House Washing — St Kilda Road, St Kilda

The townhouse sits directly on St Kilda Road, so traffic film and airborne grime settle continuously on the render, glass and balcony tiling. On a road-facing elevation this build-up is not just cosmetic: the film holds moisture against the render and darkens it unevenly, while the polycarbonate roof loses light transmission as the deposit thickens. Gutters had also filled, so runoff from heavy rain could back up rather than clear through the outlets.

Work was carried out from rope access, which allowed the polycarbonate roof, the upper render and the windows to be reached without scaffolding or dragging ladders across finished surfaces. Soft washing was used on the render rather than high pressure, so the coating and the sealed joints were not driven open. Gutters were cleared and outlets checked separately, and the balcony tiling was washed last so dirt from above was not rinsed back down onto clean surfaces.

• Polycarbonate roof cleaned via rope access
• Gutters cleared and outlets checked
• Render walls soft washed
• Windows cleaned
• Balcony tiling cleaned

• Road grime removed from render, glass and balcony tiling
• Polycarbonate roof clear again, letting light through
• Gutters draining freely through the outlets