Exterior Cleaning in Castle Cary
Castle Cary is one of the prettiest towns we work in and one of the easiest to spoil. The warm, honey-coloured stone that defines it is exactly the kind of surface that a careless clean ruins permanently.
Stone slate roofs are a different job.
Plenty of older Castle Cary property is roofed in stone slate rather than clay or concrete tile, and that changes how a roof clean has to be approached. Stone slates are heavy, they are hung on oak pegs or nails that are often as old as the building, and they are laid in diminishing courses that rely on each other to sit correctly.
Walk it wrong or hit it with pressure and you do not just displace a slate — you can crack one, and matching a replacement to weathered local stone is neither quick nor cheap.
The same restraint applies to the walls. The local limestone weathers to that soft golden tone over decades, and taking the face off with a lance replaces it with a raw, pale, blotchy surface that never quite looks right again.
What we clean in Castle Cary.
Sometimes the answer is to leave it.
Lichen on old stone is not always a problem to be solved. On a sound wall it does no structural harm, and on some buildings it is a large part of the character. Where it is causing an issue — holding water, blocking gutters, making a path slippery — it should go. Where it is not, we will tell you so rather than sell you a clean you do not need.
Questions from Castle Cary.
Can you clean a stone slate roof?
Yes, but it is a different job from tile. Stone slates are heavy, hung on pegs or nails often as old as the building, and laid in diminishing courses that depend on each other. They need to be walked correctly and cleaned gently — a cracked stone slate is very hard to match.
Should I clean lichen off old stone?
Not always. On sound stone, lichen does no structural harm and on some buildings it is much of the character. Where it is holding water, blocking gutters or making a path slippery, it should go. We will give you a straight answer rather than sell you a clean you do not need.
Do you cover the villages around Castle Cary?
Yes — Ansford, North Cadbury, Galhampton and the surrounding villages, with Bruton just east and Somerton to the west.
Castle Cary is around sixteen miles north west of our base near Sturminster Newton.
Ready to see the difference?
Send a photo of the job and we will come back with a clear, fixed price within 24 hours — and an honest view on whether it needs doing at all.