Rob's Exterior Services handles gutters, siding, shingles, glass, decks, flatwork and brush piles for Union, IL households. Rob works out of Woodstock with no subcontractors, so the man who quotes your job is the man who drives out and does it. Union is a very small village surrounded by farmland and rural lots, which means wind, field dust, private wells and long runs of gutter. Pictures by text to (815) 451-0106 get you a quote at no cost.
Union is one of the smallest incorporated places in McHenry County. The 2020 Census counted 551 residents inside a village that covers less than a square mile, and most of what surrounds it is open farmland. That scale shapes the work. A house here rarely sits in the shade of a neighbor's maple. It sits in the wind, with a field on one side and a gravel shoulder on the other.
Rob, the owner of Rob's Exterior Services, raises his four girls in Woodstock and does each job with his own hands. This page covers what is physically different about exterior cleaning in and around Union, what usually goes wrong with homes out here, and how each of his services applies. Each service has its own page for the finer detail.
What a village of 551 people means for a house exterior
A place this small has no big subdivisions with matching rooflines. What you find instead is a mix: homes on the short village grid near Main Street, farmhouses on acreage, and newer houses set back on rural parcels. Each type ages differently. A farmhouse with a long porch and several rooflines holds more gutter and more nooks for wasp nests and spider webs than a compact ranch does.
Because lots are open, a lot of the grime is wind-delivered. Dust from tilled fields in spring, pollen from the surrounding trees, and spray from gravel roads all settle on siding, glass and concrete. Rob tends to find that the sides facing the prevailing weather are dirtier than the sheltered ones, which is the opposite of what a wooded lot shows.
Windbreaks, field edges and the debris they feed your roof
Many rural properties around Union have a windbreak of pines, a row of old maples, or a few big cottonwoods near the house. Those trees do real work against winter wind, but they also drop a steady load onto the roof and into the gutters. Pine needles pack tight in a valley. Cottonwood fluff and seed catkins arrive in early summer, and maple helicopters show up in spring.
North and east slopes that sit under those trees stay damp longest, and that is where Gloeocapsa magna, the organism behind black roof streaks, usually takes hold first. If your roof has dark streaking on the shaded side only, the cause is often the tree line, not the shingles. Our guide to black roof streaks explains how to tell algae from simple dirt.
Private wells, septic fields and what they change about washing
A good share of rural McHenry County homes run on private wells instead of municipal water, and hard, mineral-heavy water is common in northern Illinois. Outdoor spigots and sprinkler heads on well systems can leave rust-orange or chalky white deposits on siding, glass and concrete. Those stains behave differently from ordinary dirt, and a plain wash may not move them.
Septic systems and drain fields matter to cleaning too. Rob keeps rinse water and any cleaning solution away from tanks, lids and field lines as far as the layout allows, and he will ask where they sit before starting. If you know where your leach field runs, tell him when you text. For plants and runoff, the plants and runoff guide explains the rest.
Winter, road salt and the Kishwaukee watershed
Union drains north toward the South Branch of the Kishwaukee River, and the land around it is flat to gently rolling. Spring thaw can leave standing water along foundations where grading is shallow, which is a good reason to keep downspouts flowing. Freeze-thaw cycling through March puts stress on concrete aprons, steps and porch slabs, and road salt tracked from county roads finishes the job on surface layers.
Ice dams start when attic warmth thaws the snow on the roof and the meltwater freezes again at the cold overhang. Gutters packed with leaves make them worse by holding the ice in place. The ice dam guide covers causes, and a clear gutter before the first hard freeze is the cheapest part of the fix.
Living near the Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum is at 7000 Olson Road, just east of the village, and its trains run through the warm months. For homeowners nearby, that means seasonal visitor traffic on weekends and a steady spring-to-fall rhythm that is worth planning around. If you are hosting a graduation party, an open house or a family reunion, book exterior cleaning early enough that surfaces have dried and the yard looks right by the day.
Rob can also coordinate a single visit for several tasks: gutters in the morning, glass and a driveway rinse afterward. That cuts down the number of times someone has to be on your property, which suits a village where a trip out from Woodstock is a real drive.
