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Roof cleaning

steve hawing

Member
Messages
103
I am looking at adding this to my list of services due to being asked about a dozen times if I do it, so been researching on the chemiclas and methods and was just looking to see what the rest of you who offer this service how you do it?

Im thinknig a cherry picker is the way to get the height as i doubt insurance would cover walking on the roof? the hypo chemical seems to be the business for a good result although does it remove large compact lumps of moss in between the slates or is this a scraping job to remove it first?

cheers

 
I've never bothered with chemicals, I walk on the roof if it's flat enough, if not I use a cherry picker, although you need fall arrest saftey if you walk on them, so it's worth getting a cherry picker...

No need for chems, i did this with my Loncin 15 lpm in two 4 hour stints (over two days as it was too hot to stay up there any longer) and all the moss shot off easily, I think chemicals have there place, but most of the time there just not needed...

It's great to do, wish I could do more roofs, but don't get asked very often as it's an expensive job!

View attachment 5267

 
I have used a hypo mix on roofs before as I find if applied correctly then rinsed with a hose it cuts the cleaning time down quite a lot

One roof we did when we returned to wash hypo off looked like it had already been cleaned

Also means less pressure and water needed to remove the muck reducing the chance of water in the roof space and removing the granular protective coating on roof tiles

 
I just think 'I'm up here pressure washing anyway, so may as well just get it done with the PW'

But then I'm not one to bother with chemicals, I like to travel light!

 
What do you do with all the muck that comes off the roof? Does it all spray everywhere or does it all go in the gutters and fill them up and you just empty then every couple of hours?

 
Most off the muck goes in gutters but depending on the amount off moss sometimes they fill quickly and you don't want all the extra weight

We remove all pipes from the running outlets and let the water and muck drain into water butts

 
What do you do with all the muck that comes off the roof? Does it all spray everywhere or does it all go in the gutters and fill them up and you just empty then every couple of hours?
It goes all over the place mate, everywhere lol!

I blast the gutters out when finished the roof, then I clean the gutters/fascias and windows after,

Then it's a case of sweeping up the moss and dirt from the customers driveway and garden,

I just make sure I quote well so I'm happy to spend two days at the job, and it's lovely getting one big lump of dosh after the job, rather than chasing tenners..

Would love to do more!

 
It goes all over the place mate, everywhere lol!
I blast the gutters out when finished the roof, then I clean the gutters/fascias and windows after,

Then it's a case of sweeping up the moss and dirt from the customers driveway and garden,

I just make sure I quote well so I'm happy to spend two days at the job, and it's lovely getting one big link of dosh after the job, rather than chasing tenners..

Would love to do more!
Jake sometimes it's worth offering a full exterior explaining the muck off the roof causes a lot off mess so will pressure wash drive walls etc etc and put in the quote easy way to get that bit more work

 
Cheers for the replies lads

One thing I was thinking was it would be a fairly messy job indeed with a good bit of clean up needed afterwards so if the scraping method and chemical method do just as good a job is there any need for the powerwashing bit?

Also the hypo must be some stuff is it? I havent used it but it seems like it just strips anything in its path, is it good on oil on driveways too?

oh and them pics are class mind if i borrow them lol

cheers

 
Jake sometimes it's worth offering a full exterior explaining the muck off the roof causes a lot off mess so will pressure wash drive walls etc etc and put in the quote easy way to get that bit more work
Good idea, I just dong like to charge too much as I really want the work (love pressure washing)

So if I charged a shed load more for driveway cleaning as well, it may put off the customer...

 
Cheers for the replies lads
One thing I was thinking was it would be a fairly messy job indeed with a good bit of clean up needed afterwards so if the scraping method and chemical method do just as good a job is there any need for the powerwashing bit?

Also the hypo must be some stuff is it? I havent used it but it seems like it just strips anything in its path, is it good on oil on driveways too?

oh and them pics are class mind if i borrow them lol

cheers

You can't use the pics as they are copywrited to my website, you'll get in trouble if you them for websites...

