PL21: Ivybridge estates and the Erme valley
PL21 is mostly modern. Ivybridge grew fast in the seventies and eighties, so the district is dominated by render, brick and concrete tile on estate layouts, with older lime-rendered cores at Modbury, Ermington and Ugborough.
PL21 covers 7 places we work in, 8 to 11.7 miles from our base at 58 Reddington Road, Plymouth (Devon, South Hams District Council) - all inside our 20-mile radius of Plymouth.
Estate render and the shaded-cul-de-sac effect
Estate layouts put houses close together at angles that leave some elevations in permanent shade. On a cul-de-sac you can see it clearly: three houses clean, one green, same render, same age.
That is orientation, not neglect, and it means the interval for your house may be different to your neighbour's even on an identical build.
Moorland run-off and the Erme
Ivybridge sits where the moor drains into the Erme. Ground-level damp is higher than the rainfall alone suggests, and low walls, garden steps and driveways green up faster than the house does.
Modbury and the old village cores
Modbury and Ermington have painted lime render on stone in the centre. Same district, entirely different method: no pressure, longer dwell, gentler rinse.
Reached via A38, A379, A3121, local lanes off A38. Recorded wall finishes: render, brick, painted lime render. Roof coverings: natural slate, concrete tile, slate.
Questions we get asked in PL21
- Why is my house green when next door's is not?
- Almost always orientation and shade. Two identical houses at different angles weather completely differently.
- Do you clean driveways as well as walls?
- Yes, and on these estates the drive is often the surface that has gone worst.
- Is Modbury treated differently to Ivybridge?
- The old lime-rendered cores are, yes - lower pressure and more dwell time.