Green walls in Staverton? Start here
Six-arch medieval bridge across the Dart.
Most enquiries from Staverton 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.
Staverton is documented as a riverside village known for its six-arch medieval bridge, with cob, stone and painted render under slate or clay tile. Three wall materials can occur within the local building record, so a survey maps each one and its repair history before selecting a method. Cob coating is checked for soundness; stone joints and render panels receive separate representative trials. Riverside setting is treated only as context while staining around eaves, sills, ground levels and vegetation is examined directly. This material map prevents a result on robust stone from being used to justify the same approach on a more vulnerable coated section.
Working out what is wrong on a Staverton wall
- 01Nearby properties with the same finish are a useful reference for what is normal on that street.
- 02A wall that feels chalky under the hand is telling you the coating has aged, not that it is dirty.
- 03Where the pattern is vertical and narrow, plumbing is looked at before chemistry is.
- 04The ground level relative to the damp course is checked before the base of a wall is treated.
- 05A slow walk of the gutter line from the ground finds most of the causes worth fixing.
- 06Where paint is peeling in flakes rather than powdering, adhesion has already gone.
- 07Weep holes are counted and checked for blockage while the wall is being read.
- 08Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.
Material first, method second
- Where render sits over insulation, the wall is more sensitive still and the mix is weakened accordingly.
- Patched render takes treatment differently from the original, which is why patches are identified before work starts.
- Painted plinths take splash and are worked as a separate band from the main face.
- Gloss-painted details like cills are wiped rather than sprayed.
- Stone elevations vary enormously in hardness, and the pointing is usually the weakest part.
- Copings on stone boundary walls take the worst of the weather and the worst of the growth.
- A cob wall relies on staying dry inside, so any method that soaks it is the wrong method.
- Thatch or deep eaves above cob change how much of the wall ever gets wet.
Why this keeps happening on TQ9 elevations
- Algae needs moisture far more than it needs dirt, so the wettest elevation greens first regardless of how clean the house is.
- Overflowing gutters feed the top of the wall continuously through the wet months.
- Old sealant around window heads cracks and lets a thin trickle run down the face below.
- Nutrients from a nearby feeding lawn or planting drift onto a wall and give growth something to work with.
- Wall growth often maps exactly to where a previous extension roof used to sit.
- A wall next to a busy road picks up a film of traffic grime that holds moisture on the surface.
- Once lichen is established it holds water itself, which makes the surface beneath it wetter than it started.
- Lichen prefers hard, alkaline surfaces, which is why it shows on mortar and cills before it shows on render.
- Where a wall was cleaned without a biocide, the regrowth is often patchier and faster than the original.
On site in Staverton
- 1.Treatment goes on from the bottom of the elevation upwards, which stops clean streaks forming where liquid runs onto dry surface.
- 2.Beds and borders at the foot of the wall are soaked with clean water first, so any run-off arrives diluted.
- 3.Steps and thresholds get a plain water rinse at the end so nothing is left slippery.
- 4.Where a pond or water feature sits below an elevation, it is covered and the run-off diverted well away from it.
- 5.A wall in deep shade is worked earlier in the day, when there is most light on it to judge coverage.
- 6.A pass along the underside of the soffit catches the black spotting that everyone forgets until the wall is clean.
- 7.Where two different finishes meet on one elevation, they are treated as two jobs on one wall.
- 8.Photographs are taken of anything found in poor condition, so it can be shown rather than described.
- 9.Rainwater goods are checked while the elevation is being worked, since a blocked hopper explains most single-strip staining.
- 10.Vents serving a boiler or flue are checked and left uncovered, with the elevation around them worked dry.
Local detail that changes the job
- Typical wall finish here is cob, stone and painted render, which sets the cleaning method.
- Nearest full coverage hub: South Brent (TQ10), South Hams District Council.
- South Brent sits about 4 miles from Staverton on our round, so visits are often shared.
- Postcode district: TQ9. County: Devon. Approx 17.8 miles from the PL3 base.
- Typical roof covering here is slate and clay tile, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
Preparing a riverside village property
- Say if any part of the wall has been jet washed before, and roughly when.
- Say whether the side passage is wide enough for a wheeled kit trolley.
- Point out any window that does not seal properly, so it gets sheeted rather than sprayed near.
- Tell us about any previous treatment that came back quickly, and how quickly.
- Flag any recent repair or repaint, because fresh work is treated more gently.
- If parking needs a permit or a bay suspension, tell us early.
- Say if the elevation is overlooked by a neighbouring window that should stay shut.
- Tell us if a fence panel is loose, because sheeting gets pegged to something solid.
Planning a full exterior in Staverton
The number of elevations completed in one visit depends on their area, access, condition and weather.
Driveways come after walls so that run-off from the elevation is rinsed away as part of the drive work.
Gutters are cleared between the roof and the walls, so the first heavy rain does not restain a finished elevation.
Where gutters need repair rather than clearing, that goes ahead of any cleaning at all.
Straight answers before you book
- 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.
- What is the difference between this and a wash down?
- A wash down removes what you can see. A treatment removes what is growing, which is not the same thing.
- 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.
- Is timber cladding treated the same way?
- No. Cladding takes a weaker mix, and pressure is avoided entirely because it raises the grain.
- Do you take the waste away?
- There is very little on a wall job. What comes off the surface is rinsed to a drain that can take it.
- Can you work around a conservatory?
- The glazing is sheeted first and given a rinse at the end.
- How do I know it is algae and not damp coming through?
- Surface growth wipes and lightens. Damp coming through darkens the wall from behind and returns as soon as it dries out.
- Do you use a pressure washer at all on a wall visit?
- Only on hard surfaces below it, like paving, and never on the wall finish itself.
Other Devon places on the same round
The essentials
If a previous clean did not last, the cause was probably never dealt with. The finish underneath is usually intact. It is the film on top that has aged. Wall growth is a moisture problem wearing a dirt costume. Treat the growth, sort the water, and the interval stretches out. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.
Check the gutter line too
If the staining starts at the top, the gutters are worth looking at in the same visit.
Quote for a Staverton property
Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm