Driveway & Patio Cleaning in Stourbridge

Lichen and algae on stone that never sees winter sun

Shade is the whole story here. Large gardens on the green-belt edge are ringed with mature trees, and a terrace that gets an hour of winter sun will carry a lichen crust by March. Steps down to a lower lawn are the dangerous part, and these gardens have far more of them than a city plot does. On drives, moss colonises the joints first and then creeps across the face of the block, while the leaf fall that fills the gutters lands here too and stains pale block and stone with tannin over winter. On the old paths at the villas, joint growth works brick and flag loose over time.

• Shaded stone and block staying damp all year on the green-belt edge, so lichen returns quickly
• Garden steps and lower terraces, where moss is a fall risk rather than a matter of looks
• Leaf tannin staining pale block and natural stone through winter under a heavy canopy
• Old blue brick, quarry tile and stone flag paths at the villas on the Amblecote side
• Big block-paved drives on the Norton and Pedmore stock, with moss and weed growth right through the joints

Rotary for block, a soft wash for natural stone

We identify the surface before anything is switched on, because getting that wrong out here is expensive. Sound modern block paving and concrete take rotary cleaning at a controlled setting. Natural stone, riven flags, old blue brick, quarry tile and anything running against lime mortar or listed fabric are soft-washed instead, so the solution kills the moss and lichen chemically and rinses away without blowing out joints or driving water into old brickwork. Joints are cleared of growth either way, walls and doors are rinsed down afterwards, and displaced silt is swept up and bagged for your bin, not swept into your borders.

• Surface identified first, with soft wash the default on anything old, stone or inside a conservation area
• Rotary cleaning kept to sound modern block and concrete, and no lance anywhere near lime mortar
• Joint growth removed, with re-sanding quoted separately where the joints need it
• Displaced silt bagged for your bin instead of swept into borders or heaped beside the gate

More detail on the equipment and the order of work: how we do patio & driveway cleaning, step by step.

Spring work on shaded stone

Spring is the season, once the winter growth has shown itself and before anyone wants to sit outside. The drives are mostly in Norton, Pedmore and the newer parts of Wollaston, the stone terraces are in the larger gardens backing onto open country, and the old paths and steps belong to the older houses towards Oldswinford and the centre. Stourbridge sits in Dudley borough, and the conservation area designations at Oldswinford and Amblecote are Dudley’s, so where a surface forms part of a listed setting we will tell you what we can and cannot do before quoting for it.

Dwell time, steps and edges on a Stourbridge terrace

Area and condition set the figure, but the method sets the time, and soft-washing is not the quick option. Solution needs dwell time, steps and edges are handwork, and a stone terrace that has carried lichen for years often wants two applications, which we would rather price in than pretend a single pass will manage. On block paving, cleaning takes the kiln-dried sand out of the joints, and re-sanding is quoted separately when the joints need it. These are big surfaces, so a drive and terrace together is usually a full day.

Get a free, no-obligation quote

Yearly for grip on shaded stone and garden steps

Annually for shaded stone terraces, garden steps and anything on the green-belt edge, and that interval is about grip rather than appearance. Block drives in open positions around Norton and Pedmore stretch comfortably to every second year. Spring is the natural slot for both. If you are having the gutters done in late autumn, it is worth pencilling the surfaces in for the following March while we already have the property on file.