Wall Cleaning & Softwash that suits Lydford

Why Lydford matters for this kind of work

Lydford weather does a number on exterior surfaces, and wall cleaning & softwash is usually the first thing to suffer. Lichen growth in particular is heavier here than almost anywhere else we cover — and it's the slowest to come back once treated. Lydford sits in Devon at EX20, close enough to brentor that we regularly share visits.

Historic Saxon burh above the Lydford Gorge, which shapes how wall cleaning & softwash on Dartmoor granite and lime render and natural slate actually plays out around EX20. Working out of EX20 we're rarely more than 18.9 miles from a Lydford job.

Working-at-height planning is done before the visit, so the right access equipment arrives with the crew. Two of us live within twenty minutes of the yard, which is why booking flexibility is easier than customers expect. Ridge tile re-bedding and any other small remedial work is quoted separately, never bundled into the wash price. Softwash and pressure washing are two different jobs with two different rigs — we don't try to force one to do the other. Boundary walls, garage doors and bin stores usually get added to bigger visits at cost, not full rates. We prefer to under-promise on timing and over-deliver on finish, rather than the other way round. For the odd fourth-storey house we bring a taller pole in from a neighbour's yard, still no scaffold needed. Roof re-bed work gets its own dedicated day — nobody wants a wet roof left open overnight. Downpipe inlets are water-tested before we leave, not just visually checked. Runoff is diverted with drain bungs where soakaways feed straight into wildlife ponds. The invoice email includes the biocide safety data sheet and dilution ratio used on your job. Communication defaults to WhatsApp because photo threads keep quotes and outcomes in one place. Two-storey work is the same price as single-storey where the pole reaches — height alone doesn't drive the cost. Traffic-film patches on driveways get a hot detergent pre-wash before any surface cleaner touches them. The wall pump gets calibrated at the top of each visit, not once per job — it drifts otherwise.

Materials & methods we'd use here

Most Lydford properties we treat have Dartmoor granite and lime render walls and a natural slate roof. That changes a few of the choices we'd make.

• Method

  Sodium hypochlorite mixed to a strength suitable for Dartmoor granite and lime render - never neat on moorland village stock - noted across natural slate - handled with the same rig we use for coastal properties.

• Method

  Low-volume rinse from a high-flow tank - critical on the softer finishes you see across granite cottages and stone farmhouses - noted on granite cottages stock - and it's why we default to the softer end of the pressure range.

• Method

  Suitable for K-Rend, Weber and silicone renders — common on the newer moorland village properties around EX20 - noted at very exposed exposure - a job with a proper written scope, no verbal add-ons.

• Method

  Painted brickwork treated by dwell-and-rinse only on moorland village terraces - no rotary - noted in the West Devon Borough Council patch - and it's the section of the round we plan first thing in the week.

Common issues we see in Lydford

• Streaking down Dartmoor granite and lime render that's worse on the Mary Tavy-facing elevation than the rest of the house - in the West Devon Borough Council patch - worth flagging on enquiries this side of town.
• Pebbledash gone blotchy where a gutter has overflowed all season on granite cottages and stone farmhouses - 18.9 miles from PL3 - usually easier once the outside taps are back on in April.
• Surface lichen on the south side of Dartmoor granite and lime render - common on moorland village stock in EX20 - at roughly 50.643,-4.108 - handled from a pole not a ladder wherever we can.
• Discolouration where downpipes meet Dartmoor granite and lime render - near-universal on moorland village properties this far from PL3 - on Dartmoor granite and lime render - quoted from photos in most cases, no doorstep survey.
• Green vertical patches behind drainpipes - a regular call from Lydford on moorland village stock - across natural slate - handled with the same rig we use for coastal properties.

Nearby areas we also cover

Things Lydford customers ask us first