Exterior cleaning across the North Shore
Exterior cleaning on the North Shore is really two jobs. Along the harbour, the enemy is salt and shade: render and painted weatherboard go grey, metal gutters streak, and the south side of a house in Cremorne or Neutral Bay grows a green film that never quite dries out. In the railway suburbs the canopy does the damage. Terracotta and slate roofs in Lindfield, Killara and Turramurra carry lichen and moss, gutters fill with leaves, bark and gumnuts between visits, and solar panels lose output under a coat of pollen. A good quote starts by naming the surface, because tuckpointed brick, roughcast render, sandstone and fibro each need a different approach.
A vetted tradie treats the method as seriously as the result. Soft washing, which uses low pressure and a cleaning solution, suits painted surfaces, render, Federation brickwork and anything heritage, while higher pressure is kept for concrete and robust paving. Sandstone is washed gently or not at all. Roofs and high gutters bring NSW work-at-heights rules into play, so expect anchor points, edge rails or a platform rather than a ladder balanced on a sloping garden. Anything built before 1990 could carry asbestos cement in its eaves, garage or old roofing; that material is never pressure washed, and the tradie stops and tells you if they suspect it. Wash water ends up on the lawn or in the sewer, captured or diverted, and never in the street gutter.
To get matched, describe the property, the surfaces you want cleaned and anything awkward about access, then add photos. The job reaches vetted exterior cleaners with recent work in your suburb; expect a call with questions or a proposed time to look. Their written quote should spell out, surface by surface, the method, plus the wash water arrangements, the height equipment and whether the gutters, roof or solar panels are included. You pay nothing for the match and can accept or decline any quote. Where a tradie finds something outside their scope, such as roof plumbing repairs or a licensed asbestos removal, we can match that separately.
Exterior cleaning services
House washing by suburb
- CastlecragCastlecrag houses are made of stone, concrete block, timber and glass, and all of it…
- CremorneBrick walk-ups gone grey in the salt air, roughcast bungalows with mould on the south…
- GordonStrata facades and balconies by the station, Federation brick and terracotta in the…
- Hunters HillHunters Hill's stone, slate and shaded gardens call for a soft hand. We match house…
- KillaraHalf-timbered gables, slate and terracotta roofs, rendered walls and long box gutters…
- KirribilliKirribilli's facades face salt, soot and shade. Whether it is a strata block on Carabella…
- Lane CoveFrom post-war brick on the river slopes to rendered apartment blocks near the Plaza, Lane…
- LindfieldTerracotta roofs under lichen, tuckpointed brick, timber verandahs and gutters full of…
- MosmanFederation brick, roughcast render, sandstone bases and harbour salt make Mosman an…
- Neutral BayApartment facades that have gone grey, pebble-dash and shingles that cannot take…
- NorthbridgeShade, leaf litter and harbour damp make Northbridge houses green over faster than most.…
- PymbleBig interwar houses, shaded render and a canopy of gums make exterior cleaning a regular…
- St IvesPost-war brick, tiled roofs and a constant rain of leaves from the national park make…
- TurramurraRain, shade and tall trees make Turramurra the suburb where mould wins if nobody…
- WahroongaWeatherboards, shingles, slate and sandstone need a gentle wash, not a blast. Vetted…
Frequently asked questions
Usually not at high pressure. Tuckpointing, lime mortar, soft brick and old render are damaged by it. A vetted tradie will propose a soft wash with low pressure and a suitable cleaning solution, which lifts grime and mould without cutting into the surface. If the house is heritage-listed or in a conservation area, keep anything that changes its appearance, such as paint stripping, for a conversation with council.
It depends on the trees and the roof, but many Upper North Shore homes need them cleared before the storm season and again after the main leaf drop. Tall eucalypts shed bark and leaves all year rather than in one autumn fall. Ask the tradie about gutter guard if the cycle is wearing you down.
Not into the stormwater drain. NSW pollution law treats detergents, paint flakes or sediment reaching stormwater as an offence, and here stormwater means the harbour. Tradies block or divert drains, direct water onto lawn and garden, or send it to the sewer, with Sydney Water's permission where one is required.
Only with proper fall protection, and often they will not need to. Many roof washes and gutter clears are done from an elevated platform or with poles from the ground. Terracotta and slate are fragile underfoot, so a tradie who walks them does so on a plan, with anchors or edge protection in place.
