How long before I can repaint?

Several dry days after the wall has been treated and rinsed.

Can you tell from a photo whether it will clean up?

Usually yes for surface growth. Staining that is in the material is harder to judge without seeing it.

What if I only want the front done?

That is the most common request on this kind of job.

Do you treat mortar joints separately?

The method is set by the mortar because it is nearly always the softest thing on the wall.

Do you leave a written record of what was done?

Photographs of before and after the visit, plus anything found in poor condition.

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.

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.

Do you need a parking space?

Somewhere within hose reach of the elevation is enough.

Softwash for walls in and around Sharptor

Bodmin Moor cottages below the tor of the same name.

A wall in Sharptor that has greened over is telling you where water sits. Bodmin Moor cottages below the tor of the same name, so the pattern of staining tends to repeat from one property to the next.

Working out what is wrong on a Sharptor wall

01The presence of moss rather than algae suggests standing water rather than damp air.
02How quickly a splash of water darkens the surface says how porous the finish has become.
03The elevation is read from the pavement first and from a metre away second.
04Previous cleaning is usually visible as a slightly different texture rather than a different colour.
05The angle of morning sun on the elevation tells you how long it stays damp.
06Weep holes are counted and checked for blockage while the wall is being read.
07A wall that feels chalky under the hand is telling you the coating has aged, not that it is dirty.
08The age of the finish is estimated before a strength of mix is chosen.

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.
Pressure on granite blows out the joints long before it touches the stone.
Second lighter applications suit granite better than one strong pass.

Why this keeps happening on PL14 elevations

Airflow through a passage between two houses is fast but the passage itself is in permanent shade.
Any surface that holds a drop of water long enough to be seen will hold it long enough to feed growth.
Textured coatings have more surface area than smooth ones, and more surface area means more places to hold damp.
A cracked cill throws water back at the wall instead of clear of it.
Where a gutter joint weeps rather than pours, the stain is thin, vertical and very persistent.
Low winter sun never reaches the bottom third of a wall behind a fence, and it shows.
Where two elevations meet in a tight internal corner, neither one dries properly.
A patio laid up against a wall reflects splash onto it every time it rains hard.
Washing without a biocide simply resets the clock and leaves the roots in place.

On site in Sharptor

1.Heavy lichen gets a second lighter application on a later visit instead of an increase in pressure on the first.
2.Hoses run outside gates where children or dogs are about, and gates are closed behind us each time.
3.The finished wall is photographed in the same light as the start photograph, so the comparison is honest.
4.Where a porch roof sits mid-elevation, it is sheeted and its own tiles cleared before the wall above is touched.
5.Where a wall runs straight down to a lawn, a run of sheeting is pegged along the base instead of relying on dilution alone.
6.Growth in a shaded return is treated on the same visit even when only the front was asked about, if access allows.
7.Application is by low-pressure fan, closer to a garden sprayer than a washer, and the wall is wetted evenly rather than saturated in patches.
8.Where a wall abuts a neighbour's boundary within a metre, the fan is narrowed and the pass slowed.
9.Ridge and verge debris that has landed on the wall head is brushed off dry before anything wet goes on.
10.A wall carrying a house number, plaque or bell push has those items worked around by hand.

Local detail that changes the job

Typical wall finish here is granite, which sets the cleaning method.
Access is usually via A38 and A390.
Recorded character: moorland hamlet. Bodmin Moor cottages below the tor of the same name.
Liskeard sits about 0 miles from Sharptor on our round, so visits are often shared.
PL14 covers 8 town hubs and 14 villages or districts in our radius.

See everywhere we cover in PL14

Preparing a moorland hamlet property

Note the position of the stopcock in case the outside tap needs isolating.
Mention any planned decorating so the drying window can be built into the date.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
Bring in washing, cushions and anything fabric that lives against the wall.
Unlock side gates the night before if you are not going to be in, because a locked passage stops a whole elevation.
Say if a conservatory or lean-to abuts the elevation, so glazing can be sheeted.
Tell us where the drains run if the garden has a soakaway rather than a mains connection.
If there are children's toys or a trampoline against the wall, they need to move.

Where wall work sits in a Sharptor visit

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

Booking services out of order is the commonest reason a clean seems not to have lasted.

Solar panels are cleaned separately from the roof slope they sit on, and after it.

Where a roof clean is planned for later in the year, walls are worth leaving until after it.

Straight answers before you book

How long before I can repaint?: Several dry days after the wall has been treated and rinsed.
Can you tell from a photo whether it will clean up?: Usually yes for surface growth. Staining that is in the material is harder to judge without seeing it.
What if I only want the front done?: That is the most common request on this kind of job.
Do you treat mortar joints separately?: The method is set by the mortar because it is nearly always the softest thing on the wall.
Do you leave a written record of what was done?: Photographs of before and after the visit, plus anything found in poor condition.
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.
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.
Do you need a parking space?: Somewhere within hose reach of the elevation is enough.

Other Cornwall places on the same round

Where to go next

The essentials

The wall dictates the method. Everything else on this page follows from that one rule. The finish underneath is usually intact. It is the film on top that has aged. Shade is not a fault in a house, but it is the reason one elevation always looks worse. 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.

Ask the question 07830 242403

Quote for a Sharptor property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm