Boundary walls & fencing

Fence Cleaning

Fences do most of the visual work on a street frontage and get cleaned least. They are also four different materials that each want a different approach.

Think Brick accredited
Fully insured
20+ years experience

Think Brick accredited

Fully insured

20+ years experience

Illawarra to the Highlands

Quick answer

How do you clean a Colorbond fence?

Colorbond fencing should be soft washed, not pressure blasted. A low-pressure detergent and biocide application lifts the salt film, dust and mould that dull the colour, and is rinsed at low pressure. High pressure can force water and grit behind the panels, drive it into the capping, and on older fencing accelerate chalking of the paint finish. Coastal fencing generally needs washing every 12–18 months.

At a glance

Colorbond: Soft wash — restores colour depth
Timber & hardwood: Timber cleaner, low pressure
Brick & render: Method by substrate; render soft washed
Coastal interval: 12–18 months

Material by material

Colorbond and metal — a salt and dust film builds up that reads as faded colour. Soft washing takes it back to near-new without touching the coating.
Timber and hardwood paling — cleaned chemically like a deck, then optionally oiled or stained.
Brick and blockwork — treated as masonry, with the method set by the brick type and whether there is efflorescence or mortar residue involved.
Rendered and painted walls — soft washed only. High pressure pits render and drives water behind it.
Glass pool fencing — salt and calcium spotting removed, and the spigots and hardware cleaned at the same time.

Retaining and boundary walls

Large rendered or block retaining walls develop mould and efflorescence because they hold moisture from the soil behind them. Cleaning the face is straightforward; keeping it clean means the drainage and weep holes behind the wall have to be working, and we will point it out when they are not.

Coverage

Where we do fence cleaning

Illawarra

Wollongong · Shellharbour · Albion Park · Dapto · Kiama · Shell Cove

Shoalhaven

Nowra · Bomaderry · Vincentia · Huskisson · Berry · Culburra Beach · Ulladulla

Southern Highlands

Bowral · Mittagong · Moss Vale · Bundanoon

Sutherland Shire

Helensburgh · Engadine · Sutherland · Cronulla

Based at Warilla. Everything from Helensburgh to Ulladulla and inland to the Southern Highlands is inside our normal working area.

FAQ

Fence Cleaning — questions we get asked

Can a faded Colorbond fence be brought back?

If the dullness is film — salt, dust and mould — then yes, dramatically. If the paint itself has chalked from many years of UV, cleaning improves it but the finish is degraded and only recoating restores it fully.

Do you clean both sides?

We can, with the neighbour’s permission for the far side. It is worth asking, because a fence cleaned on one side only looks half done from the street on corner blocks.

Keep reading

Need fence cleaning quoted?

Call 0448 882 780 or send photos through the quote form. We will tell you what the job needs and what it will cost, including when the honest answer is that you do not need us.

0448 882 780 Free quote