Roof Cleaning & PropertyMaintenance in StromnessWithout Damaging the Building

Traditional Stromness buildings manage moisture by letting it move through the fabric and evaporate. Sealing that wall with a modern impermeable coating traps water inside the stone, where it causes internal damp and frost damage to the face.

High-pressure washing does a related kind of harm: it erodes lime, opens joints and forces water deep into the wall. Both mistakes are common and both are expensive to reverse, which is why our default here is the gentlest method that will actually work.

Buildings sitting on the water take salt directly. Salt holds moisture, so elevations stay damp, paint fails early and organic growth re-establishes faster than the same building would inland.

That does not mean constant work. It means realistic intervals and the right products, and an honest conversation about how long a finish will last in that position rather than a quote based on mainland assumptions.

Rainwater on tall, tightly packed buildings has to be collected and taken away accurately. Hoppers, shared downpipes and gutters over closes are easy to neglect because they are awkward to reach, and a blockage discharges water down a stone wall for months.

On a tall building the resulting damp appears a long way from its cause, which is why owners often chase the wrong problem. Clearing and checking the rainwater goods first is the cheapest diagnostic there is.

Two hundred years of occupancy means most of these buildings have had water in them at some point. Wood-boring beetle and decay are both common in that kind of timber, and neither announces itself early.

We establish whether an infestation is active before treating, deal with the moisture source, then treat and repair the affected timber. Treating timber that is still getting wet is money spent twice.