A short drive, not a special trip
Scalloway is close enough to Lerwick that a return visit is not a logistical event. That is the difference between a firm that has to get it right first time and one that can put something right.
Scalloway, Shetland
Roof Cleaning & PropertyMaintenance in ScallowayDone to a Standard
Scalloway sits right on the water, and the properties show it. We clean roofs and walls and carry out the repairs behind them, with a team based a short drive away in Lerwick.
17 years' property experience · Lerwick-based team · Free, no-obligation estimate
17 years' experience
In Shetland property
Shetland coverage
Lerwick-based team
Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm
Local office hours
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Local Relevance
Working in Scalloway
Scalloway is a short drive from our Lerwick office across the Scord, which makes it one of the most straightforward places on the Shetland mainland for us to quote, work and return to if needed.
It is also one of the most exposed. Houses look directly onto the harbour and the west-facing water, and salt spray does not respect a paint finish. Properties along the waterfront and up the brae behind it weather noticeably faster than sheltered inland housing, and cleaning intervals reflect that.
The village mixes old and new in a small area: historic stone buildings near the castle and the old harbour, terraced and semi-detached housing through the village, and newer builds on the edges. Add the marina, the boatyards and the college, and there is a working, commercial side to Scalloway property as well as a residential one.
Much of our work here is the same pattern: a roof that has gone green on the seaward side, gutters full of moss washed down off that roof, and render or paintwork that has been dulled by salt rather than dirt. Cleaned properly and in the right order, the whole property looks and performs better, and the underlying fabric stops being quietly eroded.
Getting to Scalloway
We are based at 68 Commercial Street in Lerwick, so Scalloway is served directly by our own team rather than by a subcontractor brought in from elsewhere. The village is a short drive from Lerwick over the Scord, so a quoting visit, the work and any return visit are all easy to arrange on the same road.
We do not publish a guaranteed response time, because we would rather give you a real date than a marketing promise. Call 01595 747045 during office hours and we will tell you honestly when we can be at the property, and whether the work is weather-dependent.
Property types we work on in Scalloway
- Historic stone buildings near the castle and old harbour
- Waterfront housing exposed directly to salt spray
- Terraced and semi-detached housing through the village
- Newer builds on the edges of Scalloway
- Marina, boatyard and commercial premises
- Let properties and second homes
What we are usually called for here
- Seaward-facing roofs cleared of moss and lichen
- Salt-dulled render and paintwork softwashed
- Gutters cleared of washed-down roof debris
- Exterior timber repaired before decay spreads
- Roof repairs after westerly gales
- Drives and paths cleaned of algae and slip risk
Services Here
Services available in Scalloway
Every service below is carried out by our own team. Follow any of them for the full detail on methods, process and cost.
Roof Cleaning in Scalloway
Moss and lichen removed from Scalloway roofs, which green up fast on the seaward side.
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Roof Coating in Scalloway
Protective coating after cleaning, useful where salt exposure is constant.
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Gutter Cleaning in Scalloway
Gutters cleared of the moss and grit that washes down off exposed Scalloway roofs.
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Softwashing in Scalloway
Low-pressure cleaning for salt-dulled render, cladding and paintwork along the waterfront.
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Driveway Cleaning in Scalloway
Algae and slip risk removed from drives, paths and steps.
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Joinery in Scalloway
Repairs to doors, frames and external timber that salt air has worked on.
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Insulation in Scalloway
Insulation work as part of wider improvement projects, once damp is resolved.
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Roofing in Scalloway
Roofing repairs after westerly gales and for coverings past cleaning.
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Woodworm Treatment in Scalloway
Treatment of affected timber in older Scalloway properties.
View serviceWhy Us
Why property owners in Scalloway call us
We know what salt does here
Waterfront property weathers differently from inland property. We price and specify for the position the building is actually in, not for an average.
Cleaning and repairs from one team
If cleaning a Scalloway roof reveals slipped slates or rotten sarking, our own maintenance team can carry out the repair rather than handing you a phone number.
Free estimates, honest pricing
We do not publish fixed prices: exposure, access and condition vary too much. We look, we price, and the estimate costs nothing.
We do not publish job counts, response-time guarantees, accreditations or warranty claims for Scalloway, because we have not been given verified figures to publish and will not invent them. What we can tell you is documented above: where we are based, how long David Arthur has worked in Shetland property, that the work is done by our own team, and that the estimate is free.
