Gloucestershire Roof Cleaning cleans roofs in Broadway: a low-pressure clean or a manual moss scrape, finished with a biocide treatment. Most roof cleans are £550–£950, including a free gutter clear and a 2-year moss-free guarantee.
Free gutter clearance and free biocide on every Broadway roof clean. Stone slate on the High Street and up the hill worked by hand, never by force.
Broadway is built from the honey-coloured Cotswold limestone that its wool and cloth merchants quarried from the hills behind the village. It lies on the eastern edge of the Vale of Evesham, right at the foot of the escarpment, and its long, wide High Street runs up from The Green between grass verges, chestnut trees and 16th and 17th-century stone cottages. Most of those cottages are still roofed in traditional Cotswold stone slate or old clay. It's one of the best-known villages in England, and its roofs grow moss as readily as any we look at.
Look up from the High Street and the reason is right in front of you. Fish Hill climbs steeply behind the village to Broadway Tower, which stands at over 1,000 feet, the high point of the northern Cotswolds. On still nights cold air slides down that slope and collects in the village at the bottom, the spring-fed ground along the foot of the hill stays wet, and the escarpment keeps the morning sun off the upper end of the village for longer than on the open vale. Moss and algae want cold, wet and shade, and below Fish Hill they get all three.
The way the village is built adds to it. Broadway's cottages stand shoulder to shoulder along the street, two storeys of stone with steep gables, and long, narrow back gardens behind. Rear pitches spend much of the day in the shadow of the house next door and dry slowly after rain. That's where the heaviest growth tends to be: moss packed into the laps of the stone slate, lichen along the ridge, and the gutters below half full of what has washed off.
Stone slate itself is the third part. Each roof is hundreds of small, porous limestone slates in diminishing courses, with deep overlaps that hold water. High-pressure water would split them and push water up under the laps, and a broken stone slate can only be replaced with reclaimed stone. So on Broadway's heritage roofs the moss comes off by hand, working from a roof ladder that spreads our weight, and the biocide goes on afterwards.
On Snowshill Road, Station Road, Childswickham Road and the newer infill you'll find concrete interlocking tile instead. Those houses sit in the same cold pocket below the hill, so they grow moss too. They get a low-pressure clean or a manual scrape, depending on the tile, then the same biocide.
Most of what we price in Broadway is one of these four, and each is cleaned differently.
Along the High Street and around The Green this is the norm: small limestone slates in graded courses, largest at the eaves and smallest at the ridge. They can't take pressure and can't easily be replaced, so we clear them by hand from a roof ladder and keep the biocide off lime mortar and lead.
More often seen on outbuildings, barns and cottages toward Childswickham and Wickhamford. Old clay softens when it's wet, so it's scraped by hand in dry weather, taking extra care at the bedded ridges, hips and valleys.
Turns up on some 18th and 19th-century houses and later extensions in the village. Slate is hard, but the nails and lead around it aren't; we clear the laps by hand, use a low-pressure rinse only where it's appropriate, and leave old flashings and ridge mortar alone.
Marley and Redland interlocking tile on the newer houses off Snowshill Road and Station Road. The rough surface holds spores and the damp below Fish Hill does the rest. We take the bulk of the moss off by hand first, then apply the biocide.
From The Green up to the church end, and out to the WR12 villages around it. The hill behind is the same for all of them; the roofs change.
The famous broad main street and the grass-fringed Green — tall, shaded 16th and 17th-century stone cottages on traditional Cotswold stone slate, much of it listed and inside the conservation area, all of it hand-scrape only.
The older, quieter top of the village toward St Eadburgha's — historic stone houses and cottages where shaded north pitches and porous stone slate mean heavy moss and a careful, slow hand-clean.
The roads climbing out toward the hills and the old station line — a mix of stone cottages and later houses, including modern concrete tile that mats up fast in this damp pocket beneath the escarpment.
The Evesham-side edge of the village and the lanes toward Childswickham — a spread of cottages and newer homes on clay, slate and modern tile, all greening in the valley damp running off the slope.
Up on the scarp and tucked into the folds of the hills, these are stone villages almost to the last roof. Higher and more exposed than Broadway itself, and often sheltered by trees, the stone slate here stays wet long after rain, so lichen and moss get into the laps quickly and need clearing by hand.
The surrounding WR12 villages out across the vale edge — stone and clay cottages alongside more modern housing, the same mix of heritage and current roofs we cover right across the Broadway area. Down in the vale, see our Evesham page; up on the wolds, Stow-on-the-Wold.
Broadway has been a conservation area since 1969, and a large share of the buildings along the High Street and around The Green are listed, up to the Grade I church of St Eadburgha's at the top of the parish. For a roof cleaner that means two things: the stone slate is part of what's protected, and the job has to leave it exactly as it was, minus the moss.
