A clean roofline, and an honest look at it
A grey-green roofline is one of the things that makes a well-kept house look neglected, and most of the time there is nothing wrong with the boards: it is algae, mould, traffic film and the tide-mark of gutter overspill sitting on the surface. We wash uPVC and painted timber back to colour, clear the gutters while we are up there, and — because we are repairers rather than cleaners — tell you if anything underneath needs attention. Where it does not, you get a clean roofline and a clean bill of health. Where it does, you get a quote, not a surprise in two years' time.
Why Cambridge rooflines go green
Algae wants shade and damp, and the city supplies both: north-facing terrace fronts on the narrow streets of Romsey and Petersfield, the tree canopy over Newnham, De Freville and Storey’s Way, the river air along Riverside and the Chesterton bank. Traffic film settles on the Milton Road, Newmarket Road and Hills Road frontages. Much of our cleaning work in the city is for landlords and agents in Romsey, Petersfield and Arbury keeping rooflines presentable between tenancies, and the photographed condition report that comes with it is useful for the inventory and for planning repairs.
What the service includes
- Soft-wash of fascias, soffits and bargeboards — a cleaning solution that kills algae and lifts grime, rinsed at low pressure with a water-fed pole. No high-pressure jetting, which drives water behind the boards and damages paint and uPVC.
- Gutter clearing — moss, silt and leaves out of the runs and outlets, downpipes checked for flow, and the gutter exterior washed so the tide-mark goes.
- Cobwebs, wasp nests and bird mess removed from the soffit and the eaves.
- Condition check — while we are at the roofline we look at the paint film, probe the timber, check the joints and brackets, and report back with photographs.
- Windows, cladding and porch roofs can be washed at the same visit if you want them done.
Why rooflines go green in East Anglia
Algae needs damp and shade: the north-facing elevation, the side under the trees, the stretch below a dripping gutter joint. The coast from King's Lynn round to Felixstowe adds salt, which holds moisture on the surface, and the farmland inland adds dust that feeds the growth. Black staining is generally mould where the gutter has overflowed or the soffit has been damp; a brown streak below a joint is a leak. So a clean is also a diagnosis, and we treat it as one: if the staining pattern says the gutter is leaking or the fascia is holding water, that goes in the report, and fixing it is a gutter repair, not another clean.
Timber, uPVC and painted surfaces
uPVC responds best: the surface is non-porous and a soft-wash brings white boards back to white and foiled woodgrain back to its colour. Painted timber is washed more gently; a sound paint film cleans well, a failing one shows itself, which is useful information. We do not wash bare or stained timber that has weathered grey — that needs preparation and a coating, which is a repair and repaint rather than a clean. Old uPVC that has yellowed or chalked with age is a change in the material, not dirt; we will say so rather than wash it and charge you for no improvement.
Fascia, soffit and gutter cleaning across East Anglia
We clean rooflines throughout Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Bedfordshire, Northamptonshire and Buckinghamshire — Cambridge, Peterborough and Ely; Norwich, King's Lynn, Cromer and Great Yarmouth; Ipswich, Bury St Edmunds, Woodbridge and Lowestoft; Colchester, Chelmsford and Southend; Bedford and Luton; Northampton and Kettering; Milton Keynes and Aylesbury. A photograph of each elevation with your postcode is enough for a price.
