Illustration for Pressure Washing Quoted by Your Landscaper

A homeowner on a pressure-washing forum laid out the gap this summer: a landscaper quoted $3,100 to wash and seal about 1,800 square feet, and a franchise washing company quoted $800, which seemed suspiciously low. Both numbers can be explained.

Why the same job can price so differently

A markup for managing it. When a contractor hires another trade, it adds its own markup. One general contractor explains that its single markup on trade partners and materials covers project management, insurance, office and field overhead, and a modest net profit of about 8 to 10%. It says some contractors instead show a smaller visible fee plus separate markups.

Different menus. Some landscapers do restoration work themselves. One Michigan lawn and landscaping company publishes paver restoration at $1.50 to $4 a square foot, depending on scope.

Different scope. Pavers with re-sanding, a premium sealer or two coats cost more than a quick wash and one coat on plain concrete. A low quote may simply cover less.

What companies publish

Company (type, area) Published price 1,800 sq ft
A-1 Concrete Leveling (concrete company) About $1.00 a sq ft to clean and seal concrete About $1,800
Craft Pavers (paver company, Florida) $1.25 a sq ft for 1,000 to 2,500 sq ft $2,250
PaverCare (paver cleaning, Ohio) $2.15 a sq ft for 1,501 sq ft and up, with re-sanding $3,870
Elowsky Lawn Services (landscaper, Michigan) $1.50 to $4 a sq ft for paver restoration $2,700 to $7,200

Totals are our arithmetic; prices from each company’s own page, checked October 2026. How we research: methodology.

By these lists, the forum landscaper’s $3,100, about $1.72 a square foot, sits inside the published range. The franchise’s $800, about 44 cents a foot, is below all of them, which is a reason to ask exactly what it includes.

What’s inside those prices

The lists bundle different work. The Ohio paver company’s price includes weed and moss removal, re-sanding the joints and a joint-stabilizing sealer, with minor repairs extra. The Michigan landscaper’s basic clean-and-seal tier, $600 to $1,200 for patios up to 400 square feet, covers a pressure wash, a joint-sand top-up and a premium sealer. The Florida company says sealing alone runs about 75 cents to $1.50 a square foot across that state. Two quotes are only comparable once you know which of these steps each one includes.

Subcontracting also runs the other way. On a washers’ trade forum, one washer described a cleanup job sent to him by a general contractor he does a lot of work for.

How to compare the two quotes

  1. Write the scope down once. Square footage, surface (concrete or pavers), re-sanding or not, which sealer, how many coats.
  2. Ask each bidder to price that scope. Our guide to questions to ask a house washing company covers insurance and what’s included.
  3. Ask the landscaper who does the work. If it’s subcontracted, ask what the markup covers.
  4. Check the timeline. Ask how each company schedules the wash and the sealing.

For what the work should cost on its own, see paver clean, sand and seal cost and sealing a concrete driveway.

When paying the landscaper makes sense

One contract can be worth the premium when the washing is part of a bigger job, such as a new patio, plantings or a full yard refresh. That’s what the markup pays for: as the contractor above describes it, project management and insurance for the whole job. For a stand-alone wash and seal on an existing patio, a direct quote from a washing or paver company is often the cheaper route.

Sources

Based on 6 sources · How we price