The line we work to is straightforward. Taking moss, lichen and algae off a roof doesn't alter the building, so it doesn't normally need listed building consent. Repointing, re-bedding a ridge, disturbing slate pegs or stripping lead is a different matter, and if your roof needs any of that we'll say so at the survey, so you can raise it with Wychavon District Council's conservation officer first. While we work, lime mortar is sheeted and rinsed so biocide doesn't sit on it, and grey, weathered lead is left as it is.
Broadway's look comes from its past. It was already a settlement when the Domesday Book was compiled, prospered on the wool and cloth trade, and by around 1600 was a coaching stop on the road between Worcester and London, which is where inns like the Lygon Arms come from. The stone, the long frontages and the slate roofs are what buyers and visitors come for, so a roof gone green shows here more than in most places.
Before we come out, we look your address up on the Historic England list so we know whether the house is listed and at what grade. It takes a few minutes and means the survey starts with the right method, not a guess.
We look at the roof, how we'll get to it and the state of the gutters, then give you a written price. If the cottage is listed or in the conservation area, anything that would need the council's say-so is raised now, not halfway through the job.
On stone slate and old clay the moss is lifted out of the laps by hand, from a ladder, tower or roof ladder, and the gutters are cleared as we go. Concrete tile on newer houses can have a low-pressure clean instead. Nothing is blasted.
An approved biocide goes on at the right dilution to kill what's left — algae, lichen and the spores in the stone. Below Fish Hill, where the damp comes back every autumn, this is the step that stops the regrowth.
Guaranteed against moss, algae and lichen for two years. If regrowth appears in that time, we return and re-treat it at no charge. Written into every quote.
Stone slate takes most of a day to clean by hand, so while we're up there we clear the gutters too. The biocide is what keeps the roof clean for two years. Neither costs extra on a Broadway job.
On a limestone cottage the gutters matter more than people expect. When they fill with moss washed off the roof, rain spills over and runs down the stone, and porous walls soak it up. We empty them as we work. The biocide then keeps killing new spores for months after we've gone, and at the foot of a hill as damp as this, that's what decides how long the clean lasts.
Get my Broadway quoteMost roof cleans in Broadway cost £550–£950, with moss removal, the biocide treatment and a gutter clear all included. Bigger, steeper or awkward roofs cost more. A small cottage on the village edge sits toward the lower end; a large listed house on the High Street with a heavy stone-slate roof sits higher, because clearing stone by hand takes time. That's why we price after seeing the roof rather than over the phone.
What moves the price:
Always included, never an add-on: a free gutter clear while we're up there, and the biocide that keeps moss off for two years. Just the gutters? Gutter cleaning on its own starts from £90.
How we quote: a free no-obligation survey, a written price the same day, no deposit, pay only when it's done. See our full roof cleaning cost guide → Also worth reading: is roof cleaning safe?, why clean your roof?, how to get rid of roof moss for good and the best time of year to clean a roof.
Not the way we do it. Stone slate and old clay are cleaned by hand from a roof ladder and then treated with biocide, with no pressure washer anywhere near them. High pressure is what splits stone slate and drives water under the laps, and a cracked slate on a Broadway cottage usually has to be matched with reclaimed stone. Concrete tile on the newer houses can have a low-pressure clean where it suits; either way it's the biocide, not the water, that stops the moss coming back.
Two years, guaranteed. The biocide we apply keeps killing fresh spores after we've left site, and if regrowth appears within two years we come back and re-treat it at no charge. Broadway is hard on roofs: cold, damp air comes down off Fish Hill and settles in the village, and rear pitches in the shade of the next cottage stay wet. A roof that's only been washed, with no biocide, tends to be green again within a year because the spores are still in the stone.
Yes, used properly. We apply an approved biocide at the maker's dilution in dry weather, so it soaks into the roof instead of running off. Keep pets inside while we spray and for an hour afterwards. Borders below the eaves are covered and rinsed, and where a garden backs onto fields at the edge of the village we watch where the run-off goes.
Yes. Broadway has been a conservation area since 1969 and many of its cottages are listed. On those roofs we work by hand only, with no pressure washing, and lime mortar and old lead are covered and rinsed so biocide doesn't sit on them. Removing moss and algae doesn't normally need listed building consent; repointing, re-bedding or touching the original slate fixings may, and we'll point that out at the survey so you can check with Wychavon District Council first.
Because of where the village sits. Broadway is at the foot of the escarpment, with Fish Hill and Broadway Tower rising to over 1,000 feet behind it, and cold, damp air drains down that slope and lies over the houses. Shaded rear pitches stay wet, and porous stone slate and old clay hold the water. Moss, lichen and algae need exactly those conditions, which is why the biocide is included on every clean.
As little as possible. Stone slate and old clay crack under a boot, so we work from ladders and towers, and where we need to be on the pitch we use a roof ladder hooked over the ridge to spread the load. The tall gables on the older High Street cottages are almost always done this way. We'll explain the setup for your house at the survey.
