Is this driveway pressure wash quote fair?

Ganga

If you do it yourself just use the dirt blaster nozzle on the lance ,those patio cleaning tools are a waste of time on this type of job ,i have just done ours and the girls next door ,spent time sweeping the old sand,muck etc up as i went along but better than paying some body to do a job i can do myself ,used a second hand Karcher K2 and i am 74 so not a hard job ,wear overalls,wellies and goggles. 

TELLIT01

Ganga said:

If you do it yourself just use the dirt blaster nozzle on the lance ,those patio cleaning tools are a waste of time on this type of job

If by 'patio cleaning tools' you mean things like the Karcher T-Racer Surface Cleaner, I totally disagree.  There is far less mess when using them as the water is contained by the bristles.  It also uses much less pressure than a dirt blaster nozzle which will send crud flying in all directions.  I've used one on patio slabs and block paving numerous times.

blackstar

Thanks all. 
I am wondering how can I get it to reach from my outside tap at the back of the house to the front of the house as its a fair distance? If anyone can give a link to some kind of hose extension that would be great.

I have heard not to use a pressure washer as it will dislodge the brick slabs? Is this true.?

I wonder what the cost would be to just put concrete over the top of the bricks and make it a concrete driveway or would the bricks all need to come up? 

Thanks all

BarelySentientAI

blackstar said:

I am wondering how can I get it to reach from my outside tap at the back of the house to the front of the house as its a fair distance? If anyone can give a link to some kind of hose extension that would be great.

How long is your garden hosepipe?

FreeBear

blackstar said: I wonder what the cost would be to just put concrete over the top of the bricks and make it a concrete driveway or would the bricks all need to come up?

Pouring concrete over the entire driveway would put you in breach of planning rules. Under permitted development, you can put down no more than 5m² of impermiable (i.e. concrete) at the front of the house. Larger areas need to be permeable. So if you want concrete, you'd need to submit a planning application.

And yes, to do a proper job, the blocks would need to come up along with the sub base.

CliveOfIndia

blackstar said:

I am wondering how can I get it to reach from my outside tap at the back of the house to the front of the house as its a fair distance?

All you need is an ordinary bog-standard garden hose.  Here's a selection from Screwfix for example: https://www.screwfix.com/search?search=hosepipe

But honestly, you can buy them anywhere - Wickes, B&Q, Homebase, any DIY shop or garden centre, many of the larger supermarkets, any number of online sellers.  You can get them in a variety of lengths - just buy one that's long enough for what you need.  Most of them come with connectors, but again you can buy standard connectors anywhere.  All you need is one connector to attach it to the tap, another to attach the other end to the pressure washer.  They're all pretty much standard fittings, and are available anywhere.

blackstar said:

I have heard not to use a pressure washer as it will dislodge the brick slabs? Is this true.?

No, it won't dislodge the bricks.  It will take out a fair bit of the sand in between the bricks, so you'll need to resand it as per my previous reply, but that's no big deal.  What can happen is that if you don't resand it, the bricks can then gradually start to shift about a bit as you drive cars over them.

blackstar said:

I wonder what the cost would be to just put concrete over the top of the bricks and make it a concrete driveway or would the bricks all need to come up? 

You'd probably need planning permission to do that, as noted by the previous poster, since you're changing a permeable surface to an impermeable one.  Basically, with block paving the rain can soak through the bricks/joints and into the ground beneath.  With concrete it just runs off, which can cause flooding problems - either close to your house, or further away, depending on the geography of the land.  With ever more houses being built and the increase in flooding that's becoming more common, most councils are pretty hot on this kind of thing.

Another consideration is that if you end up with oil stains on the drive, it can be a right pain to get rid of them.  With block paving, you do at least have the option to replace just a few bricks if needs be, if you can't get the stain out.

ThisIsWeird

Ganga said:

If you do it yourself just use the dirt blaster nozzle on the lance ,those patio cleaning tools are a waste of time on this type of job.

That is just not accurate, as I've recently discovered when cleaning up slabs which hadn't been done in 15 years - ie, ever.
I'll grant you that it won't be fully as effective, and I tackled the odd stubborn bit of lichen stain afterwards using the direct lance. But the patio cleaner did a 95% job, without chemicals (no idea if that would have improved things more), and without risk of desurfacing the slabs, and that will be more than enough of an improvement for the OP here.
The difference in the practicalities of carrying out the task could not be greater - one is a complete pita, and the other an inane-grinning pleasure, carryoutable with a free hand to hold your bottle of Doombar. (Thanks, Nan).
With mil's slabs, there was also a slight concern that 'jet' could loosen the odd bit of less-than-perfect mortar grout, so I had decided beforehand that I'd only do the job if the patio attachment worked. And it did.

The OP also wonders if 'jet' could loosen a pave. If the blast is aimed at the gaps between the paves for too long, then I'm pretty sure that not only the grouting sand will be lost, but the actual base will be undermined. 

ThisIsWeird

blackstar said:

Thanks all. 
I am wondering how can I get it to reach from my outside tap at the back of the house to the front of the house as its a fair distance? If anyone can give a link to some kind of hose extension that would be great.

I have heard not to use a pressure washer as it will dislodge the brick slabs? Is this true.?

I wonder what the cost would be to just put concrete over the top of the bricks and make it a concrete driveway or would the bricks all need to come up? 

Thanks all

Measure the length of hose required. Buy hose.
Consider buying them in two separate lengths, if this would be easier to handle and store.
If you need, say, 30m in total, and a 20m length would be a useful length for the back garden where the tap is, then buy a 20 & 10 hose, and a connector.

As others have said, please do not consider concreting over the drive. Once cleaned up and resanded, it'll look hugely better. If the unevenness remains unacceptable to you, then also get quotes for having it relaid at some point - this should hopefully not be that much, as all/most of the hard work has already been done, and the only material required is bedding sand. Around 2 days work? But make sure the quoting folks are reputable.

fluffymuffy

Jet washing isn't worth the bother.

I'd just put some strong weedkiller down, wait a few weeks until everything is completely dead. Then, after a few dry days, I'd give it a thorough sweep with a stiff brush.

chrisw

fluffymuffy said:

Jet washing isn't worth the bother.

I'd just put some strong weedkiller down, wait a few weeks until everything is completely dead. Then, after a few dry days, I'd give it a thorough sweep with a stiff brush.

Haha, I was thinking the exact same thing.