Is this driveway pressure wash quote fair?

blackstar

35har1old said:

blackstar said:

Hi all

Just hoping for some advice. 

I would like to get my driveway cleaned and also the little bits of weeds removed and treated so they don't come back too soon.

I have been given a quote for £160 to pressure wash the drive way but that seems quite expensive? Would it not be cheaper to buy my own pressure washer and do it myself? 

Another guy said he would pressure wash it and it is so powerful it would remove all the weeds and it would be then up to me to put something down after he was done?

Really don't know what to do so any advice appreciated?

Please see picture.

Thanks all

Don't buy the cheapest pressure washer 
If it's a karcher K4 at least

How about this one?
https://www.screwfix.com/p/karcher-k4-classic-car-home-130bar-electric-high-pressure-washer-1-8kw-240v/710rl

Will.it come with an extension as I don't have a tap at front of house only back so need a extension to it?

If you have a link please let me know if you think of a better one?
Will this one clear away the weeds?

BarelySentientAI

Pressure washers are for washing, not for weeding.

You have two different jobs you want doing.  Two different tools, two different times.

LightFlare

I would say/think that £160 is what you will pay for half a job.

You want it done properly or the weeds etc will just come straight back

CliveOfIndia

blackstar said:

Will.it come with an extension as I don't have a tap at front of house only back so need a extension to it?

Depends what you mean by "an extension".  There's two hoses, so to speak, on an ordinary pressure washer.  A high-pressure hose that attaches the trigger/tools to the machine, and an inlet hose to supply the water.

Some machines have longer high-pressure hoses (or you can usually buy extension kits), this can be handy as it means you don't have to keep trundling it around so much as you're working.  But to be honest, in practice the hose it comes with will be good enough for most situations.

The water supply just comes from a standard garden hose with a standard Hozelock type connector (Hozelock being a a well-known trademark, but pretty much any standard connector from any garden centre or DIY store will be the same).

So whatever machine you buy, you'll need to get yourself a garden hose and connector - not expensive.

Some machines do have the ability to draw water from a water-butt or similar.  But that can be a bit of a pain as you're forever having to stop and refill the container - which you'll need a hose for anyway

To your original question, that price sounds very cheap.  It takes a good few hours to do the job thoroughly, even on a relatively small area.  And you're probably going to want to do it roughly once a year to keep it looking nice.  So you may as well buy yourself the kit and do it yourself - it'll not cost much more to buy what you need than to get someone to do it once.

When you do wash it, you'll find that it'll blast out pretty much all the weeds, as well as a good portion of the sand.  There's nothing much you can do about weeds, they'll always come back as seeds get blown onto the new sand, or deposited in bird droppings.  All I do is give it a good clean once a year and that's usually enough to keep on top of it.

You will need to re-sand it after you've washed it.  Dead easy and not expensive.  Give it a day or two after washing to let everything dry out, make sure the weather is dry.  Buy a few bags of kiln-dried sand from any DIY shop, chuck it on and brush it in, job's a good-un.

Top tip - when you're using the pressure washer, wear old clothes or overalls, and goggles.  You'll get absolutely covered in muck, and you'll find loads of bits of grit getting into your eyes.  Perhaps not such an issue if you're using one of those patio-cleaner attachments, but I've never used one myself so can't comment on how good they are.

It sounds like a hassle, but you're talking probably a day's work once a year, so it's no big deal really.

531063

https://www.toolstation.com/hawksmoor-high-pressure-washer/p57511

baser999

Looking at the photo think you need to be sure exactly what work is going to be done - there’s a lot of greenery around the edges which could easily uproot blocks if pulled out, the whole area will need to be infilled with kiln dried sand afterwards. Does the £160 include all that? May be your man is intending to literally blast all the grime off and then leave? 

ThisIsWeird

blackstar said:

Hi all. Just hoping for some advice. I would like to get my driveway cleaned and also the little bits of weeds removed and treated so they don't come back too soon. I have been given a quote for £160 to pressure wash the drive way but that seems quite expensive? Would it not be cheaper to buy my own pressure washer and do it myself? Another guy said he would pressure wash it and it is so powerful it would remove all the weeds and it would be then up to me to put something down after he was done? Really don't know what to do so any advice appreciated? Please see picture. Thanks all

Hi Blackstar.

