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House Washing Prices

27K views 46 replies 24 participants last post by  CleanForFun 
#1 ·
After an exhaustive search of the net, and asking those who know, I have come to the conclusion (at least here in Baltimore, MD), that the going rate for house pressure washing is: $100 an hour, up to 3 hours...after which its on me. Basically, $300 is the top I would charge for a general house cleaning. Add-on's would be drive ways, side walks and so forth.

I'm pretty much in the beginning stage of this business, so I know you guys know way more than I do. Though I only dropped 16K to start this thing I think its money well spent. Spent the money on a new van (new to me anyway), pressure washer (Sunbrite rox), Insurance, bond, chems, tons of toys (X-Jet and so forth), Web site (was free...GF is a web designer, but having my web site posted on the top 10 search of Google/yahoo is priceless), and all kinds of toys.

Today, I did a two story house (friend who was crazy happy to get a free house wash, and was spastic happy with the wash itself...was filthy prior to the wash). :thumbup: Tomorrow we hand out customized flyer's (only spent about $50 at Office Depot).

Cant tell you's how friggen happy I am to get away from the "work for an employer for what-ever and hour" mentality. Sorry, first business for me...lol!

Anyway... generally, what is the "per hour rate" or per square linear footage rate you guys charge in your area? Just trying to get an idea here. :D

Thanx for the info in advance.

Tom
www.ultrabrite.net
 
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#4 · (Edited)
Ultra,

Your selling yourself short. Beleive me I know...last year was my first year fulltime, charging 100 an hour. This year, I am working a part time gig again and starting my business all over...

Sell value..., dont sell washing, sell the value of having a clean exterior, and then you can get a lot more than just 100 an hour. If you charge 100 an hour, and pay for insurance, gas, equipment, etc and etc you will make next to nothing.

For example, I just cleaned a roof and got 489 for it. My buddy did a roof 3/4 of the size and closed it for almost 600. The roof I did he said he gets 700-800. I left a lot of money on the table because I thought "I'm making way over 100 an hour, I'm doing good".

Now, after I pay for my help and chems, I am looking at 400, gas was 30 so now I am down to 370, had to buy some parts for 150 now I am down to 230, and now my van needs some work and now I am at neg-270.

So, see what I mean...your going to have to test your market, but test on the high end. If your closing 80% of your jobs, raise your prices more.

If you get out here charging 150 for housewashes, its not going to be pretty at the end of the year for you.

Just my .02
 
#6 ·
Yeah, I see what your saying Don. Still though seems a little confusing on how to charge. I'm guessing square footage or linear footage would be a better quote. I will have to kick the numbers around.
A lot of guys go by linear foot. Some say charge $1 a foot. My house is 40x26. If you go by that it would cost 132 to do my house. With the price of everything, plus the customer acquistion cost, what would you really make?
 
#8 ·
Pricing House Washing

Ultra

The average price is what was mentioned above per linear foot per story. Some charge more some charge less, it's whatever your market will allow. You have to have a minimum price though, like mentioned above on a smaller home pricing by the linear foot will kill you. A good minimum for a premium house washing service in my area would be around $300.

Don't price jobs by the hour by trying to figure how long it will take you. Price per linear foot that way as your methods improve and you get more efficient it's like giving yourself a raise. There is nothing wrong with making good money in this industry. Just provide a premium service at a higher end price to separate yourself from the dude with the washer in the back of his station wagon. You'll be grateful a couple of years from now when you have a quality loyal customer base.

Good luck.
 
#9 ·
Ok, I will keep that in mind Barry. On message boards lately I have been reading varying figures as to what to charge. Initially I thought it was supposed to be around 150 for a house wash. I thought to myself: "How am I supposed to live on that??". Then I noticed numbers at around 400+. I'm guessing the linear footage equation would be best. Today, and Friday I have estimates to give. Hopefully I get the numbers straight for those.

Which reminds me... I noticed on craigslist, some joker was offering pressure washing (siding, deck, AND concrete) for around 99 bucks. I almost fell outta my chair when I read that. Then I sent a little "sting email" to him, pretending to be a customer in search of a quote. As a matter of fact, I will cut and paste it here:

I noticed the prices on that ad you placed on Craigslist. Sounds really good. What is the brand of cleaner you use for the exterior pressure washing, by name? I have a friend who has been pressure washing for some years now, and said that this price is incredibly low, considering the cost of house wash cleaner. His prices are much higher (which is why I cant afford to have him pressure wash my house) He said to give you some details of my home and get an idea of how much it would cost. Here goes:

I have a 2100 square foot house, no deck, no artillery fungus, and no mildew/mold. Also, would you be using a hot water pressure washer, or cold water? The siding is aluminum, and not oxidized.

Thanx in advance.


LOL! I cant wait to get a reply. :laughing:
 
#10 ·
I would know that came from a contractor in a heartbeat.

