Gloucestershire Roof Cleaning cleans roofs in Shurdington: 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 Shurdington roof clean. Older stone and slate cottages handled correctly.
Shurdington, a village of around 1,900 people in Tewkesbury Borough, sits on the A46 just south-west of Cheltenham, right at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment below Leckhampton Hill and the Devil's Chimney. That position is lovely to look at and hard on roofs. Cool, damp air and rainwater drain down off the slope and settle over the village, the hill keeps the plots tucked closest under it in shade well into the morning, and the whole place sits low enough to hold humidity that higher, more exposed ground sheds. Moisture and shade are exactly what moss, lichen and gloeocapsa algae feed on — so a roof here will carry noticeably more growth than an identical house out on open farmland a couple of miles away.
You see it most clearly on the older, tree-lined plots. The lanes that run up towards the escarpment — Crippetts Lane, Greenway Lane and the network of older Greenway properties — are semi-rural, hedged and heavily shaded, and the stone and slate cottages along them hold damp far longer than modern materials. Add the leaf-fall from the mature trees that line so much of the village, around the Bell Inn, the recreation ground and the green by St Paul's, and you get north-facing pitches that barely dry out between October and April. Left alone, a roof like that ends up as a thick mat of moss sitting in the laps, with the gutters choked by what's washed down.
Out on the newer parts of the village it's a different roof but the same problem. The post-war and later closes behind the A46 are mostly concrete interlocking tile, while the newest building, at Greenway Chase on the Leckhampton side of Shurdington Road, is too recent to need a roof clean yet. Concrete tiles are textured, which gives spores something to grip, so even fairly young roofs mat up under this escarpment microclimate — we lift the bulk off by hand from a tower or roof ladder before any biocide goes on. Whether it's a period cottage near the church or a twenty-year-old semi off the main road, the cause is the same: damp air draining off the Cotswold edge, and not enough sun to dry the tiles out. The fix is the same too.
One thing that's specific to Shurdington is how split the village is. Great Shurdington and Little Shurdington, the old core around St Paul's and Church Road, the ribbon of houses along the A46 and the modern closes behind it all sit close together but carry very different roofs — and the trees and the slope mean the damp doesn't fall evenly. A house tucked under the hill on the eastern side will green up faster than one of the open-plot bungalows out towards Badgeworth. It's why we survey each property rather than quoting a roof we haven't seen: in a village this varied, the right method changes from one street to the next, and on the older stone and slate we won't go anywhere near it with high pressure.
Each one has its own approach. Method matters more than equipment.
Common on the period cottages and farmhouses around St Paul's, the green and the lanes running up towards the escarpment. Heavy, porous and unforgiving — Cotswold stone holds damp and grows lichen readily, so it gets hand-clearing of the laps and a neutral biocide, never pressure. Extra care around the bedded ridges and old leadwork.
Found on the older houses along Crippetts Lane, Greenway Lane and the Greenway core, and on cottages out towards Badgeworth. Durable but brittle when wet — these are hand-scraped from a roof ladder, never pressured. We keep biocide off the lime mortar and weathered lead, and treat the shaded north pitches that green up first.
Most of the houses along the A46 and in the mid-century closes behind it are roofed in Marley or Redland concrete tile. Sitting under the escarpment, those roofs get the shade and the damp air coming off the slope, and the rough tile face gives moss plenty to hold on to. It comes off by hand scrape, or a low-pressure clean where the tile is sound, and the biocide goes on after. The roof keeps lightening for a few weeks as the treatment works.
The newer infill plots in the village and the Greenway Chase estate on the Leckhampton side of Shurdington Road, on a mix of modern tile. The newest of these don't need a roof clean yet; the slightly older infill does start greening in this shaded, damp microclimate, and takes the same bulk-off-then-biocide treatment when it does.
From the old village core under the hill to the estates and new builds along the main road — same escarpment damp, slightly different roof on each.
The main body of the village around St Paul's, the green and the A46 frontage — a mix of older stone and slate cottages and post-war housing, with the shaded eastern plots under the hill carrying the heaviest moss.
The smaller hamlet out along Greenway Lane, historically recorded under Badgeworth parish, more open and rural — older properties on stone, clay and slate, set among trees and farmland where leaf-fall and shade keep the north pitches damp.
The hedged lanes running up towards the escarpment, lined with older and larger properties on slate and stone. Heavily shaded and semi-rural, so these are some of the fastest-greening roofs in the village — careful hand-scrape work, never pressure.
