Washing Away 18 Years of Dirt

Surprise! (Not.) Our contractor recommended a thorough power wash as a first step, before starting any other exterior work. Frankly, we considered doing this even before the decision to sell, but just hadn’t gotten around to it. A colossal amount of dirt builds up over 18 years.

Back soffit before, during, and after cleaning.

Gary and Rueben did a fabulous job, even getting up on some pretty aggressive ladders to get the soffits on the upper level (which must be at least 20’ off the ground).

As they washed the back porch, they revealed a bit of what the deck actually looks like under all that dirt. But with deck removal soon to follow, they didn’t wash it.

Revealing what's underneath all that dirt on the deck.

Once the dirt washed away, we discovered more trim that either needed replacing or painting (or both).

And lest you think it doesn’t make a big difference:

Top: sidewalk not yet washed. Bottom: washed.

Side note: Katie the Beagle was not pleased. Between the water, the noise, and the unfamiliar people, she stayed close by my side all day. Bruce expressed it perfectly (in her “voice”) when he got home: “DAD!!! They put my house through a car wash!!”

Back porch before and after power washing.

Even without trim repair and painting, the house looks magnitudes better without all that dirt. And the neighbors have started to notice all the commotion about the house. I’ve told a couple of them of our decision, but not everyone knows yet. And once again we said, "We should have done this a long time ago."

Next up: trim repair and painting, plus painting the siding.