Exterior cleaning in Oakdale

Pebbledash and render each need care. Pebbledash holds dirt and algae in every hollow between the stones, so it goes grey, not green. A jet wash is the wrong tool: it knocks stones out and drives water into hairline cracks.

We soft wash instead, applying a biocide treatment at low pressure, leaving it to work on the algae and lichen, then rinsing gently. Painted pebbledash and smooth sand and cement render in Oakdale are done the same way. Black spot lichen is slow to shift and can take weeks to fade.

Concrete tile roofs. Most of the bungalow and semi roofs in Oakdale are concrete interlocking tiles, which grow moss faster than clay. The moss is scraped off by hand from the tile surface and the laps, working down from the ridge, and the roof is then treated so the spores left behind die off and regrowth is slower. We do not pressure wash a roof, because it strips the surface of the tile and forces water up under the laps.

Gutters and downpipes. A roof clean always ends with the gutters, the valleys and the outlets cleared of moss and grit, because that is where it all ends up. If a gutter or fascia is past cleaning, we say so and point you to the right repair.

Driveways and patios. Block paving is cleaned with a rotary surface cleaner at a controlled pressure, so the joints are not blasted out, then re-sanded with kiln dried sand. Sealing is optional and we tell you honestly whether it is worth it. Porcelain and sandstone patios get a softer clean and a biocide to hold back the green.

Brickwork and walls. Garden walls, brick piers and the plinth of a house are cleaned at low pressure. Soft or old mortar is never hit hard, because force strips it out of the joints.

What we protect. Planting is sheeted or wetted before any treatment, windows and doors are covered, and we block the nearest drain or gully while we work so the runoff does not go down it.

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 roof reached from a ladder, a two storey pebbledashed semi that needs a tower on one side, and a drive with a patio behind it 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. Once the answers match, the prices are worth comparing.

We clean houses, roofs and paving across Oakdale and Stanley Green, from Wimborne Road and Darby's Lane out to the Canford Heath side, in BH15, from our base in Boscombe, about six miles east.

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 Oakdale, you can read our customers' Google reviews, word for word, on our reviews page.

Most repairs in Oakdale 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.