Otherwise yeah use them...

 
hypo is very strong stuff all right oil is a different **** all togther very stubborn to come out

do u have anywere up there to get it ?? if u r ever about nutts corner they r 10 quid per drum

 
I be up there the odd time peter its no were near as good as it used to be very little at it the last time i was there, would you reckon the stuff is real though as the fake stuff sold there is unreal

whats a good product for oil then lad?

 
mind alot of people wont want to pay the big money over here to have it done
Yes, but as with all our services Pete, you quote a price for which YOU are happy to do the job, if the customer does not like that price the the customer does not have to have that service.

I walk on the roof if it's flat enough, if not I use a cherry picker, although you need fall arrest saftey if you walk on them, so it's worth getting a cherry picker..
The cherry picker is something I have been considering buying, there are some amazingly cheap ones out there on eBay, (before you all start on about £3 - £4 thousand not being cheap it is all relative, it is a large investment that will pay for itself if you market correctly.) I was originally considering this for some larger commercial guttering jobs we are starting to pick up, however also if you shop around they are not too expensive to hire on day rates, just remember to add it in to the quotation.

Jake do you own one or just day hire when you need to?

reducing the chance of water in the roof space and removing the granular protective coating on roof tiles
This is why I have not yet moved into roof cleaning as I was once told a power washer would strip the protective coatings off of the tiles, is that the case Stevie or is there some 'trick / tip' for ensuring you don't mess up protective coatings?

Lastly, Jake, that is some work to be proud of right there, very impressive!

 
Yes, but as with all our services Pete, you quote a price for which YOU are happy to do the job, if the customer does not like that price the the customer does not have to have that service.


The cherry picker is something I have been considering buying, there are some amazingly cheap ones out there on eBay, (before you all start on about £3 - £4 thousand not being cheap it is all relative, it is a large investment that will pay for itself if you market correctly.) I was originally considering this for some larger commercial guttering jobs we are starting to pick up, however also if you shop around they are not too expensive to hire on day rates, just remember to add it in to the quotation.

Jake do you own one or just day hire when you need to?

This is why I have not yet moved into roof cleaning as I was once told a power washer would strip the protective coatings off of the tiles, is that the case Stevie or is there some 'trick / tip' for ensuring you don't mess up protective coatings?

Lastly, Jake, that is some work to be proud of right there, very impressive!
Green the lowest possible pressure on roofs just to remove the surface muck is what we aim for

Applying chemicals allows us to do just that and aids the cleaning!

I would never pressure wash a new roof just soft wash over week period

Old roofs most of the coating has weathered off hence the grit in gutters

I spoke with a lot of roofers before I started working on them and they all said scraping the roofs is actually worse

 
scrape roof down if moss is bad then spray hypo on wet roof then brush off be like new again

mind alot of people @steve hawing wont want to pay the big money over here to have it done .
Can you use hypo on any roof tile and what is the procedure. Thanks Pete would be most helpful

 
@Green

I was going to buy one with a work mate, as we use them for large commercial jobs as well, this being one of them:View attachment 5285

View attachment 5286

But in the end we worked out that hiring is much cheaper, as even on eBay your looking at £3k minimum for a decent one, and we hire them for just £80 a day - we struck up a good relationship with a tool hire company, and they now give us cheap rates, no hassle and nothing to worry about, we just add the cost onto the job, for the amount we use them, it's silly to buy one, at £80 a time, hiring is better, no maintenance worries, no storage worries etx.. They also have about 6 leisure battery's on them to maintain, as well as the option for petrol driven, so in the end we just thought unless we have loads of work that requires a picker regularly, we can't be bothered with the maintenance of one, and charging all 6 battery's every week lol! The battery back up versions are essential as the engine sometimes doesn't work (cold, issues etc) so having the battery backup is amazing, it is so much quieter when using the battery power as well, much more user friendly

 
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