What if there is a wasp nest under the eaves?

We stop and leave that section. It gets picked up after the nest has been dealt with.

Do you clean conservatory roofs?

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

Do you offer a maintenance visit?

A lighter top-up treatment every couple of years is much less work than leaving it until it is heavy again.

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.

Do I need to move my car?

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

Do you cover air bricks the whole time?

Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.

Is there any risk to the guttering?

No. It sits in the same spray path and gets wiped as part of the pass.

Is thin-coat render different from sand and cement?

Yes, and it is more sensitive. Thin-coat systems get a weaker mix and a longer dwell rather than more pressure.

PL13 - Cornwall - 18.4 miles from PL3

Wall softwash for Lansallos homes

Where a Lansallos wall has gone patchy rather than evenly dirty, the cause is nearly always local: a downpipe, a hedge, a shaded corner. That is where we look first.

Quote for a Lansallos property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

What helps before we arrive

Move cars off a drive that runs tight to the house if you can, and tell us if you cannot.
Warn us about a soft lawn or an unmade drive so boards come on the van.
If you have a pond, a water butt or a wildlife area, point it out in advance.
If parking needs a permit or a bay suspension, tell us early.
Tell us if a fence panel is loose, because sheeting gets pegged to something solid.
Say if the property has a flat roof section that we would be working above.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
Mention any cladding or timber detail that you would rather was left alone.

Wall build-ups common in PL13

Thin-coat systems are thinner than people assume, and a jet held still in one place leaves a permanent shadow.
A rendered plinth takes more water than the face above it and is usually the first band to look tired.
Masonry paint over render adds a film that traps moisture if the substrate was damp when it was applied.
Gloss-painted details like cills are wiped rather than sprayed.
Method is set by the softest thing on the wall, not the hardest.
Slate-faced walls shed water quickly but the bedding mortar does not.

Diagnosis before treatment

01Photographs taken before work provide the reference for judging the result later.
02The angle of morning sun on the elevation tells you how long it stays damp.
03Cracks are traced to their ends, because a crack that runs to an opening behaves differently from one that stops.
04Any staining that continues below ground level is a drainage question, not a cleaning one.
05Whether the render is thin-coat or traditional is checked at a bead or a reveal.
06The presence of moss rather than algae suggests standing water rather than damp air.
07A slow walk of the gutter line from the ground finds most of the causes worth fixing.
08The state of the pointing is judged at the most exposed corner, not the most convenient one.

Damp, airflow and what feeds growth

Soil banked above the damp course keeps the base of a wall permanently wet.
Overhanging eaves protect the top of a wall and leave the unprotected lower band to take everything.
Pebbledash holds water in the shadow of every stone, so it stays damp long after a flat render has dried.
A drying rack or store built against a wall keeps that panel of it permanently shaded.
Ground-level render behind a planted border is wet from irrigation as much as from weather.
Airflow through a passage between two houses is fast but the passage itself is in permanent shade.
Roof valleys concentrate run-off, so the wall under a valley outlet is loaded more heavily than anywhere else.
Once lichen is established it holds water itself, which makes the surface beneath it wetter than it started.
Salt-laden air roughens exposed surfaces slightly, and rougher surfaces hold more moisture.

Planning a full exterior in Lansallos

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

Roof work always precedes wall work, because everything released from the slope lands on the elevation below it.

Where scaffolding is going up for other work, the wall clean is easier and safer while it is standing.

If a decorator is due, the wall clean goes in first and is given time to dry fully.

How a softwash visit runs

1.The van is parked so hoses do not cross a footpath, and matting goes down where they have to.
2.The finished wall is photographed in the same light as the start photograph, so the comparison is honest.
3.Overspray is controlled by working with the wind rather than across it, and by stopping when it gets up.
4.A wall in deep shade is worked earlier in the day, when there is most light on it to judge coverage.
5.Rainwater goods are checked while the elevation is being worked, since a blocked hopper explains most single-strip staining.
6.Weep holes above openings are left clear so the wall can drain the way it was designed to.
7.Ridge and verge debris that has landed on the wall head is brushed off dry before anything wet goes on.
8.Growth in a shaded return is treated on the same visit even when only the front was asked about, if access allows.
9.The lance tip is changed rather than the pressure raised whenever coverage is not even enough.
10.A pass along the underside of the soffit catches the black spotting that everyone forgets until the wall is clean.

Before you get in touch

What if there is a wasp nest under the eaves?: We stop and leave that section. It gets picked up after the nest has been dealt with.
Do you clean conservatory roofs?: Yes, and they go before the wall above them so nothing lands back on clean glazing.
Do you offer a maintenance visit?: A lighter top-up treatment every couple of years is much less work than leaving it until it is heavy again.
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.
Do I need to move my car?: It helps. If it cannot be moved we sheet it or work around it.
Do you cover air bricks the whole time?: Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.
Is there any risk to the guttering?: No. It sits in the same spray path and gets wiped as part of the pass.
Is thin-coat render different from sand and cement?: Yes, and it is more sensitive. Thin-coat systems get a weaker mix and a longer dwell rather than more pressure.

Read a little further

Where Lansallos sits on our round

Polperro sits about 4 miles from Lansallos on our round, so visits are often shared.
Nearest full coverage hub: Polperro (PL13), Cornwall Council.
PL13 covers 3 town hubs and 14 villages or districts in our radius.
Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
Recorded character: coastal hamlet. Coast-path parish west of Polperro.

See everywhere we cover in PL13

Also covered near PL13

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

The short version

Shade is not a fault in a house, but it is the reason one elevation always looks worse. A wall in poor condition is better found before cleaning than discovered halfway through. Cleaning reveals condition. Sometimes that means finding a repair, and it is better found than hidden under moss.