How to Price House Washing, Driveways, and Concrete

Underpricing a house wash is quiet until you are still on the wall at 4 p.m. and the driveway they “thought was included” is dry and filthy. Pricing exterior cleaning well means treating siding, driveways, and concrete as different products, then applying story, access, and condition multipliers instead of one driveway guess.

This guide gives operators a floor, a product split, and a formula you can teach. Pair it with quoting from the driveway. The goal is profitable work you can finish before dark.

Know your numbers before you quote

Build a cost floor for one productive hour:

• Labor (loaded - payroll tax, workers’ comp, overtime reality)
• Fuel, truck, trailer, and pump wear
• Water when you haul it; chemicals and tips when you do not
• Insurance slice that actually matches washing, not “handyman”
• Overhead (phone, software, marketing, shop)

Then add the profit you need. Winning a wash that loses money is volunteering with a pressure wand.

Worked example: cost floor for one wash hour

These numbers are illustrative - replace them with yours:

If a one-story maintenance wash is 90 minutes on site plus 20 minutes of setup, breakdown, and allocated travel, you are in the ballpark of 110 minutes of economic time. At ~$115/hour that stop wants roughly $210 before add-ons - not $125 because a Facebook comment said “my guy does it for $99.”

You do not need perfect accounting. You need a floor you will not bid under without a reason (density fill-in, off-peak, or a commercial package with volume).

House, driveway, and concrete are not one job

A house wash is chemistry, height, dwell, and rinse. A driveway is surface area, oil, gum, and how fast the slab recovers. A pool deck or sidewalk is another product again - tighter edges, more furniture, more “you missed a spot.”

If you hide concrete inside a house number, you trained the customer that slabs are free.

Quote them as lines. Bundle the total if you want a package price. Keep the lines visible so a dropped driveway does not require a new invention.

On the estimate map, outline House for the building and hardscape for driveway or concrete. Lock footage. Price the line. Lot size stays turf if you also mow that address - see pressure washing on MowProHQ.

Story and access are multipliers, not footnotes

A one-story ranch with a hose bib on the corner is not a two-story with a six-foot side yard and a well pump that hates you.

Story

Two-story is setup, reach, rinse, and risk. It is not a $25 courtesy.

Access and water

A “medium” house with terrible access is not a medium price.

Condition changes the product

Maintenance rinse and restoration are not the same SKU.

• Maintenance: Seasonal algae, light mildew, they wash every year or two. Predictable dwell. You can stand behind the result.
• Restoration: Years of oxidation, rust, fertilizer stain, or “we never had it done.” More chemistry, more passes, and a honest sentence that oxidized vinyl may stay chalky.
• Concrete stains: Oil, rust, tire marks, and dumpster juice are extras. A surface cleaner makes a driveway look 80% better. The last 20% is a different quote or a polite no.

Write the condition on the quote. Future-you will not remember which Cedar Lane was the oxidized one.

Example residential bands (customize to your market)

Then multiply for story, access, and condition. Round to numbers people remember.

Price add-ons explicitly

Windows (if you actually do them), screens, patio furniture reset, fence, roof (only if you sell it), and oil-spot treatment should not be “included unless we forget.”

Either:

• Bundle them into a named package, or
• List them as add-ons with prices

Ambiguity becomes a dispute when the siding is dry and they are pointing at the patio. Protect yourself with quotes that spell out scope.

If a helper “just did the walk for goodwill,” you trained the street that walks are free.

Cash vs card: decide once

Processing has a cost. Many washers use:

• A Cash price for cash or check, and
• A Regular (card) price that covers processing

Cash and check stay free. In MowProHQ, cards are 4% + $0.30 on Free and 3.5% + $0.30 on Growth and Pro. Put both totals on the quote and the invoice. Do not negotiate the difference away at the truck unless you are intentionally discounting margin.

A clean approach:

1. Publish the cash/check package as the base you need to keep.
2. Show Regular as the alternate.
3. Use the same language on the portal.
4. Collect before you leave when you can - they forget wet siding faster than they forget a weekly mow.

Route density still matters

A $180 wash next to two others on the same street can be a good day. The same $180 wash 35 minutes across town may not be, especially if you haul water.

When a lead is outside your dense area:

• Charge a trip premium
• Raise the minimum
• Or decline and protect the day

Saying no is a pricing skill. Empty miles plus a two-story setup is unpaid labor with a ladder.

Density decision table

A simple quoting formula you can teach

1. Outline the House (and hardscape if they want it) and lock footage
2. Estimate on-site minutes for that product
3. Multiply by target revenue per minute
4. Apply story, access, and condition multipliers
5. Add explicit driveway / concrete / fence lines
6. Round to clean numbers
7. Write scope in one short paragraph
8. State start window and Regular vs Cash

If two people in your company cannot land within a small range, your system is still tribal knowledge.

