Treating growth on cob and stone in Thrushelton
Deep-lane parish north-east of Lifton.
Cleaning walls in Thrushelton is a slow, quiet job done at low pressure. It is nothing like a driveway wash, and on cob and stone that difference is the whole point.
Quote for a Thrushelton property
Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm
Shade, damp and run-off
- Where a gutter joint weeps rather than pours, the stain is thin, vertical and very persistent.
- A patio laid up against a wall reflects splash onto it every time it rains hard.
- Lichen prefers hard, alkaline surfaces, which is why it shows on mortar and cills before it shows on render.
- A downpipe discharging onto a hard surface next to the wall sends the water straight back at the brickwork.
- Growth thickest at head height usually means splash from a hard surface rather than run-off from above.
- Roof valleys concentrate run-off, so the wall under a valley outlet is loaded more heavily than anywhere else.
- Where a hose reel or water butt overflows against a wall, the staining follows the overflow path exactly.
- A blocked hopper head can soak the same square metre of wall for an entire winter without anyone noticing.
- Guttering that has dropped at one end holds standing water and drips continuously at the low point.
Thrushelton at a glance
- EX20 covers 1 town hubs and 7 villages or districts in our radius.
- Recorded character: farming hamlet. Deep-lane parish north-east of Lifton.
- Lifton sits about 3.9 miles from Thrushelton on our round, so visits are often shared.
- Postcode district: EX20. County: Devon. Approx 18.2 miles from the PL3 base.
- Access is usually via A30.
Surfaces this page is written for
- Stone elevations vary enormously in hardness, and the pointing is usually the weakest part.
- Rubble stone walls have deep joints that hold moisture and feed growth from within the joint.
- Growth on cob is usually treated in light passes with long gaps rather than one wet application.
- The base of a cob wall is the most vulnerable part and is often left alone entirely.
Reading the surface
- 01The condition of the cills tells you how much water has been running down the face.
- 02Weep holes are counted and checked for blockage while the wall is being read.
- 03Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.
- 04The ground level relative to the damp course is checked before the base of a wall is treated.
- 05The mortar is tested with a key at a discreet point, since soft mortar sets the whole method.
- 06The first question is whether the staining sits on the surface or has gone into the material, because only one of those cleans off.
- 07The underside of the soffit is checked, because staining there rarely stays there.
- 08A short section of hose test shows whether run-off drains away or ponds at the base.
Order of work, top down
Small repairs to pointing are best done after cleaning, when what needs doing is visible.
Rendering or repair work should always finish before cleaning starts, never the other way round.
Where only walls are being done, the gutter line is still checked, because it is the usual culprit behind the worst staining.
Where a roof clean is planned for later in the year, walls are worth leaving until after it.
Before the day in Thrushelton
- Close and latch every window on the elevations being worked, including any small top lights.
- Note where the electricity meter and consumer unit sit relative to the wall.
- If you have a pond, a water butt or a wildlife area, point it out in advance.
- Mention any planned decorating so the drying window can be built into the date.
- If a security light or camera covers the elevation, tell us so it can be isolated.
- Warn us about a soft lawn or an unmade drive so boards come on the van.
- Say if the property has a flat roof section that we would be working above.
- Tell us if a fence panel is loose, because sheeting gets pegged to something solid.
Within a short run of Thrushelton
Questions Thrushelton owners ask
- Can you get behind downpipes?
- Yes, by hand. It is the part a sprayed pattern always misses.
- Do you have a minimum size of job?
- A single gable or a porch is still worth doing properly.
- Do you clean soffits and fascias?
- They are in the same spray path, so they are done as part of the wall visit.
- Will the treatment harm my planting?
- Beds are wetted down first so run-off arrives diluted, and rinsing is directed away from anything growing.
- Do you clean UPVC panels and door surrounds?
- They are wiped by hand rather than sprayed.
- 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.
- Is the method different on a listed building?
- The approach is gentler still, and lime finishes are treated with the lowest strength that will work.
- Do you work on flats and shared buildings?
- Yes, with permission from whoever is responsible for the elevation.
Ask about the surface first
Tell us the wall finish and we will tell you the method we would use on it.
To sum up for EX20
The safest method is the one set by the weakest material on the wall, not the strongest. The wall dictates the method. Everything else on this page follows from that one rule. Book it in autumn and the property goes into the wet months clean, which is when the difference shows most.