Professional Brick & Stone Cleaning

Accrington brick, Pennine stone and Victorian red brick

The houses round here are built from three things. Accrington brick, the hard, dark red Nori brick that half of East Lancashire and a good part of Manchester is made of, which takes a clean well but shows every bit of black carbon staining from the old mill days. Local sandstone and gritstone on the terraces and farmhouses in Rossendale, Bacup, Haslingden and the Ribble Valley, which is soft, porous and will lose its face under a pressure washer. And the softer red brick of the Victorian terraces and semis in Bury, Bolton, Chorlton and Didsbury, which goes green on the north side and black under the sills.

Each one needs a different method, and getting it wrong is permanent. That is why we look at the brick or stone, its age and the state of the pointing before we quote, and why we never put high pressure on sandstone or soft brick.

How we clean it

For organic growth, green algae, black lichen and moss on copings, a soft wash with a biocide does the work without touching the surface. For carbon, traffic film and general grime on hard brick, a controlled pressure wash at the right setting. For delicate stone, a low-pressure wash and patience. Windows, doors, plants and paths are protected first, and the pointing is looked after throughout. The result is brickwork that looks like it did when it was built, rather than a wall that has been scrubbed pale.

Black carbon staining that has been there since the mills were running will lighten a great deal but may not vanish completely, and we will tell you what to expect from the photos before we start.

Efflorescence and salt staining

The white, powdery bloom on newer brickwork is efflorescence: salts drawn out of the brick and mortar as the wall dries. It is not dirt and it does not respond to washing the same way; on a new build it usually weathers off on its own, and on an older wall it points to water getting in somewhere. Where it can be treated we will, and where it needs the cause fixing first we will say so rather than clean it and take your money twice.

Garden walls, gate posts, steps and copings

The most common brick and stone jobs we do are not the house at all. Garden walls, stone gate posts, steps and copings go green and black quickly because they are low, wet and shaded, and they are the first thing anyone sees from the street. A morning's work brings the whole frontage up, and it is usually done on the same visit as the drive or the patio.

Commercial brickwork and stone frontages

Mill conversions, offices, pubs, shop frontages and schools in brick and stone are cleaned with the same care, with RAMS supplied and the work timed around opening hours. See commercial cleaning.

Brick cleaning cost and where we cover

Price depends on the wall area, the material and the type of staining. A gable end of Accrington brick is a different job from a sandstone farmhouse. Send a photo and your postcode for a fixed quote. We clean brick and stone across Rossendale, Burnley, Accrington, Blackburn, Bury, Bolton, Preston, Rochdale and Manchester.