How to Price Roof Soft Washing Jobs
Decide whether you can safely perform the roof work before calculating a price. Access, roof condition, product suitability and runoff control can rule out a job even when the customer accepts the cost.
Once the scope is established, use the Quote Calculator for the price and the Job Profitability Calculator to test the labour and material allowance.
Measure roof area and record the features
House footprint understates sloped roof area. Use a reliable roof measurement or an appropriately checked plan, accounting for pitch, overhangs and the sections included. Do not gain unsafe access just to obtain a measurement. Record height, valleys, dormers, extensions and changes of material separately.
Roof pitch affects both area and access complexity. Avoid treating a pitch adjustment to area as the full allowance for a difficult roof. Valleys and dormers can add detail and complicate runoff management even when they add little area.
Confirm the method, access and ability to accept the work
Identify the roof material and condition, then check the applicable manufacturer guidance and product labels. Record visible defects and refer suspected damage or uncertain material suitability to an appropriate specialist. Establish safe access and any specialist equipment or trained personnel needed before pricing.
Confirm that the work falls within your competence and applicable insurance coverage. Steep or high roofs, fragile materials, uncertain structural condition and access beyond your equipment limits can justify declining or referring the job. A risk allowance pays for defined controls and resources; it cannot substitute for them.
Budget protection, treatment time and runoff controls
Assess organic-growth severity and estimate product demand from a suitable treatment plan. Include landscaping protection, sensitive surfaces, runoff collection or management where required, and monitoring throughout the job. If those controls cannot be provided, do not quote the job as though they were optional.
Allow for setup, permitted treatment, dwell time, any rinsing required by the product and roof guidance, checks and teardown. Do not assume every roof requires the same rinse process or that waiting time is free labour. Weather constraints or a required return visit may add another mobilization.
Use the SH Dilution Calculator to check nominal batch arithmetic after the treatment has been selected. It does not prescribe roof strength, product demand or safe application. Include ladder/access complexity, equipment hire and specialist assistance in the budget where the established safe plan requires them.
Set the price and the limits of the result
A roof-job minimum needs to cover mobilization, protection and cleanup even on a small area. Cost those tasks before applying an area rate. Define the surfaces treated, exclusions, expected result and any agreed follow-up so the customer understands what the price buys.
If material suitability, safe access or runoff control remains unresolved, pause the quote for specialist judgment. Decline work that you cannot perform safely within the agreed scope.
Worked estimate: measured roof with planned controls
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 reliable measurement gives 2,000 sq ft of roof surface. Assume a suitable method and safe access plan have already been established. A cost-derived example rate of $0.40 per sq ft produces $800, above an assumed $500 roof-service minimum. A separately scoped $150 allowance covers the planned additional protection and runoff controls. Subtotal is $950, with no discount. At an illustrative 5% tax on the full subtotal, tax is $47.50 and the customer total is $997.50.
Two people working four hours each consume eight person-hours. At an assumed loaded cost of $35 per hour, labour costs $280. Materials cost $90, fuel/travel $30 and equipment/access hire $100. Direct cost totals $500. Pre-tax revenue of $950 leaves $450 gross profit, a 47.37% margin. A separate $100 overhead allocation leaves $350 before other obligations.
Enter area 2,000, rate 0.40, minimum 500, add-ons 150, discount 0 and tax 5 in the Quote Calculator. In the profitability check, use eight labour hours, not four. The $150 allowance is part of revenue; the labour, materials and equipment needed to deliver it are already included in this example’s costs.
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.
Check the estimate against the master pricing guide, then resolve any uncertain roof condition or access requirement before offering a fixed price.