Removing ivy from facade of pebble dashed house

Am looking at buying a 2 storey pebble dashed house, but one negative is that it has ivy growing from three places (deliberately planted up against the wall thru gaps in the footpath) up the front of the house.

The 'trunks' are about 2 or 3 inches thick. The ivy has reached as far as the gutters and is growing along the bottom of them.

I'd say it covers about 20 % of the facade, so, could be worse, but its a fairly thick mat in places.

The house is 19 years old, not sure about the ivy...!

For structural reasons, if I bought, I would remove it immediately.

I was thinking the first step would be to cut a couple of inch 'high' notch right across the base of each trunk, to avoid bridging the connection to the root system.

Maybe let it die back for the summer if not longer, whatever it takes for it to wither (I guess it would stay green initially to some extent on existing sap in the trunk plus moisture it would pick up via the suckers on the wall).

Then strip it off while trying not to wreck the plaster / gutters / dash.

I still think its going to leave its traces behind.

Would I have to go down the road of painting the pebble dash?

Any better ideas?

Also, any ideas on how to kill off the remaining root / stump?

Also, could I cause subsidence by killing off these plants?

Any thoughts / experience you can share would be most welcome, thank you.

nip it in the bud

Good luck. I only had to remove about 8 years of growth from a single garden wall constructed from bare 18" (sorry 45.72cm) blocks and it was a nightmare!

I can believe it!

What exactly was the biggest problem?

was it those little suckers they put out?

did it do much damage?

any tips for how to go about it? or how not to go about it?!

Cut through the stem at 6" above ground (sorry 15.2cm ) wait for stems and leaves to die (could be a while), then powerhose when it's brittle? Slow but comfortable....

A few years back I thought I would remove 18 inches thick ivy from the facade of my house which stands adjacent to a main road.
I started by cutting 3 in trunks at the base then pulled away top where it was clinging to gutters. Suddenly the whole thing like a heavy 20 x 20 ft mattress peeled away to lay accross footpath and part of roadway. We worked very hard for the next few minutes.
It is never as firmly attatched to dashing as it appears being mainly fixed at top. Brick-work is a different matter as it can penetrate joints. Probably handled best by being cut into into vertical strips
Good luck.

How jammy! Not sure I will get away so lightly though.

Your plan to cut and let it die over the summer is spot on. It will be easier to remove from wall when dead . You can always pull off a small patch now to see if there is a big difference in wall colour or if immediate removal damages the plaster .
I suppose that you dont want to hear my idea to cover up any damage / marks with VERGINIA CREEPER or CLIMING HYDRANGA , WYSTERIA is fantastic on a wall that gets some sun.
pjq

As previously stated you should cut it down to the base, apply 'Root out' or similar to the cut stump; (do this on a dry day), or cover the stump with a black plastic bag and an elastic band. The upper plant will quickly turn brown and become weaker, especially if done at this time of year. It may be possible to remove it so that it will easily come off the wall in one piece, otherwise it will be a bit slower and you will have to gradually remove it piece by piece. I don't know how it will affect your pebble dash, really depends on how much of a hold it has. If replanting avoid wisteria as it too can be difficult to remove if you so wish in the future.

ophelia said:

As previously stated you should cut it down to the base, apply 'Root out'

Click to expand...

Not available anymore due to E.U ruling.
See here..... [broken link removed][broken link removed]

ophelia said:

If replanting avoid wisteria as it too can be difficult to remove if you so wish in the future.

Click to expand...

Surely , you mean the virginia creeper or Hydranga may be difficult to remove ,,, but at any rate the wisteria won't be difficult to remove as it can't attach itself to the wall . Anyway , who would remove such a beauty , especially when you wait so many years for it to flower?
pjq

I had the same problem a few years ago trying to remove ivy. I wouldn't agree with waiting till it's dead on the wall. If you pull at it - from the top if possible - it will probably fall away in one piece as the weight of it will pull it away. When it is dead it won't have that weight and you'll be there till doomsday picking little bits off. If you cut a few cuts in the roots and put some old engine oil into the cuts that will kill it.

Thanks for the idea! I guess I can try that first, and if I am not happy with it, I can always kill it and then try. Good suggestion.

Happy days! It worked out as theplumber and joanmul said it might - each plant (4 of them) came off as one big mat of ivy. It took minutes for each!
Just a few wee random bits left behind to pick off by hand.

I am convinced its because it grows differently on dash than on flat surfaces, because it grabbed tight on fascia / soffits with loads of suckers, but seemed to grip the dash easier and with fewer suckers as its rough.

Hardly any residue, i reckon a domestic power hose will clean it as much as needed.

So glad its off as it was up thru the gutters and was blocking access to boards which neeed painting. I can see that eventually (soon) it would have lifted off gutters, boards, tiles.

Now to kill the roots, but no mad rush now I know the gutters are safe.

I am so happy as I thought this was going to take the rest of the summer