The whole price list
Two firms out of roughly twenty around here publish a price. This is all of mine. You can work out what your job costs before you speak to me, which is the point.
Minimum job £150 Below about 33m² you are buying the minimum rather than the rate. It catches more people out than the rate ever does, so it goes first.
Rates
Everything, by the square metre
| Work | Price |
|---|---|
| Patio cleaning — slabs, concrete, paving Rotary surface cleaner, then a lance pass on the edges and joints. | from £4.50/m² |
| Natural stone — Indian sandstone, limestone, York Lower pressure and a wider fan. Sandstone is soft and takes longer. | from £5/m² |
| Driveway cleaning — concrete, slabs, pattern imprinted | from £4.50/m² |
| Block paving — clean and kiln-dried re-sand Re-sanding is included, not an extra. A clean without it is half a job. | from £5.50/m² |
| Moss and algae treatment (add-on) Biocide applied after cleaning. Slows regrowth. Not a weedkiller. | from £1.50/m² |
Worked examples
What that looks like on a real job
Four sizes I quote for constantly, with the arithmetic shown so you can check it against anybody else's number.
-
15m²
Small courtyard patio
Two-seater terrace behind a mid-terrace
15 × £4.50 = £67.50
£150
Under the minimum, so the price is the minimum. At this size most of the day is setting up and packing down rather than cleaning, which is what the floor is for.
-
25m²
Average rear patio
Table, chairs and a bit of spare
25 × £4.50 = £112.50
£150
Still under the minimum, but only just. Add the side path and you are paying the rate rather than the floor, which is the one bit of arithmetic on this page worth doing before you ring.
-
40m²
Block paving driveway
Two cars, re-sanding included
40 × £5.50 = £220
£220
-
60m²
Large patio and path
Full width of the house plus the side return
60 × £4.50 = £270
£270
What is included
Every quote covers the clean itself, edge and detail work with a lance rather than just a surface cleaner over the middle, removal of the slurry to a drain or soakaway, and a final rinse with clean water.
On block paving it also covers re-sanding with kiln-dried sand. That is included in the rate rather than added afterwards, because a clean without it leaves the drive structurally worse off than it was.
Photographs when I finish, including anything I found that you ought to know about.
What is not
Sealing. I am not offering it at the moment. Done properly it is a second visit on a dry forecast with a product matched to the stone, and I would rather leave it off the list than sell it half-heartedly. If you want your paving sealed, get it cleaned first, then find someone who seals for a living.
Gutters, roofs and render, and decking. I clean driveways and patios. Anything above head height or made of timber is someone else's trade and I will say so rather than have a go.
Weed treatment. Applying herbicide commercially needs PA1 and PA6 certificates that I do not hold, so I do not offer it and I will not quietly do it anyway.
Repairs. Lifting and re-laying sunken paving, replacing damaged blocks, or fixing failed pointing are separate jobs, and where a drive needs a groundworker rather than a jet washer I will tell you that instead of taking the money.
How I work the price out
Area times the rate for the surface. If that comes to less than £150, you pay £150. If the job needs something unusual, that is added as its own line with an explanation.
You get the rate, the area and the total, so you can check the arithmetic. A quote that is a single number with no working is a quote worth questioning, mine included.
Questions
About the pricing
Why do you publish prices when nobody else does?
Because I would want them published if I were buying. It also means I cannot quietly charge the house with the new car on the drive more than the one without, which is a real practice in this trade. Out of roughly twenty firms working this stretch of coast, two put a price anywhere on their website.
Is the price ever more than the rate says?
Occasionally, and I tell you before I start rather than after. Thick moss that needs scraping, a hose run over about 30 metres, or a surface that needs a slower method all add time. Anything like that is in the written quote, not discovered on the day.
Do you charge for travel?
No. The rate and the minimum are the same in every town on my areas list, from Seaford to Battle. Travel is my cost to manage, not a line on your quote. What distance does affect is scheduling, because I group jobs at the far end of the range.
When do I pay?
Afterwards, by bank transfer, against an invoice with my name and number on it. I do not take a deposit on domestic work and I do not ask for cash. There is nothing to pay if you are not happy with what I have done.
Get a price
Send me photos and a rough size
You already know the rate. This just turns it into a number for your job.
Sent
That is with me.
I read every one myself. If you sent photos I can usually come back with a fixed price the same day, or the next morning if it arrives late.