Exterior cleaning in Bilgola Beach

A secluded valley of architect-designed homes among cabbage-tree palms, 1950s weekenders and substantial contemporary rebuilds on the Serpentine and the headland slopes, most with timber, stone and glass. Most of what we clean here dates from 1950s weekenders to contemporary rebuilds, on deep, palm-filled sandstone valley opening to a short beach between two headlands.

We work around Bilgola Beach and the rock pool, the Bilgola Bends and the Serpentine, Bilgola Head and the palm-filled valley behind the beach, on streets such as The Serpentine, Bilgola Avenue, Allen Avenue, Grandview Drive and Kalinya Street. The defining exterior problem is deep shade and humidity in the valley driving mould on render and timber, lichen on stone, and salt on the headland glass.

Homes within roughly 500 metres of the surf. Salt arrives on the nor'easter every afternoon and on southerly storms in winter, so nothing stays clean by itself: glass hazes, render streaks, stainless pits and timber greys. We schedule these homes on the shortest cycles we run anywhere in Sydney.

Field note from Bilgola Beach. Bilgola's valley is the most humid pocket on the peninsula; render there goes black on all four walls, not just the south, and we plan the soft wash as an annual job rather than a one-off. Nathan G, Founder

Planning and site constraints we check in Bilgola Beach:

• Coastal hazard mapping on the beachfront
• Bushfire-prone land on the valley slopes
• Dense rainforest-like canopy with tree protection

Run-off. Anything washed off a Bilgola Beach property ends up in Bilgola Beach unless it is stopped at the kerb. Northern Beaches Council enforces the NSW EPA rule that wash water, detergent and sediment stay out of stormwater, so we bund drains, capture run-off and vacuum-recover on sealed or commercial sites. More in our stormwater guide.