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How to price pressure washing (driveways, houses, decks)
Updated November 8, 2026 by Qazzly
A plain guide for owner-operators and small crews: how to measure, which rate to use for each surface, when to charge more for dirt and height, why a minimum job matters, and worked examples you can rerun in the free calculator.
Measure every surface
A good quote starts with a tape measure, not a guess. Flat surfaces are priced by the square foot: multiply the length by the width, and split odd shapes into rectangles. Fences and gutter faces are easier by the linear foot. For siding, multiply the length of each wall by its height and add the triangles under the gables (width times height, halved). Write each surface down on its own line: driveway, walkway, patio, house, deck, fence.
Keep the surfaces separate on the quote too. The customer sees what each part costs, and can drop the patio without asking you to start again.
Price each surface in its own unit
Concrete, siding and wood behave differently. Concrete takes high pressure and a surface cleaner and goes fast. Siding is usually soft washed: low pressure and a cleaning solution, with more care around windows and plants. Wood decks need low pressure and more time so the boards are not damaged. Fixr's cost table shows this spread by material: about $0.30–$0.33 per square foot for concrete, $0.30–$0.40 for vinyl and $0.30–$0.50 for wood [1]. Give each surface its own rate and its own time per square foot, and the quote follows the work.
Driveways
Driveways are the classic first job. HomeAdvisor lists $0.30–$0.55 per square foot for a driveway [2], and Fixr puts the average whole driveway job at $180–$240 [1]. Oil, rust and tire marks take extra chemicals and time, so price them as a separate "per spot" line instead of raising the rate for the whole slab. Sealing is a different job with different products; quote it separately if you offer it.
House washing
House washing is priced by the square foot of siding. Fixr gives $0.25–$0.35 per square foot for soft washing [1]. The real cost driver is height: second and third stories need ladders, longer wands or more reach, and slow every step. In the calculator, the building height multiplier only changes lines ticked "height applies" (house wash, roof soft wash and gutter faces by default), so a two-story house does not make the driveway more expensive.
Decks
Decks are slower per square foot than concrete: low pressure, careful passes along the grain, and more rinsing. That is why the calculator's example deck rate is higher than its driveway rate. Fixr puts the average deck job at about $100–$200, depending on size and material [1]. If the customer wants the deck stained or sealed after the wash, that is a separate line with its own drying time.
Condition changes the price
A surface that has not been cleaned in years takes longer and needs more chemicals. Fixr notes that most people spend $0.30 per square foot on simple to moderate jobs and up to $0.80 on heavy-duty ones [1]. The calculator handles this with one "surface condition" choice that scales every line, price and time together, so you do not have to rewrite your rates for every dirty job.
Set a minimum job
Loading the trailer, driving out, setting up and cleaning up cost the same on a small patio as on a big driveway. Fixr says it is very common for companies to have minimum charges between $100 and $350 [1]. In the calculator the minimum applies after any discount, and the quote shows the top-up as its own line.
What published guides say
These figures come from cost guides written for homeowners. They are not "the market rate": prices vary by region, surface, season and equipment. Use them as a sanity check next to your own costs and times.
| Source | What it covers | Published range |
|---|---|---|
| HomeAdvisor [2] | Driveway | $0.30–$0.55 per sq ft |
| Fixr [1] | Driveway, whole job | $180–$240 |
| Fixr [1] | Pressure washing in general (simple to heavy-duty jobs) | $0.30–$0.80 per sq ft |
| Fixr [1] | Concrete | $0.30–$0.33 per sq ft |
| Fixr [1] | Vinyl siding | $0.30–$0.40 per sq ft |
| Fixr [1] | Wood | $0.30–$0.50 per sq ft |
| Fixr [1] | Soft washing | $0.25–$0.35 per sq ft |
| Fixr [1] | Deck, whole job | $100–$200 |
| Fixr [1] | Minimum charge, when a company has one | $100–$350 |
Worked examples
These use the calculator's example values. They are placeholders, not a recommendation, and they sit below some of the published ranges above: replace them with your own rates and times.
- Driveway $0.18 per sq ft and 0.05 worker-minutes per sq ft; house wash $0.20 and 0.04; deck $0.40 and 0.12
- 20 minutes of setup and clean-up, 1 worker, labour cost $25 per worker-hour
- Chemicals and supplies 8% of the work price, minimum job $150, no tax or travel charge
- Two story = 1.2 on the "height applies" lines; heavy dirt or mildew = 1.25 on every line
Small job: a 600 sq ft driveway (the calculator's example values)
| Driveway / concrete, 600 sq ft | $108.00 |
| Minimum job charge top-up | $42.00 |
| Total for the customer | $150.00 |
| Time | 0.8 h on site (50 worker-minutes) |
| Labour cost at the example $25 per worker-hour | $20.83 |
The driveway work comes to $108.00, so the $150 minimum adds a $42.00 top-up line. Without a minimum, this visit would barely cover the drive and the setup.
House wash, two story, 2,000 sq ft of siding, plus the same driveway
| Driveway / concrete, 600 sq ft | $108.00 |
| House wash (siding), 2,000 sq ft | $480.00 |
| Total for the customer | $588.00 |
| Time | 2.4 h on site (146 worker-minutes) |
| Labour cost at the example $25 per worker-hour | $60.83 |
The siding line is 2,000 sq ft at $0.20, times 1.2 for the second story: $480.00. The driveway stays at $108.00, because height does not apply to it.
Deck only: 400 sq ft of wood, heavy dirt or mildew
| Deck (wood or composite), 400 sq ft | $200.00 |
| Total for the customer | $200.00 |
| Time | 1.4 h on site (85 worker-minutes) |
| Labour cost at the example $25 per worker-hour | $35.42 |
Heavy dirt scales both the deck and the setup time by 1.25, so 400 sq ft at $0.40 becomes $200.00. Open the calculator, set the driveway to 0, the deck to 400 and the condition to "Heavy dirt or mildew", and you get the same $200.00. Then put in your own rates and print the quote.
Sources
- Fixr, "How much does it cost to pressure wash the exterior of a house?" (updated Jan 31, 2025; checked 2026-11-08). https://www.fixr.com/costs/pressure-wash-house
- HomeAdvisor, driveway pressure washing cost guide (updated Jun 20, 2026; checked 2026-11-08). https://www.homeadvisor.com/cost/cleaning-services/pressure-wash-driveway/
Ranges are quoted as published by each source on the date shown; they change. The worked examples use the calculator's example values, not market rates. This page is general information, not business or tax advice.