Professional Render Cleaning in Bolton

Under the moors, in the damp

Bolton sits below the West Pennine Moors with Winter Hill above it, taking around 1,050mm of rain a year in the town and a good deal more on the higher ground to the north.

Moorland air carries spores and the winters are long and damp. Rendered walls facing north and east barely dry out for months, and render is porous enough to hold that moisture in its surface where algae can use it.

The result is predictable: green north elevations, usually starting at the bottom where splash-back keeps the base of the wall permanently wet.

Two housing stocks, two problems

South and west of the town, through Farnworth, Westhoughton, Little Lever and the post-war estates, there is a great deal of pebbledash and painted sand-cement render. Pebbledash traps growth between the stones and cannot be rushed.

North of the town, through Bromley Cross, Egerton and Smithills, there is more stone, and where render has been added it is often a modern thin-coat system on an extension next to original stonework. Stone and thin-coat render need completely different pressures on the same elevation.

Horwich and the newer developments are mostly silicone or monocouche throughout.

How a soft wash actually works

The chemistry does the work. The wall is wetted, a biocide solution is applied and given time to penetrate, and it is rinsed at low pressure. The biocide keeps killing growth in the surface for months after we have gone.

That is the difference between a clean that lasts four years and one that lasts eighteen months. Pressure takes off what is visible. Biocide kills what is rooted.

Nothing we use will damage sound render, and we will tell you before we start if your render is not sound.

What high pressure costs on each surface

Thin-coat silicone: the coat comes off, the colour goes with it, and the elevation needs re-rendering. That is the worst case and it is not rare.

Monocouche: permanent lance striping, most visible in low winter sun, which is exactly when you notice it.

Pebbledash: stones stripped off leaving bald patches. Painted render: paint off in sheets, and often more comes off over the following winter as water gets into what has been opened up.

Horwich, Egerton and the exposed side

Properties up towards Winter Hill, Belmont, Egerton and the top of Horwich take significantly more driven rain and wind-carried spores than the town centre.

Expect a three year cycle up there rather than four or five, and expect the growth to appear on whichever elevation faces the prevailing weather rather than simply the north one.

Lower and more sheltered parts of Bolton are gentler on render, but the tree cover in places like Bromley Cross brings its own shade and leaf litter.

Before the clean: the survey

Cracks, blown or hollow sections, failed window and door sealant, and the condition of the bellcast bead at the bottom. Those are the routes water takes to get behind render, and cleaning the outside of a wall with water already behind it helps nobody.

We also check whether what looks like failed render is actually a gutter that has been overflowing down the same stretch of wall for two winters. See gutter cleaning in Bolton.

What it costs and how often

Render area, storeys, severity and access. Almost all domestic work in Bolton is done from the ground with poles, so scaffold costs rarely appear.

Fixed price in writing before we start. Three to five years between cleans for most properties. If the roof wants doing as well, one combined visit is cheaper than two.