Pressure Washing in Crows Nest

The old stone is at the front. Conservation statements for the Holtermann Estate describe houses on the high side of the street set on sandstone plinths, with retaining walls to the footpath and gardens following the natural fall down to a set of steps. Sandstone that sits in the shade of a street tree and a garden stays damp after rain, so moss and algae have an easy time on treads and at the base of walls. Fences often add sandstone piers or rusticated base walls, which can be cleaned at the same time.

The cars are at the back. Those same controls place car accommodation off the rear lanes, and the lanes are lined with fences, carports and garages. That can give a cottage a small concrete or paved pad with oil drips and tyre marks, sometimes with limited room to manoeuvre, so let us know how equipment can reach it.

The shopping strip has its own conditions. Outdoor dining is formalised on Willoughby Road and on Burlington, Ernest and Holtermann Streets, and London Planes drop leaf over parts of the strip. Public footpaths are council's responsibility, but rear yards, private forecourts and entries are the owner's concern and can collect the spills and grime of a busy dining district.

Around the flat blocks, it is mostly common property: driveways, bin areas and paths used by every resident.

Green sandstone is a slip hazard, and in a street of stepped front gardens that is the first reason to clean it. Clearing the growth from treads and paths gives older residents, tenants and delivery drivers a surer footing. On common property it also takes a nagging item off the strata committee's list.

Stone is worth looking after for its own sake. Sandstone plinths and retaining walls are recognised elements of these streetscapes, and the natural colour can be hiding under the algae. Because the pressure is matched to the surface, an old wall is not given the treatment you would use on a concrete slab.

A clean rear pad changes the way a property presents from the lane, which is the side anyone parking there uses every day. Lifting oil and tyre marks makes a parking space look maintained, and it is a sensible step before a sale or between tenants in a suburb with so many rented homes.

Thorough cleaning is also the right preparation for sealing. UEC does not seal surfaces itself, but pavers and stone left clean give your sealing contractor a sound start. Jobs are quoted on area, surface type and how much build-up there is, and before-and-after photos give owners, agents and shopkeepers a dated record of the result.