Bywater

Exterior cleaning in Bywater

Bywater is painted Creole cottages and shotguns packed tight together, often with only a few feet between buildings and very little setback from the street. The paint is the surface, and much of it is layered and older. Colour is part of the neighborhood identity here, and aggressive washing takes it off in sheets rather than cleaning it.

What we focus on here

• Soft washing for painted cottages and shotguns
• Porches, steps, and trim detail
• Narrow side alleys and shared walls
• Gutter and window cleaning

Close quarters and neighbouring walls

The tight lots change the work more than the buildings do. Overspray reaches a neighbour, runoff has nowhere obvious to go, and there is rarely room to stand back. We work at low pressure with the solution doing the cleaning, and we plan where the water ends up before starting rather than after.

Colour is the thing being protected

Painted colour is part of what Bywater is, and it is the surface most easily lost. Layered older paint has weak bonds between coats, and pressure finds them and lifts paint in sheets rather than cleaning it. On a repainted cottage the newest coat may be sound while what is underneath is not, so the failure appears suddenly and in patches.

The pressure is therefore set by the paint rather than by the dirt, and the cleaning solution does the work. Where paint is already failing we say so before starting, because a wash reveals it rather than causes it and it is better to know which you are dealing with.

Where the water ends up

On lots this tight the runoff plan matters as much as the method. A neighbouring wall is often a few feet away, side alleys are narrow enough that there is nowhere to stand back to, and there is frequently no drainage worth the name between buildings. We work out where overspray and rinse water will go before the first application, and keep both off the neighbour rather than apologising afterwards.