Hello From Oxford Pennsylvania - Contractor Talk - Professional Construction and Remodeling Forum

Roof Cleaner PA · 10-23-2009, 08:36 AM

Hello everyone. I just wanted to introduce myself. I have been cleaning roofs for about 3 years. My business has now expanded into house soft washing, pressure washing, gutter cleaning and replacement and wood restoration.

I'm looking into expanding into deck building and hardscaping.

Brian

TileArt · 10-25-2009, 10:13 PM

Welcome to the forum Brian.

J F · 10-31-2009, 09:22 PM

I may have missed it, but "michael", where ya at? what kind of work do ya do? what license(s) do ya hold?

RadRemod · 10-31-2009, 10:04 PM

Welcome Brian!

J F · 10-31-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by J F

I may have missed it, but "michael", where ya at? what kind of work do ya do? what license(s) do ya hold?

RadRemod · 10-31-2009, 10:07 PM

Brian,
Being a pro roof cleaner I was wondering if you have had luck with Tide w/bleach for cleaning moss?

Roof Cleaner PA · 11-02-2009, 05:04 PM

RadRemod,
Cleaning roofs in Pennsylvania is a little different than cleaning roofs in the pacific NW. We don't have near the moss problems that you do out there. With that being said, I have never tried to use Tide w/bleach to kill/clean moss from a roof. From my experience, it would not be near strong enough to kill the moss effectively.

When I clean roofs in Pennsylvania, whether they have algae, moss or lichen on them, I use the same cleaning chemicals. My chemicals work very well on all three roof problems. My chemicals kill the moss and after a week or two and a good rain the roof is completely free of the moss. Because we do not scrape or brush the moss there is vitually no granule loss as a result of our cleaning.

Some companies in your neck of the woods use a scrape, air blow and then a zinc powder treatment to clean the roofs, but it DOES remove granules doing it that way.

Moss and lichen really root into the shingles. If you forcefully remove the moss, it will take granule with them. If you kill the moss chemically, the roots will get brittle and come off with the wind and rain.

Here are a couple of pictures of a roof I did in West Chester Pennsylvania that had a lot of moss on the back of the roof and a small amount of moss on the front by the dormers. The pictures of the rear of the roof did not turn out very well because of lighting conditions, but the front pictures turned out pretty well. The moss turns white after you spray it and then comes off after a few weeks or a few rains.

Sorry I rambled on so much. If you would like more information on the chemicals I use, PM me and I will give you more info. I could go on for hours about roof cleaning. I love it!

Brian

Roof Cleaner PA · 11-02-2009, 05:12 PM

Here is another picture of the same roof we cleaned in West Chester, Pennsylvania. I use this pic as an avitar on some other bulletin boards I belong to. You can see the moss on the right side of the roof near the siding. All I did was spray it and leave it. It came out beautifully! I always follow up with my customers and they were blown away by how clean the roof was! They had been trying to sell the house for quite a while and it was only a short time after I cleaned the roof that the house sold. The pictures don't really do the roof justice. There were sections that had moss over an inch thick covering the entire shingle surface. I had a junk camera with me and I missed out on some really great before and after pics.

Roof Cleaner PA · 11-02-2009, 05:20 PM

J F,
I saw your reply with "Michael". I didn't know if that was referring to me or not? I didn't see anyone named Michael in this thread. If it was referring to me:

My name is Brian Friel.

My Company is The Roof Cleaners LLC based out of Oxford, Pennsylvania

My Certifications are through the Roof Cleaning Institute of America & The American Roof Cleaners Association.

The state of PA does not require a business license on the state level. There are local licenses, but no state for my industry.

Brian