We plan it at the survey. On the High Street we keep ladders and kit tight to the frontage, leave the pavement passable and do the front pitch in one go, so we're not in the street longer than we need to be. Often the worst moss is on the back pitch, which we reach from the garden where we can. If there's a shop or business below, we'll agree a time that suits it.
Yes, for three reasons. The roof lasts longer — moss keeps stone and clay wet, wet stone suffers in a frost, and replacing stone slate means finding reclaimed stone to match. The gutters keep working — moss washed off the roof blocks them and sends rain down a porous limestone wall. The house looks right — in a village people visit for the stone, a green roof gets noticed. Cleaning costs far less than re-slating.
Not a stone-slate or old clay roof, and that covers most of the listed cottages in the village. High pressure splits the slates and pushes water under them, so those roofs get hand removal and biocide only. Concrete tile on newer houses can have a low-pressure clean where that's the right method. We tell you which method we'll use before we start.
Spring or early autumn, ideally. The biocide needs a dry spell to soak in, and getting it on before winter matters here, because the damp months under Fish Hill are when moss grows fastest. We work all year, though, and book around the weather rather than cleaning in the rain.
Most Broadway roof cleans cost £550–£950, including the moss removal, the biocide treatment and a free gutter clear. A small cottage or a newer house off Snowshill Road or Station Road is usually toward the lower end. A large stone-slate roof on the High Street or The Green takes longer by hand and sits higher, and a very big or awkward roof can cost more. We price after a free survey, in writing, with no deposit.
Yes. Gutter cleaning on its own starts from £90, and a typical two-storey cottage or house in Broadway comes in under £150. It's free when we clean the roof. The chestnut trees along the High Street and the woods on the hill drop a lot of leaves each autumn, and moss washed off stone slate adds to it, so we clear the gutters by hand and check the downpipes run before we go.
Yes — Gloucestershire Roof Cleaning carries £5m public liability insurance.
We had excellent service from start to finish. The guys were very professional, discussed everything over the phone initially then a visit with the drone to allow accurate quarter and expectation management. On the day they were considerate with the neighbours, did a wonderful job with the roof and gutters and cleared up so well that everything looked far better than when they started. Cannot recommend more highly.
We had excellent service from start to finish. The guys were very professional, discussed everything over the phone initially then a visit with the drone to allow accurate quarter and expectation management. On the day they were considerate with the neighbours, did a wonderful job with the roof and gutters and cleared up so well that everything looked far better than when they started. Cannot recommend more highly.
Really impressed with Aquapro Roof cleaning. Very professional guys that done such a good job, that it looks like I’ve had a new roof installed, (after 40yrs of dirt and moss). Blake talked me through everything in detail, and answered any questions I had. Showed me the end result with his drone footage and left house clean and tidy. Highly recommended.
Really impressed with Aquapro Roof cleaning. Very professional guys that done such a good job, that it looks like I’ve had a new roof installed, (after 40yrs of dirt and moss). Blake talked me through everything in detail, and answered any questions I had. Showed me the end result with his drone footage and left house clean and tidy. Highly recommended.
100% recommend this team . From start to finish was kept informed.On the morning a text to say what time they will be there and arrived on time . Worked from 9:30 till 7:30pm on the roof and jet washing all the area after. Very professional and had all the kit even a drone to show you the results of the whole area . The difference is amazing and looks like a new roof . Really happy with the results and so many comments from neighbours too saying how good it looks . You will not be disappointed .
100% recommend this team . From start to finish was kept informed.On the morning a text to say what time they will be there and arrived on time . Worked from 9:30 till 7:30pm on the roof and jet washing all the area after. Very professional and had all the kit even a drone to show you the results of the whole area . The difference is amazing and looks like a new roof . Really happy with the results and so many comments from neighbours too saying how good it looks . You will not be disappointed .
The Guys did a fantastic job on my roof and worked nonstop all day to get the job done and left everything clean and tidy after themselves, highly recommend and would look to use again 👍, made a massive difference to the house.
The Guys did a fantastic job on my roof and worked nonstop all day to get the job done and left everything clean and tidy after themselves, highly recommend and would look to use again 👍, made a massive difference to the house.
Would strongly recommend. Swift with good work quality and kept the surrounding areas tidy. Looks like a new roof! Would 100% recommend.
Would strongly recommend. Swift with good work quality and kept the surrounding areas tidy. Looks like a new roof! Would 100% recommend.
What can I say other than WOW !! Massive thank you to Blake and Dan for all of your hard work, so professional and such an amazing job! Left everything spotless so pleased, highly recommend to everyone. Extremely happy
What can I say other than WOW !! Massive thank you to Blake and Dan for all of your hard work, so professional and such an amazing job! Left everything spotless so pleased, highly recommend to everyone. Extremely happy
Stone slate below Fish Hill cleaned by hand, with the gutters cleared and the biocide included. Fully insured, and a written quote the same day.