As others have pointed out, your driveway has bigger issues than just the weeds and dirt. I say that only to suggest that it probably isn't 'worth' paying out good money to pros for doing this job for you, as it'll never be perfect until it has been relaid. You will get a 95+% result by DIYing this cleaning, and it should be straightforward assuming you are reasonably able-bodied?

First, a long-handled wire cleaning brush to remove as much of the weeds as possible - these are around £13. Then treat yourself to a decent pressure washer - and by decent I mean something like the excellent-value Triton: https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb2200prw-150bar-electric-high-pressure-washer-2-2kw-230v/165kh

This is 2.2kW, so powerful, and delivers up to 150psi. It also comes with the patio cleaning attachment which - I beg to differ with some others - is a cracking tool, and does work.

I did mil's concrete pathway slabs recently using her Karcher K4 and one of these tools. Ok, it won't be as powerful as a direct blast from a lance, but it doesn't have to be, and it also makes the job almost a pleasure.

Jet-washing is fun for a couple of minutes, and then an absolute pita for the remaining hours. Your lovely house wall and windows will be an absolute mess, as will be your fence, and your neighbour's car. The 'patio' tool will remove all of that overspray and splashback, and make the task a calm and enjoyable one. And, it will get your paving blocks clean enough. Any remaining stubborn stains, then by all means give them a direct blast with the lance, but I bet you won't have to. Yes, the very edges may need lancing, tho'.

I have no idea how good the cleaning solutions are - I didn't bother using any - but if you think they will help, then pour it into the wee 'foaming' tank and spray that on first. Then clean away.

Brush/hoover away all the debris away when dry, and then brush in your new sand.

Have a bottle of made-up weed killer handy, and zap any weed as soon as it appears.

You'll now have your own pressure-washer which will last you years as it'll have only light use - unless you keep finding new jobs for it. You will need a supply hose for it.

Or, check out your local Fb Marketplace, eBay, and Freebie classifieds for a second-hand Karcher, and sell it on for the same money once the job is done.

Absolutely not worth getting someone else to do this job.

TELLIT01

There are a lot of cowboys out there who talk a good job.  A house near us had their drive done.  All the crud off the paving was just washed onto the footpath outside the house and left there.  Every time they drive back in they will simply be taking the muck back with it.

The person who told the OP their pressure washer would blast all the weeds out should, in my opinion, be avoided as it seems they only plan to do half a job and are likely to make a hell of a mess too.

That driveway is in a bad state anyway and really does need to be relaid.

TELLIT01

There are a lot of cowboys out there who talk a good job.  A house near us had their drive done.  All the crud off the paving was just washed onto the footpath outside the house and left there.  Every time they drive back in they will simply be taking the muck back with it.

The person who told the OP their pressure washer would blast all the weeds out should, in my opinion, be avoided as it seems they only plan to do half a job and are likely to make a hell of a mess too.

That driveway is in a bad state anyway and really does need to be relaid.

CliveOfIndia

TELLIT01 said:

A house near us had their drive done.  All the crud off the paving was just washed onto the footpath outside the house and left there.

The person who told the OP their pressure washer would blast all the weeds out should, in my opinion, be avoided as it seems they only plan to do half a job and are likely to make a hell of a mess too.

That's a really good point.  There's no denying that the jetwash makes a hell of a mess - I know when I do mine, when I've finished the actual cleaning I spend another hour rinsing, sweeping and shovelling all the crud up.  And, as ThisIsWeird points out, you'll need to be rinsing off windows, doors, walls, fences, etc. as well, unless you're using one of those special patio attachments.

It's certainly not a 5-minute job by any stretch of the imagination - but for the sake of one day's work every year or so, it's worth doing.

Although, I do have to agree with what other people have said - the actual structure of the drive could do with some attention as well.