Exterior cleaning in Mudeford

Render and painted walls. Green and black staining on Mudeford render is algae and lichen, and a jet wash is the wrong tool: it drives water into hairline cracks and can strip a painted or thin coat finish. We soft wash instead.

A biocide treatment goes on at low pressure, is left to work, and the dead growth breaks down and rinses off over the following weeks. It kills the spores in the surface, so regrowth is slower than after a jet wash.

Pebbledash and brickwork. Pebbledash holds algae in every stone. It is soft washed and rinsed gently so loose stones are not knocked out. Brickwork takes a biocide and a low pressure rinse, kept off soft mortar joints so the pointing is not washed out.

Roof cleaning. Moss on concrete interlocking tiles is scraped off by hand from the roof, never blasted, because a lance forces water up under the laps and can damage the tile surface. Then a biocide goes on to kill what is left and slow the regrowth. We clear the moss out of the gutters, valleys and downpipe outlets as we go, because that is where it ends up. We look at the ridge and any cracked tiles and photograph anything we find.

Driveways and patios. On a Mudeford drive, block paving, concrete and porcelain take a pressure wash with a rotary surface cleaner, which keeps the spray down and the finish even. Block paving then gets fresh kiln dried sand brushed into the joints, and a seal if you want one to slow the weed and algae coming back. Sandstone is washed at a lower pressure and treated, because too much force opens up its surface.

Gutters and fascias. The outside of white plastic gutters and fascias goes grey and green, and we clean it with the walls. Clearing inside the gutters is its own job on our gutter cleaning page for Mudeford.

Protecting what is round it. Planting and ponds are sheeted or wetted first, windows and doors are rinsed down afterwards, and cars are moved.

No rate per square metre, because the same square metre can be twenty minutes or two, depending what is growing on it.

Getting to it. A single storey bungalow reached from a ladder, a three storey town house that needs a tower, and a drive and patio with a side path between them are three different jobs before any water is used. Ground level off a lance is one thing, a second storey or a roof slope is another. Reach poles do a lot of it, some of it wants a tower, and the work at height rules decide which.

The surface decides the method. Render, painted masonry, old brick, block paving and a tiled roof all want different pressure, and some want no pressure at all. Getting that wrong takes the surface off with the dirt, which is the expensive kind of clean.

How bad it has actually got. A light film comes off quickly. Years of organic growth needs treating, and often needs a second visit rather than more pressure.

Comparing quotes? Ask what method is being used on each surface, whether any treatment is included or just a rinse, whether a second visit is part of it, and where the run off is going. The method matters as much as the figure.

We clean across Mudeford, Stanpit and Friars Cliff, from the quay and Avon Beach back towards Christchurch, in BH23, from our base in Boscombe, about four miles west.

You are dealing with Bournemouth Roofing & Building, the trading name of Bournemouth Roofing & Building Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 15471719, which you can look up in a minute. Thomas Hannen's business, and he is the one who comes out to price the job, not a salesman. A verified customer's 10 out of 10 on Checkatrade. The visit and the written quote are both free. Before you book a visit in Mudeford, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Mudeford need no application at all. What decides whether a change to the outside of your house does is who the council is, whether a conservation area or a listing applies, and whether the place sits in a protected landscape.