Your brick has a colour. Let’s find it again.
A century of London air turns warm red brick grey-black and honey stone the colour of a rainy pavement. The laser lifts the soot, pollution crust and biological growth off the face without soaking the wall, without scarring it, and without a scaffold-load of chemicals. What’s underneath is the building you actually own.
Is the laser right for your job?
Laser is right when…
- Soot and pollution crust on fired brickLondon terraces, chimney breasts, arches
- Stone steps, sills and copingsgrime and biological growth off without acid
- Heritage and period fabricno abrasion, no saturation — conservation-friendly
- Feature walls, inside and outexposed brick that’s gone dull or been painted
It’s the wrong tool when…
- Very soft, crumbling brick facesspalling brick needs a mason before any cleaning
- Repointing problems dressed up as stainingif the mortar’s failing, cleaning is step two — I’ll say so
- Whole elevations on a tight budgetlaser is thorough, not the cheapest per square metre; I’ll be straight about when a soft wash makes more sense
Not sure which side you’re on?
Send the photo— you’ll get an honest yes or no, not a sales pitch. Sometimes the answer is “get it repointed first, then we clean”, and I’ll tell you that too.
Masonry that comes back to life
- Terrace and house frontsby the square metre after a test patch
- Garden and boundary wallsincluding graffiti-scarred and over-painted
- Chimney breastsinside — exposed brick features without the dust storm
- Porches, arches and revealsdetail work blasting can’t do safely
- Stone steps and thresholdsgrip restored along with the colour
- Window sills and copings
- Headstones and memorialsgently, and priced with care
- Garden ornaments and troughs
London grime is a crust of carbon soot and pollution chemistry sitting on — and slightly into — the fired face of the brick. That dark crust absorbs the laser strongly while the cleaned masonry beneath reflects it, so the beam strips the deposit and then, in effect, switches itself off. Nothing is soaked (a pressure-washed wall can hold water for weeks and spall in the next frost), nothing is abraded, and mortar joints keep their profile. It’s the same principle conservators use on cathedral stone, at a scale that fits a Hounslow terrace.
Test patch first, square-metre price after
Every masonry job starts with a small test patch — you see the result, I calibrate the quote. Features and small walls from a part-day visit; fronts and elevations priced individually for the project. Full context on the price guide.
“Pawel was very quick to give me a quote, schedule and complete the job to a great standard. Thank you!”Nathalie, South Ealing, London · Picture frames · MyBuilder, Nov 2025 — read all 50+ reviews
Brick & stone questions
How much does brick cleaning cost?
By the square metre, set after a test patch because soot depth and brick type change the pace. As a shape: a feature wall or porch is a part-day job, a terraced front is usually a day, quoted per job. You’ll have a confirmed price before booking.
Is laser cleaning safe for old, soft brick?
Safer than any abrasive or high-pressure option, because nothing mechanical touches the face and nothing gets saturated. Genuinely crumbling or spalling brick needs a mason first though, and the test patch is where I check honestly.
Can you clean just one feature, like a chimney breast?
Yes — interior exposed-brick features are some of my favourite jobs, and the extraction means no dust storm through your living room.
Will you remove the paint and the grime together?
Yes — paint layers and pollution crust come off in the same process. If your wall is painted, read paint removal too; the test patch covers both.
Do you clean memorials and headstones?
I do, gently and respectfully — lettering re-emerges as the biological growth lifts. These are priced modestly; call me and we’ll talk it through.
Curious what colour your wall really is?
Photo of the brickwork — I’ll arrange a test patch and you’ll see the answer before you spend anything serious.