Recovering Stained Facade
The facade of our house is a yellowish-beige sandstone, not limestone, and not the usual brownstone. It has a lot of grimy gray staining which did not come off when we attempted to clean it about 10 years ago, at great expense. Now I’m wondering what we can do to make the place look nicer….
The facade of our house is a yellowish-beige sandstone, not limestone, and not the usual brownstone. It has a lot of grimy gray staining which did not come off when we attempted to clean it about 10 years ago, at great expense. Now I’m wondering what we can do to make the place look nicer. Will grime like this ever come out? Should I consider re-covering the whole thing as I’ve seen some people do? Or paint? (Many of the houses on our block are painted, though I know it’s considered sacrilege it certainly looks tidier than our dirty house.) The house is on a landmarked block, so I’m constrained by what they’ll allow. Thanks for any ideas.
dibs is right on both counts – if there are deeper green patches, a wash w/ diluted bleach will kill the algae. It looks far from unsightly to me.
In keeping with DIBS comments, your house is most likely north-facing (more shade than sun). You can try scrubbing with a dilute solution of soda ash (Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, found in a yellow box in the laundry detergent section of your supermarket), but the staining is most likely die-off from algae, also a little bit related to air pollution, and permanent. Painting it will not change the conditions that make it hospitable to algae growth (nor can you do it in a landmarked district). Your house is really beautiful just as is, and the architecture is perfectly “tidy.”
house looks really nice. Don’t try to change it to look
new. It has nice aged look —-
Making it all spotless is like older person getting a facelift or botox…never looks right.
Contrariwise, the painted houses on my block are the prettiest. Not that I’m recommending paint on yours, but don’t be put off by the traditionalists if you like it.
Totally agree, the house is really beautiful just as it is. Take pride and delight in the architectural gem that it is, and just forget about sanitizing all the historic character from that truly lovely facade. Besides, nobody notices the discoloration but you.
When it comes to ones home I think it’s easy to focus on little things that most people wouldn’t think twice about. I know that I do that all the time. You have a beautiful house that looks fine the way it is. As DIBS pointed out stone is a natural material will never be completely uniform in color. Just think of your house as having witnessed a lot of history.
dibs: i agree. DO NOT PAINT, that is the worst thing that you can/could possilby do. we have a few painted houses on our block and they are GROSS. please don’t do it.
I didn’t read far enough to see “Or paint?”
That’ll cut the value of the property. It would be the most foolish thing you could do. And you won’t be able to on a landmarked block.
Does this building face North?? The green on the steps is moss/algae. That’ll come off easily with a diluted bleach scrubbing.
Those aren’t stains, they’re patina!