It is the first thing people ask, and fairly. Homes here face the harbour and the open sea, and a lot of the slate is decades old. Here is exactly what goes on your roof, and why it comes off looking better without being worn out to get there.
You should know how your house is being treated before anyone starts.
Whatever goes on the roof comes down off it, so we deal with that first. Anything planted below the gutter line gets wet down or sheeted before we start, and we keep well back from ponds and open water. When we are finished we will tell you how long to keep children and pets off the ground underneath. Nothing gets mixed with anything else while we are on site. It is your garden as much as your roof, and we leave it the way we found it.
A softwashed roof does not change overnight. It keeps clearing for months, and it stays right far longer.
Heavy moss comes off by hand, so that goes straight away. The staining stays put for now, because the treatment has only just gone on. We would rather tell you that in advance than have you wondering on the day. What you are looking at is a roof with the treatment already working on it.
The growth dies back and rain and wind carry it away gradually. There is no single day it looks finished. You notice one morning that it has gone. That slow finish is the whole point. Nothing was stripped off the tile to get there, so the roof is sound underneath and it holds its look far longer than a quick job ever does.
The roof is the easy part. Run-off is where care shows.
Before anything goes on, we walk the run-off line. Where the gutters discharge, what is planted underneath, whether there is a pond, a wellhead or a rainwater butt to isolate.
We put it on diluted and at low pressure, so it lands where we aim it rather than drifting across the garden. On a windy day at the strand, we wait.
Planting rinsed down, gutters cleared, and the ground left to dry before anyone is back on it. We tell you when that is rather than leaving you guessing.
Worth knowing whoever you end up using.
Ask each of them what they put on the roof and at what pressure. The answers vary more than the prices do. Our guide sets out what to ask and what should give you pause.
The Roof Check walks you through what to look for from the ground in about a minute, and it costs nothing to run.
We cover Rosslare Strand and Kilrane, out to the harbour and the strand itself, where roofs take the weather off the open sea head-on.
Render, pebble dash and boundary walls take the same treatment at the same dilution. They face the sea and carry the same growth.
Ours, and anyone else you are getting a price from.
It is, when the method matches the roof. Original slate needs a gentler approach than concrete tile. We look at age, condition, fixings and access before recommending anything, and we say so where a roof is better left alone.
Occasionally, and we will say so. Where tiles are cracked or slipped, cleaning shows up problems rather than solving them, and you want a roofer before a cleaner. We would rather point you there and keep your number for when the roof is sound than take work that leaves you no better off.
It is handled so that it is. Planting below the gutter line is wet down or sheeted before anything is applied, we stay well clear of ponds and open water, and before we leave you are told how long to keep children and pets off the ground underneath. It is your garden as much as your roof.
One day covers the great majority of houses. Deep moss stretches it, treatment on its own shortens it. Either way you get an honest window rather than an optimistic one, and we work to it.
Dwell times, what suits tile against slate, and how we decide between clearing and treating, all of it on the main roof cleaning page.
Including what we put on the roof. We will tell you.
Phone: 089-949-1525
WhatsApp: Send a couple of photos
Email: info@eireshine.ie
Send photos and we will tell you straight whether it is sound enough to treat, or whether you want a roofer before a cleaner.
Front and rear photos, and tell us the roof's age if you know it.
