SH Driveway clean?

[S.Girdwood]

What’s the best approach to clean this driveway and what’s a reasonable price to quote? It’s roughly 6m x 7m

 

[ched999uk]

Depends on where you are in the country, if those marks are oil or lichens, how bad the drainage is as it slopes towards the garage, are you re-sanding afterwards, what equipment do you have, so many factors.

 

[S.Girdwood]

Depends on where you are in the country, if those marks are oil or lichens, how bad the drainage is as it slopes towards the garage, are you re-sanding afterwards, what equipment do you have, so many factors.

I’m brand new to this so I’ve only got a Karcher k5. This will be my first driveway clean. I’m not sure what the stains are actually. They haven’t asked for it to be re-sanded. How much extra would you charge for sanding?

 

[ched999uk]

I don't do Pressure Washing but as it was your first post I though I would reply.
It's going to take you a good while with a K5 and the finish wont be as good as with a decent petrol machine.

When you PW block paving you will wash some of the sand out that is there to stabilise the blocks. Without brushing new sand back in the blocks will be liable to move. Some people offer to resand at an additional charge but the customer should be made aware that it needs doing or the blocks will move - it's up to them to pay the extra, diy or do nothing.
As for the stains I would manage customer expectations.

If it's your first one I would treat it as a learning experience i.e. time yourself so you know how to correctly price for future jobs. You have to come up with a price so try and find local companies that do PW and see if any list a per square meter charge.

In my opinion if you are charging someone for work it should be done in a professional way and that includes you having insurance. What happens if you blast a stone and it hits a car or a window or even a person!!

 

[S.Girdwood]

I don't do Pressure Washing but as it was your first post I though I would reply.
It's going to take you a good while with a K5 and the finish wont be as good as with a decent petrol machine.

When you PW block paving you will wash some of the sand out that is there to stabilise the blocks. Without brushing new sand back in the blocks will be liable to move. Some people offer to resand at an additional charge but the customer should be made aware that it needs doing or the blocks will move - it's up to them to pay the extra, diy or do nothing.
As for the stains I would manage customer expectations.

If it's your first one I would treat it as a learning experience i.e. time yourself so you know how to correctly price for future jobs. You have to come up with a price so try and find local companies that do PW and see if any list a per square meter charge.

In my opinion if you are charging someone for work it should be done in a professional way and that includes you having insurance. What happens if you blast a stone and it hits a car or a window or even a person!!

Thanks for the advice. It’s much appreciated. I have all the required insurance etc but I just don’t have the experience. I’m trying to find out as much info before I attempt my first time jobs. I’m hoping to make as few silly mistakes as possible and to produce as good a job as I can.

 

[DeLaCruz]

Things to consider :
* What does customer expect cleaning ? Driveway or path at top aswell ? Prcie accordingly - don't get stung by customer saying "owe i thought was included"
* Oil stains ? Do you have hot pressure ? Does cusomer expect these removed (almost certainly "yes") take into account in terms of price and products - look on pureseal site i think they have excellent products for removing oil.
* SH on that driveway could be a pretty tricky one - can't see from pics but where does runoff end up? Due to the terrible pitch its gonna head towards the garage / next door. I would get a feel for customer - are they chilled understanding helpful or rich and expectant of miracles ? are they comfy with some runoff in garage door entrance. ask them if they get rain under the door ever ?
* How you gonna collect the sludge sand that comes out the cracks ? Rubble sacks, cable ties, large brush and shovels are the least. Gutter vac is usefull.

On a sidenote when you PW these black pave driveways the sand blasts up onto garage door so be careful not to rinse door on too high a pressure (use black nozzle) or sand gets into the garage door slates / roller mechanism.

For what its worth this is gonna likely take you at least 3-4 hours if you have a low power machine and little experience - PW is awesome and i encourage you to get involved, i am finding out daily the hard way that preparation is key - good kit too. Make sure your chemical deivery system is working before you turn up, and you have eye baths, masks, signs and all that good stuff sorted. Good luck

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Could be oil stains that don't come out of the blocks. You will be there a while by using a Karcher washer but the Industrial ones are over £4k now.

 

[DeLaCruz]

Could be oil stains that don't come out of the blocks. You will be there a while by using a Karcher washer but the Industrial ones are over £4k now.

Some decent machines for much less than that esp second hand. Jetmac have some good machines for around the 1K mark.

 

[Truckcab79]

I’d be charging a couple of hundred for that personally plus £80 to return and resand.

Id also be warning the client that if they are oil stains which they look like they are then it’ll look even worse when I’m done as it’ll contrast beautifully with the clean blocks around them.

It’ll take you forever with your Karcher but you can’t really charge the client for the fact that your equipment is slow.

And a thumbs up for Jetmac. Love mine. Gone up quite a bit in price but still good value. They pay for themselves quickly too.

