Sandstone cleaning and sealing in Paddington

On a Paddington terrace the sandstone work usually falls into three zones. At the front, the steps and sills face the street and collect grime, mould and leaf stains, and often show the marks of an earlier high-pressure clean. Low on the walls, the footings carry rising moisture and salt bloom. At the back, the courtyard is shaded and damp, with walls and paving coated in black mould and green algae. Each zone has a different cause, and treating the courtyard like the front steps, or sealing footings that need to breathe, can make things worse. We explain the three zones on site and price them separately, so you can decide where to start.

Our technicians treat mould and algae with a stone-safe biocide and leave it long enough to kill the growth properly, then rinse at low pressure. Front steps are cleaned with products matched to the grime, and old acid stains or rust are drawn out with poultices. On footings, loose salts are brushed off dry before any water goes near them, and we look for the source of the moisture: a garden bed against the wall, a blocked drain, a broken downpipe. Every litre of run-off is captured, both on the street and in the courtyard, and the hallway route through the house is protected from start to finish.

Front steps that stay dry from beneath suit a penetrating sealer, which helps them resist stains without changing their look. Courtyard paving can benefit too, once the mould is cleared and the drainage sorted, because sealed stone sheds water and dries more quickly in a shaded space. Footings and walls that carry ground moisture are left unsealed, so they can keep breathing. Where we do seal, you choose between a natural and an enhancing finish after seeing both on your own stone, and we record the product, date and area. That record is useful if you sell, and helpful if the council ever asks what was applied.