The Prestige Standard Northern Beaches · Stone Care

Sandstone Cleaning on the Northern Beaches

Q: Do you offer sandstone cleaning across the whole Northern Beaches?

Yes, in all 39 suburbs from Manly, Fairlight and Clontarf to Palm Beach, and west to Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest. Jobs are grouped into weekly runs by area so we are near you most weeks.

Q: How much does sandstone cleaning cost on the Northern Beaches?

Every price is on request and fixed in writing. We measure from aerial imagery, test where needed and send one figure within a business day. Call 0494 810 609 or use the form.

Q: Will cleaning make our sandstone look new?

It will bring back the warm colour and banding by removing lichen and algae, but it will not erase old wand damage or weathering. We show you the result on a test patch before the full job.

Q: How often is sandstone cleaning needed on the Northern Beaches?

It depends on whether you are on the ocean front, beside a lagoon, on the Pittwater side, harbourside, on a hillside street or on the bushland plateau. The table on this page gives our usual intervals for each.

Q: Will the run-off from sandstone cleaning reach the lagoons or beaches?

No. Drains are bunded, rinse water is captured or sent to garden, and sealed or commercial sites are vacuum-recovered. Almost every Northern Beaches street drains to a lagoon, Pittwater, Middle Harbour or a beach.

Q: Is the work guaranteed?

Yes. If anything we quoted is not clean at handover, we return within seven days and redo it free. We carry $20 million public liability.

Low-pressure biocide cleaning for Hawkesbury sandstone walls, steps and terraces, so the black lichen goes and the stone's skin stays. Every suburb from Manly to Palm Beach and out to Duffys Forest.

Price on request · all 39 Northern Beaches suburbs

Request a Quote

Call 0494 810 609

Sandstone Cleaning on the Northern Beaches

$20M

public liability cover

11 yrs

in the exterior cleaning trade

5.0★

Google rating

7-day

re-clean promise in writing

On the Northern Beaches

Where sandstone cleaning matters most on the peninsula

Where we do it most: Seaforth, Clontarf, Fairlight, Bayview and Clareville
Council: Northern Beaches Council
Coverage: All 39 Northern Beaches suburbs
Run-off: Captured on every job
Pricing: On request, fixed in writing

Sandstone is everywhere on the peninsula: retaining walls and stairs on the steep blocks of Seaforth, Clontarf and Fairlight, hand-cut terraces on the Pittwater slopes at Bayview, Clareville and Palm Beach, and garden walls in Avalon and Newport. Pittwater stone is softer than most and needs the gentlest treatment.

The Northern Beaches packs surf beaches, four coastal lagoons, the Pittwater estuary, Middle Harbour and national park bushland into one council area, so sandstone cleaning is never one method for everyone. The table shows how we adjust it by condition and how often it is usually needed.

Conditions	Suburbs	What we are dealing with	How often
Ocean-front and first-ridge	Manly, Queenscliff, Freshwater, Curl Curl, North Curl Curl and Collaroy and 6 more	Near the surf sandstone holds salt in its pores, which crystallises and powders the surface; we clean with biocide and low pressure, rinse thoroughly to flush the salt, and never use acid.	every 12 to 18 months
Lagoon and estuary	Dee Why, Narrabeen, North Narrabeen and Warriewood	In the lagoon suburbs sandstone stays damp and goes green and black with algae and lichen; a biocide dwell and soft brushing remove the growth without opening the stone.	every 12 months
Pittwater waterfront and slopes	Bayview, Church Point and Clareville	On the Pittwater slopes the sandstone is soft, often hand-cut, and stained by tannin and lichen from the canopy; it is cleaned at under 500 psi with a reducing poultice for the iron and tannin marks.	every 12 months
Plateau and bushland edge	Elanora Heights, Ingleside, Terrey Hills, Duffys Forest, Belrose and Davidson and 3 more	On the plateau sandstone walls and steps sit in shade and leaf litter, so moss and black lichen are the targets and grip on the steps is the goal.	every 12 to 24 months
Harbourside Middle Harbour	Fairlight, Balgowlah Heights, Clontarf, Seaforth and North Balgowlah	Harbourside the sandstone retaining walls and stairs face Middle Harbour humidity; lichen and moss are removed with a biocide and brush, and the stone's surface skin is kept intact.	every 12 to 18 months
Hillside and village	Balgowlah, Cromer, Beacon Hill, Allambie Heights, Collaroy Plateau and Bilgola Plateau	On the hillside blocks the sandstone is mostly retaining walls, steps and garden edging that go black with lichen; low-pressure biocide cleaning restores the warm colour.	every 18 to 24 months

Not sure which applies to you? Find your suburb in the list below, or read the maintenance schedule by suburb.

