Restoring a Victorian Property in Huntingdon with Dustless Wet Blasting
- Matthew Hale
- 53 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Project Location: Huntingdon
Property Type: Victorian Detached Building
Project Overview
The Sandblasting Company was appointed to carry out a highly specialised façade restoration project on a Victorian detached property in Huntingdon. The building had been suffering from severe damp ingress, which was causing ongoing damage to the internal substrates. Investigations revealed that historic surface treatments were preventing the brickwork from breathing as intended.
Our brief was clear: safely remove the damaging coatings and return the masonry to bare brick, while preserving as much of the original fabric as possible.
The Challenge
The external walls had been coated with multiple layers of plasticised paint along with a bitumen-based tanking system. While these materials may have been applied with good intentions many years ago, they had effectively sealed the masonry, trapping moisture within the walls.
The brickwork itself presented an additional challenge. The property was constructed using a mixture of soft red bricks and Cambridge yellow bricks — both of which require a sensitive and controlled approach. The toughness of the coatings, combined with the softness of the underlying masonry, made this an extremely demanding project.
Our Approach with Dustless Wet Blasting
To tackle the problem, we employed a wet blast, dustless system, specifically selected to minimise surface aggression while still being effective against the stubborn coatings.
Rather than attempting to remove everything in one pass, the process was carried out gradually and methodically, gently teasing away the coating layer by layer. This controlled approach allowed us to soften the blast action and maintain as much integrity in the brick faces as possible.
In areas with the soft red bricks, a small degree of surface disruption was unavoidable in order to fully remove the final remnants of the bitumen coating. However, this was carefully managed and kept to an absolute minimum, with the long-term health of the building always being the priority.
Health, Safety & Weather Protection
The entire property was fully scaffolded, complete with protective sheeting. This ensured:
A safe working environment for our team and the public
Full containment of the wet blasting process
Protection of the building during adverse winter weather
The full containment system allowed the project to continue without interruption, despite challenging seasonal conditions.
The Result
All damaging surface coatings were successfully removed, restoring the brickwork to a breathable state and allowing moisture to dissipate naturally from the structure.
The next phase of the restoration involves raking out the existing mortar joints and repointing using a traditional lime mortar, ensuring compatibility with the historic masonry and completing the breathability cycle.
This project stands as a testament to The Sandblasting Company’s ability to undertake complex and technically demanding restoration works, even under difficult conditions.
Final Stages
With our work now complete, the building is ready for the stonework restoration specialists to apply the final finishing touches. The transformation has already made a significant difference to the health and appearance of the property.
We are proud to have played a key role in returning this Victorian building to a condition that respects its heritage while safeguarding its future.
See the Project in Action & Read Our Customer Review
To see this project in action, we invite you to watch our YouTube video, which showcases the wet blasting process and the transformation of the building:
You can also read our customer review and see what our client had to say about working with The Sandblasting Company here:
We take great pride in delivering high-quality restoration work and value the feedback provided by our clients.
