Questions we get asked every week

Because a single-storey roof on a flat block and a two-storey roof on a steep block are not the same job, and quoting them the same means one of you is being overcharged. The "from" figure is a real starting point for a straightforward job of that type, not bait. Full list on the pricing page.

Size, access, height, how bad it is and travel, roughly in that order. Access is the one that surprises people: a narrow side setback or a steep block can add more than an extra hundred square metres of driveway.

Most of the time, yes, and it saves everyone a visit. On larger or more complicated properties we will say we would rather look. That visit is free.

Only if what we find is materially different to what we were shown, and if that happens you hear about it before we start, not on the invoice. We do not do surprise variations.

Not within our normal run across Brisbane's southside and western suburbs. A long way outside it, we will tell you at quote time.

Yes, usually noticeably. Most of the cost of a small job is setting up and packing down. Doing the roof, gutters and driveway in one visit means paying for that once.

Occasionally, and we will not pretend otherwise. Old concrete tiles get brittle, and the ones that break are almost always already cracked and holding on. We walk roofs properly to minimise it, we tell you what we find, and a broken tile gets replaced rather than quietly left.

Yes, if it is done wrong. Too much pressure on concrete cuts the surface and leaves permanent wand marks. It is worse on soft or newly laid concrete, and on stone it is irreversible, which is why sandstone and travertine get chemical cleaning at low pressure instead.

No. It strips paint and drives water into the boards. Painted timber, render and old surfaces get a soft wash: low pressure, with the chemical doing the work.

Anything painted before 1970 is very likely lead-based, and it changes the job entirely. We contain and control the rinse rather than blasting old paint into the garden. If your house is that old, tell us.

Not with pressure. Pressure strips the worn surface and chews out the ridge pointing, and re-pointing costs many times what the clean did. Old terracotta gets a treatment programme instead.

In our words: we carry $20m public liability, and we will send the certificate of currency to you, your body corporate manager or your agent without being chased. A SWMS is provided for commercial and strata sites as standard.

Not if it is done properly. Plants get soaked before we start, because wet foliage absorbs far less, covered where it matters, and rinsed again at the end. The risk comes from cleaners who skip those steps.

Keep them inside while we are working and off the treated surfaces until everything has been rinsed and dried. After that it is fine. Tell us about pets when you book, because gates get opened and the machines are loud.

Because mould, moss and lichen are alive. Pressure knocks the visible top layer off and leaves the root structure in the surface, so it comes back faster, and takes some of your render or paint with it. The chemical kills it. That is what makes the result last.

We carry water and hot water on the trailer. We may ask to top up from a tap, but we will not run a job off your supply without asking.

Managed and diverted away from pools, garden beds and stormwater where it matters. On commercial and strata sites this is covered in the SWMS.

No, as long as we have access to what needs cleaning and the windows are shut. Plenty of jobs get done while people are at work.

Most driveways are one to two hours. A standard roof is half a day. A roof, gutters and driveway together is usually a full day. Big properties can be two.

Light rain is often fine, since we are spraying water anyway. Heavy rain or wind means we reschedule, because chemical washes off before it works and nobody should be on a wet roof. You will get a call, not a no-show.

It depends almost entirely on shade and trees. A sunny open block might go five years. A shaded gully block in Kenmore or Chapel Hill might show growth again in eighteen months. Nobody can make an exterior wash permanent in this climate.

Gutters are cleared as part of every roof clean. We are not going to leave dirty water, moss and chemical sitting in blocked gutters and call the job finished. How that is priced shows on your quote.

A few days before the photographer, not the morning of. Concrete dries unevenly and a damp driveway photographs blotchy.

Yes. We arrange access with the tenant directly, photograph before and after for your file, and invoice the agency or manager.

Usually not on its own. Unless the surface is well sealed or a closed-pore tile, an oil stain will not come out completely, by us or by anyone. Sometimes significantly lighter, often barely changed. The full explanation is here.

We can blast them out, and they will be back within weeks along with the sand you have just lost from the joints. A herbicide and re-sanding is the actual fix.

Unless they are under trees or visibly filthy, the extra output rarely justifies the cost annually. Every two or three years is usually plenty.

Some roofs are not dirty, they are worn out. Cleaning a roof with failed tiles or perished ridge pointing does not fix it and can make the leaks obvious. We will tell you it needs a roofer.

New concrete needs time to cure before anything is done to it. Pressure cleaning it early damages the surface permanently.

Not always. Some marking on old render and paint is the paint itself failing. Washing will not change it and repainting is the honest answer.

No. That is a ventilation, drainage or leak problem and needs a different trade. We clean the outside.