Worked quote: two-story maintenance plus driveway

• Base one-story medium maintenance: 90 minutes → at ~$1.90/minute ≈ $170
• Two-story with decent access: ×1.4 → $238
• Long hose run: ×1.1 → $262
• Round house wash to $275 cash / Regular card total per your rate
• Driveway ~800 sq ft, light oil: $150 cash as its own line
• Scope: siding, soffits, garage door; driveway optional; roof not included; oxidized spots may remain visible

That quote can be defended. “$350 for the whole outside” cannot.

Commercial vs residential instincts

Residential buyers compare three texts and a Facebook post. Commercial buyers care about insurance, invoice clarity, and whether you will still show up in July. They still notice if you are the cheap emergency vendor.

• Price dumpster pads, lots, and storefronts per property, not a handshake for “the shopping center”
• Use higher minimums for tiny pads that kill the day
• Recurring beats one-off - see commercial pressure washing routes
• Align invoicing with their AP cycle without accidentally waiting 45 days

When to raise prices

Raise when:

• Chemicals, labor, or insurance jump
• You are booked out and still matching Facebook numbers
• Two-story demand exceeds the hours you have
• Access got worse (new fence, new dog, new HOA rule)
• Your cost floor moved and last year’s $199 no longer clears margin

For one-off residential, the new quote is the new price. For commercial routes, give notice and a reason. Accounts that only stay for a below-cost rate are capacity you can sell to someone who pays.

Handling pushback without collapsing the number

• Offer to drop a line (driveway off, house only) instead of silently cutting the same scope
• Hold restoration as restoration
• Walk away: “At that budget you will be happier with a rinse-only from someone else, or a smaller scope from me.”

If every won job required a one-off exception, your rate card is fiction.

Where software helps pricing stick

Software will not invent your rates. It can:

• Store house and hardscape measurements so you are not re-guessing
• Keep quote → job → invoice aligned
• Keep Regular vs Cash consistent
• Hold property notes that explain why this two-story costs more

That is the point of quotes connected to invoicing, not another PDF template. Solo operators: see pressure washing software for a solo operator.

How MowProHQ supports wash pricing

MowProHQ lets you outline House or hardscape on the estimate map, lock footage, and price that line. Lot size stays turf if you also mow. Quotes, invoices, Regular vs Cash, scheduling, CRM, the portal, and a website editor are on Free with two seats. Cash and check stay free. Growth is $39/mo for unlimited seats, live site and lead inbox, dispatch, GPS, and timeclock, with cards at 3.5% + $0.30 versus 4% + $0.30 on Free. Pro is $89/mo. Phone is $19/mo. AI receptionist is $29/mo.

Start free. Price the house you are looking at, not the driveway guess you hope is close. Busy and broke is optional.

Frequently asked questions

How do I price house washing correctly?

Start with a cost floor for a loaded hour of labor, water, chemicals, fuel, and overhead. Estimate on-site time from the house outline, then apply story, access, and condition multipliers. Price driveways and other concrete as separate products, not a round-up on the siding number.

Should house washing and driveway cleaning be the same rate?

No. Siding is chemistry, height, and dwell time. Concrete is surface area, oil, gum, and recovery. A driveway attached to a cheap house-wash number is how you donate an hour and a surface cleaner. Quote them as lines.

How much extra should I charge for a two-story house wash?

Two-story is not a polite bump. It is more setup, more reach, more rinse, and more risk. Many operators use a 1.3-1.6 multiplier on a comparable one-story, then add more for poor side-yard access. Measure, then multiply. Do not guess from the street.

How should I handle cash vs card on pressure washing prices?

Publish Regular vs Cash dual pricing on every quote and invoice. Cash and check stay free of processing. Card rates are 4% + $0.30 on Free and 3.5% + $0.30 on Growth and Pro in MowProHQ. Put both totals in writing so the fee is not a surprise when the siding is dry.

How do I price oxidized or neglected siding?

Treat restoration as a different product from a maintenance rinse. Heavy oxidation, years of algae, or rust streaks take more chemistry and more passes, and still may not look new. Quote a restoration line with photo assumptions, or decline. Do not bury it in a maintenance price.

What is a simple formula for quoting a house wash?

Lock house or hardscape footage, estimate minutes, multiply by target revenue per minute, apply story and access multipliers, add explicit hardscape lines, round to a clean number, and write scope in one paragraph. Two estimators should land in a tight range.

When should I raise house washing prices?

Raise when chemicals, labor, or insurance jump, when you are booked out and still discounting, when two-story demand exceeds the hours you have, or when a property’s access got worse. Give notice on commercial routes. For one-off residential, the new quote is the new price.