How to Write a Pressure Washing Estimate

Walk the property before you price it

A pressure washing estimate does two jobs: it prices the work, and it records what the property looked like before you touched it. Both need a walkaround, even when the customer only asked about the driveway.

Customers say "wash the house" when they mean the siding, the driveway, the walk and maybe the deck, and each of those has its own method, risk and price. As you walk, note what each surface is made of and its condition, where your water will come from and run, what sits close to the work (plants, cars, outlets, vents, neighbors), any overhead power lines near where you'll raise a ladder or extension wand, and damage that's already there.

Turning measurements into prices is covered in how to price pressure washing jobs. This guide covers what goes on the page.

Measure each surface the way you price it

Measure in the unit you price in and put the quantity on every line. Three bids for "the driveway" can't be compared unless the square footage is on the page.

• Flatwork: length times width, with odd shapes split into rectangles and triangles. Note the material (broom-finish, exposed aggregate, stamped or sealed concrete, pavers or stone), because the method changes with it.
• House walls: the perimeter times the wall height, plus the gable triangles (half the width times the rise). Note each siding material, the number of stories, and whether you can reach the highest point from the ground or need a ladder.
• Roofs: the footprint converted to surface area using the pitch, plus the number of stories and whether the roof is walkable.
• Decks and fences: the deck surface, with railings and stairs as their own items; fences by linear feet, height and sides. Washing the far side of a boundary fence usually means standing on the neighbor's property, so get their permission.
• Gutters: linear feet, and whether the job is cleaning the outside face, clearing the inside or both.
• Counted items: outdoor furniture, playsets, light poles, dumpster pads and signs.

Example: All dimensions here are invented for the math. A two-story house is a 50 by 30 foot rectangle, so the perimeter is 160 feet. With 18-foot walls, that's 160 × 18 = 2,880 square feet. Each gable end is 30 feet wide with a 7.5-foot rise, so each adds half of 30 × 7.5, or 112.5 square feet, and the pair adds 225. The walls total 2,880 + 225 = 3,105 square feet. The driveway is 20 by 50 feet (1,000 square feet) and the front walk is 4 by 40 feet (160 square feet).

Give every surface its own line and method

"Wash house and concrete" can't be checked by the customer or defended by you if something goes wrong. Give each surface a line with its location (front driveway, rear patio), material, quantity, method, any pre-treatment or post-treatment, and price.

Name the method in plain words. A homeowner who hears "pressure washing" may picture a jet hitting their siding, while "soft wash: cleaning solution applied and rinsed at low pressure" tells them what to expect and tells your crew what to do (see soft washing).

List the products by type, such as a sodium hypochlorite mix for organic growth, a degreaser and a rust remover, and keep each one's safety data sheet on the truck for customers who ask what you're spraying. On asphalt shingles, write "no pressure washing" into the line: the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association says never to use a pressure washer on an asphalt shingle roof, because it causes granule loss ¹. Before you quote a roof, a composite deck or manufactured siding, read the maker's cleaning or care instructions, follow them, and check whether your method could affect the warranty.

Write down the water source and the runoff plan

Say where the water comes from and where it goes. Both change your setup time and price, and the runoff can bring local stormwater rules into the job.

Water source

• Flow. Time how long the spigot takes to fill a bucket of known size and compare that flow with your machine's gallons-per-minute rating. If it can't keep up, plan a buffer tank or bring water, and price it.
• Whose water. If you're using the customer's water, say so.
• Backflow. Use a backflow preventer on your hose connection and never leave a hose end sitting in a tank of mix, so solution can't be drawn back into the customer's plumbing. Say so on the estimate.
• Hydrants. If a site has no usable spigot, use hydrant water only through the water utility's permit or meter program, if it has one.
• Restrictions. Ask whether the water supplier has outdoor water-use restrictions in effect.

Runoff

Look at where the water will run: onto a lawn, down the driveway to a storm drain, or toward a pond, pool or creek. It carries your solution plus whatever comes off the surface: dirt, organic growth, oil, grease and paint chips.

