our services
Driveways, terraces, calçada and pool surrounds brought back evenly, without stripes and without chewing out the joints.
Algarve paving collects a very particular kind of grime. Red dust settles into the texture. Algae takes hold in the shaded joints and along anything north-facing. Black organic growth spreads wherever the irrigation overshoots. Around the pool you get sun cream, barbecue grease and foot traffic on top of all of it. Left long enough it stops reading as dirt and starts reading as the colour of the stone, which is why owners are so often surprised by the before and after.
Pressure washing is also the exterior job that gets botched most often here. Too much pressure in the wrong hands leaves permanent stripes across a terrace, blows the jointing sand out of calçada, and takes the face off softer stone. The machine is the easy part. Knowing what the surface will tolerate is the job.
how we do it
Calçada, travertine, granite, porcelain, concrete, terracotta and glazed tile all behave differently, and some of them are far less forgiving than they look. Working that out at the survey is what stops an expensive mistake.
Furniture and planters moved, drains and pool edges thought about, planting protected, and a plan for where the dirty water is going to run before we start rather than after.
Overlapping, controlled passes across the whole area so the finish is consistent. Stripes and tiger marks are not a cosmetic quirk, they are the signature of a rushed job, and they are very difficult to correct once they are there.
Calçada and sanded joints get a lighter touch so the fill stays where it belongs. If jointing needs topping up afterwards we will tell you rather than leave you to find out in the next downpour.
The dirt we lift has to go somewhere. We rinse the area down and clear the residue instead of letting it settle back onto what we have just cleaned.
We check the whole area, including the edges and the awkward corners by steps and gates, and where you are on site we will walk it with you before we leave.
what is included
Some marks are not dirt sitting on the surface, they are in it. Old engine oil that has soaked into porous stone, rust bleed from metal furniture legs, paint spots and cement haze left by builders all behave differently to general soiling, and some of them do not come out with washing alone.
A few of those respond to specific treatment. Some do not respond to anything. We would far rather set that expectation at the survey than have you looking at the same stain afterwards wondering what you paid for.
how we keep the standard
Every job is checked against the standard for that surface before the van moves, by someone who did not do the cleaning. If it is not right we put it right before you have to ask.
We look at the property, then give you a price. What we agree at the survey is what you pay, with no extras invented once we are on site.
A fixed arrival window rather than a vague all-day wait, and a call afterwards to check you are happy. Not a sales call.
where we work
We cover Quinta do Lago · Vale do Lobo · Vilamoura · Almancil · Loulé · Quarteira, and the surrounding area. If you are just outside it, ask anyway and we will tell you honestly whether we can look after you properly.
questions
Not when the pressure and technique are matched to it. Calçada is vulnerable because the joints are filled rather than mortared, so the risk is washing the fill out. That is a technique problem, and it is exactly why we want to see the surface before quoting.
In Algarve summer, usually a matter of hours. In winter, or on a shaded north-facing terrace, considerably longer. If you need the area usable at a particular time, tell us and we will plan the day around it.
On some surfaces, yes, and it can slow down how quickly the growth comes back. It is not right for every stone, and it is not something we will push if your surface does not benefit. We will tell you either way at the survey.
Ideally an exterior tap and an exterior power point, yes. Mention it at the survey if you do not have either, because it changes how we set the job up and we would rather know in advance than arrive and improvise.
In this climate, eventually. Shade, irrigation and rainfall all decide how quickly. Doing the job properly and clearing the joints buys a great deal longer than a quick blast over the top.
the rest of the exterior