House Soft Wash in Keller
Keller lots sit close together. Side yards are narrow enough to hear the neighbour's back door, and the fence between you is usually one shared cedar run. That closeness decides how a wash gets done here before the house does.
There is no room to swing a wide spray without putting some of it on somebody else's wall, their windows or their car. So the work is contained: tighter patterns, lower volume, and the side elevations done deliberately rather than quickly. It takes longer than an open lot and it is the difference between a clean house and a conversation with your neighbour.
What is on the house matters as much. Most Keller housing is suburban brick built in phases from the late nineties on, and the pattern repeats: brick across the front, painted trim on the gables and dormers, some siding. Painted trim and composition shingle will not take pressure. They take chemistry at about 100 PSI, which is roughly garden hose pressure, and they come out clean without the paint coming with them.
The thing people actually call about here is subtler than dirt. A Keller block went up at once and ages at once, so a house that has slipped reads immediately against the ones either side of it. The roof, the drive and the fence all came due on the same clock. Washing the house alone can make the drive look worse by comparison, which is worth knowing before you book one and not the other.
We soak the planting beds before and after so runoff is diluted, which matters more when the bed is three feet from the fence line.
What we do differently in Keller
- ✦Tighter spray patterns and lower volume on side elevations, because there is no room to swing wide without hitting the neighbour
- ✦About 100 PSI, since painted trim on the gables and dormers will not take pressure
- ✦Shared cedar fence run kept in mind, as it is usually one fence rather than two
- ✦Planting beds soaked before and after, which matters more when the bed is a few feet from the fence
- ✦We will say if washing the house alone makes the drive or the fence look worse, because on a matched block it often does
Questions
My side yard is barely wide enough for a ladder. Is that a problem?
It is the normal condition here, so no. It does mean the side elevations take longer and get a tighter pattern and lower volume, because the alternative is putting overspray on your neighbour's wall and windows.
Should I do the drive and the fence at the same time?
Often, yes, and not for the discount. A Keller block went up at once and ages at once. Wash the house on its own and the drive next to it can read worse than it did before. We will tell you honestly when that is the case and when it is not.