Roof Cleaning in Godalming

Scott has spent more than 36 years on Surrey roofs, and on a roof cleaning job that length of time mostly shows up as restraint: knowing which tiles will take a scraper, which will snap, and when to leave a lance in the van.

Wey Valley Roofing is family-run and fully insured, the work is done by our own roofers rather than subcontracted strangers, and every job from a soft wash to our new roof replacement services Godalming carries a 25-year written workmanship guarantee handed over before we leave.

Call 07428 300474 any time and Scott will arrange a look at the roof.

Roof cleaning done properly means taking the moss, algae and lichen off the tiles without breaking the tiles or pushing water where it should not go, then clearing what comes down out of the gutters and off the ground.

Roof Moss Removal Methods

On a Victorian roof around Holloway Hill you often find moss sitting two inches deep in the lower courses, holding water against the tile and creeping up under the laps. On the 1960s and 1970s estate roofs in Binscombe and Aarons Hill it is usually concrete interlocking tiles with lichen crusted on the exposed face. Both need moss off. Neither needs a lance.

Why the moss got there

North slopes, overhanging limes and a low riverside setting all keep a roof damp for longer. Godalming sits along the River Wey and the towpath running out to Farncombe is a flat, low route, so plenty of local roofs stay wet well into the morning. Damp tile grows moss. That is the whole mechanism, and it comes back unless the debris is taken away rather than pushed about.

Hand work first, then wash

We scrape by hand with a plastic or timber blade worked down the slope, following the tile profile so the blade never lifts a tail. What comes loose goes into the gutter, out of the gutter and into a bag. After that a low-pressure soft wash lifts the film of algae the scraper leaves behind. Scott has spent more than 36 years on Surrey roofs and the order of those two jobs has not changed.

What we will not do

We do not pressure wash roofs. A pressure washer strips the surface off a concrete tile, drives water under slate and blasts bedding out of ridge and hip mortar. We also do not push roof coatings on anyone. Cleaning is cleaning. Verdict: no lances, no upsell.

Roof Tile Types and Suitable Cleaning

Godalming has Georgian and Victorian stock in and near the centre, Edwardian semis on the south side, then post-war estates at South Hill, Farncombe Hill and Bargate Wood. That is natural slate, clay plain tile, clay pantile and concrete interlocking, sometimes three of them on one street.

Slate and clay

Natural slate is thin at the tail and brittle once it has delaminated. Old clay plain tiles are worse: the nib snaps and you lose the tile. On these we work off the ladder and the roof ladder, scrape gently, and note anything already cracked before we touch it. A slipped slate found during cleaning gets a copper tingle rather than a shrug.

Concrete interlocking

Concrete tiles from the estate build years take a firmer scrape, but the surface coating has often gone already, which is why lichen bites so hard. Soft wash suits them. Wire brushing does not.

Ridges, hips and flashing

Mortar-bedded ridge on a 1970s roof is usually the weak point. If the bedding is hollow or the ridge rocks, cleaning will find it. We say so and price the repointing separately, done to BS 5534 for fixing and wind uplift. Verdict: the roof tells you the method.

Safety, Access and Property Protection for Godalming Homes

Access dictates the job more than the moss does. A terrace off the High Street with a narrow rear yard, a townhouse with a walled front and no scaffold room, a detached house at Frith Hill with a conservatory under the eaves: each one changes how we get up and what has to be covered first.

Ladders, roof ladders and scaffold

We use tied ladders and roof ladders with a ridge hook for straightforward slopes and scaffold where the pitch, height or tile condition makes it the sensible route. Nobody walks directly on old clay plain tile. Our own roofers do the work, not subcontracted strangers, and the firm holds Public Liability Insurance.

Protecting what is underneath

Sheeting goes over conservatory glass, borders and paving before a scraper touches anything. Downpipe outlets get plugged so the moss does not travel into a gully. The town centre has the Grade I listed parish church and the green riverside space around it, so where a roof sits in a prominent spot we keep the site tight and the mess contained.

Working around heritage surroundings

Near the Pepperpot and Godalming Wharf the roofs are old and the views are public. Careful access, no mechanical scrubbing, everything bagged and taken away.

Biocide Treatment and Roof Protection for Godalming Homes

Scraping and soft washing take the visible growth off. Spores stay in the surface of the tile, especially on a shaded slope, so the growth returns. A biocide applied after cleaning slows that down.

How the treatment is applied

It goes on at low pressure once the roof is clear and dry enough to take it, worked from ridge to eaves, then left. There is no rinse and no scrubbing. Results are gradual: remaining algae dies back over following weeks rather than the same afternoon.

Regrowth, honestly

Nobody can guarantee a roof stays clean. Overhanging trees, a north slope and a damp riverside plot will all bring moss back sooner. Most roofs here look right for a good few years, then want a look at again. Cutting back branches helps more than a second treatment.

Ventilation and what the roof needs next

Cleaning sometimes shows the real problem is inside: sarking felt torn at the eaves, no ventilation path, condensation staining the timbers. We work to BS 5250 for ventilation and condensation and will tell you plainly if the roof needs a repair rather than another wash.

Gutters, Debris and Waste Removal

A gutter full of wet moss is a gutter that overflows down the wall. On the Edwardian semis on the south side the fascia behind an overflowing gutter is often soft before anyone notices the roof is green.

Clearing and testing the run

Every gutter, hopper and downpipe gets cleared out and flushed through after the roof is done, then checked for standing water and for falls. Rainwater sizing follows BS EN 12056 if a run turns out to be undersized rather than simply blocked. Cast iron on an older property is checked at the joints while we are there.

Taking the waste away

Moss goes into bags and leaves on our van. Nothing is raked into a border or left in a heap by the gate, and paths get brushed off before we go. This is standard on every roof cleaning job we do.

Across the Wey Valley

If you want roof cleaning in Godalming or roof cleaning in Guildford, we cover the whole area from the same crew and the same guarantee.

Manual Scraping and Soft Washing

The two things that actually shift moss on a Surrey roof are a hand blade and low-pressure water. Everything else is either cosmetic or damaging.

What a hand scrape achieves

Depth. A scraper gets the mat of moss out of the tile laps and off the mortar joints, which is where water is being held. Machines skate over that and leave the roots.

What the soft wash finishes

Colour. The thin black algae film sitting on the face of the tile lifts with low pressure and the right dwell time. The tile surface is left alone.

What you get in writing

A free survey, including a drone view where it helps, then a fixed price in writing with no obligation. If a small repair will sort it we say so instead of selling a new roof. Every job carries the 25-year written workmanship guarantee, handed over before the team leaves, and Scott answers the phone himself day, night or weekend.

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