TOOLS/METHOD |
SUITABILITY |
ADVANTAGES/DISADVANTAGES |
PROTECTIVE MEASURES TO CONSIDER |
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Mechanical Tools |
Utility knife |
- Universally applicable tool, especially for cutting out elastic and soft caulk together with an electrical joint cutter>
- Suitable for all smooth joint faces
- Less suitable for working on projects with caulk of lengths exceeding 100 m
- Less suitable for very hard caulk
- Choice of different blades to suit the joint width and depth
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Advantages:
- Short, sturdy blade that is easily exchangeable
- Handy, low weight
- No dust development in case of elastic caulk
- Little dust when removing slightly brittle caulk and cleaning joint faces
- Gentle treatment of joint faces
- Disadvantages:
- Requires great exertion in case of hard caulk
- Relative low output (linear meters of caulk/hour)
- Relatively high labor costs
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Ripping chisel |
- Suitable for breaking out or chiseling hard caulk, especially when working with joint in concave, angled planes
- Less suitable for joints with a width of less than 5 mm
- Less suitable for working on projects with caulk of lengths exceeding 100 m
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Advantages:
- Removal of hard and brittle caulk: The cutting edge can be moved along the joint face with greater pressure than a utility knife
- Low dust development in case of rough joint faces
- Disadvantages:
- Quickly dulls when working with rough joint faces made of concrete or other hard materials
- Possible damage to adjoining structural parts
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Putty knife/scrapper |
- Suitable for reworking joint faces with shaving or scraping
- Suitable for removing loose or crumbling caulk
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Advantages:
- Suitable for rough joint faces
- Disadvantages:
- Poor cutting action
- Small particle debris at the joint faces
- Longer joints and hard caulk
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Dust aspiration at the source when removing loose or crumbling caulk as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Bush hammer |
- Suitable for hammering away hard or well-attached caulk residue on hard, robust areas
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Advantages:
- No heavy dust development
- Disadvantages:
- Limited to hard and solid surfaces
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Dust aspiration at the source when removing loose or crumbling caulk as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Hammer and chisel |
- Suitable for very hard, brittle, or wide joints > 2 cm
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Advantages
- For very hard caulk
- Disadvantages
- Possible damage to structural parts
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Dust aspiration at the source when removing loose or crumbling caulk as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Electromechanical Tools |
Electrical joint cutter with oscillating blade |
- Universally applicable tool for cutting out hard and soft caulk, especially in combination with a utility knife; suitable for all material types of adjoining structures
- Less suitable for removing caulk that is difficult to access
- Not suitable for very hard caulk
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Advantages:
- Short, sturdy blade that is easily exchangeable
- Handy, acceptable weight
- Low dust volume
- Typically low risk of damage to joint faces with careful work
- Disadvantages:
- Moderate exertion required;
- No integrated dust aspiration
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Maintain negative air pressure with induced draft fan equipped with High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filters
- Dust aspiration at source when removing loose or crumbling caulk as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Electrical scraper with exchangeable blades |
- Universally applicable tool for soft to hard caulk, especially in combination with a utility knife;
- Suitable for difficult-to-access joint areas in corners and along edges
- Also suitable for reworking joint faces
- Not suitable for very hard caulk
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Advantages:
- Lightweight device, handy
- Low exertion
- Low dust volume
- Disadvantages:
- No integrated dust aspiration
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Maintain negative air pressure with induced draft fan equipped with HEPA filters
- Dust aspiration at source when cleaning joint faces as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Needle hammer |
- On level areas: for broad, shallow dummy joints and connection joints
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Advantages:
- Removal of firmly attached, hard caulk
- Disadvantages:
- Higher dust volume; possible damage to adjoining structures
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Maintain negative air pressure with induced draft fan equipped with HEPA filters
- Dust aspiration at source when cleaning joint faces as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Jigsaw with exchangeable saw blades |
- Tool with integrated dust aspiration. Use is limited to deep joints with free space in accordance with blade length
- Only suitable for cutting out the caulk
- Not suitable for reworking joint faces
- Not suitable for difficult-to-access joint areas in corners and along edges
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Advantages:
- Good cutting rate for semi-soft and hard caulk
- Integrated dust aspiration
- Disadvantages:
- Only suitable for joints in vertical planes with open joint backup
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Maintain negative air pressure with induced draft fan equipped with HEPA filters
- Connection of the integrated dust aspiration device to an industrial vacuum with HEPA filters.
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Diamond sanding device |
- Electrical joint cutter with oscillating, diamond-coated cleaning blade and integrated dust aspiration
- Only suitable for cleaning joint faces
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Advantages:
- Low dust volume compared to angle grinder
- Integrated dust aspiration
- Disadvantages:
- Heat development and gaseous emission production not clarified
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Maintain negative air pressure with induced draft fan equipped with HEPA filters
- Connection of the integrated dust aspiration device to an industrial vacuum with HEPA filters.
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Rotary cutting tools |
- Only suitable for cutting out the caulk
- Not suitable for reworking joint faces
- Suitable for difficult-to-access joint areas along edges; not suitable for accessing corners
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Advantages:
- Lightweight device, handy
- Low exertion
- Typically low risk of damage to joint faces with careful work
- Disadvantages:
- Higher dust volume
- No integrated dust aspiration
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- General personal protective measures
- Construction of a Containment Area enclosure
- Maintain negative air pressure with induced draft fan equipped with HEPA filters
- Dust aspiration at source when cleaning joint faces as described in Abatement Step 2.
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Chemical-Physical Methods |
Dry ice (CO2) blasting |
- Suitable for gentle reworking of joint faces
- Suitable for large joint lengths
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Advantages:
- Gentle on the surrounding materials
- Good cleaning performance (Note: In some cases, the method cannot completely remove caulk)
- Good performance for large joint lengths
- Disadvantages:
- Expensive (especially in combination with high demands for protective measures)
- Complex requirements for protective measures
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- Enclosure of the work area with airtight seal, negative pressure and controlled air exchange, dust aspiration at the source
- Full respirator with fresh air supply and protective suit
- Noise and ear protection (noise levels range from 85 to 120 dBA, depending on the device)
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