What is it with washing houses?

[Richard Ivy 14]

Hi from the UK,

I have been trying to get up to speed on various aspects of pw, and the thing that strikes me about what you do in the US is wash houses!

As far as I know, this is unheard of here in the uk. You talk about washing houses as a matter of course. Is it really that common to wash the house down?

Where I live the houses were mainly built in the period 1935-1955, say. They are rendered, which I think you call 'stucco', though some are brick. They usually have a red tiled roof, not slate (you see that in Wales, the southwest of the uk and maybe Scotland for all I know).

Any fascia is wooden, and limited to the fascia/soffit gutter area, and sometimes on the gable ends of houses. Not always painted white, often black or brown and does not show dirt so much.

Some houses are 'pebble dashed', with small fragments of stone chucked onto the wet plaster (stucco to you). Where not painted for years, this can look awful, especially under the eaves.

So, 'washing a house' seems a bit alien to me. I'm not knocking it, just pointing out the difference. We do have some houses with cladding, what I think you call 'siding', and that does get terribly mouldy with algae after a while.

Also, you guys climbing around on roofs! Are there no laws there that say what safety equipment you must wear above a certain height? Here, if over 2m there have to be guard rails etc, and to even paint a house now we should really be putting up scaffolding.

Sorry for going on. I'm trying to learn from you people, but I need to clarify a few aspects.

I would also be very interested in the use of chemicals for cleaning. I know of vehicles here being cleaned with chemicals, as you might expect, but houses? I think I know why you use chemicals - they are effective! But the impression we have here is that pressure alone will do ANY job - I have a sneaky feeling that isn't the case!

Anyway, a bit over six hours until new years day here, so all the best for 2006, and, again, sorry for the rambling post!

Richard

(ps, I am yet to start up in pw, as I am window cleaner here in the uk wanting to break into this area - I have the client base, just need to get some knowledge and a bit of experience in the next 6 months before buying a bit of kit to go on with.)

[Jeff 232]

Hey Richard Happy New Yesr

In the southern states especially mold & mildew start growing on many homes with in months and most homeowners clean every 12-18 months. Many of the houses arent really that bad with mold & mildew, althou some are. Its preventive maintenance and helps keep a home clean looking. When I lived up north Boston Ma homes were rarely washed, colder climate less mold & mildew

On wood surfaces that mold & mildew will cause paint to fail quicker and rot. The average home is sold every 4-7 years i think and cleaning also helps resale value. In my area I would say 90% of the homes are cleaned regularly so it makes PWing a good biz to be in. You have to use chem, it cleans better & faster and if you just use pressure the building surfaces can & will be damaged

Maybe you should start advertising the benifits of washing homes, preventive maint, longer life of paint & home material and beautifies homes. You might make a killing being the 1st one to offer this service or people there might think your crazy

Good luck & Happy New Year

Jeff

[PressurePros 249]

Interesting. Richard it's not as common as it may appear by the free banter here. In my area, many customers respond to my advertising by letting me know they never knew such a service was available. You are primed to start offering such a service in your market. I know your standards are different due to the age and architecture. Check with your magistrate ad local laws to see if it's something you can pursue. I think it would be very proitable for you.

[Richard Ivy 14]

Hi folks, good afternoon... well, it is here. Getting ready for a few drinks and Indian take out tonight.

Anyway, yes, I take this on-board about preventative maintenance - many here think that they can get by by doing the minimum to keep their place up together but then moan when the costs of repair kick in.

Suffice to say that there must be niche for deep down, regular proper cleaning of buidlings - houses. Not least for re-sale value: certainly if houses are being re-sold every 7 years (or whatever).

Interesting, Jeff, what you say about homes needing cleaning according to where they are located. The uk is not known for it's glorious weather :lgsideway BUT there are differences between regions/areas.

I was out walking around the local area this afternoon and was interested to see how well the houses looked - not too shagged at all - ///

Just got interupted to get ready to go out for New Years thing, so hope all's well with you and yours.

See you the other side of mid-night!

[tunatussle 14]

Richard,

I just returned from a trip to England/Scotland. I did notice that most of the houses are stucco or brick. In the US many houses are clad with vinyl siding or aluminum siding. These materials do get moldy and need to be washed. I did notice that many homes in Edinburgh and Glasgow were of a material that looked like granet rock. There is a lot of black soot or stain on the buildings that could be removed by power washing, but due to the relative age I would be very hesitant to clean them. Some are hundreds of years old. As for roofing materials we use asphault shingles that are flat and overlap each other. Your roofs mostly were clay tile.

[Tronman 14]

From what I saw in Scotland and Ireland and some in London, I think you would have a great market for stone restoration. There are many historical homes and buildings made of granite, limestone, and other natural stone surfaces that have turned black or dark. You should get in touch with Diedrich technologies. I know they have done some work in England. As stated before, the finess in our business is in the form of proper chemicals in specific applications. This is where some of the larger PW Co's have made thier killings.

I watched a couple of guys in Brussells restoring a cobblestone street about 6 mo ago. When they were done they PW'd the street and the sidewalk with nothing but high pressure water and nearly destroyed the sidewalk. Someone with specific chemical and hot water knowledge could point out these issues and build a decent business.

Good luck.

[Richard Ivy 14]

Yes, in Scotland the materials will be granite - Edinburgh is set on a volcanic plug.

It looks very grey, as does the slate (of course) seen in Wales and Cornwall.

Many of the buildings here in the UK appear grey... it's almost as if we like it that way!

Sure there must be openings. With my own client base there are, and that's where I intend to start. We will see, but I am confident it will be ok.

I must do my homework first.

I think that paving and patios will be the first to seek.

I will report back, may take me a while, on how this goes.

Sounds selfish - I hope I can add something to the knowledge base that is this great forum.

20 minutes to midnight and 2006, so all the best friends, and here's to a fantastic and productive AND enjoyable New Year!

Richard