Who to hire for a driveway or path to pressure wash

Short answer

A cleaning contractor who does exterior surface cleaning. The competence question is about restraint rather than power: excessive pressure etches concrete, strips the face off pavers, forces water behind cladding and destroys mortar joints, and all of those are permanent.

Plan itThere is time to get more than one quote, which is where the money is.

What to do before anyone arrives

  1. Identify the surface. Concrete, exposed aggregate, sandstone, clay pavers, timber decking and rendered walls all tolerate very different pressures.
  2. Check the mortar joints in paving and brickwork. Weak joints will be washed out and that is a repair.
  3. Check for lead paint if you are cleaning a painted surface on an older house, because pressure washing it creates contaminated runoff.
  4. Think about where the water goes and whether anything is going into a stormwater drain that should not be.

What to ask when you book

  • What pressure and what nozzle are you using on this surface?
  • Are you using a surface cleaner attachment or a lance? A lance on concrete leaves stripes.
  • Are you treating the mould and lichen chemically as well, or only blasting it?
  • Do you reseal afterwards, and does this surface need it?

What changes the price

No dollar figures here: this directory holds no price data and an invented range is worse than none. What follows is what makes one of these jobs cost more than the same job next door, which is the part you can actually use when comparing quotes.

  • Area and surface type.
  • Whether a chemical treatment for mould, lichen or oil is included.
  • Whether sealing is included.
  • Access to water and power.

What you can do yourself

Is this licensed work?

Not licensed. Some councils and water authorities have rules about what may enter a stormwater drain, which matters if detergents or paint residue are involved.

There is no national register. Search the licence number with the regulator for the state the work is happening in.

Licensing thresholds and certificate requirements differ by state and change with amending regulation, so this page describes the mechanism rather than quoting a figure. The regulator’s own page is the current answer.

Common questions

Who should I hire for a driveway or path to pressure wash
A cleaning contractor who does exterior surface cleaning. The competence question is about restraint rather than power: excessive pressure etches concrete, strips the face off pavers, forces water behind cladding and destroys mortar joints, and all of those are permanent.
Will pressure washing damage my concrete?
It can. Concrete has a denser surface layer, and enough pressure at a narrow angle removes it, leaving a rough, striped surface that dirties faster and cannot be undone. A rotating surface cleaner at moderate pressure is how it is done properly, and a lance used freehand is how driveways end up with tiger stripes.

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Who to hire for

General information about who does what, not advice about your specific job. Licensing, consumer law and council rules differ by state and change; the regulator for your state is the current source. More guides to hiring a tradesperson.