Do you leave a written record of what was done?

Photographs of before and after the visit, plus anything found in poor condition.

Can you work in cool damp weather?

Yes. Wall softwash is fine in cool damp conditions. Heavy rain during application is the only real blocker.

Do you clean conservatory roofs?

Yes, and they go before the wall above them so nothing lands back on clean glazing.

Does the treatment stain paving?

No, and paving below the elevation is rinsed at the end anyway.

What if the render is hollow in places?

It is tapped and mapped first, and hollow sections are treated dry-side only rather than soaked.

Does softwash actually kill the growth or just wash it off?

It kills it. The treatment is left on long enough to work, which is why the surface keeps lightening for a week or two after the visit.

Is the method different on a listed building?

The approach is gentler still, and lime finishes are treated with the lowest strength that will work.

PL18 - Cornwall - 11.4 miles from PL3

Albaston walls: method before pressure

Albaston sits in the PL18 district about 11.4 miles from our base in PL3, and the walls here are typically painted render and stone. That finish decides the method long before anything else does.

Quote for a Albaston property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

What helps before we arrive

Point out where the render was patched, since patches clean differently from the original.
Say whether the elevation backs onto a public footpath.
Say whether the property is occupied during the day, since that changes nothing technically but helps the plan.
Tell us about pets in the garden before the day rather than on it.
Tell us about any planting you particularly care about at the base of the wall.
Close and latch every window on the elevations being worked, including any small top lights.
Say where the outside tap is, and whether it runs at any pressure.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.

Wall build-ups common in PL18

Render that has lost its water repellency absorbs surface water instead of shedding it, which extends every damp spell.
Render responds to dwell time better than almost any other finish, which is what makes softwash suit it.
Painted masonry can be cleaned, though a paint film that has already lost adhesion will lift where it was going to fail anyway.
Peeling in flakes means adhesion has gone; powdering under the hand means the surface has simply aged.
Stone elevations vary enormously in hardness, and the pointing is usually the weakest part.
Treatment on stone is applied in stages so it soaks into the joints rather than running off the faces.

Diagnosis before treatment

01Where the wall carries a previous coating over render, its edges are inspected for lifting.
02Weep holes are counted and checked for blockage while the wall is being read.
03Where paint is peeling in flakes rather than powdering, adhesion has already gone.
04The age of the finish is estimated before a strength of mix is chosen.
05Where the pattern is vertical and narrow, plumbing is looked at before chemistry is.
06The state of the pointing is judged at the most exposed corner, not the most convenient one.
07Cracks are traced to their ends, because a crack that runs to an opening behaves differently from one that stops.
08Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.

Damp, airflow and what feeds growth

The lowest metre of any wall takes splash-back off the path and stains from the ground up, not the top down.
The first sign is usually a faint grey cast rather than green, and grey is easier to ignore.
Where two properties share a wall of different finishes, the finishes weather at different speeds and look mismatched.
Growth on a painted wall often sits on top of a paint film that has already begun to chalk.
Low winter sun never reaches the bottom third of a wall behind a fence, and it shows.
Airflow along a terrace is different from airflow around a detached house, and the drying patterns follow.
Ivy pulled off a wall leaves suckers and a shaded, damp face that greens quickly afterwards.
Where a chimney is no longer used, rain that once dried out now sits in the stack and shows on the wall below.
A conservatory or extension roof abutting a wall throws water back at it every time it rains.

What to book before and after the walls

Gutters are cleared between the roof and the walls, so the first heavy rain does not restain a finished elevation.

Small repairs to pointing are best done after cleaning, when what needs doing is visible.

Block paving cannot be re-sanded until it is dry, which decides the running order in a wet week.

Where only walls are being done, the gutter line is still checked, because it is the usual culprit behind the worst staining.

How a softwash visit runs

1.Where the growth sits mostly in the lower metre, that band is treated twice and the rest once.
2.Painted elevations get a small test patch first, low down and out of sight, so failing paint is found deliberately rather than by accident.
3.Any electric meter box, alarm bell or external socket is bagged before the lance comes out.
4.Fence panels tight against a wall are wetted first so run-off does not sit on dry timber.
5.The lance is held at a distance and an angle that lets the fan open fully instead of hitting the wall as a jet.
6.Where a wall runs straight down to a lawn, a run of sheeting is pegged along the base instead of relying on dilution alone.
7.A final walk of each finished elevation happens with the property owner where they are home, and by photograph where they are not.
8.Where a property has solar panels on a wall-facing slope, the array is sheeted before treatment starts below.
9.The finished elevation is looked at from the pavement, not from the ladder, because that is where it will be seen from.
10.Every hose junction is checked before pressure goes on, because a burst at a coupling floods a border.

Common questions about wall softwash

Do you leave a written record of what was done?: Photographs of before and after the visit, plus anything found in poor condition.
Can you work in cool damp weather?: Yes. Wall softwash is fine in cool damp conditions. Heavy rain during application is the only real blocker.
Do you need my electricity?: No. Kit runs off the van.
Do you clean conservatory roofs?: Yes, and they go before the wall above them so nothing lands back on clean glazing.
Does the treatment stain paving?: No, and paving below the elevation is rinsed at the end anyway.
What if the render is hollow in places?: It is tapped and mapped first, and hollow sections are treated dry-side only rather than soaked.
Does softwash actually kill the growth or just wash it off?: It kills it. The treatment is left on long enough to work, which is why the surface keeps lightening for a week or two after the visit.
Is the method different on a listed building?: The approach is gentler still, and lime finishes are treated with the lowest strength that will work.

Where Albaston sits on our round

Gunnislake sits about 0.1 miles from Albaston on our round, so visits are often shared.
Access is usually via A390.
Recorded character: village. Twin village to Gunnislake on the A390.
Postcode district: PL18. County: Cornwall. Approx 11.4 miles from the PL3 base.
Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.

See everywhere we cover in PL18

Nearby villages and districts

Painting soon?

Walls should be treated and fully dry before a brush goes near them. Tell us the decorating date and we will work back from it.

Line it up 07830 242403

In a sentence or two

Written scope first means nothing is discovered late. One elevation, two elevations or the whole property. The method does not change, only the time it takes. Softwash suits coated and textured finishes precisely because those are the finishes pressure ruins. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.