 

[K in Kent]

If they are oil stains all you need is some No Nonsense Degreaser or Virosol... or even bottle of Fairy might do the job. Definitely don't need a hot water set-up for this type of job. Hot water helps but isn't essential - get some in a jug from the customer if they're about or else just take a flask filled with boiling water.
Mix degreaser with some hot making a strong mix then pour over stain. Leave it a few mins then give it a scrub and add some more mix. Let the hot water and degreaser go to work for a few minutes then pour neat degreaser over stain. Let it soak in, scrub, repeat. It should be looking alot better by now and may even be gone depending on how bad it is.
Avoid making any promises where staining is concerned but things like oil/ petrol/ brake fluid etc are usually pretty straightforward to deal with and don't need expensive products e.g. 5 litres of Resiblock O.R. could cost you £70 - £80 or more vs 5 litres of No Nonsense for just over a tenner....and as I've said before, Fairy is also a quality degreaser for the price.
Below is before and after I used No Nonsense on.

And as for price, I wouldn't worry about what other people might charge , or what they might quote - but that doesn't mean they'd get the job at whatever price it might be. As long as you're earning and learning that's all that matters. If you finish the day £150 better off than you started it and gained some experience in the process I'd call that a result.
Yeah you could've quoted them £500...but you wouldn't have got it, and earnt nothing and learnt nothing
(and btw, if resanding invest in a basic leaf blower - worth their weight in gold, and even more so if sealing cos they get rid of excess sand so effortlessly)

 

[Windowcleaner88]

If they are oil stains all you need is some No Nonsense Degreaser or Virosol... or even bottle of Fairy might do the job. Definitely don't need a hot water set-up for this type of job. Hot water helps but isn't essential - get some in a jug from the customer if they're about or else just take a flask filled with boiling water.
Mix degreaser with some hot making a strong mix then pour over stain. Leave it a few mins then give it a scrub and add some more mix. Let the hot water and degreaser go to work for a few minutes then pour neat degreaser over stain. Let it soak in, scrub, repeat. It should be looking alot better by now and may even be gone depending on how bad it is.
Avoid making any promises where staining is concerned but things like oil/ petrol/ brake fluid etc are usually pretty straightforward to deal with and don't need expensive products e.g. 5 litres of Resiblock O.R. could cost you £70 - £80 or more vs 5 litres of No Nonsense for just over a tenner....and as I've said before, Fairy is also a quality degreaser for the price.
Below is before and after I used No Nonsense on.

And as for price, I wouldn't worry about what other people might charge , or what they might quote - but that doesn't mean they'd get the job at whatever price it might be. As long as you're earning and learning that's all that matters. If you finish the day £150 better off than you started it and gained some experience in the process I'd call that a result.
Yeah you could've quoted them £500...but you wouldn't have got it, and earnt nothing and learnt nothing
(and btw, if resanding invest in a basic leaf blower - worth their weight in gold, and even more so if sealing cos they get rid of excess sand so effortlessly)

Great advice ! ??

 

[Truckcab79]

If they are oil stains all you need is some No Nonsense Degreaser or Virosol... or even bottle of Fairy might do the job. Definitely don't need a hot water set-up for this type of job. Hot water helps but isn't essential - get some in a jug from the customer if they're about or else just take a flask filled with boiling water.
Mix degreaser with some hot making a strong mix then pour over stain. Leave it a few mins then give it a scrub and add some more mix. Let the hot water and degreaser go to work for a few minutes then pour neat degreaser over stain. Let it soak in, scrub, repeat. It should be looking alot better by now and may even be gone depending on how bad it is.
Avoid making any promises where staining is concerned but things like oil/ petrol/ brake fluid etc are usually pretty straightforward to deal with and don't need expensive products e.g. 5 litres of Resiblock O.R. could cost you £70 - £80 or more vs 5 litres of No Nonsense for just over a tenner....and as I've said before, Fairy is also a quality degreaser for the price.
Below is before and after I used No Nonsense on.

And as for price, I wouldn't worry about what other people might charge , or what they might quote - but that doesn't mean they'd get the job at whatever price it might be. As long as you're earning and learning that's all that matters. If you finish the day £150 better off than you started it and gained some experience in the process I'd call that a result.
Yeah you could've quoted them £500...but you wouldn't have got it, and earnt nothing and learnt nothing
(and btw, if resanding invest in a basic leaf blower - worth their weight in gold, and even more so if sealing cos they get rid of excess sand so effortlessly)

Impressive result on the oils stain. Any idea how fresh it was? I’ve never had much luck getting them out on block paved driveways. They improve, but nothing like that. I’ll try your method next time.

And definitely on the leaf blower. I have one from SGS. They’re my go to on most petrol stuff if I want inexpensive and reliable. Good UK based backup and customer service too.

 

[SB Cleaning Services]

I would feel embarrassed turning up to clean a customers driveway with a Karcher, they just haven’t got the power ,especially on block paving.

 

[Dave B]

I would feel embarrassed turning up to clean a customers driveway with a Karcher, they just haven’t got the power ,especially on block paving.

