Labas Construction is a Vancouver, British Columbia-based master-craft masonry restoration company. Built on a family foundation of over 35 years in the industry, Labas Construction offers masonry restoration and monument cleaning servicing Western Canada.

The property in question is a single detached brick home built in the late 1960s. The original brick on the house was painted over most likely some time in the 1970s.

The Problem

The problem Labas was faced with was to remove the paint that had probably been on the brick for 45 years, while at the same time preserving the original brick. In order to achieve this, standard pressure washers would not work as they would damage the brick. An additional challenge was that the use of chemicals, a standard practice in paint and graffiti removal, was not allowed. The architect felt that the use of chemicals would leave oil marks on the masonry. ThermaTech seemed like the best choice for this job, even though it was a first for Labas as they had not used it before to remove paint from brick. However because their company had previously used it to remove paint from other surfaces, they knew it might be the right choice for the job.

The Solution

Labas Construction had purchased the ThermaTech machine in order to perform jobs such as this one, where masonry needed to be cleaned but also preserved. They ended up using the electric ThermaTech with the short arm attachment to give them a good angle to remove the paint from the bricks. They used the machine at a temperature of 150°C at an angle of 45°. This took the paint off while still preserving the original brick. Using the ThermaTech for this job cut down on labour and material costs as it was faster and cheaper than using chemicals.

The Outcome

Initially Labas were sceptical when Restorative Techniques said that the ThermaTech would remove paint from masonry. But they found that it did just that, and a lot faster than anticipated, with no damage to the masonry. They were very impressed with the outcome, as was their client. They were excited to have the look of their original brick back on their house.