What's allowed depends on where you work, so ask the city or county stormwater office before you quote. Can rinse water soak into landscaping? Must storm drains be blocked and the water recovered? Will the sanitary sewer take it, and with whose permission? Ask specifically about greasy areas such as restaurant dumpster pads and drive-thrus. The rules behind those answers are covered in how to start a pressure washing business. Write the plan into the estimate in a line or two, and price drain covers, berms, vacuum recovery or hauling as their own line.

Tip: Sample wording: "Water: customer's spigot, north side. Runoff: directed to the side lawn. Curb inlet below the driveway covered during washing; rinse water from the oil-stained area recovered."

Spell out plant and property protection

Write down what you'll protect and what the customer needs to do, so nobody is surprised on the day.

• Plants. The solution that cleans siding and roofs can burn plants. Say that you'll wet plants before you apply, rinse them during and after, cover delicate ones and take extra care below downspouts, where roof-wash runoff comes out. Note the plants the customer cares most about.
• Fixtures. List what you'll cover or keep direct spray off: outdoor outlets and lights, the electric meter, dryer and bath vents, the AC unit, window seals and screens. A window rinse can leave spots and isn't window cleaning, so say so or quote windows separately.
• The customer's prep list: windows and doors closed, cars moved, furniture and grills moved (or a note that you'll move them), pets and kids inside, gates unlocked and the water on.
• Neighbors and shared areas. Drift can reach a neighbor's car or house, so plan around the wind. Townhome and condo walls, roofs and walks may be common areas that need the association's approval. Say how you'll keep solution out of a pool or pond next to the work.

Put the disclaimers on the estimate

Disclaimers set expectations about conditions you didn't cause and results washing can't deliver. They help only if the customer saw them before saying yes, and they're no substitute for using the right method, so make them specific to the property and have a lawyer review your standard wording once.

• Pre-existing damage. Washing can make existing problems more visible, and water can get through them: cracked or loose siding, failed caulk, windows fogged between the panes (a failed seal), torn screens, cracked concrete and loose mortar. Note, photograph and list each one.
• Oxidation. Vinyl and aluminum siding, painted surfaces, metal roofs and gutters can oxidize into a chalky film. A wash removes dirt and growth but doesn't restore a chalking finish, and a washed chalky surface can look streaky. Wipe it with a dark cloth, photograph the chalk, and write that a standard wash doesn't remove oxidation. If you offer oxidation removal, quote it as its own line. Dark streaks on gutter faces may not come off completely either.
• Stains. Write "treated to lighten; full removal not guaranteed" next to stains that may stay: soaked-in oil and grease, rust from irrigation water, fertilizer or metal furniture, tire marks, leaf stains, paint, and efflorescence, the white mineral deposit on masonry that can come back as it dries. Price rust removal or degreasing as separate lines, and note existing etching and wand marks so they aren't blamed on you.
• Loose paint. Water can lift failing paint, even at low pressure. Say that you're not scraping or repainting and that loose paint may come off. On older homes, failing paint may contain lead. EPA's lead renovation rule covers work that disturbs painted surfaces in homes built before 1978, excluding only minor exterior jobs that disturb 20 square feet or less, and covered work takes a certified firm and lead-safe practices ². If the work could remove paint on an older home, check that rule before you quote it, or leave those surfaces out.
• Wood. Washing can raise the grain and strip old stain unevenly. Say whether sanding, brightening, staining and sealing are included, and that the deck may look patchy until it's refinished.
• Regrowth. Lichen and some moss may not rinse away the same day, so say whether a return rinse is included. Describe the result on the day rather than how long it will last, since regrowth depends on shade and moisture.

Take before photos and attach them

Photos turn disclaimers into evidence. Take them at the estimate and again just before you start: a wide shot of every surface, a close-up of every disclaimer item, and the plant beds, the spigot and the drains and low spots where water will run. Caption each photo with the line it supports and attach the set to the estimate. Take the same angles when you finish; the after set goes with the invoice, as covered in how to invoice pressure washing jobs.

