Dashwood Moss Removal for Older Roofs on Big Lots

An older roof holds moss differently

A shingle roof that has been up for many years has lost much of its granule coat. The surface turns rough and porous, tab corners curl, and small gaps open between the courses. Spores land in those gaps and stay wet through the long rainy stretch from October to April. On a newer roof, moss mostly sits on top. On a worn one it roots into the shingle, and pulling it out carelessly takes more granules with it.

So on Dashwood’s older roofs we slow down. Moss comes off by hand with plastic scrapers and soft brushes, worked down the slope so nothing is levered up against the lap. No high pressure goes near shingles or shakes; if a roof needs washing after the moss is off, it gets a low-pressure soft wash. As the surface is uncovered we look at what is underneath and tell you what we see, whether that is brittle tabs, bare patches or nail heads backing out. Our asphalt shingle roofs page lists what we check.

Where an addition meets the old roof

Older houses tend to pick up changes over the years: a family room on the back, an enclosed porch, a carport tied into the eave. Where the new roof meets the original one there is usually a valley, a step or a stretch at a flatter pitch than the rest, and that join is where needles and grit stop sliding. Water drains off it more slowly, and the litter that builds up there stays damp through the wet months, so it is often the first place on a Dashwood roof to turn green and the last to dry.

We empty those joins by hand before we start on the slopes around them, and we look closely at the flashing where the two roofs meet, because a gap there matters more than any moss. If the flatter section is metal or membrane rather than shingle, the method changes to suit it, as our tile and metal roofs page describes.

Driveways that stand in for sidewalks

Most Dashwood roads have no sidewalks, so the driveway and the path to the door carry all the foot traffic. A long concrete drive running under trees greens over along its shaded edge, and the apron in front of a garage can turn slick after one wet week. We clear these with a soft wash first, step up to higher pressure only where the concrete calls for it, and treat the surface afterward. More on that on our driveway and sidewalk moss removal page.

Getting a quote

Send us the address, the buildings you want looked at and roughly where the green is heaviest. We come out, walk the lot and give you a free quote. Dashwood shares this stretch of 19A with Qualicum Bay and Bowser, and sits just past Qualicum Beach.