Softwash for walls in and around Trerulefoot
A38 roundabout hamlet.
Trerulefoot is a farming hamlet within the PL12 area, roughly 9.9 miles out from PL3 and one of 21 places we cover in that district. Its painted render and stone walls behave in a predictable way once you know the exposure.
Working out what is wrong on a Trerulefoot wall
- 01The first question is whether the staining sits on the surface or has gone into the material, because only one of those cleans off.
- 02A short section of hose test shows whether run-off drains away or ponds at the base.
- 03Weep holes are counted and checked for blockage while the wall is being read.
- 04Nearby properties with the same finish are a useful reference for what is normal on that street.
- 05Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.
- 06Anything that cannot be explained by water is treated with more caution, not less.
- 07The age of the finish is estimated before a strength of mix is chosen.
- 08Previous cleaning is usually visible as a slightly different texture rather than a different colour.
Material first, method second
- Render that has lost its water repellency absorbs surface water instead of shedding it, which extends every damp spell.
- A rendered wall under a failed drip detail restains within a season however well it was cleaned.
- Cleaning before repainting is not optional, because paint over live growth fails from underneath.
- Painted plinths take splash and are worked as a separate band from the main face.
- Copings on stone boundary walls take the worst of the weather and the worst of the growth.
- The rinse on stone is gentle enough that nothing is driven into an open joint.
Why this keeps happening on PL12 elevations
- Once lichen is established it holds water itself, which makes the surface beneath it wetter than it started.
- Textured coatings have more surface area than smooth ones, and more surface area means more places to hold damp.
- The first sign is usually a faint grey cast rather than green, and grey is easier to ignore.
- Cracked render lets water sit behind the face as well as on it, so the staining pattern follows the crack.
- Silt washed down from the roof leaves a thin feeding layer on the render below.
- Ground-level render behind a planted border is wet from irrigation as much as from weather.
- 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.
- Render laid over a colder substrate holds surface condensation into the morning.
On site in Trerulefoot
- 1.Applications are kept off hot surfaces in direct sun, because a mix that flashes off has no dwell time at all.
- 2.Fence panels tight against a wall are wetted first so run-off does not sit on dry timber.
- 3.External drains below the work are covered with a grate mat and cleared before we leave.
- 4.The lance tip is changed rather than the pressure raised whenever coverage is not even enough.
- 5.Windows are checked from inside where access allows, because a closed window with a broken seal still lets water past.
- 6.Treatments are kept away from vegetable beds entirely, with those sections sheeted rather than diluted.
- 7.Photographs are taken of anything found in poor condition, so it can be shown rather than described.
- 8.Chimney stacks are treated from a position that keeps the operator off the roof covering entirely.
- 9.The elevation is walked first and anything loose, open or already failing is noted before a drop of water goes near it.
- 10.Heavy lichen gets a second lighter application on a later visit instead of an increase in pressure on the first.
Local detail that changes the job
- Postcode district: PL12. County: Cornwall. Approx 9.9 miles from the PL3 base.
- PL12 covers 8 town hubs and 13 villages or districts in our radius.
- Nearest full coverage hub: Landrake (PL12), Cornwall Council.
- Typical wall finish here is painted render and stone, which sets the cleaning method.
- Landrake sits about 2.2 miles from Trerulefoot on our round, so visits are often shared.
Preparing a farming hamlet property
- Say if the property has a flat roof section that we would be working above.
- Say if the elevation is overlooked by a neighbouring window that should stay shut.
- Tell us about any planting you particularly care about at the base of the wall.
- Tell us if a gutter has been overflowing, because that changes what we look at first.
- Note any external socket or garden power run near the base of the wall.
- Tell us if there is a septic tank and where its outlet sits.
- Say if you would prefer the front done on a different day from the back.
- Say whether the side passage is wide enough for a wheeled kit trolley.
Where wall work sits in a Trerulefoot visit
Roof work always precedes wall work, because everything released from the slope lands on the elevation below it.
Rendering or repair work should always finish before cleaning starts, never the other way round.
Patio joints are checked before the wall above them is treated, since loose sand washes into puddles.
Small repairs to pointing are best done after cleaning, when what needs doing is visible.
Asked most often in PL12
- Do you clean chimney stacks?
- Where they can be reached safely from a position that keeps us off the roof covering.
- How soon can the walls be painted afterwards?
- Once fully dry, which in practice means giving it several dry days.
- 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 clean a wall before painting?
- Yes, and it should be done first. Paint over live growth fails from underneath.
- Do you need a parking space?
- Somewhere within hose reach of the elevation is enough.
- Can the whole outside be planned in one go?
- Yes, and getting the order right matters more than doing it all at once.
- Will it strip my paint?
- Sound paint is unaffected. Paint that has already lost adhesion may lift, which is why a test patch goes on first.
- 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.
Close to Trerulefoot
Trerulefoot wall softwash, in short
Shade is not a fault in a house, but it is the reason one elevation always looks worse. Method, dwell and patience beat pressure and speed on every wall finish we work on. Doing the roof, gutters and walls in the right order is most of the value. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.
Split it over two visits
Front now, back later is a perfectly normal way to plan it.
Quote for a Trerulefoot property
Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm