Commercial roof cleaning in Hampshire and the South Coast

Most commercial roofs only get looked at when something goes wrong. By then the moss has usually spread across whole slopes, lichen has rooted into the tile surface and green algae has stained the north-facing side.

We take that growth off with hand tools matched to the roof covering, or with low-pressure steam where that's the gentler option. Once the roof is clean we apply an anti-fungal treatment, which kills the spores the clean can't reach and holds regrowth back for years rather than months.

We've worked on more than 150 commercial properties, and every job starts with a survey so the method suits the roof and the site.

Moss acts like a sponge. It keeps the tiles wet, and in a cold snap that water freezes, expands and cracks them. On a large roof that damage is spread over hundreds of tiles before anyone notices a leak inside.

Loose moss also washes down into gutters and outlets. Blocked rainwater goods on a commercial building can mean water over a shopfront, damp in a stairwell or a ceiling stain in a let unit, and each of those lands on the facilities budget as an urgent repair.

Clearing the growth and treating the roof costs far less than replacing sections of it, and it puts off the point at which a full re-roof has to be planned.

We choose the access after the survey, not before. For low-rise buildings we often use Easi-Dec platforms, which go up quickly, need no fixings into the walls and bridge over canopies or low roofs. Where a roof is higher or harder to reach we bring in a cherry picker or a scaffold tower.

All of our work at height is set up to the Work at Height Regulations, with guardrails and toe boards on every platform.

?To confirm with Blue Shield: Which powered access Blue Shield uses for taller buildings (MEWP types, maximum working height), and whether they arrange full scaffolding when a roof needs it.

?To confirm with Blue Shield: Whether Blue Shield works on fragile roof coverings (fibre cement sheets, roof lights) and flat roofs, and how that work is made safe.

Some buildings need one thorough clean before a sale, a new tenancy or a refurbishment. Others are better served by a schedule: a deep clean first, then a top-up treatment at intervals, so growth never gets the chance to build back up.

How often that top-up falls due depends on the roof, nearby trees and how exposed the site is. As a guide it's every one to four years, and we'll tell you what we expect for your building when we quote.

Where you manage several sites, the roof work can sit alongside gutter clearance on the same visit, so one team and one booking covers both.

?To confirm with Blue Shield: Blue Shield's terms for planned maintenance contracts: contract length, visit frequency options, how pricing works across multiple sites, and whether they offer out-of-hours or weekend working.

Cleaning a heavily covered roof often uncovers slipped or cracked tiles that were hidden under the moss. We point these out, and we can replace small numbers of tiles while we have access.

For property and facilities managers, what was found matters as much as the clean itself. You need something to file, to show a landlord or a client, and to plan the next round of maintenance against.

After the job you get a PDF report of what we did and what we found.

Our access kit suits light commercial and low-rise buildings, and the survey tells us what each roof needs before we commit to a method.

?To confirm with Blue Shield: The types of commercial building Blue Shield has cleaned roofs on (for example offices, retail units, schools, care homes, industrial units, blocks of flats) and the roof coverings involved, plus any case studies or named clients they're happy to publish.