Got to start somewhere
I sometimes take my electric pw instead of petrol one when doing patios etc as I use chems to do the cleaning on most jobs and then use pw to rinse
I don’t feel embarrassed as it’s just a tool to help with the job

 

[Truckcab79]

Got to start somewhere
I sometimes take my electric pw instead of petrol one when doing patios etc as I use chems to do the cleaning on most jobs and then use pw to rinse
I don’t feel embarrassed as it’s just a tool to help with the job

Agree. Though the quicker you can invest in ‘proper’ equipment the better the results and the quicker, easier and more satisfying it is.

One of my neighbours last year had a gardener / handyman turn up to do their small driveway Had a little Karcher K2. Took him about 3 days and it looked almost as dirty when he’s finished. Couldn’t fault his work ethic though.

 

[tench0771]

Was chatting to a wc this morning funny enough he was say he charges between £15 and £20 ph he uses a karcher ?‍ sometimes wander how i even get any pressure washing with people like that working in my area ?

 

[scottish cleaning service]

Depends what result the customer wants. I charged £150 to do a small driveway and they have a PW but mine has 3 times more pressure so makes a better job.

 

[S.Girdwood]

2hours this morning for £250. Customer was delighted with it. Happy days ??

 

[K in Kent]

Got to start somewhere
I sometimes take my electric pw instead of petrol one when doing patios etc as I use chems to do the cleaning on most jobs and then use pw to rinse
I don’t feel embarrassed as it’s just a tool to help with the job

Yes I agree. We have all got to start somewhere and I think sometimes there is a degree of snobbery where kit is concerned and anyone using less than 15 litres/min is treated as an amateur.
What's the point in shelling out for a 'proper' set-up until he knows whether or not he likes the work - and crucially - he has some idea of demand and where the future work is coming from?
And Dave is right : it's the chemicals that do most of the hard work and quite often an electric jet washer is perfectly able to do as good a job as a petrol/diesel machine.
Of course it depends on the job, and it will do it much slower, but if done right the end result can be just as good. Inceased power and water flow is great for commercial purposes, but it does jobs quicker and not necessarily better, e.g a sandstone patio could easily be damaged by too much pressure.
I think customers are reassured by a petrol machine and it adds credibility towards professionalism, but it's the end result that matters and that's down to the individual. And ultimately the customer couldn't care less if you used a Karcher, Honda, Briggs and Stratton or whatever as long as it's done well (and preferably in a timely manner!)

And fairplay - looks like a job well done....and experience gained and a decent earner = a good day all round. Customer's happy and you're happy

 

[K in Kent]

Impressive result on the oils stain. Any idea how fresh it was? I’ve never had much luck getting them out on block paved driveways. They improve, but nothing like that. I’ll try your method next time.

And definitely on the leaf blower. I have one from SGS. They’re my go to on most petrol stuff if I want inexpensive and reliable. Good UK based backup and customer service too.

I think it was a couple of months or so. Car leaked oil after a repair and the customer had been in in dispute with the garage about paying for the clean up so it had dragged on for a bit.
I know this one was a really good result but I've had some good ones on old, dirty oil stains on block paving as well and resin bound. I like Virosol too but No Nonsense Degreaser is my 1st choice and sometimes I might use a bit of both. If ever I spill a bit of petrol or my machine leaks some oil from somewhere I just grab a bottle of Fairy, squeeze it over the stain neat and leave it to soak, and then it just rinses away - gone completely. But of course it's a fresh stain and hasn't dried yet so much easier to get rid of

 

[Dave B]

Yes I agree. We have all got to start somewhere and I think sometimes there is a degree of snobbery where kit is concerned and anyone using less than 15 litres/min is treated as an amateur.
What's the point in shelling out for a 'proper' set-up until he knows whether or not he likes the work - and crucially - he has some idea of demand and where the future work is coming from?
And Dave is right : it's the chemicals that do most of the hard work and quite often an electric jet washer is perfectly able to do as good a job as a petrol/diesel machine.
Of course it depends on the job, and it will do it much slower, but if done right the end result can be just as good. Inceased power and water flow is great for commercial purposes, but it does jobs quicker and not necessarily better, e.g a sandstone patio could easily be damaged by too much pressure.
I think customers are reassured by a petrol machine and it adds credibility towards professionalism, but it's the end result that matters and that's down to the individual. And ultimately the customer couldn't care less if you used a Karcher, Honda, Briggs and Stratton or whatever as long as it's done well (and preferably in a timely manner!)

And fairplay - looks like a job well done....and experience gained and a decent earner = a good day all round. Customer's happy and you're happy

I have caused some delamination on Indian sandstone in the past with low ish pressure as the water only needs to catch it at the right angle and it peels up like old fashioned slate
I class my cleaning as softwash most of the time as the pressure washer is mainly for rinsing or using the xjet
Stubborn small oil stains can be removed using petrol and a mapgas blowtorch
Wet the stain with petrol and let it soak for a minute or two then burn the oil out and then clean as usual with no nonsense etc afterwards