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.

PL19: Tavistock granite and the western moor

PL19 is Dartmoor granite in every direction: the town centre at Tavistock, the moor villages at Mary Tavy and Peter Tavy, and the farming country out towards Milton Abbot and Sydenham Damerel. Hard stone, natural slate, and a rainfall figure that explains most of what we get called about.

PL19 covers 17 places we work in, 12.1 to 16.6 miles from our base at 58 Reddington Road, Plymouth (Devon, West Devon Borough Council) - all inside our 20-mile radius of Plymouth.

Questions we get asked in PL19

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.

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.

Reached via A386, A390, local lanes off A386, local lanes. Recorded wall finishes: painted render, granite, Dartmoor granite. Roof coverings: slate, natural slate.

Tavistock area quote

Send a photo in daylight and we will tell you what is growth and what is weathering.

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Districts next to PL19