By QuoteIron TeamUpdated 11 min read
Key takeaways
- There are four ways to price a wash: per square foot, hourly, flat rate by size and surface, and cost-plus. For repeat residential work, a flat rate by size and surface is easiest to quote.
- At the $95 sample rate the book prices a first-hour minimum at $105, a two-car driveway at $255 and a two-story house soft-wash at $435.
- From $75 to $125 an hour moves the two-car driveway from $205 to $330, because time is most of the price.
- Joist publishes a driveway range of $0.30 to $0.55 per square foot; if a 600 sq ft driveway is $255, that is $0.425 per sq ft (illustration).
- Keep a minimum ($105 at $95), a trip charge ($50) and roofs, oil stains and sealing as separate lines.
Related: Handyman price list: a flat-rate list to print · Roofing estimate template for contractors · How to price a water heater replacement · pressure washing flat-rate price book · QuoteIron help
Pressure washing is easy to under-price because two jobs that look alike from the curb can take different amounts of time: oil stains that need a pre-treat, porous concrete that eats chemical, a slope that slows the wand. This guide compares the four common ways to price a wash and then gives you priced lines to build from. Every dollar figure not labeled an illustration or attributed to another site comes from QuoteIron’s price book (priced September 2026): hours times your rate, plus supplies with a 30% markup, rounded up to the next $5.
Four ways to price a wash
| Method | How it works | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Per square foot | Measured area times a rate per square foot | Large, uniform flatwork such as driveways and lots | Small jobs, obstacles and heavy staining are under-priced |
| Hourly | Your hourly rate times time on site | Open-ended work you cannot scope, such as heavy staining | The customer watches the clock; fast work earns less |
| Flat rate by size and surface | A fixed price per job bucket, such as one-, two- and three-car driveway | Repeat residential work | Needs a book that buckets jobs well and a minimum for odd cases |
| Cost-plus | Total job cost times (1 + markup), your cost-based floor | Checking that any method above leaves you a margin | Ignores what the customer will pay; use it as a floor, not the quote |
The pricing guide from Joist (updated October 14, 2026, read October 19, 2026) describes the same four methods and gives published ranges of $60 to $125 an hour, $0.30 to $0.55 per square foot for driveways and $0.10 to $0.50 per square foot for house exteriors. Those are Joist’s figures, sourced by it from other sites; treat them as one reference point and check what your own market pays. The rest of this guide works from your costs instead of a regional average.
Why flat rate by size and surface wins for residential
Quoted by the hour, the customer hears a number that looks high and compares it to a neighbor’s cheaper, slower guy. Quoted flat, the job is a driveway wash at one price before you unload, and you keep the upside when you finish early. Bucketing by size and surface (one-car, two-car, three-car; single-story or two-story) prices the job you are actually looking at, not the average of every job you have done. Convert a flat price to square feet when a customer asks: if your two-car driveway measures 600 square feet, $255 is $0.425 per square foot (illustration), which sits inside the $0.30 to $0.55 range Joist publishes.
“Quoted flat, the job is a driveway wash at one price before you unload”
The three sample rates
The book carries every line at $75, $95 and $125 an hour so you can see how a rate change moves every price. Read them as starting points: $75 for a new operator with light overhead, $95 for a working solo operator with a trailer rig and steady calls, $125 for one booked out or carrying high equipment costs. That reading is our judgment, not market data. If you are setting your own number from scratch, how to set your rates as a new solo tradesman walks through the math.
House and siding
| Book line | Hours / materials | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum charge — first hour on site | 1 h / $5 | $85 | $105 | $135 |
| Soft-wash single-story house, up to 1,500 sq ft | 2.5 h / $25 | $220 | $270 | $345 |
| Soft-wash single-story house, 1,500-2,500 sq ft | 3.5 h / $35 | $310 | $380 | $485 |
| Soft-wash two-story house, up to 2,500 sq ft | 4 h / $40 | $355 | $435 | $555 |
| Soft-wash two-story house, 2,500-3,500 sq ft | 5 h / $45 | $435 | $535 | $685 |
| Brick or stone wash, single-story (up to 2,500 sq ft) | 3 h / $20 | $255 | $315 | $405 |
| Screen enclosure / pool cage / lanai soft-wash | 3 h / $30 | $265 | $325 | $415 |
| House wash + driveway package, single-story | 5.5 h / $45 | $475 | $585 | $750 |
Soft-washing a two-story house up to 2,500 square feet is 4 hours and $40 of chemical: at $95 that is labor $380, supplies $40 and markup $12, a total of $432 rounded up to $435. House-plus-driveway packages are in the book as their own line ($585 at $95 for a single-story), so you can offer the bundle without hand-adding two jobs.
