Sandstone cleaning and sealing in Ingleside

Sandstone on an Ingleside property rarely sits in one tidy area. A typical job might include a retaining wall near the house, steps down to a lower lawn, edging along a long driveway, a paved entertaining area and a natural outcrop that the garden was built around. Some properties have older dry-laid walls or stone lining a dam or creek line. Under the eucalypts, these surfaces collect leaves and stay damp, so black mould and lichen are common and tannin stains build up in layers. Our technicians walk the whole property first, agree which areas matter most to you, and trial cleaners on each type of stone before quoting.

On acreage we clean with as little water as the method allows. Biocide is applied and left to work, after which the growth is loosened by hand and rinsed off gently, often with a small trailer-mounted unit when there is no mains supply close by. Soil and iron stains on driveway edging get a separate stain treatment, trialled first. Dry-laid walls and loose outcrops are handled by hand to avoid dislodging stone or washing out the soil behind. Rinse water is captured with bunding and vacuums and taken away, so nothing drains toward dams, creeks or the bushland edge. We schedule larger properties over several days if that suits you.

Sealing on a bush block is selective. Paved terraces and steps near the house are usually worth sealing with a breathable penetrating product, because it slows tannin and makes leaf clean-up easier. Outcrops and garden walls are normally left as they are, both for their natural look and because they need to breathe. Where steps are steep or shaded, we use finishes that keep the stone's grip. Sealer only goes on once stone is properly dry, which in shaded corners can take several fine days. You receive a record of products and areas treated, and we suggest checking high-traffic paving each year and the rest every two or three.