PROJECT DETAILS
Project Name: Sedalia Commercial Hub Restoration
Project Industry: Historic Restoration
Client: Elliot Management Services Co
Application: Black Beauty Coal Slag
Size: 27,000 sq ft
Location: Sedalia, Missouri
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Blast It Clean takes responsibility for using our expertise to help the local communities grow. Therefore, when Elliot Management reached out to us with this project, we were more than happy to become part of the team.
“For a number of years, we have been looking for an innovative way to re-purpose our old manufacturing building that had been around since the late 1800s. We finally settled on a design that would use the first floor as a specialty retail hub, the second floor as industrial-looking office space, and the third floor as one and two-bedroom luxury apartments.”, said Stafford Swearingen, President of Elliot Management Services.
Located in Sedalia, this commercial project would bring additional energy and activities into the revitalized downtown area, stimulating local community and economic developments. The project required blasting approximately 27,000+ sq ft of interior walls to remove multiple layers of paint, and 25,000+ sq ft of wooden floors to be cleaned. The walls were partial brick and partial cinder block. The pillars that required paint-removal were made of wood.
THE REMOVAL PROCESS
Considering the variety of surfaces that were involved, our team conducted a demo to find the most suitable solution for this project.
“This is a historic building. The last thing you want is for the abrasive media to eat into the structure. And that will happen if we don’t find the right solution.” Said Ian, operation's manager.
Wood was a delicate surface and most media can cause damage. In addition, blasting at high pressures could tear out the mortar joints that are between the bricks. It took highly-skilled blasters to prevent this from happening.
Close up on a wall during sandblasting. The bottom and right half of the wall had paint removed through sandblasting. The top and the left portion were in the middle of being blasted.
“Historic restoration projects are always the most serious ones. We must follow our game plan to prevent any damages from occurring. This is an old building. If something is damaged, the history is gone. We are blasting over 52,000 sq ft of surface - that’s 52,000+ sq ft of history, and we definitely don’t want to mess that up.” Said Rick, president of Blast It Clean
During our demo session, we tested different media options such as dry ice, glass beads, and crushed glass. In the end, we set our mind on a combination of two special media: Black Beauty coal slag and baking soda. Both media were less intrusive, and therefore more suitable to work on the sensitive surfaces in this restoration project.
During this restoration project, Elliot Management was impressed by the Blast It Clean team’s professionalism and increased the scope of the project to include cleaning the wooden floors (coverage stated above). This additional requirement proved that Blast It Clean was capable of performing multiple different tasks to satisfy the project’s needs. Our capabilities in media blasting, construction, and historic restoration fulfilled and exceeded the client’s expectations.
Our team achieved a strong sense of accomplishment for being involved in a historic restoration project that would benefit the local community. As a small business, we believed in giving back and creating value. We could not wait to see the building become open to the public in Sedalia.
If you are looking for a responsible company to join your team for a restoration project, send us an email at marketing@blastitclean.com or give us a call at (877) 379-4233. You can also contact us here.