Clapham has an unusually wide spread of building dates for one postcode. The Georgian houses around the Old Town are considerably older than the Victorian streets running off the Common, and the Edwardian terraces of Abbeville Village are different again. Each was built with different brick and different mortar, and each needs treating on its own terms.
Surrey Stone Stucco Ltd cleans, repoints and restores brick and stone across SW4. Cleaning is where most Clapham jobs start, because a century of London soot hides both the colour the street was built with and whatever condition the wall is really in.
What Comes Off, and What Stays On
Soot, algae and traffic film sit on the surface of the brick and lift away with low pressure steam. What we will not do is take the brick face off with them. Open blasting and strong acids leave a wall looking bright for a season and then weathering badly for the rest of its life, because the fired outer skin of the brick has gone.
We test a discreet panel first so you can see the finish before we go near the front elevation. On Georgian brickwork especially, the difference between careful and quick is permanent.
What We Do in Clapham
Georgian Brick Needs a Lighter Hand
The Old Town houses predate the Victorian terraces by decades and were built with softer handmade brick and lime mortar throughout. They will not tolerate the pressures or the chemicals that a later stock brick wall shrugs off, and a fair amount of our Clapham work is undoing that kind of treatment.
If your house is listed or in the conservation area we will work to what the consent allows and put the method in writing before starting. Call 0208 087 0657 to arrange a look.
Clapham Brick and Stone FAQs
Straight answers to the questions Clapham customers ask us most.
Will cleaning damage my brickwork?
Not the way we do it. We use low pressure steam and, where needed, poultice systems chosen for the brick type. We never open-blast, because it removes the fired face of the brick permanently.
My house is in the Clapham conservation area. Can you still work on it?
Yes. We work to whatever the consent allows and will set out the method in writing beforehand. Careful cleaning and lime repointing are usually well received.
How much difference does cleaning actually make?
On a soot-darkened Clapham front, a great deal. The yellow and brown tones of the original stock brick come back. We will clean a test panel first so you can judge before committing.
Can you clean and repoint at the same time?
Yes, and it is usually the sensible order. We clean first so we can see the true state of the joints, then repoint what needs it in a matching mix.
Which parts of Clapham do you cover?
All of SW4, including Clapham Old Town, Abbeville Village, the streets around the Common and Clapham North, plus neighbouring Brixton, Stockwell and Balham.
Talk to us about your property in Clapham
A good deal of our Clapham work comes from neighbours seeing a finished elevation, and we are glad to point you at nearby jobs. Call 0208 087 0657 or send us a message for a free, no obligation quote and survey.