The dial above is the same maths the price wizard uses: three numbers you already know turn into every range a homeowner sees. Here is how to pick those numbers.
Start with a 1-story anchor price
Pick the house you wash most often, usually a 1-story, 3-bedroom vinyl house, and decide what you charge for it with normal dirt. That single number anchors everything else. If you don’t have one yet, start from the typical range for your metro, then adjust after your first ten jobs: were you rushed, or did you finish early?
The 2-story upcharge
A second story means ladders or extension wands, more rinsing and more time. Express it as a percentage of your 1-story price so it scales with size. Our starting template uses +28% for 2 stories and about +55% for 3. Time a few of your own 2-stories and set yours from that.
Size without square feet: bedrooms as buckets
Homeowners don’t know their square footage, and a wrong guess gives a wrong price. Owners have pointed this out for over a decade. Bedrooms are a good stand-in that everyone knows. The four buckets we use:
| Size | 1-story | 2-story | 3-story |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (1–2 bedrooms) | $250 – $305 | $320 – $395 | $385 – $475 |
| Medium (about 3 bedrooms) | $300 – $365 | $380 – $470 | $465 – $570 |
| Large (about 4 bedrooms) | $375 – $460 | $480 – $590 | $580 – $715 |
| Very large (5+ bedrooms) | $460 – $575 | $585 – $740 | $710 – $895 |
US-average starting points. If you think in square feet, map your usual sizes onto these four buckets once and keep them.
Siding: vinyl, Hardie, brick, stucco
Vinyl is the baseline. Price other sidings by how they change your time and risk, not by name: fiber-cement (Hardie) can hold oxidation and take longer to rinse clean; stucco and brick are porous and need care with pressure and dwell time; painted wood can peel. If it changes your time, it’s an add-on. If it doesn’t, leave it out and keep the quote simple.
Add-ons
- Heavy mildew or algae (north walls, shaded lots): a flat add-on.
- Gutter brightening: $125 – $200 for a 1-story at the US average.
- Windows: only if you do them properly; otherwise say “rinse only”.
- 3 stories or steep slopes: covered by your story upcharge, plus a lift if needed.
Sample house-wash price sheet
Put the anchor, the 2-story line and your add-ons on one page and use it on every call. Our free printable price list fills itself with typical prices for your metro; you edit the boxes and print it. When you’re ready for homeowners to see a range themselves, the same numbers go into your instant quote widget.
More pricing: how much to charge for pressure washing (all jobs) and roof soft wash pricing.