Parking lot

I’m curious what you guys would charge to pressure wash a 45,000 square-foot concrete parking lot?

:flushed: Wow. You get it, or just bidding? I have no idea.

I thought I was bidding… I was just informed the owner is going to rent a machine and pay a guy a couple hundred bucks to do it… Smh

Let them kick rocks Larry. They own a facility like that but do things on the cheap. Tells you all you need to know.

Every time I get a parking lot cleaning call, I send out my parking lot sweepers first and then I follow up by sending out my power washers. After it is all swept we will power wash it. We never use surface cleaners on parking lots, just wand them down to remove dirt and debris off the top of the surface. I bring out the big boys for wanding jobs like this my 8gpm and 12gpm Landas. I would have charged $175 for the sweep and would have taken me 1.5 hours or so, and probably somewhere around 0.06 per sq ft for the parking lot, would have sent 2 guys and they would have it done in a 6 hour day all cold water.

And if they want to do it themselves, let them have at it. Eventually they will realize they should have called the Pros, no pun intended! :wink:

Pretty much what we do is charge in the range of 1-1.5cents a sq’ to sweep for that size garage and also in the 6-8 cents to PW. We also run into plenty of times where they end up having these garages cleaned that include sweeping and Powerwashing for both together at less then 3 cents a square… And they wonder why their garages are crumbling.

Great info. Just answered my questions for the weekend. Thanks Ty and John!

Why do you not use surface cleaners?

Teach him a lesson drive by when the guy is pressure washing and the runoff is going down the storm drains and call the water authority, see how cheap it stays for him.

Is that an issue in Texas? When it rains, it runs down to the drain, correct? Are you supposed to have a reclaim, or can you filter the drain some how?

I don’t know but I believe EPA doesn’t allow any no rain runoff in the storm drain systems different locals may be stricter on enforcement but chems can’t go down storm drains.

I knew about no chemical runoff. I guess I was assuming it was a new parking lot and no chemical application was necessary. I now see that was never implied.

I need some assistance on this bid. Client had a pipe burst and throw mud all down the center of their parking lot. There is thick mud in places and tracks in others. Surface cleaner is a no go unless something is able to scoop all the mud up. Then maybe a sweeper vehicle after for fine pieces. Guidance needed. Lot is About 35,000 sq/ft but client only wants about 17-20,000 sq/ft cleaned (just where the mud is) his words.


I doubt a sweeper won’t be able to sweep up the thicker mud. Only the loose stuff. They do have those Bobcat attachments that like a 5’ roller broom or whatever they’re called. I believe the brush tines are pretty stiff so might help loosen it up. If you used the bucket on a Bobcat you’d scrape the concrete all up. Would probably be easier if you could just rent a few fire hoses and hook into hydrants. High volume would rinse it all away. I try and plan it after a day or two of good rain. That might be a few months before that happens though…lol. We’re really dry here. I’m sure others will have better advice than what I can give.

I’d have to call the city and see how much it would be to get a hookup. I was thinking about hiring some coworkers on the military base with a bucket and a shovel and scoop all the thick stuff off then i come behind and rinse.

then possibly surface clean

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Local rental stores (sunbelt, United, Home Depot, etc) should have a bristle broom sweeper that can can either be walked behind (think like a snowblower) or either a mini skid/full sized skid steer with a sweeper broom. Might be a good idea to wet it all down a bit to minimize dust blowing everywhere and upsetting tenants.

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There you go. Get a handful of service members and they’d knock it out in no time. Tell them you’ll cover their bar tab that night and you’ll get as many guys as you want. I know how much I drank while in so you’re probably better off paying in cash. We even drank cheap beer…lol

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Whatever you decide to charge… charge more. That’s going to be a nightmare.

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I think my best option is to hire a couple buddies to scoop up the thick amounts of dirt then rent a water meter from the city to hook up to a hydrant with the fire hose and rinse the heck out of the entire area into the storm drain. I don’t believe the customer wants a surface clean, just a heavy duty rinse

It isn’t just about removing the dirt from the drive, it is also about removing the dirt ffrom the area. Do you have a skidsteer and a dump truck (or a truck/dump trailer)? If that goes down the storm drain it is going to clog the drain lines. WIll they let you dump it someplace onsite?

You can get a rotary broom for a tractor, skidsteer, or even some zero turns. It will create a dustbowl if it is dry out. Push it to one area, then use a bucket (or shovels) to scoop into the dump. Fire company might take a donation to hose it, then clean it yourself.