Local Conditions
The problems Scalloway property actually has
Salt spray on a west-facing harbour
Scalloway's position means salt arrives with the weather rather than occasionally. Salt is hygroscopic, it holds moisture, so a salted wall or roof stays damp for longer after rain, which is precisely the condition organic growth needs.
The practical effect is that cleaning intervals here are shorter than a few miles inland, and that coatings and paint finishes fail earlier if they were not right for the exposure. It is not neglect; it is position, and it is worth planning for rather than reacting to.
Older stone and lime near the old harbour
The historic buildings around the castle and the old harbour were built to breathe. Lime harling and older stonework let moisture move out of the wall, and modern impermeable coatings or high-pressure cleaning interfere with that.
Getting it wrong traps water in the wall, which shows up as internal damp, salt blooming and frost damage to the stone face. We treat those walls as what they are rather than as a surface to be blasted clean.
Gutters that fill from above
Where the roof carries moss, the gutter carries what comes off the roof. In Scalloway that debris is constantly topped up, so a gutter cleared without dealing with the roof is a temporary result.
We usually recommend doing the roof and the gutters together. The roof stops feeding the gutter, the gutter stays clear for longer, and you are not paying twice in one year for the same problem.
Exposed timber and fixings
Salt air is hard on external timber and harder on fixings. Nails and screws corrode, joints open, and water gets into the end grain where it does the most damage.
Caught early, this is a joinery repair measured in hours. Left, it becomes a frame replacement with wall repair around it, usually discovered during a winter when nobody wants to be working outside.
Our Process
How a Scalloway job runs from first call to finished work
Step 01
Tell us about the property
Call or send the form with the property type, its location and what needs doing. It takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
Step 02
We assess and price it
We look at the roof, walls, gutters or grounds, work out the right method for that building, and give you a clear price for the work.
Step 03
The work gets done
Our own team carries out the cleaning or maintenance work, tidies up, and tells you plainly about anything else we found while we were there.
Coverage
Scalloway and the areas around it
We cover the Shetland Islands and Orkney from our office at 68 Commercial Street, Lerwick. If you are near Scalloway, we almost certainly cover you too, ask.
Full service detail is on our cleaning & property maintenance services pages, and you can reach us any time through the estimate form below.
Questions
Scalloway: the things people ask first
Do you serve Scalloway?
Yes. Scalloway is a short drive from our Lerwick base and is one of the areas we cover regularly for both cleaning and maintenance work.
How quickly can you reach Scalloway?
Travel time from Lerwick is short, so availability depends on our workload and the weather rather than the distance. We do not publish a guaranteed response time: call 01595 747045 and we will give you an honest date.
What does roof cleaning cost in Scalloway?
There is no fixed price. Roof size, pitch, covering, the amount of growth and access all affect it. We visit, look properly and give you a clear figure before anything starts. The estimate is free.
Is there emergency cover in Scalloway?
We work Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm and do not advertise an out-of-hours emergency service. For urgent damage, call during office hours and we will tell you what we can do and when.
My house is right on the water: does that change the work?
It changes the specification and the expected intervals. Salt exposure keeps surfaces damp, so growth returns faster and coatings work harder. We price for the actual exposure of the property rather than a village average.
Can you clean an older stone or lime-harled building?
Yes, at low pressure and with methods suited to a breathable wall. We will not jet wash lime harling or apply an impermeable coating to a wall that needs to breathe.
Do you work on boatyard or marina buildings?
Yes. Commercial and working buildings get the same services, and in Scalloway they often need cleaning more frequently because of their position.
Should the roof and gutters be done at the same time?
Usually, yes. Cleaning the gutters without cleaning the roof above them means the roof keeps refilling them. Doing both together makes the result last considerably longer.
Do you also do the repairs?
Yes: joinery, roofing, insulation and woodworm treatment are carried out by our own maintenance team, so one visit can deal with both the cleaning and what the cleaning uncovers.
Free Estimate
Get a free estimate for your Scalloway property
Send us the details or call David directly. We will look at the roof, walls or repair work and come back with a clear price and a date that accounts for the weather.
property@arthurandsimpson.com
68 Commercial Street, Lerwick, Shetland ZE2 9EZ
Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm · Closed Sat & Sun
17 years' property experience · Lerwick-based team · Free, no-obligation estimates