For the record.. in the northeast you have to charge much higher for a house wash because if our short season and higher cost of living. I get $395 (my minimum on a HW) to $850 every day of the week. We offer above and beyond service, peace of mind and a pleasant experience, which is what customers will pay for.
 
#12 ·
I would also know that that message came from a contractor.....too many technical terms....i would be surprised if he responds at all. and if he does Id love to see his reply....you should create another email address and ask him again but without any technical terms.....

this pricing thing is driving me nuts as well. I was figuring on my first couple of estimates going with 300 as my min and if i land the jobs start pricing higher. Ive started my advertising and my first ad comes out in 2 weeks....i have offered some freebies like free window washing with house wash up to 7....you know...everyone on the boards talk a good game about money but noone really gives you an exact price or a ball park figure to charge, they all say go with what your area will allow.....for someone starting off how do u do that? pull a figure out of your butt? I tell you this, i loose out on my first couple of estimates and i need to put food on the table my price has to go down.....so i can atleast get a burger or two off the dollar menu...........

just venting
 
#13 ·
That contractor did actually get back to me. He changed his price to $300. I have to wonder... exactly what is the structure he would do for 99 bucks? A shed maybe? lol

Anyway, I seem to be having a lot of luck with "$1.25 per linear foot per story". Maybe its just the area I've been "farming" for business in lately. For example: today I did an estimate for a 28X28 two story house. I charged $280, which is a reasonable price. The siding is new, and except for one wall, its fairly clean. I have to clean the gutters, and even through in a wash for the RV in the driveway.

The homeowner said before I arrived, he had another guy do an estimate, but that they lost the bid because he would need a translator to understand the contractor. (Contractors first language was apparently not English..haha). The homeowner also said, that although the non-English speaking contractors was $195, he still chose me because I clearly explained the reasoning behind my price.

Actually, in addition to that, he wants me to PW his moms house, a few streets over and refer more business my way. Cant beat that with a stick.
 
#14 ·
OMG... I cannot believe how much I DIDN'T know back then! HAHAHA!!!

I am setting here, revisiting some of my first posts here on this board and wondering how in the hell I made it this far?!? LOL!!!

Tell ya what... owning and running your own business can be quite an education, and one that no book will teach you. :thumbsup:
 
#15 ·
wow, i cant remmber the last time i was here but got a email in my box saying someone responded to my post from almost 4 years ago!!!LOL, i agree with you 100,000 percent, what you learn that noone teaches you, glad to see your still in buisness, and that 300 price i was going to go with worked out pretty darn well.....i pulled a great one out of my ass!:thumbup:
 
#17 ·
After an exhaustive search of the net, and asking those who know, I have come to the conclusion (at least here in Baltimore, MD), that the going rate for house pressure washing is: $100 an hour, up to 3 hours...after which its on me. Basically, $300 is the top I would charge for a general house cleaning. Add-on's would be drive ways, side walks and so forth.

I'm pretty much in the beginning stage of this business, so I know you guys know way more than I do. Though I only dropped 16K to start this thing I think its money well spent. Spent the money on a new van (new to me anyway), pressure washer (Sunbrite rox), Insurance, bond, chems, tons of toys (X-Jet and so forth), Web site (was free...GF is a web designer, but having my web site posted on the top 10 search of Google/yahoo is priceless), and all kinds of toys.

Today, I did a two story house (friend who was crazy happy to get a free house wash, and was spastic happy with the wash itself...was filthy prior to the wash). :thumbup: Tomorrow we hand out customized flyer's (only spent about $50 at Office Depot).

Cant tell you's how friggen happy I am to get away from the "work for an employer for what-ever and hour" mentality. Sorry, first business for me...lol!

Anyway... generally, what is the "per hour rate" or per square linear footage rate you guys charge in your area? Just trying to get an idea here. :D

Thanx for the info in advance.

Tom
www.ultrabrite.net
Hello, I am 62 years old and I've been pressure washing since 1978.
About the only thing you can do is figure how much $ you need to make in a day. You can pretty safely estimate business costs to run about 33%
yearly.
So, if you bid a house at $150.00 you can expect to profit $100.00
I have watched pressure washing businesses come and go by the dozens!
Their number 1 problem is thinking they will start out with low-ball prices to get started. What that actually does is keep them from ever getting a start. In general, homeowners know what the going rate is in their area and when a low-baller comes in, they shy away from him, assuming [ and rightly so ] that he can't know what he's doing. Here in Florida pressure washing is a very common business and price cutters have all but ruined it for everyone. Back in the 90's I could get 15 cents a square foot [ under roof ] on shingled roofs and 20 cents on tile. Now that all the off duty firemen and vacationing school teachers etc have been doing it on the side at lower prices than professionals, for the last 10 years or so I can't get over 12 cents on shingles and 15 cents on tile.
Every state is different though, but the need for pressure washing started in Florida and is still greatest in Florida, so we are over run with competition.
One thing you can always do though, have 2 prices in mind and when you go bid the job, give one for more than you need and bid it at say $250.00 If the customer acts shocked, you can do one of 2 things. You can speak right up and say "I have next Thursday open at the moment and I'd like to have a job to start the day out with, so if I can do it Thursday, I'll do it for $200.00 { assuming that's what you really need to get }
Or, you can leave them with the $250 price and call them back in a couple of days and try the lower offer, explaining that you have an unscheduled day coming up. Not to fool them, but to appease their desire for a better deal.
Just don't take jobs for less than you need to earn, or you will fail in business! :cry:
I hope that this advice will be of help to you.
Chuck
 
