Roof cleaning and moss removal in Oakham

Moss holds water against a roof, breaks off in lumps that block gutters and outlets, and in a hard frost the water it holds expands inside the surface it is sitting on. We clear moss from roofs across Oakham and the Rutland villages, and clear the gutters at the same time.

Never with a pressure washer

A lance takes moss off quickly and takes the surface with it. On a concrete tile that surface is the weatherproofing. On ironstone, limestone or an old stone slate it is worse, because you are blasting a soft porous material that has been weathering gently for centuries. We remove moss by hand with scrapers and brushes, and on a period roof we would rather turn the work down than damage it.

Rutland Water and damp air

A large body of water in the middle of a small county changes the air around it. Villages near Rutland Water sit in damper air for more of the year, and damp is exactly what moss wants. Add north-facing slopes, mature trees and the porous stone common here and it is no surprise how quickly roofs green over.

What shows up once it is off

Moss hides cracked and slipped tiles, ridge pointing that has failed and lead that has lifted. Clearing it doubles as a survey: you get photographs of the roof as it really is, and a plain list of anything that wants attention, with no obligation to have any of it done by us.

The job itself

Gutters, downpipes and outlets cleared as part of the work and checked that they run, because there is little sense clearing a roof and leaving the moss in the gutter. The work is insured, and anything needing a roofer rather than a brush you will hear about plainly and see photographed.