Can you treat one elevation only?

Yes, and it is common. Often only the shaded side has a problem and the rest of the house needs nothing.

Do you clean stonework?

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

Do you clean garages and outbuildings?

Yes, if they are part of the same visit and take the same method.

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.

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

Do you work on bungalows differently?

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

Does the treatment stain paving?

No, and paving below the elevation is rinsed at the end anyway.

What if part of the wall does not come up?

It is left to weather rather than pushed harder, and we will say what we think is happening.

Treating growth on painted render and granite in St Ive

St Ive, Cornwall - PL14

St Ive is a village within the PL14 area, roughly 13.7 miles out from PL3 and one of 22 places we cover in that district. Its painted render and granite walls behave in a predictable way once you know the exposure.

Quote for a St Ive property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

How the work is actually carried out

1.Applications are kept off hot surfaces in direct sun, because a mix that flashes off has no dwell time at all.
2.Between elevations the kit is rinsed so nothing dries in the line and blocks the fan pattern.
3.Vents, extractor terminals and trickle vents get taped, because water pushed into them is the one thing that turns an exterior job into an interior one.
4.Any surface that will be walked on afterwards is left rinsed rather than left with residue.
5.Every hose junction is checked before pressure goes on, because a burst at a coupling floods a border.
6.Where a property is rendered onto insulation, extra care goes into avoiding water at the bead edges.
7.The same operator works a whole elevation so the application rate stays consistent across it.
8.The job is worked one elevation at a time from end to end so that nothing dries out mid-wall.
9.Areas that stay stubborn after full dwell are left to weather rather than pushed harder on the day.
10.Boundary walls and gate piers are treated in the same visit only if they take the same method as the house.

Reading the finish on a St Ive elevation

A rendered plinth takes more water than the face above it and is usually the first band to look tired.
Where render sits over insulation, the wall is more sensitive still and the mix is weakened accordingly.
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.
Deeply rooted lichen on granite can take a full season to fade after treatment.
A granite elevation is judged corner by corner, because exposure varies more than on a rendered face.

The reasons behind the staining

Prevailing wind decides which elevation takes driven rain, and that elevation is nearly always the tired-looking one.
A wall shaded by its own porch roof for half the day dries at half the rate of the face beside it.
A split downpipe puts a single wet stripe down an elevation, and that stripe goes green months before anything either side of it.
Salt-laden air roughens exposed surfaces slightly, and rougher surfaces hold more moisture.
Wall growth often maps exactly to where a previous extension roof used to sit.
Ivy pulled off a wall leaves suckers and a shaded, damp face that greens quickly afterwards.
Rendered plinths take more water than the main face and are usually the first thing to look tired.
Salt spray does not itself grow, but it roughens and holds damp, which is the same outcome.
Any surface that holds a drop of water long enough to be seen will hold it long enough to feed growth.

Practical points to sort first

Bring in washing, cushions and anything fabric that lives against the wall.
Say if there is a wasp or bird nest under the eaves, and we will plan around it.
Tell us about any planting you particularly care about at the base of the wall.
Say where the outside tap is, and whether it runs at any pressure.
Tell us if there is a low wall or a step at the base of the elevation that gets slippery.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
If a security light or camera covers the elevation, tell us so it can be isolated.
Mention any planned decorating so the drying window can be built into the date.

How the wall is read first

01A slow walk of the gutter line from the ground finds most of the causes worth fixing.
02Where a wall meets a roof abutment, the flashing is looked at first.
03Old repair patches are identified early, because they take treatment differently from the surrounding finish.
04Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.
05Whether the growth has spread onto glass and frames tells you how long it has been established.
06Any staining that continues below ground level is a drainage question, not a cleaning one.
07Nearby properties with the same finish are a useful reference for what is normal on that street.
08Colour matters: green suggests algae, black suggests fungal spotting, grey-white crust suggests lichen.

Before you get in touch

Can you treat one elevation only?: Yes, and it is common. Often only the shaded side has a problem and the rest of the house needs nothing.
Do you clean stonework?: Yes, with the method set by the softest part of the wall, which is almost always the mortar.
Do you clean garages and outbuildings?: Yes, if they are part of the same visit and take the same method.
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 there a smell?: There is a mild one during application that clears within a few hours.
Do you work on bungalows differently?: Only in that everything is reachable from the ground, which makes the visit shorter.
Does the treatment stain paving?: No, and paving below the elevation is rinsed at the end anyway.
What if part of the wall does not come up?: It is left to weather rather than pushed harder, and we will say what we think is happening.

St Ive in plain facts

PL14 covers 8 town hubs and 14 villages or districts in our radius.
Recorded character: village. Not St Ives - a village on the A390 near Pensilva.
Access is usually via A388 and A390.
Nearest full coverage hub: Callington (PL17), Cornwall Council.
Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.

See everywhere we cover in PL14

Also covered near PL14

Send a photo of the wall

One clear photo of the elevation and a postcode is usually all it takes to give you a written price.

Send a photo 07830 242403

Read a little further

The short version

Low pressure, biocidal treatment, dwell time, controlled rinse. That is the whole method and it is chosen because the finish survives it. The wall dictates the method. Everything else on this page follows from that one rule. A wall in poor condition is better found before cleaning than discovered halfway through. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.