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.

Will the drive get messy?

Anything below the elevation is rinsed off before we finish.

Do you clean conservatory roofs?

Yes, and they go before the wall above them so nothing lands back on clean glazing.

Do you need a parking space?

Somewhere within hose reach of the elevation is enough.

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 scaffolding?

Rarely. Most elevations are reached from the ground with a telescopic lance.

Do you work weekends?

We work Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.

Is timber cladding treated the same way?

No. Cladding takes a weaker mix, and pressure is avoided entirely because it raises the grain.

TQ7 - Devon - 18.6 miles from PL3

Low-pressure wall treatment across Torcross

Everything below applies to painted render and stone elevations in Torcross, inside the TQ7 area we cover in full. The method is set by the surface and the exposure, and nothing else changes it.

Quote for a Torcross property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm

What helps before we arrive

Note the position of the stopcock in case the outside tap needs isolating.
Move cars off a drive that runs tight to the house if you can, and tell us if you cannot.
Trim back anything that has grown tight against the wall, or ask us to work around it.
Clear the base of the elevation of pots, ornaments and loose paving where you can.
Warn us about a soft lawn or an unmade drive so boards come on the van.
Mention any glazing you already know is cracked before work starts.
Point out ground-floor windows that are painted shut, as they need different masking.
Say if the property has a flat roof section that we would be working above.

Wall build-ups common in TQ7

Modern render, whether sand and cement or a thin-coat system, has a slightly porous face that holds airborne spores.
Render that has lost its water repellency absorbs surface water instead of shedding it, which extends every damp spell.
Colour on a painted wall usually returns once the film on top is removed.
Gloss-painted details like cills are wiped rather than sprayed.
Method is set by the softest thing on the wall, not the hardest.
Where stone has been repointed with cement, water is pushed into the stone instead of out through the joint.

Diagnosis before treatment

01A damp meter reading inside a stained corner separates a cleaning job from a building problem.
02The underside of the soffit is checked, because staining there rarely stays there.
03Previous cleaning is usually visible as a slightly different texture rather than a different colour.
04The first question is whether the staining sits on the surface or has gone into the material, because only one of those cleans off.
05Where the wall carries a previous coating over render, its edges are inspected for lifting.
06Whether the growth has spread onto glass and frames tells you how long it has been established.
07A slow walk of the gutter line from the ground finds most of the causes worth fixing.
08Where a wall meets a roof abutment, the flashing is looked at first.

Damp, airflow and what feeds growth

Where a wall sits below a bank or a raised garden, water arrives at it sideways rather than from above.
A wall that faces a large expanse of glass on another building gets less sun than its aspect suggests.
Black spotting on white render is a different organism from the green film beside it, and it clears at a different rate.
A single missing tile above an elevation can put water onto the same square metre for years.
A blocked hopper head can soak the same square metre of wall for an entire winter without anyone noticing.
Shading from a neighbouring building can matter more than the aspect of the wall itself.
Lichen anchors into the surface rather than resting on it, which is why brushing achieves nothing and pressure achieves damage.
Textured coatings have more surface area than smooth ones, and more surface area means more places to hold damp.
Algae needs moisture far more than it needs dirt, so the wettest elevation greens first regardless of how clean the house is.

First, next, last

Patio joints are checked before the wall above them is treated, since loose sand washes into puddles.

If windows were cleaned recently, tell us, and they get sheeted rather than redone.

Conservatory roofs go before the wall above them, then get a final rinse afterwards.

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

How a softwash visit runs

1.Any electric meter box, alarm bell or external socket is bagged before the lance comes out.
2.Mortar joints that have already lost material are pointed out and left alone rather than washed further open.
3.Photographs are taken of anything found in poor condition, so it can be shown rather than described.
4.Waste water is directed to a soakaway or drain that can take it rather than allowed to pond on a lawn.
5.A wall in deep shade is worked earlier in the day, when there is most light on it to judge coverage.
6.Steps and thresholds get a plain water rinse at the end so nothing is left slippery.
7.External drains below the work are covered with a grate mat and cleared before we leave.
8.Heavy lichen gets a second lighter application on a later visit instead of an increase in pressure on the first.
9.Where the growth sits mostly in the lower metre, that band is treated twice and the rest once.
10.Everything is packed down before the last inspection, so the wall is judged clear of kit.

Questions Torcross owners ask

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.
Will the drive get messy?: Anything below the elevation is rinsed off before we finish.
Do you clean conservatory roofs?: Yes, and they go before the wall above them so nothing lands back on clean glazing.
Do you need a parking space?: Somewhere within hose reach of the elevation is enough.
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 scaffolding?: Rarely. Most elevations are reached from the ground with a telescopic lance.
Do you work weekends?: We work Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.
Is timber cladding treated the same way?: No. Cladding takes a weaker mix, and pressure is avoided entirely because it raises the grain.

Guides worth a look first

Where Torcross sits on our round

Kingsbridge sits about 1.8 miles from Torcross on our round, so visits are often shared.
Postcode district: TQ7. County: Devon. Approx 18.6 miles from the PL3 base.
Typical roof covering here is slate, which affects what washes down onto the walls.
Recorded character: coastal hamlet. Shingle-beach hamlet at the south end of Slapton Line.
TQ7 covers 7 town hubs and 29 villages or districts in our radius.

See everywhere we cover in TQ7

Within a short run of Torcross

Send the postcode and finish type

Those two things get you a written price without a site visit in most cases.

Send the details 07830 242403

To sum up for TQ7

Small jobs get the same sequence as large ones, just fewer elevations. One elevation done properly is better than four done quickly. Nothing on this page needs a site visit to price if you can send a couple of clear photographs. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.