Pressure washing in Warrenton, VA
Got it. Thanks.
Your request is in. We'll reply within 24 hours. Photos help: text them, or talk it through, at 540-514-5916.
Since 1989
Front Royal, VA. Our own rig and our own water, with the owner on every job.
Best of Front Royal & Warren County
The Northern Virginia Daily, 2023 and 2025.
- Insured. Certificate of insurance on request.
- Satisfaction guaranteed. If we missed anything, tell us and we'll come back and make it right.
- Free quotes. Most jobs priced from a few photos, within 24 hours.
No new frame buildings after the 1909 fire
Warrenton was Fauquier Court House until 1810. Its 1890 courthouse is the focal point of a historic district that the 2024 National Register update credits with 412 contributing resources.
On November 22, 1909, fire started in a livery stable loft on Seventh Street, now Ashby Street, and 26 buildings at the west end of town burned. The Town Council then ruled out new frame buildings between Railroad and Seventh streets. On October 29, 1910, a second fire took Saint James Episcopal Church on Culpeper Street. In the 1910s the town began rebuilding the west end. Only two nineteenth-century frame commercial buildings are left, at 22-24 and 68 Main Street.
The Town names Old Town and Broadview Avenue among its main commercial corridors, and VDOT completed crosswalk and sidewalk upgrades on Broadview on April 27, 2026. For shops, we wash storefront brick, stone walls, and front steps around business hours so the shop stays open, and a business can pay by invoice.
Siding and roofs under heavy tree cover
On Falmouth Street, the Town's comprehensive plan counts 60% of the structures as Arts & Crafts or Craftsman, and notes that heavy tree and foliage cover tends to hide them from the street. Across the district, frame houses are clad in weatherboard, planks, board and batten, or wood shingles.
Wherever a house sits under trees like that, the cladding is where we start. For each wall we pick soft washing or pressure washing, depending on what's best for it, and if moss or lichen has spread onto the roof above, we soft wash that off as well.
Downtown is the other way around. The 2024 National Register update puts the commercial core on a plateau with sidewalks, minimal vegetation, and a few small trees, while the houses sit on larger lots with mature planting, gardens, and paved walkways.
The Town's guidelines for cleaning masonry
Work in the historic district goes through a Certificate of Appropriateness application, and Town staff can approve compatible maintenance without a board hearing. The guidelines don't say whether a plain wash counts, so it's worth asking the Town through its Historic District page first.
For brick and stone, the Town's Historic District Design Guidelines describe water at 100 PSI, sprayed down from the eave rather than up and kept out of crevices and openings, with a mild non-ionic detergent for oils and a soft natural-bristle brush that stays off the joints. They ask for a test before the whole area is cleaned and no washing in or near freezing weather, and they rule out sandblasting, acids, steam, and high-pressure water.
The guidelines say regular cleaning helps an old building last, and they name sandstone and limestone as “vulnerable soft stones.” Bull Run sandstone is among the stones they list as most common in the district, and the old brick was made by hand from clay and sand and fired in kilns, usually on the building site or close by.
How a Warrenton quote works
Fauquier County addresses pay no travel fee, and there's no minimum job charge. From Front Royal it's a drive of roughly 33 miles, following the I-66 route.
- Take a few phone photos of what you want cleaned, and text them to 540-514-5916. The form works too.
- Quotes are free. In most cases we can price from what you sent, and a very complex job gets a visit first. Satisfaction guaranteed. If we missed anything, tell us and we'll come back and make it right.
- Shrubs and beds near the walls are wetted before the wash and rinsed after. We bring our own water. If you have an outside spigot, we'll use it. You can be out while we work, and once everything is dry, kids and pets can go back out.
Send us your brick, stone, or siding
Chem-Clean, since 1989. Text a photo of the steps, the wall, or the shaded side of the house to 540-514-5916, or use the form, and we'll reply within 24 hours.
Got it. Thanks.
Your request is in. We'll reply within 24 hours. Photos help: text them, or talk it through, at 540-514-5916.