Is timber cladding treated the same way?

No. Cladding takes a weaker mix, and pressure is avoided entirely because it raises the grain.

How long does a visit take?

A typical two-elevation job is a few hours. A full wrap-around on a larger property is a day.

Do you work on bungalows differently?

Only in that everything is reachable from the ground, which makes the visit shorter.

What about air bricks and vents?

Covered for the duration, uncovered before we leave.

Do I need to move my car?

It helps. If it cannot be moved we sheet it or work around it.

Do you clean stonework?

Yes, with the method set by the softest part of the wall, which is almost always the mortar.

What happens to the growth after it dies?

It loses its grip and weathers off over the following weeks, which is why the wall keeps improving.

Do you clean boundary walls too?

If they take the same method as the house, yes, in the same visit.

Render and wall cleaning in Hatt

A388 village north of Saltash.

Most enquiries from Hatt start with one elevation that has gone darker than the rest. Nine times out of ten the reason is how long that face stays damp, not how dirty it is.

Working out what is wrong on a Hatt wall

01Hollow-sounding render is checked by tapping before any water is put onto it.
02Efflorescence is distinguished from lichen before anything is applied, since one is salt and one is alive.
03Cracks are traced to their ends, because a crack that runs to an opening behaves differently from one that stops.
04The angle of morning sun on the elevation tells you how long it stays damp.
05Nearby properties with the same finish are a useful reference for what is normal on that street.
06The direction the growth thickens in points at the source of the moisture.
07Old repair patches are identified early, because they take treatment differently from the surrounding finish.
08A wall that is warmer than its neighbours on a cold morning is likely holding moisture.

Material first, method second

Modern render, whether sand and cement or a thin-coat system, has a slightly porous face that holds airborne spores.
Render that has lost its water repellency absorbs surface water instead of shedding it, which extends every damp spell.
A brick wall stained in a vertical stripe is nearly always a rainwater goods problem.
Painted brick is treated as paint, not as brick, and the test patch decides the strength.
That gets pointed out before work starts rather than discovered halfway through.
Masonry paint over render adds a film that traps moisture if the substrate was damp when it was applied.

Why this keeps happening on PL12 elevations

A blocked hopper head can soak the same square metre of wall for an entire winter without anyone noticing.
Growth thickest at head height usually means splash from a hard surface rather than run-off from above.
Algae needs moisture far more than it needs dirt, so the wettest elevation greens first regardless of how clean the house is.
Textured coatings have more surface area than smooth ones, and more surface area means more places to hold damp.
Ivy pulled off a wall leaves suckers and a shaded, damp face that greens quickly afterwards.
A patio laid up against a wall reflects splash onto it every time it rains hard.
Prevailing wind decides which elevation takes driven rain, and that elevation is nearly always the tired-looking one.
A split downpipe puts a single wet stripe down an elevation, and that stripe goes green months before anything either side of it.
Airflow through a passage between two houses is fast but the passage itself is in permanent shade.

On site in Hatt

1.The job is worked one elevation at a time from end to end so that nothing dries out mid-wall.
2.On render below a flat roof edge, the drip detail is checked, because a failed one puts the stain straight back.
3.Treatments are kept away from vegetable beds entirely, with those sections sheeted rather than diluted.
4.Boundary walls and gate piers are treated in the same visit only if they take the same method as the house.
5.Access equipment is footed on boards where the ground is soft, so nothing sinks into a lawn.
6.Work stops if a wall turns out to be wetter inside than out, because cleaning is not the answer to that.
7.The treatment is mixed to the surface, not to a fixed recipe, and a delicate finish gets a weaker mix and a longer wait.
8.Where a lean-to gutter runs at wall height, it is cleared first so it does not overflow mid-visit.
9.Fixings for hanging baskets and washing lines are unloaded before the elevation is worked, then put back.
10.Painted elevations get a small test patch first, low down and out of sight, so failing paint is found deliberately rather than by accident.

Local detail that changes the job

Nearest full coverage hub: Saltash (PL12), Cornwall Council.
Typical wall finish here is painted render and brick, which sets the cleaning method.
Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
Postcode district: PL12. County: Cornwall. Approx 6.4 miles from the PL3 base.
Access is usually via A38 and Tamar Bridge.

See everywhere we cover in PL12

Preparing a village property

Say if you would prefer the front done on a different day from the back.
Trim back anything that has grown tight against the wall, or ask us to work around it.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
Point out any window that does not seal properly, so it gets sheeted rather than sprayed near.
Mention whether the drive drains to a soakaway that already struggles in heavy rain.
If a security light or camera covers the elevation, tell us so it can be isolated.
Point out ground-floor windows that are painted shut, as they need different masking.
Tell us if there is a septic tank and where its outlet sits.

First, next, last

Where gutters need repair rather than clearing, that goes ahead of any cleaning at all.

A first clean is heavier work than the ones that follow, so the interval afterwards can be longer than people expect.

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

Fascia and soffit cleaning is folded into the wall visit rather than being priced as a separate trip.

Asked most often in PL12

Is timber cladding treated the same way?: No. Cladding takes a weaker mix, and pressure is avoided entirely because it raises the grain.
How long does a visit take?: A typical two-elevation job is a few hours. A full wrap-around on a larger property is a day.
Do you work on bungalows differently?: Only in that everything is reachable from the ground, which makes the visit shorter.
What about air bricks and vents?: Covered for the duration, uncovered before we leave.
Do I need to move my car?: It helps. If it cannot be moved we sheet it or work around it.
Do you clean stonework?: Yes, with the method set by the softest part of the wall, which is almost always the mortar.
What happens to the growth after it dies?: It loses its grip and weathers off over the following weeks, which is why the wall keeps improving.
Do you clean boundary walls too?: If they take the same method as the house, yes, in the same visit.

Close to Hatt

Useful pages alongside this one

Hatt wall softwash, in short

Anything that keeps a wall wet for longer will bring the growth back sooner, whatever product goes on it. The finish underneath is usually intact. It is the film on top that has aged. Shade, run-off and airflow decide how long a clean lasts. The treatment decides whether it worked at all.

Add the gutters while we are there

The gutter run above the wall is usually the reason it stained. Doing both together protects the work.

Add gutters 07830 242403

Quote for a Hatt property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm