Softwash for walls in and around Buckfast
Abbey village north of Buckfastleigh.
A wall in Buckfast that has greened over is telling you where water sits. Abbey village north of Buckfastleigh, so the pattern of staining tends to repeat from one property to the next.
Working out what is wrong on a Buckfast wall
- 01Whether the growth has spread onto glass and frames tells you how long it has been established.
- 02A slow walk of the gutter line from the ground finds most of the causes worth fixing.
- 03Where the pattern is a band at the bottom, splash from the ground is doing it.
- 04A fingernail drawn across the growth says more in a second than a photograph does.
- 05Anything that cannot be explained by water is treated with more caution, not less.
- 06The first question is whether the staining sits on the surface or has gone into the material, because only one of those cleans off.
- 07A damp meter reading inside a stained corner separates a cleaning job from a building problem.
- 08Efflorescence is distinguished from lichen before anything is applied, since one is salt and one is alive.
Material first, method second
- Where render sits over insulation, the wall is more sensitive still and the mix is weakened accordingly.
- Patched render takes treatment differently from the original, which is why patches are identified before work starts.
- A test patch low down and out of sight is how failing paint is found deliberately.
- Painted plinths take splash and are worked as a separate band from the main face.
- A stone wall in deep shade holds moss in the joints long after the faces have dried.
- Loose stones and open joints are recorded and left alone rather than washed.
Why this keeps happening on TQ11 elevations
- Old sealant around window heads cracks and lets a thin trickle run down the face below.
- Rain shadow works both ways: the sheltered face stays dry of rain but also of the washing that rain provides.
- Where a hose reel or water butt overflows against a wall, the staining follows the overflow path exactly.
- Driven rain sticks to a wall face rather than running off it, which keeps the surface wet long enough for spores to settle.
- Cold bridging at a lintel can keep a narrow band of render damper than everything around it.
- Silt washed down from the roof leaves a thin feeding layer on the render below.
- Growth that appears in a neat rectangle usually marks something that was leaning against the wall.
- 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.
On site in Buckfast
- 1.Where a bay window projects, its cheeks are treated separately from the main face to avoid a shadow line.
- 2.Anything found broken before we arrived is photographed before work starts, not after.
- 3.Painted elevations get a small test patch first, low down and out of sight, so failing paint is found deliberately rather than by accident.
- 4.The lower band of an elevation is checked for salt or silt staining, which is rinsed rather than treated.
- 5.Airbricks are covered for the duration and uncovered before we leave, without exception.
- 6.Where a property is rendered onto insulation, extra care goes into avoiding water at the bead edges.
- 7.Downpipe backs and the strip of wall behind them are done by hand, because a sprayed pattern always misses them.
- 8.Any window left open is closed, or that section is skipped and left for a second visit.
- 9.Everything is packed down before the last inspection, so the wall is judged clear of kit.
- 10.Where a wall runs straight down to a lawn, a run of sheeting is pegged along the base instead of relying on dilution alone.
Local detail that changes the job
- Recorded character: village. Abbey village north of Buckfastleigh.
- TQ11 covers 0 town hubs and 4 villages or districts in our radius.
- Nearest full coverage hub: South Brent (TQ10), South Hams District Council.
- Access is usually via A38.
- South Brent sits about 2.5 miles from Buckfast on our round, so visits are often shared.
Preparing a village property
- Say if the property has a flat roof section that we would be working above.
- Point out any alarm sensor mounted externally on the elevation.
- Tell us if a fence panel is loose, because sheeting gets pegged to something solid.
- Tell us about any previous treatment that came back quickly, and how quickly.
- Say whether the elevation backs onto a public footpath.
- Note where hoses can be run without crossing a doorway.
- Unlock side gates the night before if you are not going to be in, because a locked passage stops a whole elevation.
- Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
Where wall work sits in a Buckfast visit
Gutters are cleared between the roof and the walls, so the first heavy rain does not restain a finished elevation.
If windows were cleaned recently, tell us, and they get sheeted rather than redone.
Block paving cannot be re-sanded until it is dry, which decides the running order in a wet week.
Anything that involves opening a gutter is done before the ground beneath it is cleaned.
Asked most often in TQ11
- What about the neighbour's side?
- We only work surfaces you own or have permission for, and we check before spraying near a boundary.
- How is a quote put together?
- By elevation area, surface type and access, written down before anything starts.
- Do you cover air bricks the whole time?
- Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.
- Should the gutters be done at the same time?
- Usually. Overflow is behind a large share of wall staining, so clearing it protects the work.
- Is the finish even across the wall?
- That is the main reason we work bottom-up and one elevation at a time.
- Do you clean chimney stacks?
- Where they can be reached safely from a position that keeps us off the roof covering.
- Can you work while builders are on site?
- Better after they finish, so their dust and debris does not land on clean work.
- Will the treatment harm my planting?
- Beds are wetted down first so run-off arrives diluted, and rinsing is directed away from anything growing.
Close to Buckfast
Buckfast wall softwash, in short
Nothing on this page needs a site visit to price if you can send a couple of clear photographs. Low pressure is not a compromise. On render it is the only sensible option. One elevation done properly is better than four done quickly. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.
Ask what method we would use
Tell us what the wall is finished in and we will tell you exactly how we would approach it before any money is discussed.
Quote for a Buckfast property
Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm