It's the first thing everyone asks, and fair enough. The honest answer is that it depends on the house. A tidy single-storey weatherboard in Howick and a two-storey plaster home on a steep West Auckland section are very different jobs.
Here's what changes the price of a house wash in Auckland, what you should get for your money, and how to get a quote you can rely on.
Why there's no one price
Every house is priced on its own. Once we know the size of the place, how high it goes and what it's covered in, we can give you a firm number. The rest of this post explains what moves it.
What changes the price
Size and number of storeys
This is the biggest factor. More wall means more time. A second storey adds ladder work and care around the eaves and upper windows, so it costs more than just double the floor area might suggest.
As a rough guide, a small house takes us a couple of hours. A large multi-level home can take five or six.
Cladding type
Different surfaces need different handling. Painted weatherboards, brick, plaster, Linea and fibre cement all get a soft wash, which means low pressure plus a cleaning solution that kills the mould and lichen. Some surfaces need more care than others. Plaster and monolithic cladding, for example, should never have high-pressure water forced at the joins.
How dirty it is
A house that gets washed every year is quick. A house that hasn't been touched in five years, with green on the south wall and black spots all over the eaves, needs more solution, more dwell time and more detail work. Auckland humidity means the shady sides of most homes grow mould faster than people expect.
Access
Steep sections, narrow side paths, decks over drops, big gardens right up against the walls and no off-street parking all add time. So does a house on a bank where we can't get a ladder in easily.
Extras
The price goes up if you add gutters, the roof, the driveway or the fence. But doing them on the same visit is usually cheaper than booking each one separately, because we're already set up on site.
What a house wash should include
When you're comparing quotes, check what's actually included. For us, a house wash covers the outside walls and the surfaces attached to them.
Our process goes like this:
- We look over the house and talk through what you want done.
- We cover or protect plants, windows and anything delicate.
- We apply the cleaning solution to all the surfaces.
- We soft wash, or pressure wash the tough spots that can handle it.
- We spot-treat any stubborn stains.
- We rinse everything off with clean water and do a final check.
- We pack up and leave the site tidy.
You can read more about the method on our soft wash Auckland page.
Watch out for cheap quotes
A very low price usually means one of two things. Either someone plans to blast the house with high pressure and no solution, or they'll do the front and skip the sides.
High pressure without a cleaning solution makes a house look clean for a few weeks, then the mould grows back because the roots were never killed. Worse, it can lift paint, gouge soft timber and drive water in behind weatherboards. Fixing that costs far more than you saved.
Ask anyone quoting you what pressure they use on the walls and what solution goes on first. Then check the quote covers the whole house.
How to get an accurate quote
The most accurate quote comes from seeing the house. We'll have a look, find out what you're after and give you a price before any work starts. Quotes are free and there's no obligation.
It helps if you can tell us:
- Your address and the number of storeys
- What the house is clad in, if you know
- When it was last washed
- If you want the gutters, roof or driveway done too
- Anything tricky about access
Is it worth paying for?
A wash is cheap next to a repaint. Mould left on paint breaks it down over time, and a clean surface helps paint last longer. If you're planning to paint, a proper pre-paint wash is a must anyway, because paint won't stick properly to a dirty or mouldy surface. If you're selling, a washed house photographs better and looks cared for at open homes.
For most Auckland homes we recommend a wash about once a year. Book a house wash in Auckland and we'll give you a fixed price before we start. Add a gutter clean on the same day and you'll get rid of the black streaks under the spouting too.
Call us on 027 303 8398. We're open seven days, 7am to 7pm.
House wash pricing questions
Why can't you give me a price over the phone?
We can give you a starting price. But two houses with the same floor area can be very different jobs, so we'd rather look and give you a fixed figure than guess and change it later.
Is a two-storey house wash much dearer?
It costs more than a single storey because of the extra height, ladder work and care around upper windows.
How long does a house wash take?
A small house takes a couple of hours. A large multi-level home can take five or six.
Do I need to be home?
Not usually. We just need access to the outside of the house and an outside tap.