House washing in Rose Bay
The job in Rose Bay depends on where you are. Along New South Head Road, interwar walk-ups in painted render and face brick collect salt film, traffic grime and black streaks under balconies, and their southern walls stay damp enough for algae. Behind the golf course, Federation and interwar houses have timber eaves, tiled roofs and sandstone bases, while newer rebuilds mix render, glass and stone. All of them take salt from the bay and leaf litter from mature trees. A house wash here is usually a low-pressure soft wash of walls, eaves and gutters, with pressure saved for concrete paths and driveways. Roofs, solar panels and gutters are often done in the same visit.
A vetted tradie starts with the surface. Render, painted brick, sandstone and timber are soft washed with a biodegradable detergent and rinsed at low pressure; high pressure stays off old render and stone. Walls on buildings from before 1990 may hide asbestos cement in eaves or sheds, and a tradie who suspects it stops, tells you and never pressure washes it. Run-off is a serious matter in Rose Bay because the street drains lead to the harbour: detergent and sediment are diverted to lawn or captured, never left to run to the gutter. Upper storeys are reached with water-fed poles or a platform, not a ladder propped against a balcony.
Send through the job with a shot of the worst wall and a note on access, and vetted tradies who cover Rose Bay will contact you. For a strata building, say so; the facade belongs to the owners corporation and the quote can be made out to your strata manager. Expect a written quote that itemises each surface, the technique proposed for it, the plan for wash water, and whether gutters, roof or driveway are included. Every tradie in the network has shown us ID that matches their ABN, proof of public liability cover and photos of recent local jobs. Free for homeowners, and you decide whether to hire.
Exterior cleaning services you can post
Frequently asked questions
Better not. Old render and the paint on it lift under high pressure, and the result is patchy walls and water forced into cracks. A soft wash with detergent and a low-pressure rinse removes the salt and mould without that damage. Tradies matched through us quote the method, so you can see what is proposed before anyone starts.
Frontages that look across the bay pick up salt and grime faster than the sheltered side, so many owners book a wash each year, with a lighter rinse of glass and balustrades in between. Houses on the slopes toward Dover Heights sit in more wind and tend to need the same. Shaded southern walls are usually the first to show mould again.
It must not. Rose Bay's stormwater drains discharge to the harbour, and NSW pollution law prohibits sending detergent, paint flakes or sediment down them. The tradie bunds the low points, sends the water onto turf or a garden bed to soak away, or captures it and disposes of it properly. Ask how they plan to do it; the answer should be specific to your site.
Yes. Your balcony surfaces, the inside of your glass and anything within your lot are yours to book. The exterior of the building and the outside faces of windows are usually common property, so a full facade wash is the owners corporation's call. Many pre-sale jobs here combine a balcony clean, glass inside and out where it can be reached safely, and the entry path.