What is included

Every Northern Beaches sandstone cleaning job includes

Absorption test and method statement

Biocide treatment of lichen and algae

Soft brushing and low-pressure rinse

Poultice treatment of rust and tannin

Optional breathable sealer

Suitable for

Surfaces and properties we take on

Heritage retaining walls and fences

Steps, paths and flagging

Sandstone houses and footings

Carved and tooled detail

Modern sawn sandstone cladding

Protecting the garden and drains during sandstone cleaning in the Northern Beaches

Our method in the Northern Beaches

How we do it, and what we protect while we work

Each wall or flight gets a test patch first. A quaternary ammonium biocide is laid on and kept wet for 20 to 30 minutes, the dead growth is brushed off with stiff nylon brushes, and the stone is rinsed with a wide fan under 500 psi held well back. Iron bleed and leaf tannin get a reducing poultice instead of acid.

Pressure capped at 500 psi on all sandstone

Lime mortar joints protected

Carved detail brushed by hand

Heritage documentation on request

Request a Quote

Sandstone Cleaning on the Northern Beaches

How it works

From your first message to the photo report

Tell us about it

Call or send the form with your suburb, the surfaces and what is bothering you. A few photos help us quote faster.

Fixed price within a day

We measure the property from aerial imagery, settle the method for each surface and send one written price with the guarantee on it.

Done and photographed

Your named technician protects the garden and drains, does the work and sends before-and-after photos that afternoon.

Who does the work

The Northern Beaches sandstone cleaning team

Nathan G

Founder & Lead Technician · 11 years in the trade

Nathan founded The Prestige Standard in 2015 after six years in heritage sandstone restoration. He scopes every substantial Northern Beaches job himself and still runs the soft-wash rig most weeks.

Credentials: Working at Heights (RIIWHS204E), EWP Yellow Card (WP), Soft Wash Systems certified applicator, NSW Police Check and WWCC.

Marco Bellini

Stone & Sealing Specialist · 9 years

A former stonemason, Marco leads the division's sandstone, limestone and travertine work, including the soft, hand-cut Hawkesbury sandstone of the Pittwater slopes.

Credentials: Certificate III in Stonemasonry, Dry Treat and Aqua Mix applicator training, heritage masonry cleaning (ICOMOS Australia short course).

Our standards

What happens on every job

One named lead technician from quote to handover

Test patch before any new surface or stone

Drains bunded and run-off captured, as Northern Beaches Council requires

Plants pre-wetted and protected, pools shielded

Dated before-and-after photos the same day

Written seven-day re-clean guarantee

Written from our own Northern Beaches jobs and reviewed by Marco Bellini, Stone & Sealing Specialist. Last reviewed 1 November 2026. Council and hazard references checked against Northern Beaches Council and the NSW Planning Portal spatial viewer.

Our own job photos

Before and after: our sandstone cleaning work

Real before-and-after photos from our own jobs, never stock. Left is how we found it, right is handover.

Full Gallery

Before and after: Sandstone Garden Steps Restored — **Sandstone Garden Steps Restored** The orange and purple banding in the stone came back, the treads have grip again, and the stone surface was left whole.

Before and after: Moss and Algae Removed from Shaded Stone Steps — **Moss and Algae Removed from Shaded Stone Steps** Clean stone, safe footing, and growth that is far slower to return.

What our clients say on Google

Request a Quote

We are extremely happy about Nathan's work. Our house is totally transformed after he pressure jet the place. The sandstone stairs and surround have restored to its former glory. Driveways are like new.

Lillian Lau

Google review · Sandstone Cleaning

Highly recommend The Prestige Standard, they cleaned my sandstone, it looks perfect!

Caspar Howard

Google review · Sandstone Cleaning

I recently had my brick pavers cleaned by Prestige Standard and I couldn't be happier with the results. The team was professional, punctual, and paid great attention to detail. My pavers went from looking dull and stained to fresh and almost brand new again.

Dorris Barratt

Google review · Paving Cleaning & Re-sanding

5.0-star rating on Google. Read all reviews.

Suburbs

Sandstone Cleaning in every Northern Beaches suburb

Each suburb has its own sandstone cleaning page with local conditions, run-off notes and FAQs.