Driveway cleaning in Cirencester — gentle on gravel and Cotswold stone, never blasted.

Yes. Gravel is the surface most often ruined by the wrong contractor — point a high-pressure lance at loose Cotswold shingle and you fire it into the hedge, the lawn and your neighbour's borders. We don't pressure-blast gravel. On a clogged gravel drive we lift and rake the stone to separate it from the silt, moss and weed that have built up between the pieces, clean the base where needed, then re-lay and level the gravel. The result is a drive that drains and looks fresh again, with the shingle still where it belongs rather than scattered across the verge.

It can, badly, if it's done wrong. Cotswold stone is oolitic limestone — porous and relatively soft, which is exactly what gives it that honey-gold patina. A harsh acidic chemical or a hard pressure wash strips the weathered skin, blotches the colour and opens the surface up to faster re-greening. We clean natural stone at low pressure with pH-neutral, stone-safe chemistry, taking the algae and black film off without scouring the stone back to a raw, mismatched finish. On a conservation-area drive that patina is the whole point, so we protect it.

Yes, on every block-paving job — on the Chesterton, Beeches and newer Bowling Green estates that's the part that actually makes the clean last. Pressure-washing block paving inevitably flushes the kiln-dried sand out of the joints. If a cleaner leaves it like that, the drive looks great for a fortnight and then the blocks start shifting and the weeds come straight back. We sweep fresh kiln-dried sand into the joints once the surface has dried and brush off the excess, so the paving is locked up again before we leave.

Often yes, though it depends on the cause. Cirencester's Cotswold stone and the ironstone seams in it can bleed ochre and rust-coloured staining onto pale slabs and setts, and metal fixings, old railings or garden ironwork can leave rust runs too. We assess the stain at the survey — surface organic staining usually lifts with a stone-safe treatment, while deeper iron bleed inside the stone is harder and we'll be honest about how far it'll come back rather than promising a miracle.

Every drive is different, so we won't quote a flat rate down the phone, but to be straight with you: most block-paving drives come in around £180–£450 depending on size and condition, with re-sanding included. Gravel restoration and natural-stone setts are priced on the job because the labour varies a lot — a clogged gravel carriage drive that needs lifting and re-laying is more involved than a simple block-paved frontage. We give you a written, no-obligation quote after a free survey, with no deposit.

Yes. We work right across Cirencester — the conservation streets around the Market Place, Dollar Street, Coxwell Street and Cecily Hill, the Victorian terraces of Watermoor, and the block-paving estates at Chesterton, The Beeches, Stratton and Bowling Green. We also cover the surrounding GL7 villages — Siddington, South Cerney, Kemble, Sapperton, Daglingworth, the Ampneys and out toward Bibury and Fairford. Same pricing across the catchment, no extra travel charge.

It can make a real difference. Plots shaded by the mature canopy around Cirencester Park, Cecily Hill and the wooded edges of town stay damp and re-green faster than open south-facing drives. A breathable sealer applied after cleaning blocks weeds out of block-paving joints, makes the surface easier to rinse off, and slows the return of algae — typically buying you two to three years before the next deep clean rather than going green again within a season. On porous natural stone we'll advise whether a sealer suits the stone or whether it's better left to breathe.

No — chemistry is matched to the surface. The cowboy approach is a one-size-fits-all strong acid that brightens block paving for a week but eats into natural stone and concrete. On Cirencester's Cotswold limestone and natural-stone setts we use pH-neutral, stone-safe products at low pressure. On block paving and concrete we can use a stronger treatment where it's appropriate, but never on porous stone. We tell you exactly what we're using and why before we start.

Efflorescence is the white, chalky bloom that surfaces on relatively young concrete block paving as natural salts work their way out — common on the newer Chesterton and Beeches-side drives. It isn't dirt and it doesn't just pressure-wash off; a normal clean can even make it look worse temporarily. We treat it with the correct efflorescence remover rather than blasting at it, and explain that some bloom can recur for a season or two as the blocks finish curing. It's a known quirk of new paving, not a fault with the clean.

Most domestic drives take from half a day to a full day depending on size, surface and whether re-sanding or sealing is included. A clogged gravel drive or a large natural-stone frontage takes longer than a simple block-paved area. You don't need to be home the whole time — we just need access to the drive and, ideally, an outside tap, and we'll agree a window with you beforehand. We don't take a deposit, so you pay only once the job's done and you're happy with it.