The green fungus on our roofs

EverGreen_2

I stayed 7 years in Canada. Just sold my house there. One thing I have noticed over there is their roofs. in Canada the roofs, very old or new, are shiny, clear clean even thu they have the longest snowing winters. Our UK roofs tend to get covered by the green colour. I believe it is fungus, not the classic mould. This green thing on roofs usually put me off even some of those house are too expensive to afford. For examples (apology to owners as they are still great houses):
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-47587723.html


http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-38189698.html


What do you think? Is it simple fungus? does it need attention or sort of cleaning? does this kind of house roof design put you off?

AlexMac

Fret not. Perfectly normal and harmless. It's moss growing on the dirt or organic matter which sticks to tiles and, to a lesser extent, slates. In fact a friend who lived in a UK National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty was told that he could only get planning permission for a new or extended roof if he sprayed it with slurry (or maybe yoghurt) to encorage such natural growth!

So live with it. Green is good. Trying to remove it would probably damage the tiles

Or move somewhere hotter and dryer?

EverGreen_2

Thanks.
May be you are right. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
I always thought it is sing of damaged or deteriorating roofs. I also thought it was fungus thing.

tealady

Evergreen - please take no notice when people appear to be rude, sometimes when it is late and people are tired then they say things they may not usually say.
Personally I would love to visit Canada, no matter what is on their roofs! It must have been something very special or important to bring you over here from such a lovely country.

anselld

No idea why Canadian roofs don't have moss, but the solution if you need on is a copper ridge. This will kill existing moss and prevent regrowth.

Physical removal by scraping etc is not recommended as it can damage the tiles.

jacko74

I imagine our dull, damp British climate encourages this kind of moss and algae to grow.

kingstreet

Moss grows on north-facing surfaces which receive the smallest amount of sunlight.

Think "why does everyone want a south-facing garden?"

EverGreen_2

I am glad my point turned into valuable discussion.
There is no excuse for anyone to be rude. Rudness in itself is not the concern but the hidden motivation is.


Many thanks.

kinger101

Moss does grow on some roofs, but in the two examples provided, it's actually algae. Some roofs also have lichens, but that's a symbiosis between algae and fungi.

JethroUK

anselld wrote: »

No idea why Canadian roofs don't have moss,...

It because its too bloody cold

moss actually grows in the spring/summer (needs sunlight) as anyone who has an aquarium/fish tank will tell you

moss doesn't like bleach (try it on your path) and you can have your roof cleaned but it quickly grows back

EverGreen_2

JethroUK wrote: »

It because its too bloody cold

moss actually grows in the spring/summer (needs sunlight) as anyone who has an aquarium/fish tank will tell you

moss doesn't like bleach (try it on your path) and you can have your roof cleaned but it quickly grows back

"bloody cold" is not the reason actually. In Canada they got bloody cold winter but dry sunny beautiful spring and summer. Even the autumn there is warm, sunny. They call it "Indian summer". I think the reason could be the weather as a whole and level of humidity.