Redline
Free calculator

Price the wash by the square foot.

Measure the surface, put in your own rate per square foot and your minimum, add the extras, and see the price plus what you're really charging per foot once the minimum kicks in.

sq ft
Siding: perimeter × wall height. Flatwork: length × width.
$
Example only. Enter your own rate for this surface.
$
$
Stain treatment, gutter face brightening, water hauling.
Area × rate$625.00
Price for the job$700
What you actually charge per sq ft$0.28

Tell Redline your per square foot rates once and it remembers them, so "quote the Hendersons a 2,500 sq ft house wash" comes back priced your way.

Try Redline free

How the math works

Multiply the square footage by your rate. If that comes in under your minimum job charge, the minimum wins. Then add the extras on top: rust or oil stain treatment, gutter face brightening, hauling water to a house with no spigot.

The last line divides the final price by the square footage. On a big house wash it sits close to your rate. On a small patio it can be double or triple, and that's fine: the minimum is there because loading the trailer, unrolling hose and driving out costs the same for 300 sq ft as for 3,000.

For siding, measure the perimeter of the house and multiply by the wall height (add the gable triangles if you wash them). For flatwork, it's length times width. A house wash and a driveway usually carry different rates, so run each surface on its own and add the results, then apply your minimum once to the whole visit.

Worked example

Three jobs at an example rate of $0.25 per sq ft and a $200 minimum:

JobSq ftArea × rateAdd-onsPricePer sq ft charged
Driveway only600$150.00$0$200$0.33
Back patio, oil stain treatment400$100.00$75$275$0.69
Two-story house wash, gutter faces2,500$625.00$75$700$0.28

The rate, minimum and add-ons are examples to show the math, not market prices. Use your own.

What to watch for

  • Soft washing siding and pressure washing concrete are different work with different chemical costs. Keep a separate rate for each.
  • Second stories, steep lots and roofs take longer per foot. Some washers add a story charge as an add-on rather than changing the base rate.
  • Sealing pavers is its own line with its own rate and its own material cost. Don't fold it into the cleaning price.
  • Measure, don't guess from the listing. Satellite square footage counts the floor area inside, not the siding outside.
  • Commercial flatwork priced by the visit (dumpster pads, drive-throughs) works better as a flat recurring rate than per square foot.

Questions contractors ask

Should my minimum include travel?

That's the usual reason a minimum exists: it covers setup, breakdown and the drive. If you also serve far-off towns, a separate trip charge keeps your minimum honest for the close jobs.

Why show the effective rate per square foot?

Because it tells you which jobs actually pay. If your small jobs all land at the minimum, you're charging more per foot on them, which is how it should be. If a big job comes in under your normal rate, something got discounted.

How does Redline use these numbers?

Tell the chat your rates once ("house wash is 25 cents a foot, $200 minimum") and memory saves them on its own. Then "quote the Hendersons a 2,500 sq ft house wash plus gutter faces" comes back as an itemized draft quote at your prices, on every plan including Free. Quotes save as drafts: you present them yourself or email them from your Gmail. On Solo ($29 a month) you invoice the finished job with a card pay link, and overdue invoices get flagged to you at day 3, 7 and 14.

Can I quote from a photo?

Yes. Attach a photo of the driveway or the house with your rough measurements and Redline drafts the quote lines for you to check. Give it your measured square feet too, so the price rests on real numbers rather than a guess from a picture.

Related

Keep reading