The new estate on Shurdington Road at the Leckhampton end. The roofs are too young to need cleaning yet; it's gutters filling with leaf-fall from the hedges and trees that owners here usually notice first. Gutter cleaning on its own starts from £90.
The ribbon of housing strung along the main Cheltenham–Stroud road and the closes behind it — mostly mid-century and modern concrete interlocking tile that mats up fast in the shade and damp, taking the standard hand-removal-then-biocide treatment well.
The semi-rural fringe out towards Badgeworth and up under Leckhampton Hill — open-plot bungalows and older farmhouses on a real mix of coverings, where we always survey first because the roof type and access change property to property.
Shurdington is an old settlement, and that history still shows in the roofs around the village core. St Paul's Church, set beside the village green with its fields running away towards Badgeworth, dates from the early 14th century, was restored and extended in 1852, and is best known for its ribbed broach spire, around 110 feet tall. It's listed at Grade II*. Around it sit the older cottages and farmhouses on Cotswold stone, hand-made clay and natural slate, often a century or more old. Those roofs need a completely different hand to a modern estate semi: on them we hand-scrape only, never pressure, because force cracks old tile and stone and drives water into structures that have stayed watertight for generations by being left alone.
Moss and algae removal doesn't normally need listed-building consent, but if your home is listed, check with Tewkesbury Borough Council first.
It's worth remembering why the village looks the way it does. Shurdington grew up as a small farming community strung along the road from Cheltenham towards Painswick and Stroud, now the A46. The Greenway, the old house that is now the Grade II listed Greenway hotel, shares its name with Greenway Lane in Little Shurdington. Older buildings sit cheek by jowl with twentieth-century housing and recent new builds, so a short stretch of one lane can carry stone, slate, clay and concrete tile in turn. None of that is a problem to clean — but it's exactly why we survey each property properly rather than quoting a roof we haven't seen.
We come out, look at the roof, the access, and the gutters, and tell you exactly what's needed and what it costs. No hard sell, no pressure to book on the spot — and on the older village and lane properties we flag anything that touches listed-building or period rules first.
Heavy moss is removed by hand from a ladder or tower, gutters cleared at the same time. On Shurdington's shaded, thickly mossed concrete tile and on fragile old stone and slate alike, the bulk growth has to be lifted off before the biocide can reach the spores beneath.
An approved biocide is applied at the correct dilution. It kills algae, lichen and remaining moss spores at the root, without high-pressure water touching the tiles — which matters even more under this damp escarpment where regrowth comes back fast.
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.
A Shurdington roof clean keeps us on the ladders or tower most of the day regardless, so it makes sense to pull the gutters through while we're up there — and the biocide is what holds the result for two years, which counts for a lot under an escarpment this damp. You pay for neither; both come as standard.
The free gutter clear is more than a nicety here. With so many tree-lined and north-facing plots under the hill, gutters fill quickly with washed-down moss, grit and leaf-fall — and a blocked gutter pushes water down the wall instead of away from the house, soaking into render and finding its way to the eaves. We clear what comes off the roof as we go, so you're not left with a clean roof and blocked gutters. And because the biocide carries on working long after we've packed up, a Shurdington roof should stay clear for two years — in a microclimate this shaded and damp, that's the part that earns its keep.
Only need the gutters? See gutter cleaning in Cheltenham, which covers Shurdington. Nearby, we also clean roofs in Cheltenham, Brockworth and Gloucester.
Get my Shurdington quoteMost roof cleans in Shurdington cost £550–£950, including moss removal, a biocide treatment and a free gutter clear. Larger, steeper or harder-to-reach roofs cost more. Shurdington throws up everything from porous Cotswold stone and brittle slate on the older cottages around St Paul's to the post-war and modern estate roofs off the A46, and the fragile ones take careful hand-scraping rather than fast pressure — which is part of why we won't quote a flat rate over the phone. Every roof's different. A standard terrace or semi sits in that range; heavy moss, awkward access and big detached houses up the lanes push it up.
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.
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.
At Gloucestershire Roof Cleaning, most roof cleans in Shurdington cost £550–£950, including moss removal, a biocide treatment and a free gutter clear. Larger, steeper or harder-to-reach roofs cost more. We give you a written price the same day after a free survey, with no deposit — you pay when the job's done. See the full roof cleaning cost guide.
No. The older Cotswold stone, clay and slate you find on the cottages around St Paul's and the Greenway lanes get hand-scrape and biocide only — pressure on those will damage the surface. The post-war and modern interlocking concrete tile on the closes off the A46 can take a controlled low-pressure clean where that's the right method. Either way, it's the biocide that stops the moss coming back, not the force of the water.
