Price per square foot
Price per square foot is a rate charged for each square foot of surface cleaned, the most common way to price house washes, flatwork and roofs.
- per square foot pricing
- sq ft rate
- rate per square foot
Pricing by the square foot scales with the size of the job and is easy to explain. The rate itself should come from your own costs: what an hour of your crew and truck costs, divided by how many square feet they clean in that hour, plus chemicals, marked up to your margin.
Use a different rate for each kind of work, because production rates differ (a crew covers siding and concrete at different speeds), and pair every rate with a minimum charge so small jobs still pay. The full method is in how to price pressure washing.
Formula
cost per sq ft = hourly crew and truck cost ÷ sq ft per hour + chemical cost per sq ft price per sq ft = cost per sq ft ÷ (1 − target gross margin) line price = max(minimum charge, area × price per sq ft)
Example
An invented crew costs $104 an hour and cleans 1,000 sq ft of concrete an hour, with chemicals at $0.01 per sq ft. Cost is $0.114 per sq ft; at a 50% margin the rate is about $0.23. An 800 sq ft driveway comes to $184.
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Related
- FeatureQuotes and estimatesGood, better, best quotes from your own price list, signed on the customer's phone.Read
- Free toolPressure washing price calculatorPrice each surface by the square foot, apply your minimums, and get Good, Better and Best totals.Read
- Free toolJob profit calculatorWork out one job's margin and profit from the price, the crew's hours, drive time, chemicals and overhead.Read
- GuideHow to price pressure washingPressure washing pricing from your own costs: how much to charge per square foot, minimum charges, house wash vs flatwork vs roof, and a worked example.Read
- GlossaryMinimum chargeA minimum charge is the lowest price you will do any visit for, set to cover the drive, setup, the smallest real job, pack-up and your margin.Read
- GlossaryGross marginGross margin is the share of a job's price left after the direct costs of doing it: (revenue minus job costs) divided by revenue.Read
- GlossaryFlatworkFlatwork is the horizontal hard surfaces a crew cleans, such as driveways, sidewalks, patios, pool decks and parking areas, usually with a surface cleaner.Read
- GlossaryHouse washA house wash is cleaning a home's exterior walls (siding, stucco, brick, trim and soffits), usually by soft washing, to remove algae, mildew, dirt and spider webs.Read