For a stain, an oxidized wall or a surface you're unsure about, clean a small test spot with the customer's permission and photograph the result. It shows what the full job can achieve better than any wording.

Put weather terms in writing

Say on the estimate how weather changes the schedule:

• A target date or window, with the day confirmed ahead of time.
• What postpones the job: rain, which dilutes the solution and moves runoff; wind, which drifts it onto plants, cars and neighbors; and freezing temperatures, which turn rinse water to ice on walks and in your equipment. On hot, sunny days the solution can dry before you rinse, so say you may start early or work the shady sides first.
• Who makes the call and how you'll tell the customer, plus a note that weather reschedules cost nothing and any deposit carries over.
• How long the price holds, since chemical and fuel costs move.

The pressure washing seasonal playbook covers planning the year around the weather.

Commercial estimates: frequency, access and paperwork

A commercial estimate is often a schedule of repeat visits, so it needs a per-visit scope and the logistics for working when nobody's there.

• Frequency by area. Entries and sidewalks on one schedule, dumpster pads and drive-thru lanes on another, building walls on a third, each marked on a site map or photo.
• Service window. The days and hours you may work, often after closing or overnight, and what happens on holidays. Check local noise rules before you commit to overnight work with gas engines.
• Access. Who unlocks, gate and alarm codes, a night contact, lighting, where the rig parks, and which spigot you may use and who has its key.
• Safety and traffic. Cones and signs for wet areas, and what happens when cars block an area: skip it and note it, or return at a stated price.
• Hot water and recovery. Say which areas get them, such as greasy pads or gum-covered entries.
• Paperwork. Property managers often ask for a certificate of insurance, sometimes naming them as additional insured, plus a W-9. Say that you'll provide them.
• Term and changes. How long the agreement runs, when prices are reviewed, how either side ends it, and how one-off requests get approved and priced.

Example: These figures are invented. A strip center wants entries and sidewalks cleaned monthly at $300 a visit, two dumpster pads cleaned every two weeks at $75 per pad, and the walls washed once a year for $1,200. The yearly total is (12 × $300) + (26 × 2 × $75) + $1,200 = $3,600 + $3,900 + $1,200 = $8,700, or $725 a month if billed evenly. The estimate shows each area's frequency and per-visit price, not just the total.

Prices, options and terms

The last section turns the estimate into an agreement:

• A price on every line, with options listed separately (gutter faces, window cleaning, sealing) and a bundle price if you bundle.
• Your minimum charge, so a small job doesn't surprise anyone.
• Sales tax, if it applies. Whether exterior cleaning is taxable varies by state, so check with your state's revenue department.
• Payment terms. When payment is due and how to pay. For deposits on large jobs, see how much deposit to ask for.
• Changes on the day. If the customer adds the back patio while you're there, price it and get a signature or text reply before you start it; see how to handle change orders.
• Cancellation rights. If you sell the job at the customer's door or kitchen table, the FTC's Cooling-Off Rule may apply. It covers sales of $25 or more made at the buyer's home, and the buyer can cancel until midnight of the third business day after the sale ³, so check whether it applies before you schedule the work.
• Your details and an expiration date, including a license or registration number if your state or city requires one.

Example: Line items for the house measured above, at invented rates of $0.20 a square foot for walls and $0.15 for flatwork:

Line	Quantity	Method	Price
House walls, vinyl	3,105 sq ft	Soft wash	$621
Driveway, broom-finish concrete	1,000 sq ft	Surface cleaner, post-treat	$150
Front walk	160 sq ft	Surface cleaner	$24
Rust treatment, driveway	One area	Rust remover	$75
Total			$870

Gutter faces appear below the total as a $90 option. If the customer keeps only the front walk, a $270 minimum charge replaces the $24 line.

Before you send it

• Every surface measured and on its own line, with material, quantity and method.
• Water source, backflow protection and runoff plan written.
• Plant and property protection listed, plus the customer's prep list.
• Disclaimers specific to this property, each backed by a photo.
• Weather terms, a target window and an expiration date.
• For commercial work: frequency, service window, access, paperwork and term.