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Barratec

BarraTec is a patented “Green” chemical from America that dissolves 15% more mortar than concentrated HCl. We use B10K for cleaning bricks. It is totally harmless and rapidly breaks down into Nitrogen, CO2 and Water when exposed to the environment. It was designed for industrial applications where Hydrochloric Acid, a class S6 extremely dangerous poison is used.

 

As Barratec is benign it can be used without protective equipment and it is so safe that other trades can work on site at the same time. Barratec will not attack your clothes, paint or anodized aluminium and will not corrode metals like Zinc, aluminium, iron, copper, brass, galvanised metal, stainless steel, and chrome; this makes it ideal for use on steel framed houses. It does not need to be neutralised after use as acid is meant to be, see (www.thinkbrick.com.au) and protective masking of sensitive areas is not required, so it can be safely used on large projects, union sites, built up areas and in city centres. It will not kill plants. It is even used on golf courses and in agriculture to promote growth. This makes it ideal for infill building in mature suburbs.

 

Barratec eliminates the effect of acid burn and vanadium staining. It can even be used to restore bricks burnt by acid or with vanadium stains.  It has been used in Australia for 60 months and some builders say it is saving them thousands of dollars in warranty claims previously caused by acid washing.
 

Testing of Barratec began in Adelaide 5 years ago.  Well over 30,000 houses have now been cleaned in Vic, SA and in Queensland using Barracuda 10K and Barratec . Builders including AV Jennings, Grollo, Metricon, Weeks and many high-end boutique and Commercial builders now specify Barratec and Barrcuda 10K as their preferred brick cleaning product. Builders of steel framed houses often request B10K, as a way of preventing the corrosion. 

 

Barratec could be used to enhance your company’s “Green” appeal if it were offered as an EPA approved green alternative to Hydrochloric acid.  We have found that builders who offered their customers this choice had full take up once they explained the advantages of Barratec (See “Features & Benefits” Summary). Another feature of Barratec is that it leaves the mortar bed intact with the original finish. It is harder, smoother and more polished than acid treated houses (see pictures). Acid is very aggressive and often leaves mortar beds recessed, pitted, pock marked, soft and friable. This could expose builders to expensive warranty repair claims.

How is it used

Barratec is premixed in a chemical tank at ratios of 4-10:1 in water and sprayed onto pre-wet bricks. Then it is washed of  at  pressures from 600-4000 psi. Barratec doesn't penetrate and soften mortar as rapidly and aggressively as acid, so we can usually leave behind polished and pointed mortar beds. It is extremely important to provide cleanly laid bricks and appropriate mortar mixes otherwise collateral damage may occur - see more specifics in tab titled "Brick Cleaning".

Access

For walls over approximately 2.5-3m in height, it is advisable to provide scaffold. It is possible to clean walls up to 7m in height with the use of extension lances but these are very difficult to control and lead to an inferior quality of finish and blowouts compared to working at right angles close to the wall face. We prefer working on a scaffold as we have better control of the pressure cleaning and washing process.

 Timing

We prefer to clean early 2-20 days after they are laid. Leaving brickwork for too long can make it harder to clean. We recommend cleaning bricks within the first couple of weeks after they are laid if possible and as early as possible if plasticizers are used, preferably within a week but the next day would be fine before the mortar hardens excessively.

Benefits

Cleaning with Barratec is slower than acid but leaves a perfect finish so we are often called in to finish jobs where acid has been used but it still leaves mortar on the face. We can go in repeatedly without attacking the mortar beds but this is obviously more time consuming and is done on an hourly rate. We can also remediate acid burn, manganese and vanadium staining while washing. We have additives that are compatible with Barratec that allow us to treat while we wash.

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Barratec eliminates most of the problems caused by acid

Many materials that don’t like contact with acid are not affected by Barratec. Metals such like galvanised steel are not affected.  Other sensitive materials that would normally need to be protected against acid prior to brick cleaning are no longer affected.  For example we can safely clean your bricks with zincalume roof sheeting installed. Gardens, woodwork and plants are unaffected and plants will even grow better after B10K treatment as it will remediate the soil without damaging plants.

Features & Benefits 

  1. Barratec and Barratec are a new Safe, Harmless Green Biodegradable Brick Cleaning Chemicals that can clean bricks and replace Hydrochloric Acid (a class 6 poison).

  2. Barratec & Barracuda 10K dissolve more mortar (15-20% more) than concentrated HCl

    • Use much less chemical on site.

      • Note - Acid brick cleaners spray 45 -80 litres or more on each house

    • Improves OH&S

    • Will not harm workers and  affect neighbours and their property eg cars etc

    • Good for union and large construction sites

    • Improves Victorian environment

  3. Is non Corrosive

    • Perfect for use on metal framed houses or constructions.

    • Does not need to masking on site to protect metal surfaces before use

    • Eliminates warranty issues on all metals including following:

      • Galvanize

      • Zinc

      • Brass

      • Copper

      • Stainless Steel

      • Aluminium - Anodized and painted 

      • Iron

    • No need to neutralize after use to prevent potential hidden long term corrosion

      • This saves time and cost

  4. Mitigates warranty issues on bricks 

    • Prevents and reduces Iron stain browning and "Acid Burn" on bricks

    • Prevents and reduces Manganese and Molybdenum stains

    • Prevents and reduces Vanadium greening

  5. Paint Manufacturers approvals 

    • DuPont etc

    • Safely use on cars and trucks

    • will not damage hotwater and gas systems

  6. Barratec is a patented green chemistry from America with following benefits

    • Rapid biodegradation as traces eliminated in days -  forms CO2, H2O and N2

    • Unlike HCl Barracuda leaves brick facings full of life with original colour tones

    • Does not leave grouting pitted - See pictures

    • Leaves mortar hard and polished not friable,pitted and soft like acid.

    • Eliminates the potential of growth forming in grouting later

    • Remediates soils and encourages plant root growth

    • Makes gardens greener

  7. Non Hazardous

    • Eliminates the need for toxic HCL use on sites.

      • HCl is a corrosive toxic Class 6 Poison that should be avoided

    • Can work on sites with other trades

    • Will not harm plants

    • Can use in built up residential areas

 

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