Improve the curb appeal of the house

Over time organic debris and environmental stuff just sticks to the roof. This material creates a substrate for stuff to grow on the roof. Small particles of leaves hang on. Oak tree seeds have pieces that can really cling to the grit on a roof. I have a patch of the oak tree catkins (the flower parts) still hanging on the roof and the thunderstorms have not washed them off. So the point is organic stuff does accumulate and stick to a roof.

In this case a customer called to clean the roof so that the house can be put on the market to sell it. Improving the curb appeal of the house so that people would consider the house when they stop by the house or see pictures of the house online. Certainly it can be brightened up with the right roof cleaning process.

When I initially looked at the house there also was a dark mold at the steps on the white trim around the door. So I agreed to clean that section as I was doing the roof. Certainly this would look better since it is the main entry way.

As soon as I started to clean the front of the house I realized it would be easier to clean the steps than protect them from the cleaner so the steps would not be multi colored. The house wash being used so close to the steps made it just easier to clean then so the project changed to roof and stoop cleaning. The big factor was knowing the house may go on the market it would be better to have clean steps. So here are some pictures in progress.

As the cleaner was fully applied you could see through it and see that the steps were getting cleaner

 

 

 

 

 

The final picture here of the steps being cleaned shows a much better look with almost no discoloration left, so the entrance looks fresh and clean.

Click on the image to see the bigger picture for more detail of the moss on the roofThe roof cleaning part of the project was to clean off the roof both chemically and physically. Initially in areas with moss and lose material the roof was brushed to get off anything that would come off with out scrubbing. Here are some before shots to show the moss particularly on the roof of the garage.

The Roof Cleaning

This picture shows the project in progress in actually cleaning the roof. This view is of the treatment starting at the top with a view of how the streaking looks on the house and how the cleaning looks initially.

Cleaned roof prior to rain

The roof has been cleaned in this picture, but it is not completely clean. It does not show up as well in the picture but a dirty, muddy look is still on the roof. What was dark blank has been killed and turns a dull brown. The cleaner is left on the roof so it will do the maximum work possible. Over time it is no longer active from drying out and sunlight exposure. The next couple or rain storms finishes the work of cleaning the surface of any remaining dead organic material.

Cleaned Roof

Final pictures of the roof after a couple of rains. The washing effect of rain helps clear of the dead material still on the roof. The need for power washing is avoided and the roof granules are not loosened so they remain to protect the roofing system and looking good again. This process gets the growth back under control so the roof will look good for a number of years to come.

Meriden CT Trees sprouting in gutters

Trees near the house have dropped a whole lot of helicopter type seeds on the roof. As they are blown around the roof a whole bunch have found their way to the gutters. As they accumulate they block off the downspouts and hold water in the gutter. So the project was to clean the gutters and downspouts so the over flows would stop. In a additon getting them to drain would get rid of the mosquito larva that are also growing in the gutters

Silver Maple tree seeds

This first picture is a look at the situation prior to cleaning. There are seeds in the one gutter and trees sprouting in the other gutter. Branches have fallen on the roof so all this needs to be cleaned up. So the first step was to go around the whole roof with a blower and clear all the debris off the roof so nothing more from the roof will go into the gutters after they are cleaned. Notice in the background the other gutter has tree seedlings sprouting in them since water is being held in them.

Clogged Downspout

Most annoying is the gutter that has the worst clog is right over the back door. To clear it the rain water will flow into the system better. Looking down into the gutters you can see the seeds sprouting but also of importance are the little things swimming around that look like very little tadpoles. They actually are mosquito larva. So getting rid of the water will also help keep the yard more livable.

Front of the House

Here at the front of the house the gutters are also clogged and on the lower one you can see the water being retained and the seeds starting to germinate. The lose seeds scattered on the roof are all to be cleaned off with a blower so the entire roof area is clean at the end of the project so no other stuff currently on the roof comes down to start filling the gutters again. The seeds germinating is proof of moisture being in the gutters most of the time.

Short Video of Mosquito Larva in gutter

It is very short but here is a video clip looking down into the clogged gutters. If you look closely some of the mosquito larva are squiggling around and developing in the gutters. Especially at the end you can see them. They look like little tad poles. But most of all the seeds that have blocked the gutter downspout now are getting watered so they can start to grow. With the blockage removed the gutters will be dry and the problem goes away. At the start of the video the bubbling look in the water is the larva swimming to the surface.

Here is the last shot of the front gutter over the back door showing the seeds and stuff just starting to grow and block everything up even more. So this is a view of what can happen up in the gutters that a lot of people do not see all the time. The stuff swimming around still sort of impresses me.

Power washing for curb appeal to sell a house

Cleaning two sides of the house so it would look better for sale with the right process can leave the siding fresh and clean of dirt, dust, grime and mold on the siding. This biggest problem area was around the side entrance that is under cover and never washed off by rain.

Getting a good photograph of the dirt is sort of hard to do from a distance. So a close up shows the detail but not where it is located on the building. With this first shot the specs and stuff that clings to the siding is visible prior to cleaning

Shadded areas have the most mold

Behind the rhododendrons on the siding and around the white window trim mold has accumulated and leaves a real dinging look. To clean it the power washing solution will certainly kill the mold but some times a brown film still sticks to the house. So instead of using the pressure of the water to blow it off the house a soft brush on a pole is better to clean it off and is both effective and easier on the house.

The trim around the windows being white espcially show mold and the accumulation of dirt

Pictures of the end result of the cleaning

I had to grab this shot right after spraying the house the trim did need a little brushing but it brightenes up right before your eyes before getting a chance to rinse. Progess is great when you see it in action.

Behind the plants doing the cleaning just required shooting in from the side to coat the siding with the cleaner. With some contact time and a light brushing you can see the siding is still wet but now it is clean.

Next to the door was the area to focus on to make sure it comes clean. The dirt was not really bonded to the siding so with a quality surfactant in the house wash this area came clean. Compair this shot to the first one on the page and you can see that it is cleaned and looking good.

So I combined the before and after picture to create a sing shot to show the before and after. It is not real proffesional in the way the parts line up but you should be able to get the idea from this.

Final Shot for Finished Power Washing Looks Good

Both sides of the side entrance are now clean and looks fresh the way it should. So when a person comes to look at the house the feel good about the property not wondering what it will take to clean it up.

Tree seeds and leaves had accumulated in the gutters to block the down spouts. This has resulted in water being retained in the gutters. With it being wet there was enough for the weed and tree seeds to germinate. The result is a green topping on the edge of the roof, but the real problem is the rain water is blocked from going into the gutter system so it over flows when it rains hard.

The front gutters have an impressive crop of plants growing in the gutters. One close to the ladder is pretty high and when pulled out it helps pull out a good section of debris and leaves the gutter clean for a pretty good section. So this is a before picture to show what the situation is that I am there to solve.

 

 

 

 

Debris from cleaning the gutters

Just the act of cleaning the gutters some times just makes a mess. Here in the first picture you can see dirt and leaves that have fallen on the roof as the gutters are cleaned. The same sortof thing happens on the ground. So in this case a blower is used to get everything off the roof and fully clean out anything small still in the gutter trough. Then when the work is done up on the roof another pass with the blower is used to clean up stuff on the ground that has fallen.

The last picture shows the gutters cleaned, roof cleaned off and end of the gutter reattached. The gutter spikes had come lose from the facia and was starting to hand off the roof. You can see it in one of the first pictures but now it is reattached and secure.