Acreage cleanup, brush piles and the jobs that are not cleaning
Larger lots collect storm-dropped limbs, overgrown fence rows and leaf mats under old trees. Rob has done brush and branch haul-away for customers in the area, including a Huntley homeowner with two big piles of dead branches that needed to be cleared. The same approach applies to an acre in Union: cut to manageable size, load, and haul.
Some work belongs to other trades. A leaning tree near a power line needs an arborist. A sagging gutter on rotted fascia needs a carpenter before it needs a cleaning. Rob will say so plainly rather than clean something that is about to fail.
Every service Rob offers in Union
Gutter Cleaning in Union
Union gutters tend to carry pine needles, maple seeds, cottonwood fluff and fine field dust all in one run. Rob clears the troughs by hand, flushes every downspout, and checks that water leaves the foundation instead of sitting against it. Long farmhouse runs and detached garages get the same attention. Pricing starts at $100. See gutter cleaning in Union.
Soft Washing in Union
Siding facing open fields collects green film, pollen and dust faster than most owners expect. Soft washing puts a mild cleaning solution on the wall with little force, then rinses it off, which suits vinyl, painted wood and older trim without driving water behind the seams. Rob asks about wells and nearby plantings before he starts. Read about soft washing in Union.
Roof Washing in Union
Black streaks usually start on shaded slopes under windbreak trees, then creep outward. Rob uses low-pressure methods on asphalt shingles, because manufacturers of roofing products generally advise against blasting shingles. He checks granule loss and curling first, and a roof beyond saving gets a straight answer and a nudge toward a roofer. See roof washing in Union.
Window Cleaning in Union
Well water leaves white mineral spots on glass, and wind-blown field dust coats the outside surface by midsummer. Rob cleans glass, frames and sills, and can usually tell dirt that wipes off from etching that will not. Storm windows, screens and tracks come up in the conversation too, since farmhouses often have all three. See window cleaning in Union.
Pressure Washing in Union
Pressure washing suits hard surfaces: concrete aprons, steps, garage slabs and the muddy pad where equipment gets parked. Rob keeps the high-pressure wand away from siding seams, window seals and soft wood, and he flags cracked concrete before water can work underneath it. See pressure washing in Union for what he handles and what he leaves alone.
Deck Wash & Staining in Union
Rural decks get full sun, full wind and no shelter, so stain tends to wear off sooner than on a shaded deck in town. Rob cleans the wood, waits for it to dry out, and only then applies stain or sealer, because that order is what holds. If a board has gone soft he says so first. See deck washing and staining in Union.
Lawn Clean-Up & Trimming in Union
Acreage means bigger piles. Rob clears fall leaf mats, storm-dropped limbs, overgrown beds and brush heaps, then hauls it away. One Huntley homeowner had two large heaps of dead branches cleared, and a Union lot with a fence row or old windbreak can call for the same kind of day. See lawn cleanup in Union.
House Washing in Union
Farmhouses, ranches and village homes pick up dirt in different ways, so Rob quotes house washing only after he sees a photo and hears what the siding is made of. Vinyl, fiber-cement and painted wood each call for their own handling, and green growth on the north wall tells him where to concentrate. See house washing in Union.
Driveway & Patio Cleaning in Union
Concrete in Union takes road salt in winter, mud in spring and, where a well feeds the sprinklers, orange rust marks from the water itself. Driveway and patio cleaning is quoted from pictures, and Rob will tell you whether a stain is surface grime or something that has soaked in. See driveway and patio cleaning in Union.
Curb Appeal Packages in Union
Union driveways tend to be long, and plenty of houses are seen from the road first. A curb appeal package bundles several jobs, such as gutters, siding, glass and concrete, into one visit with a single quote after Rob looks at your photos. It also saves a return trip from Woodstock. See curb appeal packages in Union.
Getting a quote in Union
Union is small enough that most people know their neighbors, and a clean house is usually noticed by all of them. If your gutters are stuffed, your siding has turned green on the field side, or the driveway needs a rinse before company arrives, send Rob a few photos. He will answer plainly, tell you what the job really needs, and give you a free quote. Text (815) 451-0106 or write rob@robsexterior.com.