#24 · (Edited)
Thank You! Yup, I'm 63 now and I just did this roof last Friday and got rained off just before I finished it. You can see I had my little 23mpg vehicle with me. My son was off doing 3 other jobs with the big truck.
It is not easy. Thursday and Friday were the hottest recorded temperatures for that date since 1950 [according to the local paper] I only had a quart of Gator-aide with me and got dehydrated. I felt sickly for 3 days. My son is finishing the job this morning and doing all the pressure cleaning too.
 

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#26 ·
Thats good your son is involved. Pressure washing is not the most glamorous job but there is plenty of money to make a decent living from. The company i started workinf for way back when we started with 2 vans and have grown to 14 isuzu box trucks. During the summer time 3-4 trucks just do houses doing 3-4 of them a day depending of course on the houses. and about 1/3 of them are repeat customers. We also have contracts with all the local post offices. I myself love the building restoration. We do a lot of work for the historical society. they dont like sand blasting which is why they prefer pressure washing. Even then they dont like a lot of pressure, but the chemical does most of the work anyway. I hope u feel better, being on a roof in hot blazing sun is like being in a skillet on a stove. Been there before to!
 
#27 ·
:) I just gave you a +1 on your blog + Twitter and Facebook. I would have given you a positive comment, but didn't see a place for it or to "follow"
Sounds like you have become quite a big company! :thumbsup:
My son and I have chosen to -first cut back in size [ I once had 5 men working for me and didn't care for the headaches :sick: ] and now we just keep it father and son, by not traveling too far and using pricing to weed out "the less desirable jobs" and keep the "fewer good ones" :D
My income has not changed by the cutbacks. It stayed about the same.
You know what employees cost!
Here is one of my blogs, if you care to comment or follow etc.

http://local.yahoo.com/info-83605029-chuck-bergman-s-gentle-roof-cleaning-venice-fl-port-charlotte
THANKS!
 
#28 · (Edited)
Thank you! will do the same for your site! I probably will put the comments back on my blog. I do not own the company that I talk about. I used to work there as of about 4 months ago. It's a long story but to make it short, when we were a small company, the owner treated people with respect and dignity. But as it is now, as he has grown, he has changed as a person. I loved the work and I loved my job, but his job ethics have changed as far as how his level of performance of quality of how the job gets done and also how employees are treated. When he starts telling me to write stops down as if they were washed, and bills them, I dont agree. Even though it has no effect on me, I have a great re pore with all the accounts that I do. Some I have gotten myself. He has been caught and has lost accounts from this and from lousy jobs being done. But most of all it was the respect and dignity, which he has none now. It was a tough decision for me to leave as I have a family with a 6 year old son. On the good side I get to spend a lot more time with him as I would work an average of 60 hrs a week and also weekends. It's a struggle but I am keeping the faith and in time an opportunity will present itself. Also to me you are right on the money staying, I dont want to say small, but doing what you are comfortable with and that make you money. Also keeps the over head low as with workmans comp and ect. And as you said you still make the same with less headaches.
 
#29 ·
Sorry! I see now that I misread your post! :sad:
That scenario is not all that uncommon, unfortunately!
I started in business in Ithaca,NY in 1978. I know that I was in better moods as a 1 man operation, than I was in with 5 men working for me around 1983. Now that it's been just my son and I since 1994, I'm in a pretty good mood all the time and even I'd like working for me! :laughing:
I hope you get a good break soon and do very well for yourself and your family!
:thumbsup:
 
#30 ·
I don't want to make it sound that I am a cry-baby. I know as a boss and owner that there are a lot of pressures that most employees don't see. They don't pay the taxes, accountant , insurance, dealing with customers, doing bids, finding work to keep everybody busy- time in to keep the business going and growing. It's not there business or income on the line as an employee they can find another job. As an employer, going under means losing a lot more and also puts a big financial burden even though it may be closed. So being in bad moods is nothing to feel bad about. How about being rooked out of state pay rate work when we were restoring schools buildings, I was receiving my regular pay even though the company got paid that rate. Or finishing a job that was bid, 3 days early, saving 3 days of 3 men of hours for the company. Would you throw the lead man a little extra change? Or at least fix the heater in the work truck so you are not numb pulling into a stop in the winter. I saved them so much money by designing and building our own pressure washing units, but wont buy parts to keep them up. nothing worse pulling into a stop and the machine pulsating like a jackhammer and the pressure of a trig sprayer. So as far as bad moods, thats nothing as an owner.
 
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