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. Shurdington sits at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment below Leckhampton Hill, so a lot of the village is shaded and catches the damp run-off and cooler air off the slope — that keeps roofs greening faster than open ground, and north-facing pitches under trees colour up soonest. Pressure-washing on its own buys you about a season — the moss is back the next autumn because the spores are still in the tile. The biocide is the difference between cleaning the surface and treating the cause.
Yes, when applied properly: we use approved biocides at manufacturer-specified dilutions, keep pets indoors during application and for an hour after, and sheet and water down planted borders before and after. There's more on our is roof cleaning safe page.
Yes, and this is exactly the work we take most care over. The older properties around St Paul's Church, the village green and the Greenway lanes carry Cotswold stone, hand-made clay or natural slate, often on roofs a century or more old. On those we hand-scrape only — never pressure — and we keep biocide off lime mortar and old leadwork by sheeting and rinsing the edges. St Paul's itself is a Grade II* listed medieval church, and Shurdington has a scatter of listed and period buildings; straightforward removal of moss and algae usually doesn't need listed-building consent because you're not altering the fabric, but anything touching mortar, lead or original fixings does, and we'll flag it before we start so you can speak to Tewkesbury Borough Council first.
It does. Shurdington lies right at the foot of the Cotswold escarpment, below Leckhampton Hill and the Devil's Chimney, so cool, damp air and rainwater drain down off the slope and sit over the village. A lot of plots are tree-lined and semi-rural — around the Bell Inn, the recreation ground and the Greenway lanes — which means shade and leaf-fall on top of the damp. Shade plus moisture is exactly what moss, lichen and algae live on, so Shurdington roofs tend to carry heavier growth than houses out on open, higher ground. It doesn't change how we clean, but it does mean the free biocide treatment earns its keep here.
For most jobs, no. We work from a ladder or scaffold tower with a long-reach lance, which means no concentrated weight on the tiles and no boot scuffs on the ridges. On steeper or older roofs — including the period stone and slate cottages around the village core — we use a roof ladder hooked over the ridge to spread the load safely. A moss scrape is done by hand or with an extendable pole, then the biocide goes on. We'll tell you in advance which method we're using on your property and why.
Three reasons that matter, in order. Tile and slate life — moss holds moisture against the surface, accelerating freeze-thaw damage and shortening the life of the roof, which on Cotswold stone or natural slate is a serious replacement cost. Gutters and downpipes — moss sheds and washes into the gutters, blocking them and pushing water down the wall instead of away from the house, which matters more under the escarpment where there's plenty of run-off and leaf-fall. Insurance and resale — some insurers query roofs visibly covered in growth, and a clean roof is a quiet but real factor in kerb appeal, which counts in a sought-after commuter village like this. Cleaning costs a fraction of replacing tiles or repointing ridges.
Not for good: spores are always in the air, and under a shaded, damp escarpment like Shurdington's they're never far away. Taking the moss off by hand or with a low-pressure clean, then applying a biocide, keeps a roof clear for two years; our guide explains how to get rid of roof moss permanently.
Spring (March–May) and early autumn are ideal — dry enough for the biocide to bond, and it sets the roof up before the damp months when moss grows fastest, which under this escarpment is most of the winter. We clean year-round, though; the biocide works whenever it's applied in dry conditions.
No. High-pressure jet washing strips the surface off tiles, can crack or lift them and drives water under the laps. We use a low-pressure clean on modern concrete tiles and a manual moss scrape on Welsh slate, Cotswold stone and old clay, then a biocide. The post-war and modern concrete tile on the closes off the A46 gets the low-pressure clean; the older Cotswold stone, clay and slate on the village cottages is scraped by hand. We always tell you the method first.
Gutter cleaning on its own starts from £90, and a typical two-storey Shurdington house comes in under £150. With a roof clean it's free. Under the escarpment the gutters work hard: leaf-fall from the mature trees around the village and moss washed off shaded roofs fill them through autumn, and a blocked gutter here soon pushes run-off down the wall.
Not yet. Greenway Chase, the newer estate on the Leckhampton side of Shurdington Road, is too young for its roofs to need a clean, and we won't tell you otherwise. What new-build owners close to the hill do notice first is gutters filling with leaves and grit from the first autumn. Concrete tile in a shaded spot like this usually starts showing moss on the north pitch within a few years, and when it does it takes the same hand-removal and biocide treatment as the older estates.
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
Free gutter clean and biocide treatment with every roof clean. Older stone and slate cottages handled correctly. Fully insured, no-obligation quote, written the same day.
