PressureWashingBossPro Blog — House Washing & Recurring Plans

Deck and Fence Washing Jobs: Wood Surfaces, Linear Feet and Clear Notes

Decks and fences are the wood side of residential washing. They are good work, they pair well with a house wash, and the before-and-after can be dramatic. They also carry more risk of disappointment than concrete, because wood can be soft, old, previously stained or already damaged. The way to keep deck and fence jobs profitable is to measure them correctly and write down exactly what the customer is getting.

Wood Is Its Own Kind of Job

Concrete work is covered in Driveways and Flatwork: Tracking Surface Cleaner Jobs From Quote to Invoice. Wood takes a gentler approach and more careful notes.

In PressureWashingBossPro, Deck and Fence are their own surfaces. The surface field can record wood, and the method field records whether you are soft washing, using low pressure, or something else your process calls for. A deck job on the crew's phone might read “Deck · 400 sq ft · Wood · Soft Wash,” with access notes underneath about stairs, furniture and the hot tub.

Square Feet for Decks, Linear Feet for Fences

Decks are measured by area. Fences are usually priced by length, sometimes adjusted for height and whether you are doing one side or both. The property map can measure both square feet and linear feet from the satellite view, so you can trace the deck footprint and run a line along the fence without leaving the office.

Satellite views of decks can be hidden by trees or roof overhangs, and they do not show stairs, railings or multiple levels. Many owners add those by eye or confirm on site. For fences, the satellite line gets you close, and the customer can tell you which sections they want done.

Estimates can price off a property's measurements, so a fence measured once prices the same way next time.

Quoting Decks and Fences

Build the estimate from your service list. If you offer deck washing, fence washing, and perhaps staining or sealing as a separate service, list them separately so the customer sees what is included. Things worth deciding before you quote:

• Deck surface only, or railings and stairs too?
• Fence: one side or both? The customer's side, the neighbor's, or both with permission?
• Any previous stain or paint that may lift or look uneven once clean?
• Furniture, grills and planters: who moves them?

Answers go on the estimate as job details and notes. When the customer approves online, they carry onto the scheduled job, and the crew reads them on the phone.

Setting Expectations in Writing

Wood is where “that's not what I expected” conversations happen. Gray wood that gets cleaned may look blotchy if it was stained unevenly years ago. Soft or rotted boards look worse once the grime is gone. Raised grain is common after washing.

The best protection is a clear note on the estimate about what the wash will and will not do, and before photos taken in the crew app before anything starts. Those photos stay with the job. If the customer asks later why a board looks the way it does, you have the picture from before you touched it. Keep the advice practical and general: check the wood product's guidance, test an inconspicuous spot, and use the gentlest method that does the job.

Decks and Fences With a House Wash

Decks and fences are natural add-ons to a house wash. The crew is already there with the rig, the hoses are already run, and the customer is already in a buying mood. Listing deck and fence as surfaces on the same job makes the visit one stop, one invoice and one set of photos.

Some owners bundle them into packages. House wash and deck, house wash and fence, or the whole back yard. Estimate templates let you set those combinations up once. The most common bundle, the house and driveway, is covered in The House and Driveway Package: Bundling the Two Jobs Homeowners Ask For Together.

Wood on a Recurring Plan

Decks get green and slick under trees, and fences on the shady side go dark fast. A yearly plan for the deck alongside the house wash keeps it clean and keeps the customer coming back. Set it by minimum days between visits, 365 for a yearly wash, and it comes due on the Waiting List on its own.

The crew's notes from this year, about soft boards, loose railings or stain that lifted, stay with the address and show up next year, so the next crew knows what to watch for.

Getting Paid

When the crew taps Complete, the invoice is created with each surface as a line item. A card on file can be charged right then, or the customer pays online from the customer app. For more on residential surfaces and yearly plans, visit the PressureWashingBossPro house washing software page.