Hello everyone, my name is Jason Hunt. I’m getting into pressure washing and had a question for you on pricing. I’ve did a lot of research and there’s so many different answers online. I live in WV and had a Dairy Queen asked me to give them an estimate. I’m just looking for some basic numbers to know where to start pricing jobs. I was asked to clean sidewalks, picnic area, tables, grease storage spot, sign, and curb. There’s roughly 2,100 sq ft of flat and 264 ft of curb. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance!
Pricing varies so much, even within the same city. A general ballpark for flatwork would be $0.05–$0.30 per sq ft, with curbs often priced per linear foot, typically around $1–$3 per foot. Grease areas and tables would be dependent on the condition… hopefully you are running hot water.
Determine your overhead costs, estimate the time required for the job, and set your pricing based on your desired earnings.
Agree completely, is hard to know how long a job will take when you are new. Everyone has a different situation but most people working solo want to make between $150 and $200/hour.
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Thanks for the reply. The biggest problem I have is I don’t know how long it will take. If I did it would make it a lot easier. Do you or anyone know about how long on average it would take to clean this much sqft and I know it would depend on the equipment. I’m thinking 2-3 hours but I don’t know. And I’m not sure how much to charge for cleaning the sign. Thanks!
For your first time doing this without knowing exactly what equipment you have (ideally something with decent flow, a large surface cleaner, and hot water), a 2-3 hour job sounds about right. At a rate of $150-$200 per hour, that puts your total between $300-$600. After factoring in overhead, consumables, and taxes (roughly 30-40% of your revenue) you’d need to bill around $420-$840 to bring that home, likely on the lower end since you’re just starting out. In the end, as long as you cover your costs for the job, you will gain valuable experience and get a better sense of whether your pricing felt right.
That helps! I was thinking around $600 so I was pretty close. I didn’t want to quote something terribly off one way or the other. Thanks for the info!
Sometimes when I’m looking at at job and have No Idea how long it’ll take, I offer to clean a sample area. That way, the customer can see how it’ll turn out before I do the whole job… but I can also get a better sense of how long it’ll take me. Perhaps offer to clean a small section to make sure the results are in line with their expectations…
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