Exterior cleaning in Tavistock
Tavistock is a stannary town on the western edge of Dartmoor, about thirteen and a half miles from Plymouth. Its granite Victorian terraces and Edwardian villas are largely Dartmoor granite and lime render under natural slate, with more modern housing on the outskirts.
Lime render and old granite call for low pressure and patience. We clean these surfaces so they keep breathing, rather than forcing water into the joints.
Dartmoor granite and what actually discolours
Granite itself barely changes. What darkens a Tavistock elevation is the lichen and algae growing on it, plus the mortar and any painted render between the stone. Clean the biology off and the stone underneath is exactly as it was.
This is worth saying because people often assume the stone is stained and needs some aggressive restoration. It does not.
High rainfall, short drying windows
Tavistock gets substantially more rain than the coast. Walls are wet more often, which means faster colonisation and shorter intervals between cleans - typically noticeably shorter than for the same house type in the city.
Town conservation frontages
Much of central Tavistock is a conservation area with listed frontages. We work at low pressure as standard, but check your own consent position before any work on a listed building - that is your responsibility, not ours to assume.
Questions from Tavistock
- Is the black on my granite wall permanent staining?
- Almost always it is biological growth rather than staining, and it treats off.
- How often does a Tavistock property need doing?
- More often than a Plymouth one. Rainfall and shade are the deciding factors, not the postcode itself.
- Do I need permission for a listed building?
- Possibly, depending on what is proposed. Check with the local authority before booking anything.