Do you need scaffolding?

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

Do you clean soffits and fascias?

They are in the same spray path, so they are done as part of the wall visit.

Can the whole outside be planned in one go?

Yes, and getting the order right matters more than doing it all at once.

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 clean render above a flat roof?

Yes, with the roof covering sheeted and the drip detail checked.

How do you price the work?

By elevation area and access, put in writing before anything starts.

Can you get behind downpipes?

Yes, by hand. It is the part a sprayed pattern always misses.

Do you cover air bricks the whole time?

Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.

Softwashing painted render and granite walls around Whitchurch Village

Church-and-common village south of Tavistock.

We work Whitchurch Village as part of the Whitchurch round, which keeps travel down. Wall softwash is the service most often asked about here because painted render and granite shows growth earlier than brick does.

Working out what is wrong on a Whitchurch Village wall

01A damp meter reading inside a stained corner separates a cleaning job from a building problem.
02Whether the render is thin-coat or traditional is checked at a bead or a reveal.
03A slow walk of the gutter line from the ground finds most of the causes worth fixing.
04Where the pattern is vertical and narrow, plumbing is looked at before chemistry is.
05Whether the property is exposed or sheltered is judged on the day, not from a map.
06Where the pattern is even across the whole face, exposure and aspect are the cause.
07Efflorescence is distinguished from lichen before anything is applied, since one is salt and one is alive.
08Where the pattern is a band at the top, the gutter line is doing it.

Material first, method second

Bead edges and stop ends on a rendered elevation are the details worth protecting from driven water.
Patched render takes treatment differently from the original, which is why patches are identified before work starts.
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.
Treatment kills lichen and lets it weather off, which is slower to look finished than a pressure wash but leaves the face intact.
Granite cills and thresholds collect the heaviest lichen because they stay wet longest.

Why this keeps happening on PL19 elevations

Textured coatings have more surface area than smooth ones, and more surface area means more places to hold damp.
Where a wall carries a heavy climbing plant, the fabric behind it is nearly always damper than the rest.
Sheltered gable ends collect airborne spores because there is no wind to move them along.
A wall under a mature hedge takes both shade and constant leaf litter, which is the worst pairing there is.
Roof valleys concentrate run-off, so the wall under a valley outlet is loaded more heavily than anywhere else.
Where a chimney is no longer used, rain that once dried out now sits in the stack and shows on the wall below.
Nutrients from a nearby feeding lawn or planting drift onto a wall and give growth something to work with.
A downpipe discharging onto a hard surface next to the wall sends the water straight back at the brickwork.
A textured coating applied over an already dirty surface holds that dirt as a feeding layer.

On site in Whitchurch Village

1.A hose test on the nearest outside tap happens before anything is mixed, because flow rate changes how the day is planned.
2.Reach is taken from the ground with a telescopic lance wherever the elevation allows, which keeps ladders off soft render.
3.Airbricks are covered for the duration and uncovered before we leave, without exception.
4.The elevation is walked first and anything loose, open or already failing is noted before a drop of water goes near it.
5.Downpipe backs and the strip of wall behind them are done by hand, because a sprayed pattern always misses them.
6.The wall is left to dry naturally rather than being wiped, which is what keeps the finish even.
7.Neighbouring cars and windows are checked before spraying starts on a boundary elevation.
8.Where a wall meets a conservatory or lean-to, the roof glazing is sheeted before anything is applied above it.
9.Mortar joints that have already lost material are pointed out and left alone rather than washed further open.
10.Access equipment is footed on boards where the ground is soft, so nothing sinks into a lawn.

Local detail that changes the job

Access is usually via local lanes off A386.
Typical wall finish here is painted render and granite, which sets the cleaning method.
Whitchurch sits about 0.6 miles from Whitchurch Village on our round, so visits are often shared.
Nearest full coverage hub: Whitchurch (PL19), West Devon Borough Council.
PL19 covers 5 town hubs and 12 villages or districts in our radius.

See everywhere we cover in PL19

Preparing a village property

Say where the outside tap is, and whether it runs at any pressure.
Let us know whether the gutters have been cleared in the last couple of years.
Move cars off a drive that runs tight to the house if you can, and tell us if you cannot.
Warn us about a soft lawn or an unmade drive so boards come on the van.
Note where hoses can be run without crossing a doorway.
Let us know if anyone in the house works nights and needs quiet at a particular time.
Mention shared access or a right of way that we will be crossing.
Say if there is a wasp or bird nest under the eaves, and we will plan around it.

Order of work, top down

Where gutters need repair rather than clearing, that goes ahead of any cleaning at all.

Rendering or repair work should always finish before cleaning starts, never the other way round.

Block paving cannot be re-sanded until it is dry, which decides the running order in a wet week.

If a decorator is due, the wall clean goes in first and is given time to dry fully.

Practical questions answered

Do you need scaffolding?: Rarely. Most elevations are reached from the ground with a telescopic lance.
Do you clean soffits and fascias?: They are in the same spray path, so they are done as part of the wall visit.
Can the whole outside be planned in one go?: Yes, and getting the order right matters more than doing it all at once.
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 clean render above a flat roof?: Yes, with the roof covering sheeted and the drip detail checked.
How do you price the work?: By elevation area and access, put in writing before anything starts.
Can you get behind downpipes?: Yes, by hand. It is the part a sprayed pattern always misses.
Do you cover air bricks the whole time?: Covered while the wall around them is worked and uncovered before we go.

Neighbouring places we work

Summary

Every coated wall has a maximum pressure it tolerates, and it is much lower than most people assume. The wall is nearly always sound. What has changed is what is living on it. The visit is quiet, low pressure and unremarkable to watch. The result is the interesting part. Monday to Saturday, 8am to 7pm.

Split it over two visits

Front now, back later is a perfectly normal way to plan it.

Split the work 07830 242403

Quote for a Whitchurch Village property

Monday to Saturday, 8am – 7pm