DJ Cooper Building Conservation for Blaisdon,, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire

Blaisdon lies about 8 miles South West of Gloucester on the edge of the Severn flood plain. Before the Norman Invasion it was known as Blethes Dene, meaning 'wooded place'. The village turns towards the rich farmland of the Vale of Gloucester, and its land is predominantly fertile, once with many orchards growing the 'Blaisdon Plum'. Always small, the village is protected by the barriers of the River Severn and Forest of Dean The centuries were hardly noticed here, and even the Civil War of 1642 passed by it. The early houses were timber framed, built with Forest Oak, but a disastrous fire on 7th July 1699 destroyed most of the village. Subsequent rebuilding was in stone or brick, but some timber framed buildings remain. In the 18th Century the village estate was owned by Robert Hayle and John Wade, whose daughter Anna Gordon ran the estate until its sale in 1865. The Great Western Railway connected the village to the Hereford -Gloucester branch line in 1852, and steam trains could be heard in the village until 1964.

With historic buildings in and around the town, some national monuments, some still in use, owned privately or by the local council, we often find ourselves called on in the Blaisdon area to ensure that when the grime from traffic, bird fouling, general day to day soiling or even graffiti is removed from a treasured building, there is no damage to the often delicate stonework beneath.

From removal of old paint for a domestic redecoration project, or the intricate cleaning of stone work in a cathedral using the poultice method, you will find that wherever you are in Blaisdon or Gloucestershire, you will get a quick response, highly competitive quotation and thorough cleaning from DJ Cooper. Our number is shown above, or if you prefer to send us an email, simply click in the header of any page.

Photo from Featured Project near Blaisdon, Gloucestershire
Sandblasting

Abrasive blasting, commonly referred to as 'Sandblasting', is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface, or remove surface contaminants.

Despite the common use of the term, it is illegal in the UK to use most forms of sand for abrasive blasting, as the fine dust particles which are created when the sand is projected at high speed, can cause silicosis – a potentially fatal lung disease.

With a wide choice of abrasive media available, the process can be fine tuned to suit the contamination to be removed and the surface from which it is to be cleaned. By choosing correctly and applying the process skilfully, excellent results can be achieved on a great variety of cleaning tasks.

There are several variants of the process, using various media; some are highly abrasive, whereas others are milder. The most abrasive are shot blasting (with metal shot) and sandblasting (with sand). Moderately abrasive variants include glass bead blasting (with glass beads) and plastic media blasting (PMB) with ground-up plastic stock or walnut shells and corncobs. Some of these substances can cause anaphylactic shock to both operators and passers by.[2] A mild version is sodablasting (with baking soda). In addition, there are alternatives that are barely abrasive or nonabrasive, such as ice blasting and dry-ice blasting.