Pressure Washing Guide

mvanderwal · Joined: 12 Jul 2009 Posts: 10

I love the idea of power washing the exterior of my home (we are listing it soon) in order to increase the curb appeal and therefore value. However, I have some concerns about damaging the siding with the high pressure. Is this something that should be left to a professional?

Midwestpro · Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:17 pm Post subject:

In my opinion yes it should be left to a professional. Not that a homeowner can't do it and do it right but there are a lot of things that can go wrong.

Cleaners killing shrubs and plants, too much pressure forcing water behind the siding, making wand marks all over the surface with too much pressure and so on. Also the danger factor is why I never recommend someone to do it themselves. Working off of ladders with a high pressure wand in your hand is not safe.

With some research and safety precautions it can be done if someone would rather invest their time into cleaning the house instead of investing a little money. But just remember what will probably take a do-it-yourselfer the entire weekend and a lot of hard work would take a professional less then a day for a couple hundred dollars not to mention the results are going to be way better than doing it yourself. So to me washing the entire outside of your home once a year or every couple of years is worth a few hundred dollars just to have a pro do it.

Countrified · Joined: 13 Jul 2009 Posts: 2

Hey don't let my wife see this question okay? Yes, please do leave this to a professional, last year I pulled my rig washer and was going to give the house a once over, well I ended up having to put new siding on one end! Rolling Eyes

Midwestpro · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:33 am Post subject:

That is unfortunate to hear but I'm glad you at least got it replaced. Was the damage caused by too much pressure?

slim1151 · Joined: 15 Jun 2009 Posts: 2

I'm new to the trade and the forum Just got my first call to clean and restore the cedar shake siding on a residence. Is it possible to do a restore on a verticle surface like this.I have no problem restoring wood decks.So I'm familiar with the process. I have no idea how to charge for this. Does anyone have a per square ft. price or anything close? Thanks for your help. Think the forum is great.

Midwestpro · Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 7:45 am Post subject:

The process is pretty much similar to that of restoring a wood deck other than it is a vertical surface. I charge more for a cedar house than I do on a deck but it just depends on the job as far as how much more.

I'd figure up all the square footage and charge accordingly using your deck pricing as a starting point.