Nottinghamshire's damp winters and north-facing pitches grow moss extremely well. A thick covering holds water against the tiles, blocks gutters every time it rains, and in a hard frost the trapped water expands and breaks up the surface of concrete tiles. Removing it is worth doing — but how it is removed matters enormously, and a great deal of the roof damage we are called out to repair was caused by somebody cleaning it.
Why we do not pressure wash roofs
A high-pressure lance will strip moss off a concrete tile in seconds, along with the protective granular surface that was keeping water out of the tile. Once that surface has gone the tile absorbs water, weathers faster and grows moss back more readily than it did before. Pressure washing also forces water up under the laps and into the roof space, and shifts loose slates and ridge tiles. It looks dramatic and gets a fast result, which is why so many outfits sell it — but it shortens the life of the roof.
How we do it instead
Heavy moss is removed by hand with a scraper, working from a safe access platform, with the gutters protected and cleared afterwards. What remains is treated with a biocide softwash that kills the spores rather than just removing the visible growth, then left to weather off naturally over the following weeks. It is slower and less instantly dramatic than blasting, and it leaves the tile surface intact and the regrowth far slower. Where slipped or broken tiles turn up under the moss — and they usually do — we tell you and price the repair separately rather than quietly covering them back up.
Keeping it off
Nothing keeps a British roof permanently moss-free, but a few things help a great deal. Overhanging branches that keep a pitch permanently shaded and damp are worth cutting back. A copper or zinc strip fitted at the ridge releases trace ions each time it rains, which inhibits growth down the slope below it. And keeping the gutters clear stops the debris and spores washing back up onto the lower courses. A treatment every three to five years is realistic for most roofs in this area.
What is included
- Hand scraping — no high-pressure lances on tiles or slates
- Biocide softwash treatment to kill spores at the root
- Gutters and downpipes cleared as part of the job
- Broken and slipped tiles reported, not covered up
- Copper or zinc ridge strips to slow regrowth
- Safe access equipment on every job
What it costs, roughly
We quote a fixed price in writing after looking at the job, because roofs vary far more than price lists admit. That said, people reasonably want a ballpark before they pick up the phone, so our roofing price guide sets out real indicative figures for every service we offer, including this one. No registration, no "prices from" that nobody has ever actually paid.