TQ7 - Devon - 16.4 miles from PL3
Green walls in Buckland-tout-Saints? Start here
This page is about one job in one place: cleaning painted stone and render walls in Buckland-tout-Saints, Devon. Softwash means chemistry and dwell time doing the work rather than pressure.
The wall finishes we meet around TQ7
- Where render sits over insulation, the wall is more sensitive still and the mix is weakened accordingly.
- A rendered wall under a failed drip detail restains within a season however well it was cleaned.
- Masonry paint over render adds a film that traps moisture if the substrate was damp when it was applied.
- Painted plinths take splash and are worked as a separate band from the main face.
- Cleaning stone reveals natural colour variation, which some owners expect to be uniform and it never is.
- The rinse on stone is gentle enough that nothing is driven into an open joint.
Conditions around Buckland-tout-Saints that feed growth
- A single missing tile above an elevation can put water onto the same square metre for years.
- Nutrients from a nearby feeding lawn or planting drift onto a wall and give growth something to work with.
- Low winter sun never reaches the bottom third of a wall behind a fence, and it shows.
- A path that slopes towards a house rather than away from it keeps the base of the wall wet after every shower.
- A wall shaded by its own porch roof for half the day dries at half the rate of the face beside it.
- A wall that faces a large expanse of glass on another building gets less sun than its aspect suggests.
- A tree removed years ago can leave a wall that greened in its shade and never fully recovered.
- North and east elevations dry last and green first, in that order, on nearly every property.
- Where a chimney is no longer used, rain that once dried out now sits in the stack and shows on the wall below.
Checks made before anything is applied
- 01Where a wall meets a roof abutment, the flashing is looked at first.
- 02Whether the render is thin-coat or traditional is checked at a bead or a reveal.
- 03A short section of hose test shows whether run-off drains away or ponds at the base.
- 04The elevation is read from the pavement first and from a metre away second.
- 05Where the wall carries a previous coating over render, its edges are inspected for lifting.
- 06Old repair patches are identified early, because they take treatment differently from the surrounding finish.
- 07A test patch at low strength shows what the surface will do before the full elevation commits to it.
- 08The state of the pointing is judged at the most exposed corner, not the most convenient one.
What happens on the day
- 1.Expected rain is considered before application because the treatment needs suitable dwell time on the wall.
- 2.Kit is set down on a groundsheet rather than on planting or paving joints.
- 3.Where the growth sits mostly in the lower metre, that band is treated twice and the rest once.
- 4.Render beads and stop ends are inspected as work reaches them, because a lifted bead traps water behind the finish.
- 5.A pass is made along the wall head where it meets the soffit, since that band greens first and is seen least.
- 6.Downpipe backs and the strip of wall behind them are done by hand, because a sprayed pattern always misses them.
- 7.Ridge and verge debris that has landed on the wall head is brushed off dry before anything wet goes on.
- 8.The same operator works a whole elevation so the application rate stays consistent across it.
- 9.The lance tip is changed rather than the pressure raised whenever coverage is not even enough.
- 10.Weep holes above openings are left clear so the wall can drain the way it was designed to.
Access and preparation
- Say if you would prefer the front done on a different day from the back.
- Mention any glazing you already know is cracked before work starts.
- Tell us about pets in the garden before the day rather than on it.
- Say where the outside tap is, and whether it runs at any pressure.
- If parking needs a permit or a bay suspension, tell us early.
- Tell us if there is a low wall or a step at the base of the elevation that gets slippery.
- Clear the base of the elevation of pots, ornaments and loose paving where you can.
- Say whether the side passage is wide enough for a wheeled kit trolley.
Coverage and travel
- Access is usually via A379 and A381.
- Nearest full coverage hub: Kingsbridge (TQ7), South Hams District Council.
- Kingsbridge sits about 4 miles from Buckland-tout-Saints on our round, so visits are often shared.
- Postcode district: TQ7. County: Devon. Approx 16.4 miles from the PL3 base.
- Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
Practical questions answered
- Will it strip my paint?
- Sound paint is unaffected. Paint that has already lost adhesion may lift, which is why a test patch goes on first.
- 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.
- Is a lower price ever a bad sign?
- Not automatically, but ask what method is being used. Speed on a delicate finish usually means pressure.
- How do I know it is algae and not damp coming through?
- Surface growth wipes and lightens. Damp coming through darkens the wall from behind and returns as soon as it dries out.
- What about air bricks and vents?
- Covered for the duration, uncovered before we leave.
- Will the drive get messy?
- Anything below the elevation is rinsed off before we finish.
- Do you clean garages and outbuildings?
- Yes, if they are part of the same visit and take the same method.
- Do you clean stonework?
- Yes, with the method set by the softest part of the wall, which is almost always the mortar.
Neighbouring places we work
One elevation is a job too
You do not have to do the whole house. Most enquiries start with the one side that bothers them.
Summary
A treated wall keeps changing for a fortnight, which is the sign the method worked. Water in the wrong place explains most tired elevations, and it is cheaper to fix than to keep cleaning. Getting the order of work right protects the money already spent on the parts that were cleaned first. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.
Quote for a Buckland-tout-Saints property
Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm