carried out under very difficult, restrictive conditions. Instead of renewing the K Render at a cost of over £40,000, APT have restored it to almost new, a huge saving for a Borough Council. I would highly recommended APT for their expertise and forward-thinking approach.”

Matthew Touhig – Property Services Manager

Work with us

If you are looking for k rend cleaning and render cleaning in Cardiff, Newport, Torfaen, Gwent and any other area in Wales, please get in touch, we are here to provide a no obligation quote or just advice for your render surfaces.

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