What to Expect on a Pressure Washing Job

Before the day

It starts with a description. The surface, the suburb, and roughly how long it has been since it was last done. Photos help more than measurements, particularly one taken of the shaded side of the house, because that is where the worst of it always is and it tells us which method the job needs.

You get a price in writing before anything is booked. If the job turns out smaller once we are on site, the price comes down rather than up.

There are two questions worth answering before we arrive:

• Whether the property runs a rainwater tank off the roof, because the downpipes into it have to be disconnected or diverted before any roof work starts, and reconnected afterwards
• Whether there are windows that already leak, which on older louvres and timber sashes is common enough that it is better said than discovered

Beyond that, the job splits into five stages, and it is worth knowing which parts are ours and which short list is yours.

The last row is the one people skip and then regret, because everything is still out and connected at that point.

On the day

We turn up, walk the job with you, and set up before touching anything. Setup is the unglamorous part and it is most of the reason a job runs well. Garden beds get soaked with clean water first, which sounds backwards until you understand that a wet, saturated bed will not take up runoff, so pre-wetting is what protects the plants. Then covers go on. Outdoor power points get taped, furniture and pots get moved clear, and cars go out of the driveway because fine overspray drifts further than people expect.

Then the method gets proved on a small patch. Render that has been previously painted, old fibro and tile all behave differently, and testing a discreet area first is how you find that out before it matters across a whole wall.

What the noise, water and mess actually look like

A pressure unit is loud, roughly comparable to a mower, and it runs in bursts rather than continuously. A soft wash is much quieter and takes longer, because the solution has to sit. You do not need to be home, though most people like to be there at the start and the end.

Water goes where the ground already drains. That is why downpipes, drains and any pool get checked at the start. Windows should be closed. Pets are best kept inside while the gear is out, mostly because of the hoses and the noise rather than anything else.

After we pack up

We walk the job with you before leaving, and anything you are not happy with gets redone while everything is still out and connected. Windows and screens get sorted, gardens uncovered, downpipes reconnected.

One thing worth knowing about roof work. A soft washed roof does not reach its final appearance on the day. The growth is dead, but the remains weather off gradually with the next few rains, so the roof keeps looking better for a few weeks after we have gone. That is normal and it is the method working. Residential pressure washing covers the full scope, or call 07 4028 4268.