Green walls in Meldon? Start here
Dartmoor reservoir and Meldon Viaduct.
If the walls on your Meldon property have gone patchy or green, the finish itself is usually sound. Dartmoor reservoir and Meldon Viaduct, and growth on granite sits on the surface rather than in the structure.
Working out what is wrong on a Meldon wall
- 01A short section of hose test shows whether run-off drains away or ponds at the base.
- 02Photographs taken before work provide the reference for judging the result later.
- 03The elevation is read from the pavement first and from a metre away second.
- 04Where a wall meets a roof abutment, the flashing is looked at first.
- 05A test patch at low strength shows what the surface will do before the full elevation commits to it.
- 06A damp meter reading inside a stained corner separates a cleaning job from a building problem.
- 07A wall that is warmer than its neighbours on a cold morning is likely holding moisture.
- 08The angle of morning sun on the elevation tells you how long it stays damp.
Material first, method second
- Granite is hard-faced but the joints are not, and lichen roots into micro-fissures in the stone.
- Treatment kills lichen and lets it weather off, which is slower to look finished than a pressure wash but leaves the face intact.
- Granite cills and thresholds collect the heaviest lichen because they stay wet longest.
- Iron staining from old fixings in granite is a separate problem from growth.
Why this keeps happening on EX20 elevations
- Washing without a biocide simply resets the clock and leaves the roots in place.
- 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.
- Roof debris shed from a mossy slope lands on the same band of wall year after year.
- A wall next to a busy road picks up a film of traffic grime that holds moisture on the surface.
- Roof valleys concentrate run-off, so the wall under a valley outlet is loaded more heavily than anywhere else.
- Frost damage opens the surface slightly, which gives the next season's growth somewhere to sit.
- Concrete render plinths wick moisture upward from the ground more readily than the face above them.
- A split downpipe puts a single wet stripe down an elevation, and that stripe goes green months before anything either side of it.
On site in Meldon
- 1.The strength of mix is stepped up only after a weaker one has been given its full dwell and judged.
- 2.Rainwater goods are checked while the elevation is being worked, since a blocked hopper explains most single-strip staining.
- 3.Hoses run outside gates where children or dogs are about, and gates are closed behind us each time.
- 4.A final walk of each finished elevation happens with the property owner where they are home, and by photograph where they are not.
- 5.The finished elevation is looked at from the pavement, not from the ladder, because that is where it will be seen from.
- 6.On render below a flat roof edge, the drip detail is checked, because a failed one puts the stain straight back.
- 7.Guttering above a worked elevation is checked for standing water, because a drip mid-treatment ruins an even finish.
- 8.Heavy lichen gets a second lighter application on a later visit instead of an increase in pressure on the first.
- 9.A wall backing onto a public pavement is worked at times that keep the spray arc away from passers-by.
- 10.Beds and borders at the foot of the wall are soaked with clean water first, so any run-off arrives diluted.
Local detail that changes the job
- Lydford sits about 0.9 miles from Meldon on our round, so visits are often shared.
- Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
- Postcode district: EX20. County: Devon. Approx 19.8 miles from the PL3 base.
- Access is usually via local lanes off A386.
- EX20 covers 1 town hubs and 7 villages or districts in our radius.
Preparing a moorland hamlet property
- 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 scaffold or a tower is already up for other work.
- Note any external socket or garden power run near the base of the wall.
- Trim back anything that has grown tight against the wall, or ask us to work around it.
- Let us know if the property is listed or in a conservation area, as it affects method choice.
- Mention any planned decorating so the drying window can be built into the date.
- If parking needs a permit or a bay suspension, tell us early.
- Say whether the elevation backs onto a public footpath.
Planning a full exterior in Meldon
Roof work always precedes wall work, because everything released from the slope lands on the elevation below it.
A wall treated in autumn goes into winter clean, which is when it matters most.
Where only walls are being done, the gutter line is still checked, because it is the usual culprit behind the worst staining.
Rendering or repair work should always finish before cleaning starts, never the other way round.
Asked most often in EX20
- Do you need scaffolding?
- Rarely. Most elevations are reached from the ground with a telescopic lance.
- 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.
- Is a second visit ever needed?
- For heavy lichen, a lighter second application later beats increasing pressure on the first.
- Can the whole house be done in one go?
- Often, depending on size and access. Larger properties split naturally into two visits.
- How soon after rain can you work?
- As soon as the surface is not running with water.
- What about the smell for neighbours?
- Mild and short-lived, and we avoid boundary elevations when someone next door has washing out.
- How often does this need doing?
- It depends entirely on shade and exposure. An open elevation holds a long time; a permanently shaded one comes back sooner.
- What if I only want the front done?
- That is the most common request on this kind of job.
Close to Meldon
Meldon wall softwash, in short
Shade is not a fault in a house, but it is the reason one elevation always looks worse. Anything that keeps a wall wet for longer will bring the growth back sooner, whatever product goes on it. A treated wall keeps changing for a fortnight, which is the sign the method worked. 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 Meldon property
Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm