House soft washing in Harvey Cedars

What you might be looking at

• Green or grey film on the shaded side of the house that a hose will not touch
• Dark spotting on soffits and porch ceilings that has spread since last summer
• A salt haze that dulls the whole elevation facing the ocean

Why this comes up in Harvey Cedars

Here is what makes Harvey Cedars particular: the island is so narrow through the borough that a house can take ocean salt on one elevation and bayside damp on the other, and both are working on it at the same time. The bay-facing walls grow algae faster than almost anywhere on the island because the air off the meadow is humid and the afternoon shade is deep.

Heavily rebuilt after 2012, so a high proportion of the stock is modern, elevated and tall — three usable levels above a ground-floor entry is common. Cedar shake, painted fibre cement and PVC trim dominate, with a good deal of glass facing both water.

What access looks like here

There is very little room between houses here, and much of the bay side is reached through the property rather than around it. Boom and ladder work is the norm on the newer stock simply because of how tall it is.

Coating work needs a permit through Harvey Cedars, and no municipality in New Jersey will issue one to an unregistered contractor.

What the job looks like

A soft wash is low pressure and a cleaning solution, not a pressure washer pointed at the house. The crew should be rinsing salt off the elevation before anything is applied, keeping the solution off plantings, and working top down so nothing dries on the way. Pressure is what forces water behind siding and up under shingle butts, and on an island where wind-driven rain already tests every seam, that is the last thing a wall needs.