Pressure washing is priced by surface, not by hour, and every surface has a different cost per square metre. The numbers that keep a driveway from becoming a charity job.
Pressure washing has the widest gap between what a job looks like and what it takes of any domestic trade. A driveway that photographs well can be two hours of slow passes; a patio that looks filthy can take forty minutes. Price by the surface and you stop guessing.
Separate the four things you are actually selling
Almost every job is a mix of four products, and they carry different prices because they carry different risk:
- Flat concrete or paving: the cheapest per square metre and the fastest. Straight passes, predictable.
- Block paving and resin: slower, sand displacement afterwards, and a re-sanding line you should charge for.
- Decking and timber: the highest risk. Wrong pressure scars the wood permanently, so it is priced as a careful job, not a fast one.
- Roofs, render and softwash: priced for access and chemical, not for metres. This is where insurance and competence matter more than the nozzle.
Quote them as separate lines even when the client wants one number. The separation is what lets you remove something without renegotiating the whole job.
The per-metre arithmetic
Measure the surface, apply a rate, then add fixed charges for the things that are not area: water supply, access, and disposal. A job where you must bring your own water is not the same job as one with an outside tap, and a job up three steps is not the same as a flat drive.
- Base: square metres times your surface rate.
- Access: a flat charge for steps, tight side access, or long hose runs.
- Water: a flat charge when you supply it.
- Chemicals: quoted as an addition for organic growth, oil or rust, not absorbed into the base rate.
- Re-sanding: always its own line on block paving.
- Minimum job: the price below which you do not start the van.
Then check the result: the job profit calculator will show whether the day made money once fuel, chemical and drive time are in. Most pressure washing jobs look profitable until the drive time is counted.
The extras that decide the day
Oil stains, rust, moss and algae are not cleaning, they are treatment, and they take time that a straight wash does not. Quote them separately after inspecting. The customer who says “just give it a quick go” is asking you to absorb the risk of a stain that will not lift, so put a line in the quote that says treatment is priced on inspection and is not guaranteed to remove staining.
That single sentence prevents the most common complaint in the trade: a clean surface with a faint stain, and a client who feels short-changed by a job that was never going to be perfect.
The reusable prompt
Use this to build a quote sheet to work from on site.
Act as a pricing assistant for a small pressure washing business. MY INPUTS - Target day rate: [amount] - Chemical cost per job (typical): [amount] - Water: supplied by customer or by me: [which] - Core travel zone: [minutes] Build a quote sheet with: 1. A rate per square metre for: concrete/paving, block paving, decking, render. 2. Fixed charges: access, water supply, minimum job. 3. Treatment surcharges: moss/algae, oil, rust, with a sentence about no guarantee of full removal. 4. A worked example for a 60 square metre driveway with two oil patches, customer water, up six steps, showing subtotal and what I actually earn per hour after travel. Rules: show every calculation. State clearly which items are inspection-only and cannot be quoted blind. If the day rate I gave cannot be met at these rates, say what would have to change.
Quoting on site without quoting blind
Walk the surface, look for the things photographs hide: drainage slopes, cracked render, a conservatory base that will streak, a tap that trickles. Then quote on the spot, in writing, before you start. A verbal price at the door is the origin of every “but you said” conversation in this trade.
The written quote should carry three clauses: what is included, what costs extra, and what result is realistic. That is the difference between a job and a dispute.
Getting paid like a business
Pressure washing is a deposit trade. Materials and time are committed before the surface dries, so a deposit on booking is normal and defensible. Then invoice with a due date on completion, and follow up on a schedule rather than when you remember.
The invoice generator handles the paperwork side, and the overdue invoice ladder covers the awkward follow-up. If you are writing quotes by hand, this quoting method adapts to exteriors without much change.
Writing the on-site quote clauses
Three clauses prevent most disputes in this trade. Generate them once, keep them on your phone.
Write the standard clauses for my pressure washing quotes. MY SERVICES - Surfaces I clean: [paving, block paving, decking, render, other] - Do I supply water: [yes/no] - Chemicals I use: [list] - Access limitations I often meet: [steps, side access, hose length] Give me: 1. What is included, as a short bulleted list. 2. What costs extra, with the trigger for each. 3. A realistic-results sentence covering staining that may not lift. 4. A deposit and cancellation line. Rules: plain English a customer understands on a doorstep. No legal language. Under 140 words total.
Following up a quote that went quiet
Most exterior jobs are lost to silence, not to a competitor. Two messages recover a useful share of them.
Write two follow-up messages for a pressure washing quote I sent. DETAILS - Surface and size: [details] - Price quoted: [amount] - Date quoted: [date] - Anything unusual about the job: [optional] Message 1, sent after 3 days: check they received the quote, offer to answer questions, add one useful detail about timing or weather windows. Under 70 words. Message 2, sent after 10 days: assume they may have gone elsewhere, keep the door open, and offer a smaller first job if that helps. Under 70 words. Rules: no pressure tactics, no discount unless I ask for one, no emoji.
Frequently asked questions
Should I charge by the hour or by the square metre?
By the square metre, with fixed charges for access, water and treatment. Hourly pricing penalises you for being experienced and makes the price unpredictable for the customer.
How much should a deposit be?
Enough to cover chemicals and the first hour, typically a quarter to a third of the quote. For anything needing access equipment or two people, take a larger deposit or none of the risk is shared.
What if the customer wants the whole property done?
Break it into surfaces and price each one, then offer a total. Whole-property jobs go wrong when a single number hides a decking job that takes three times as long as the driveway it sits beside.
Do I need insurance for pressure washing?
Yes, and specifically for damage to property you are cleaning, including water ingress. Check that your policy covers exterior cleaning and any chemical use before you take a job that involves render or a roof.
Last reviewed and updated on November 11, 2026.
