Removal Specialists | Calgary and Edmonton
Vapour blasting is wet abrasive blasting. Abrasive media, water and air strip old coatings off concrete without the dust cloud of dry sandblasting. Our crew works inside occupied buildings, and an independent consultant tests old coatings first.
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It is a way to strip a surface by blasting it with abrasive media mixed with water. Compressed air drives the mix through a nozzle. The media wears off the old coating, and the water holds the dust down. The method is also spelled vapor blasting.
You may also hear wet blasting, aqua blasting or slurry blasting. People use these names for the same wet approach. The trade name dustless blasting is covered below.
We use it on interior concrete. A typical job is a block wall in a commercial building with an old coating that has to come off before new finishes go on.
The work follows a set order: test, protect, mix, blast and clean. Here is how it works on an interior job.
We look at the surface, the coating and the access. If the coating may contain asbestos, an independent consultant tests it before any blasting starts.
We seal off areas we are not working in and cover what must stay clean. The building can stay open while the work happens.
Abrasive media is mixed with water in the blasting unit. Our crew uses backpack-mounted equipment, so it can move through tight interior spaces.
Air drives the mix through the nozzle onto the wall. The coating comes off, and the wet mix keeps dust close to the surface.
We clean the area when the blasting is done, so the wall is ready for the next trade.
Dustless blasting is a trade name for wet blasting. It does not mean zero dust. Some dust always escapes. What changes is that there is no big dust cloud filling the room.
In dry blasting, the media and the coating break into fine dust that hangs in the air. In wet blasting, water coats the particles and pulls them down. That is why dustless blasting concrete inside a building is possible at all.
A little dust still kicks out as the coating comes off. We seal off the rest of the building, and we clean up when the work is done. We call the result virtually dust-free, because that is accurate.
Abrasive blasting is the wide term for any method that throws media at a surface. Sandblasting and wet blasting are two kinds of it. The big difference is water.
| Method | How it works | Dust | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet blasting | Media and water, driven by air | Virtually dust-free | Interior walls in occupied buildings |
| Dry sandblasting | Dry media, driven by air | A heavy dust cloud | Open outdoor work with full containment |
| Shot blasting | An enclosed machine throws steel pellets at a floor | Dust is held in the machine and collector | Large open concrete floors |
| Diamond grinding | Diamond tooling wears the surface | Controlled with a vacuum | Floors and edges that need levelling or prep |
Many people searching for sandblasting in Calgary or Edmonton want a wall stripped without the dust. Wet blasting is the way to do that. For floors, see our concrete grinding and shot blasting page.
It removes old paint and surface coatings from concrete and takes the wall back to bare concrete. It also cleans the surface as it strips.
Paint removal from concrete is the main use. The blast takes off layers that scraping and chemicals struggle with. The result is a clean wall that new paint or finishes can bond to.
Old sealers and surface staining come off the same way. Cleaning a wall this way is concrete wall cleaning and stripping in one pass.
It is not a way to cut or break concrete. For that, see our concrete removal page. Vapor blasting concrete is for coatings and surface prep only.
It makes sense when a wall has to be stripped while people still work in the building. Dry blasting would fill the space with dust. Wet blasting keeps it controlled.
On one job, our crew stripped the old surface coating off interior concrete block walls in an occupied commercial building. We used abrasive media and water with backpack-mounted equipment and took the walls back to bare concrete. We avoided the dust that a dry sandblast would have made. Read the full job in our case studies.
Old coatings can hide hazards. In older buildings, a coating may contain asbestos. Blasting it would release the fibres. That is why testing comes before blasting.
An independent third-party consultant tests the coating. We do not test our own work. A company that tests and removes has a reason to find more to remove.
Our crew handles the abatement before any blasting starts. See our asbestos removal and abatement page for how that works.
Wearing away concrete sends up dust that can contain crystalline silica. The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) says breathing this dust can cause silicosis, an incurable lung disease. See the CCOHS silicosis page.
Choose wet blasting for walls. Choose grinding or shot blasting for floors.
| Your surface | Usually the right method |
|---|---|
| Painted or coated interior wall | Wet blasting |
| Floor with glue, paint or a coating | Concrete grinding |
| Large open floor that needs a profile for a new coating | Shot blasting |
| Slab that has to come out | Concrete removal |
Grinding and shot blasting are covered on our concrete grinding page.
The cost depends on the wall and the site, not on one set rate. These are the main things that change it.
We set the price after we see the wall. Call or send photos and we will go through the scope with you.
The time depends on the size of the wall, how many coats are on it and how easy the space is to reach. Setup and cleanup add time before and after the blasting itself.
If asbestos testing is needed, it comes first and can add time before the work starts. Testing early keeps the schedule clear for the other trades.
Ask any vapor blasting company these questions. Good vapor blasting services answer them without hesitation.
If you are searching for vapour blasting near me, our crews are based in Calgary and Edmonton. We work across both cities and the nearby areas.
In Calgary, that includes commercial buildings in the Beltline and off Deerfoot Trail, and shops in Kensington and Inglewood. In Edmonton, it includes downtown, the Whyte Avenue area and the streets near the University of Alberta.
Calgary: 403-874-3000
Edmonton: 780-977-2444
Tell us about your wall and we will walk through the scope with you.