Driveways, patios and flatwork
| Book line | Hours / materials | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-wash single-car driveway | 1.5 h / $8 | $125 | $155 | $200 |
| Pressure-wash two-car driveway | 2.5 h / $12 | $205 | $255 | $330 |
| Pressure-wash three-car / oversized driveway | 3.5 h / $18 | $290 | $360 | $465 |
| Clean front walkway & sidewalk, up to 200 sq ft | 1 h / $6 | $85 | $105 | $135 |
| Clean patio, up to 400 sq ft | 2 h / $12 | $170 | $210 | $270 |
| Pool deck cleaning | 3 h / $20 | $255 | $315 | $405 |
| Oil stain removal, driveway — up to 50 sq ft affected area | 1.5 h / $28 | $150 | $180 | $225 |
| Seal concrete driveway, two-car (after cleaning) | 4 h / $180 | $535 | $615 | $735 |
The two-car driveway is 2.5 hours and $12 of supplies: at $95, labor is $237.50, supplies $12 and markup $3.60, so $253.10 rounds up to $255. Oil stains are their own line ($180 at $95 for up to 50 square feet) rather than a surprise on the day, and sealing a two-car driveway ($615 at $95) is a separate paid service that follows the wash.
Decks, fences, roofs and gutters
| Book line | Hours / materials | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clean & brighten wood deck, up to 200 sq ft | 2 h / $20 | $180 | $220 | $280 |
| Composite deck wash (Trex / TimberTech) | 1.5 h / $12 | $130 | $160 | $205 |
| Wood fence wash & brighten, per 50 ft | 1.5 h / $15 | $135 | $165 | $210 |
| Roof soft-wash, single-story — black streaks & moss | 3 h / $40 | $280 | $340 | $430 |
| Roof soft-wash, two-story — black streaks & moss | 4.5 h / $50 | $405 | $495 | $630 |
| Gutter cleaning, single-story home | 2 h / $5 | $160 | $200 | $260 |
| Gutter cleaning, two-story home | 3 h / $6 | $235 | $295 | $385 |
| Solar panel cleaning, roof array up to 20 panels | 2 h / $13 | $170 | $210 | $270 |
Roof and gutter work is where equipment and risk change the price, so keep it as separate lines instead of burying it in a house wash. Gutter cleaning is priced by stories: 2 hours for a single-story home and 3 hours for a two-story.
Set a minimum and a trip charge
A small job still costs you the drive, the setup and the breakdown. The book’s first-hour minimum ($85, $105 or $135) covers show-up, setup and up to an hour of cleaning, and the out-of-area trip charge ($40, $50 or $65) covers the extra drive. Print the minimum on your estimate so a one-minute fence gate does not become a free visit.
Recurring and commercial lines
Repeat house washes have their own maintenance-plan line ($275 per visit at $95), priced a little below a one-off because you know the house and the customer commits. For multi-unit work the book has an HOA or multi-unit building wash (up to 8 units) at $655 per building at $95, and a dumpster pad degrease at $175. Commercial work usually needs insurance and a written scope, so treat those lines as a starting point for a longer quote.
Pressure washing, power washing and soft washing
Soft washing uses low pressure and a cleaning solution for surfaces that high pressure would damage: siding, stucco and roofs. Pressure washing and power washing (hot water) are for hard surfaces such as concrete. The difference matters for pricing because soft washing is mostly time plus chemical, while flatwork is mostly time plus surface-cleaner wear. The book prices soft-wash and flatwork as different lines for that reason; do not quote a roof as a driveway.
Offer three options: Good, Better, Best
| Option | What is in it | Price at $95/hr |
|---|---|---|
| Good | Pressure-wash the two-car driveway | $255 |
| Better | Soft-wash the single-story house, up to 1,500 sq ft, plus the driveway (house wash and driveway package) | $585 |
| Best | Whole-property exterior package: house, driveway, walks and patio | $865 |
The package lines are priced as their own book rows, not summed from smaller jobs, so the Better and Best prices already reflect the shared setup time.
What to put on a pressure washing estimate
- Job address, surfaces and measured sizes (or the bucket: one-, two- or three-car).
- The method for each surface (pressure wash or soft wash) and the cleaning solution if it matters.
- Itemized lines and a total, with the minimum or trip charge shown.
- Water and power: who supplies them, and what happens if there is no spigot on site.
- What is not included: heavy oil, rust or mildew removal beyond the line, sealing, landscaping damage already present.
- Payment terms and an expiry date.
When the customer pushes back on the price
- “The other guy quoted per square foot, and it was less.” Ask what the square-foot number covers: minimum charge, stains, edges and obstacles. A flat price already includes them.
- “It is only a driveway.” Show the line: 2.5 hours and a surface cleaner. The price is the same whether you finish early or not.
- “Can you do the house too for less?” Yes, offer the house-and-driveway package line ($585 at $95) rather than discounting your rate.
- “I will think about it.” Leave the written estimate with its expiry date so your number is the one they compare against.
How to quote it in about two minutes
- Set your real labor rate, supply markup and rounding once. Every number above is the book’s sample.
- Open the Pressure Washing book and pick the line for the size and surface: driveway bucket, house story and square footage, deck, roof or gutter.
- Add the oil, rust or sealing lines only if the customer needs them, and the package line if they want house and driveway together.
- Send the quote with the minimum stated, so the customer sees one clear price.
Prices checked October 19, 2026 against QuoteIron’s price book (priced 2026-09) at three sample hourly rates. Reference figures: Joist pressure washing pricing guide (updated October 14, 2026, read October 19, 2026). The 600 square foot conversion is an illustration with a stated assumption. Not tax or legal advice.
