Two sides of Bray
Bray splits fairly neatly in two. Near the seafront and up through the older streets, it's Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many of them divided into flats, with steps up to the hall door, a low front wall and railings. Further back, towards the N11 and up into Ballywaltrim, Boghall and Old Connaught, it's estates of semis and terraces with block-paved or concrete drives and a patio behind.
The two call for different handling. Older fronts are about steps, walls, render and paint, where too much pressure does damage. Estate homes are mostly about paving, where hot water at a higher pressure does the heavy lifting. We plan and price each one on its own terms.
Steps, walls and railings near the seafront
The promenade end of Bray takes the full weather off the sea. Steps go green on the side that never dries, salt leaves a dull bloom on painted walls and railings, and front walls gather algae along the cap. Where a terrace has been split into flats, the shared front steps are often the most slippery spot on the street.
spotless.ieOn these fronts we:
- Wash steps with hot water at a pressure that suits the surface, with extra attention to the treads where people put their feet
- Soft wash painted and rendered walls so the finish isn't scoured (soft washing)
- Rinse railings gently, since salt-weakened paint flakes easily
- Leave loose pointing and cracked render alone and tell you about it, rather than making it worse
If several owners share the steps, it helps to agree it between you before booking. We can quote one owner or a management company, whichever suits.
Estate drives and patios
Up in the estates, most drives are cobble-lock or plain concrete, with concrete slabs or sandstone out the back. Moss settles into the joints, oil darkens the strip where the car sits, and a patio tucked against the back fence stays damp for most of the winter.
Hot water lifts the green and most of the traffic film, and it clears growth out of the joints. Old oil that has soaked into concrete tends to lighten rather than vanish. Sandstone gets a lower pressure, because the stone is softer than it looks. Our driveway cleaning and patio cleaning pages explain what to expect from each surface.
Walls are half the job here
Bray has a great many rendered, pebble-dashed and painted walls: house fronts, gable ends, garden walls and the low walls between front gardens. They go green and black in streaks, usually worst under windowsills and wherever a gutter spills over.
| Wall | How we clean it |
|---|---|
| Smooth render or painted wall | Low-pressure soft wash |
| Pebble-dash | Soft wash, with no lance close to the stones |
| Brick garden wall | Hot water, with the pressure kept off soft mortar |
| Block wall with a concrete cap | Hot water on the cap, gentler on painted faces |
If the cause is a gutter overflowing above, cleaning the wall alone won't last, so we'll check the gutters too, and take a look at the roof if moss is washing down from it (roof cleaning).
Want a price for your Bray home? WhatsApp a few photos of the steps, walls, drive or patio with your Eircode. We'll reply with a fixed price, usually the same day.
Landlords, flats and guest accommodation
A lot of Bray's older housing is let, as flats in divided houses or as rooms over a shop, and a fair few houses near the seafront take guests. For a landlord, the outside is the first thing a viewer judges. Green steps, a grubby front wall and a bin area nobody has touched in years all suggest a property that isn't looked after.
A wash between tenancies, timed for when the place is empty, fixes that quickly. For guest accommodation, the entrance and the front path matter most, and an early-week slot is usually quietest. Our guide to preparing a rental property covers the jobs inside.
Parking and booking in Bray
Near the seafront, parking is mostly on the street and it can be busy, especially on a fine Saturday. Tell us what's outside the house when you send photos, so we can plan where the van goes and how far the hoses need to run. We'll ask about water and power when we quote as well. Up in the estates, parking is rarely a problem.
We're fully insured, and the price is fixed before you book. We also clear houses (house clearance in Bray) and clean carpets and sofas (carpet cleaning in Bray), which suits a landlord turning over a seafront flat. Further south, power washing in Wicklow covers the rest of the county, and Greystones has a page of its own. Every surface we clean is on our power washing page.
