PL2 terraces: north walls, brick and slate
PL2 is terrace country. Long runs of brick and painted render, Welsh slate above, and back lanes that decide how a job gets done. The complaints we get here are consistent: green on the shaded side, streaked render at gutter level, and downpipes that have stopped taking water.
PL2 covers 5 places we work in, 1.8 to 2.4 miles from our base at 58 Reddington Road, Plymouth (Devon, Plymouth City Council) - all inside our 20-mile radius of Plymouth.
Questions we get asked in PL2
- My gutter overflows but only in heavy rain - is it worth clearing?
- Usually yes. That pattern normally means a partial blockage that copes with light rain and fails when it matters.
- Can you clean just the back of the house?
- Yes. In terraces the rear is often the only side that needs it, and we quote per elevation.
- Do you need access through the house?
- Not usually. Where the only route to the rear is through the property we will agree that with you before the day.
The north wall is always the problem wall
In a terrace, one elevation gets sun and the other never does. The shaded face stays damp all winter and that is where the green appears first, usually below sill height and around the downpipe.
We treat the whole elevation rather than the visible patch, because the growth extends past what your eye picks up and a patched clean shows a hard line within a season.
Shared gutters, shared consequences
Terraced gutters run continuously across several houses. Blocked at one end, they overflow at another, and the streak lands on somebody else's render. We clear the run we are working on properly and tell you if the blockage is clearly next door's.
Vacuum clearing from the ground keeps us off ladders against soft render, and you get to see what came out.
Welsh slate wants leaving alone
Old Welsh slate is thin and the nails are usually the weakest part of the roof. We do not walk it unnecessarily and we do not pressure wash it. Moss is treated and left to release.
Reached via A3064, Wolseley Road. Recorded wall finishes: painted render, brick, limestone. Roof coverings: natural slate, Welsh slate, concrete interlocking tile.