How to Price Deck and Fence Cleaning Jobs

Record every face and detail you are cleaning. A 60 ft fence cleaned on both sides is twice the face area of the same fence cleaned on one side, before posts, gates and awkward access are considered.

Use the Job Profitability Calculator to price the labour first. Once the scope is costed, the deck quote calculator or fence quote calculator can assemble the base charge, detail work and tax.

Measure area and detail separately

Measure deck flooring in square feet. List steps, risers, railings, spindles, posts and edges separately so the open-floor production estimate does not swallow hours of hand-detailing. Include the underside only when it is explicitly part of the scope.

For fences, linear feet can work when height, style and number of sides are fixed. A 60 ft run, 6 ft high, has 360 sq ft on one face or 720 sq ft on two faces. Lattice, overlapping boards, posts and gates need further allowance. Confirm access and permission for the far side before quoting two-sided cleaning.

Inspect the material and existing finish

Record wood species where known, weathering, soft or damaged boards and existing paint or stain. Algae and mildew removal is different work from stripping a coating or restoring weathered wood. Note oxidation or chalking on painted or composite components and establish what can be safely treated. Do not promise a uniform new-wood appearance from a maintenance clean.

Composite products have their own cleaning restrictions. Follow the applicable manufacturer guidance and choose an appropriate method before estimating chemical consumption. The SH Dilution Calculator can check nominal arithmetic only where an SH-based product is appropriate and permitted; it does not determine suitability, pressure or an application recipe.

Budget the complete visit

Allow for moving agreed items, setup, protecting landscaping, product application where suitable, dwell time, careful rinsing, detail work and packing away. Hose access through a furnished yard or a narrow passage can slow the visit. If the surface cannot tolerate your proposed method, change the scope or decline it rather than pricing a damage allowance.

Use your minimum service charge for small jobs that still need a dedicated trip. A flat project price is often easier to explain for a small deck with many rails or a fence with varied heights and gates. Keep the area and estimated hours in your notes. State that staining, sealing, sanding and repairs are excluded unless separately agreed.

Worked estimate: fence cleaning with gate detail

Illustrative USD budget only. These rates, costs and margins are assumptions for this example, not market recommendations. Tax is shown separately from job revenue; confirm the treatment that applies to your work.

A 60 ft long, 6 ft high fence is accessible on both sides: 720 sq ft of nominal face area. At an assumed $0.50 per sq ft, base cleaning is $360, above an illustrative $250 minimum. Gate and post detailing adds $60. No coating removal or repairs are included. Subtotal is $420; illustrative 5% tax adds $21, making the final quote $441.

Allow five person-hours: one for travel/setup, three for treatment, cleaning and detail, and one for final rinsing and teardown. At $30 per hour, labour costs $150. Materials cost $35, fuel/travel $20 and equipment allowance $15. Total direct cost is $220. On $420 pre-tax revenue, gross profit is $200 and margin is 47.62%. A separate $40 overhead allocation leaves $160 before other obligations.

In the Quote Calculator, choose Fence and Use my rate. Enter 120 ft of total face length (60 ft on each side) at $3.00 per ft, minimum 250, add-ons 60, discount 0 and tax 5. For this 6 ft high fence only, $0.50 per sq ft × 6 ft height gives the example’s $3.00 per face-foot; this is not a local market rate. The assumed production time must be replaced with an estimate for the fence condition and method in front of you.

Follow product labels, SDS and equipment instructions, including required PPE. A nominal SH calculation is not an application recommendation. Never mix SH with acids, ammonia or incompatible chemicals. Work only within safe equipment and access limits.

Return to the master pricing guide to check labour costing and the difference between markup and margin.