Roof Cleaning in Guildford

Scott has spent more than 36 years on Surrey roofs, and that experience is exactly why we soft wash and hand scrape Guildford roofs rather than blasting them clean.

Family-run, fully insured with Public Liability cover, every job backed by a 25-year written workmanship guarantee, and we handle fascias, soffits & cladding in Guildford alongside cleaning when the boards need attention too.

Ring 07428 300474 any time and Scott will arrange a free roof survey.

Roof cleaning here means moss and lichen taken off by hand and a low-pressure soft wash, never a pressure washer. That combination lifts the growth without stripping the surface off your tiles.

Roof Moss Removal Methods

Moss holds water against tiles and slates, and it washes down into gutters until the outlets block. On Guildford's older pitched roofs that's usually the first sign, water spilling over the front of the gutter in heavy rain. We've seen it plenty on the Victorian terraces around Charlotteville, where the pitches are steep and the north slope never really dries out.

Scott has spent more than 36 years on Surrey roofs, and the method hasn't changed much because it doesn't need to. You take the growth off gently, you clear what falls, and you leave the covering intact. Anything faster than that costs you tiles.

Hand scraping

Moss sits on the surface and in the tile laps. It comes off with hand tools worked down the slope, so nothing is driven up under the courses. It's slow, it's quiet, and it doesn't disturb the nibs or the fixings underneath.

Low-pressure soft wash

After scraping, a soft wash carries off the film of algae and the fine residue left in the tile grain. The pressure is low by design. Concrete tiles lose their surface coating under a jet lance, and old clay and slate can be cracked outright, which is why we don't pressure wash roofs.

What we don't do

We don't hard sell roof coatings on the back of a clean. If the covering is sound, it's sound, and a coating won't add to that. If it isn't sound, you need repairs, and we'll tell you that instead.

Biocide Treatment and Roof Protection

Once the roof is clear, a biocide treatment slows the regrowth of spores left in the surface. It works over weeks rather than on the day, so the roof keeps improving after we've gone. Nobody can promise moss never comes back. What we can say is that a treated roof stays clear far longer than one that's only been scraped.

The protective part matters more than the look. Standing moss keeps the covering damp, and damp coverings shed frost damage badly. Clearing it is maintenance, and we treat it that way when we survey.

Manual Scraping and Soft Washing in Guildford

Are you wondering whether your kind of house is the sort we work on? Almost certainly yes, because Guildford's housing stock is exactly the mix we handle week in, week out.

Victorian and Edwardian houses

The town centre is medieval at its core with a large amount of nineteenth-century and Edwardian housing around it. Those roofs are natural slate or old clay, often with lead soakers and valleys. On streets like these, near Pewley Hill and up towards Pewley Down, we work off scaffold or ladders with standoffs and keep boots off the slate wherever we can.

Onslow Village and planned suburbs

Onslow Village and Charlotteville, developed in 1862 as one of Britain's first planned suburbs, both have long uniform runs of roof. That's helpful. We can plan access once and work along the terrace without dragging kit through every garden.

Postwar and modern estates

Out at Merrow, Burpham, Stoughton and Bellfields the coverings are mostly interlocking concrete tiles. They collect moss heavily and they're the ones most often ruined by pressure washing. Hand scraping plus a soft wash suits them best.

Gutters, Debris and Waste Removal

A clean isn't finished until the debris is off the property. Moss that's been scraped loose goes somewhere, and left alone it goes straight into the gutters and down the hoppers.

• Gutters cleared and flushed after the roof work, not before
• Downpipes and outlets checked for moss packed in the bends
• Valleys and behind chimney flashings cleared of build-up
• Debris bagged and taken away, paths and borders left as we found them
• Any cracked tiles or lifted flashings noted and reported to you

Near the River Wey and around Dapdune Wharf the settings are public-facing, so we keep sheeting tidy and clear up as we go. Nobody wants a heap of wet moss sitting on a riverside path.

You'll get a free survey first, including a drone view where it helps, then an honest fixed price in writing with no obligation. If a smaller job will do, we'll say so. Every job carries our 25-year written workmanship guarantee, handed over before we leave, and we're fully insured with Public Liability cover. Call and a real person answers, day, night or weekend.

Common Questions About Roof Cleaning in Guildford