How much water does a wall job use?

Less than a pressure wash, because the work is dwell time rather than volume.

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 you have a minimum size of job?

A single gable or a porch is still worth doing properly.

Can you remove ivy marks?

Suckers can be treated and weathered off, though the shadow of an old ivy run can take a season to fade fully.

How soon can the walls be painted afterwards?

Once fully dry, which in practice means giving it several dry days.

There is a mild one during application that clears within a few hours.

What if the render is cracked?

We will point it out and work around it. Cleaning does not fix cracks and can make them more obvious.

Will you tell me if the job is not worth doing?

Yes. If the staining is in the substrate rather than on it, cleaning will not change much and we will say so.

Wall softwash for St Ann's Chapel (Devon) homes

St Ann's Chapel (Devon), Devon - TQ7

Most enquiries from St Ann's Chapel (Devon) 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.

What St Ann's Chapel (Devon) walls are usually finished in

Modern render, whether sand and cement or a thin-coat system, has a slightly porous face that holds airborne spores.
Render responds to dwell time better than almost any other finish, which is what makes softwash suit it.
Chalking paint is a rougher surface than new paint, which is why older painted walls green faster.
Where a painted wall has been patch-repainted, the patches clean at a different rate.
Cracks in a cob wall are structural information, not cosmetic, and are reported rather than cleaned.
The safest outcome on cob is a lighter, slower improvement rather than an immediate transformation.

Low pressure, longer dwell

1.Fence panels tight against a wall are wetted first so run-off does not sit on dry timber.
2.External light fittings are switched off at the consumer unit before the elevation around them is treated.
3.Waste water is directed to a soakaway or drain that can take it rather than allowed to pond on a lawn.
4.On render below a flat roof edge, the drip detail is checked, because a failed one puts the stain straight back.
5.Steps and thresholds get a plain water rinse at the end so nothing is left slippery.
6.Where growth has spread onto a UPVC panel or door surround, it is wiped rather than sprayed.
7.Cable clips, aerial brackets and old fixings are noted, and loose ones are left rather than pushed further.
8.Where a bay window projects, its cheeks are treated separately from the main face to avoid a shadow line.
9.Growth in a shaded return is treated on the same visit even when only the front was asked about, if access allows.
10.Ground-level splash marks are worked separately from the main face, since they are silt rather than growth.

Small things that make the visit smoother

Tell us if there is a low wall or a step at the base of the elevation that gets slippery.
Warn us about a soft lawn or an unmade drive so boards come on the van.
If there are children's toys or a trampoline against the wall, they need to move.
Note where hoses can be run without crossing a doorway.
Note the position of the stopcock in case the outside tap needs isolating.
Say whether the property is occupied during the day, since that changes nothing technically but helps the plan.
Tell us where the drains run if the garden has a soakaway rather than a mains connection.
Note where the electricity meter and consumer unit sit relative to the wall.

Facts on record for St Ann's Chapel (Devon)

TQ7 covers 7 town hubs and 29 villages or districts in our radius.
Nearest full coverage hub: Bigbury (TQ7), South Hams District Council.
Bigbury sits about 0.6 miles from St Ann's Chapel (Devon) on our round, so visits are often shared.
Access is usually via B3392.
Typical wall finish here is cob and painted render, which sets the cleaning method.

See everywhere we cover in TQ7

What is actually growing on the wall

A wall shaded by its own porch roof for half the day dries at half the rate of the face beside it.
Lichen prefers hard, alkaline surfaces, which is why it shows on mortar and cills before it shows on render.
Bird activity along a gutter line concentrates nutrients on the wall directly below it.
Salt spray does not itself grow, but it roughens and holds damp, which is the same outcome.
Frost damage opens the surface slightly, which gives the next season's growth somewhere to sit.
Where a downpipe discharges into a gully that has silted, the overflow soaks the wall base each winter.
A textured coating applied over an already dirty surface holds that dirt as a feeding layer.
A blocked hopper head can soak the same square metre of wall for an entire winter without anyone noticing.
Wall growth often maps exactly to where a previous extension roof used to sit.

Assessing a TQ7 elevation

01The ground level relative to the damp course is checked before the base of a wall is treated.
02A wall that feels chalky under the hand is telling you the coating has aged, not that it is dirty.
03The elevation is read from the pavement first and from a metre away second.
04Hollow-sounding render is checked by tapping before any water is put onto it.
05Where paint is peeling in flakes rather than powdering, adhesion has already gone.
06The presence of moss rather than algae suggests standing water rather than damp air.
07The direction the growth thickens in points at the source of the moisture.
08How quickly a splash of water darkens the surface says how porous the finish has become.

Within a short run of St Ann's Chapel (Devon)

Questions St Ann's Chapel (Devon) owners ask

How much water does a wall job use?: Less than a pressure wash, because the work is dwell time rather than volume.
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 you have a minimum size of job?: A single gable or a porch is still worth doing properly.
Can you remove ivy marks?: Suckers can be treated and weathered off, though the shadow of an old ivy run can take a season to fade fully.
How soon can the walls be painted afterwards?: Once fully dry, which in practice means giving it several dry days.
Is there a smell?: There is a mild one during application that clears within a few hours.
What if the render is cracked?: We will point it out and work around it. Cleaning does not fix cracks and can make them more obvious.
Will you tell me if the job is not worth doing?: Yes. If the staining is in the substrate rather than on it, cleaning will not change much and we will say so.

Guides worth a look first

Just want to know if it is fixable?

Some staining cleans off and some is in the material. Ask us and we will tell you which one you have.

Ask first 07830 242403

To sum up for TQ7

Prep takes longer than application, and that is the right way round. Every visit ends with the elevation judged from where people actually see it. Where the cause is plumbing, cleaning is a cosmetic answer to a practical problem. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.

Quote for a St Ann's Chapel (Devon) property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm