There is a lot of thought that goes into bidding a pressure washing job, it is not just a matter of showing up and pointing your wand at something and letting the water flow. You can do that, but you will end up with unhappy customers and probably lose money.

It would be best to factor in the cost of materials, travel time, labor, overhead, and profit. You can also look at it as having to deal with a client who might be hard to please. As far as purchasing materials for the job, you need to be sure of your switch shop for chemicals. Again it is dependent on where your located.

There is no "right" way to quote a pressure washing job. The answer is different for every business, depending on their overhead, the market they are in, the competition they face, and a whole host of other factors.

The most common way is to price by the job - a fixed price based on the size of the house, or if doing business properties, by square foot. Many companies just base the price on what they think the customer will pay, or charge a set hourly rate.

Some companies charge by the hour and let their customers know that there is no set fee for services. They tell them it could take 1 hour or 3 hours, depending. This can be risky because if you do a large job in 1 hour you are not making as much money as if you did it in 3 hours. If you take too long and don't finish in 3 hours, you've just made less than your competition who priced by the job (which means they finish quickly to get more jobs done).

Here are some factors that determine the quote you receive from a pressure washing business.

Surface area

Here you measure the areas to be cleaned in square feet or square meters depending on your location. To determine this, you simply measure the length and width of each area so that you can multiply them together and get the total square footage. Some surfaces may be more difficult to clean or require more attention than others, so you must take that into consideration as well for a more accurate quote. You also have to take into consideration how much time it will take you to get all of your equipment setup safely to start cleaning.

Accessibility

Once you know how much surface area there is, you need to find out how easy it is to access each surface so that you can clean it properly and safely. If there is scaffolding needed up high, you will charge extra accordingly since this takes additional time and effort on your part.

Type of material

Not all materials can be cleaned using high-pressure water alone. Some need additional treatments to prevent damage during cleaning. For example, if your patio is made of stone pavers, they will need to be sanded after cleaning. Sanding not only gets rid of dirt but also fills in voids between the stones so ants can't move in and make nests there. This might cost more compared to using high-pressure water alone for a wooden deck cleaning job.

What's included

Some contractors only include washing and rinsing in their estimates while others might also include sealant application or sanding services. Read through their proposals carefully before signing any contract so you know exactly what you're getting for the price quoted. You can request for more help from the Giraffetools collections if you find challenges in quoting your service.