House Washing in Grosse Pointe
Most houses here are not sided. They are built of brick and limestone, and that changes the wash. A Grosse Pointe house wash is chemistry, dwell time and a garden-hose rinse, with hands and soft brushes at the trim and the leaded glass.
The exterior walls in the Park, the City and the Farms went up between 1910 and 1950, and most of them are brick and limestone in neo-Georgian, Tudor Revival, Dutch Colonial and arts-and-crafts styles. Masonry does not fade or chalk the way siding does. It collects. Airborne grime settles into the face of the brick a year at a time, and on the north and east elevations, where the street canopy holds moisture until midday, an algae film grows on top of the grime. Owners often assume the brick has simply darkened with age. Washed properly, it comes back to the color it was laid in.
Houses along Mack Ave and Jefferson Ave carry something extra. Traffic throws a fine gray film of road grit and exhaust onto the first ten feet of any elevation facing the pavement, and in winter salt spray joins it. That film is not biological, so a mix aimed at algae will not lift it on its own. It needs a surfactant and dwell time, then a rinse that carries it down and away rather than driving it into the mortar. We work those front elevations in sections and watch the runoff at the base of the wall, because a wall rinsed too fast leaves a tide line where the film stopped moving.
Trim is where a house wash earns its keep on these blocks. Painted wood around the windows, wood soffits and porch ceilings, and leaded-glass sash all sit within arm's reach of the wall being cleaned. Leaded glass has soft cames between the panes and old glazing putty at the edges, so it is masked and wiped by hand, never sprayed at. Painted wood takes the mild mix and a soft brush where a stain has set. Copper gutters and downspouts are shielded so the solution cannot streak the patina. House washing starts at $349, and the estimate prices each elevation on its own.
How the Wash Runs on a Masonry House
We start with the water source and the plantings. Beds along these foundations are old and dense, so they are soaked before anything else happens and rinsed again at the end. Then comes the walkaround: materials noted elevation by elevation, paint condition checked, any failed glazing or open mortar flagged for you before we start rather than after. Solution is applied from ground level with equipment tall enough for third-floor eaves, so nothing ever leans on the wall. It dwells while the algae dies, and a rinse at hose pressure carries it off, top down, one elevation at a time. Trim, porch, door surround and garage face are included. A two-story here usually runs three to four hours.
What Pressure Does to Brick and Limestone
A wand held close to century-old masonry does two things at once. It cuts lime mortar out of the joints, which lets water into the wall and costs far more to repoint than the wash ever cost, and it burnishes or pits the face of soft limestone so the cleaned patch reads brighter and rougher than the stone beside it. On painted wood trim, close-range water gets behind the paint film and lifts it in sheets the following spring. We keep the rinse at hose pressure and let the solution do the lifting instead.
Timing It Right
April through June is the heaviest stretch, when winter salt film comes off the front elevations and the spring algae bloom is still thin. September and early October are quieter and work just as well. We do not wash masonry when overnight temperatures are dropping below freezing, because water sitting in a cold joint expands. On the streets near Lake Shore Rd, a wash after the November gales is worth the trip.
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House Washing in Grosse Pointe: FAQs
Can you wash brick and limestone without hurting the mortar?
Yes. The rinse never goes above the force of a garden hose. A mild solution sits on the wall long enough to kill algae and loosen grime, then leaves in the rinse. Open joints and failed glazing get pointed out during the walkaround, since washing a wall with a hole in it pushes water where it should not go.
My house faces Mack Ave and the brick looks gray. Is that dirt?
Usually, yes. Road film from traffic settles on the first ten feet of any elevation facing a busy street, and it is fine enough to pass for the natural color of the masonry. A surfactant wash lifts it. We clean a small test panel low on the wall first, so you can see the difference before approving anything.
What does a house wash cost in Grosse Pointe?
From $349, with the number set by wall area, height and how much growth sits on the shaded elevations. A three-story Tudor Revival with deep eaves takes longer than a mid-century two-story in the Woods and prices accordingly. Each elevation and any trim work appears as its own line, so part of the job can be approved on its own.
How long before the green comes back?
Two to three years on the shaded north and east walls under the canopy, and longer where sun reaches the brick most of the day. Because the solution kills at the root, what returns is new growth rather than a surviving colony. Walls near Lake Shore Rd sit at the shorter end, since the humidity there never really leaves.
More in Grosse Pointe
Deeper reading: Why One Side of Your House Is Always the Green Side and The Black Film on Homes Near Busy Roads, Explained.
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