By QuoteIron TeamUpdated 16 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 one-car driveway at $155, a two-car driveway at $255, a three-car driveway at $360 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; at assumed areas the book’s driveways work out to $0.52 (one-car, 300 sq ft), $0.425 (two-car, 600 sq ft) and $0.40 (three-car, 900 sq ft) per square foot (illustration).
- Keep a minimum ($105 at $95), a trip charge ($50) and roofs, oil stains ($180) and sealing a two-car driveway ($615) as separate lines.
Related: Handyman price list: a flat-rate list to print · Roofing estimate template for contractors · How much to charge for lawn cutting · 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.
How to charge for pressure washing: the four steps
- Measure or bucket the surface. Measure the square feet, or pick the bucket: one-, two- or three-car driveway, single-story or two-story house. At the $95 sample rate a one-car driveway is $155, a two-car $255 and a three-car $360.
- Pick the method. Pressure wash (or power wash) hard surfaces such as concrete and soft-wash siding, stucco and roofs, then check the flat price against a per-square-foot figure.
- Add the stain and sealing lines. Oil stain removal is $180 for up to 50 square feet, rust stain removal is $185 and sealing a two-car driveway is $615, all at $95 an hour. Quote them as lines, not surprises.
- State the minimum. The first-hour minimum is $105 at $95 an hour. Put it on the estimate so a small driveway never prices below it.
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 November 2, 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. It also lists a 1,200 square foot driveway at $360 to $660 and advises setting a minimum charge so small driveways still cover travel and setup. 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: one-, two- and three-car, concrete and pavers
At the $95 sample rate a one-car driveway is $155, a two-car driveway is $255 and a three-car or oversized driveway is $360 in 2026. The book buckets by car count because it is the fastest way to size a driveway from the curb, and each bucket carries its own hours.
Driveway lines
| 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 |
| Oil stain removal, driveway — up to 50 sq ft affected area | 1.5 h / $28 | $150 | $180 | $225 |
| Rust stain removal from concrete — sprinkler & fertilizer stains, up to 50 sq ft | 1.5 h / $30 | $155 | $185 | $230 |
| 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.
A per-square-foot check on each bucket
When a customer asks for a per-square-foot number, divide the flat price by the area you measured. The areas below are assumptions to show the arithmetic, not measurements from the book:
| Driveway | Assumed area (illustration) | Book price at $95/hr | Per square foot |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-car | 300 sq ft | $155 | $0.52 |
| Two-car | 600 sq ft | $255 | $0.425 |
| Three-car / oversized | 900 sq ft | $360 | $0.40 |
The one-car line works out to $0.52 per square foot because a small driveway still carries setup and breakdown time, while the larger buckets spread that time over more area. Use this as a sanity check on your own measured areas, not as a replacement for the flat price.
What a surface cleaner changes about time
The book’s two-car line is 2.5 hours for a standard driveway edge to edge with a flat surface cleaner, and the three-car line is 3.5 hours including aprons and any parking pad. If you work with a wand alone the job takes longer than the book assumes, so set your own hours before you price it; the price follows hours times your rate. Slope, heavy soil or a second pass are reasons to add time, and the book has an additional-cleaning-time line ($110 per hour at $95) for scope added at the door.
Concrete versus pavers
The book’s driveway lines are written for concrete. It has no separate paver-driveway line; its paver lines are for patios and walks up to 400 square feet: clean and re-sand with polymeric sand is $490 and sealing pavers is $570 at $95. Pavers add sand and sealer cost that a plain wash does not, so do not price a paver driveway from the plain concrete line alone. Efflorescence on brick, block or paver (up to 300 square feet) is its own $270 line at $95.
Sealing after the wash
Sealing a two-car concrete driveway is two coats of penetrating siloxane sealer: 4 hours and $180 of sealer, $615 at $95, with the cleaning quoted separately. Washed and sealed, a two-car driveway is therefore $255 plus $615, or $870 at $95 when sold as two lines (illustration of the sum).
Stains and the minimum
Oil and transmission stains are priced for up to 50 square feet of affected area ($150, $180 or $225), and rust from sprinklers or fertilizer is $155, $185 or $230. A small driveway should be quoted at the minimum when its flat or per-square-foot price comes in below it. At $95 the first-hour minimum is $105, so a 200 square foot driveway at $0.425 per square foot would be $85 (illustration) and you would quote $105 instead.
Patios, walks and pool decks
| Book line | Hours / materials | At $75/hr | At $95/hr | At $125/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Clean patio, 400-800 sq ft | 3 h / $18 | $250 | $310 | $400 |
| Pool deck cleaning | 3 h / $20 | $255 | $315 | $405 |
| Seal concrete patio, walkway or pool deck, up to 400 sq ft | 2.5 h / $130 | $360 | $410 | $485 |
| Paver patio clean & re-sand with polymeric sand, up to 400 sq ft | 3.5 h / $120 | $420 | $490 | $595 |
| Seal pavers, patio or walkway, up to 400 sq ft | 3.5 h / $180 | $500 | $570 | $675 |
| Efflorescence removal, brick, block or paver, up to 300 sq ft | 2.25 h / $40 | $225 | $270 | $335 |
The patio lines go by area (up to 400 or 400 to 800 square feet), and the sealing lines assume the surface is already clean. Walkways and a patio are also bundled into the whole-property exterior package.
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 November 2, 2026 against QuoteIron’s price book (priced 2026-09) at three sample hourly rates. Reference figures: Joist pressure washing pricing guide (re-read November 2, 2026, updated October 14, 2026). The 300, 600, 900 and 200 square foot driveway conversions and the $870 sealed-driveway sum are illustrations with stated assumptions. Not tax or legal advice.
