Method, limits
and logistics.

Because a photograph hides most of what sets the price and the method. It won't show you how porous the concrete is, whether a render is sound or already failing, how much fall a gutter has, where the run-off will go, or what water pressure is available at the tap. Quoting blind means either padding the price to cover the unknown or revising it on the day. We look at the property, then give you a fixed scope and a fixed number.

No. High pressure suits sound concrete and most paving. It is the wrong tool for render, painted weatherboard, fibre cement, timber and natural stone, where it drives water behind the surface, lifts coatings and etches soft stone. Those surfaces are soft-washed: a cleaning solution does the work at low pressure, is given time to dwell, then rinsed. Choosing between the two correctly is the job.

Not when the method matches the material. Sound render and sound paint are unaffected by a correctly applied soft wash. Coatings that are already blistering, chalking or lifting can come away — the cleaning reveals a failure that was already there rather than causing it. We identify that at the assessment and tell you before any work is booked.

Concrete in all its finishes — plain, broom-finished, exposed aggregate, stencilled and coloured. Clay and concrete pavers. Travertine, sandstone and porcelain. Rendered, bagged and face brick walls. Fibre cement and painted weatherboard. Eaves, soffits, fascia, barge boards and downpipes. Quad and half-round gutters. Pool coping and bullnose edging.

A standard double driveway is typically a half day. A full house exterior including eaves is usually a full day. Gutters depend almost entirely on access and tree cover. You get an expected duration and an arrival window with the quote.

Only for the assessment, and even then only if you want to walk it with us. On the day we need access to the areas being cleaned, an outdoor tap with reasonable flow, and a number to reach you on. Many customers are at work while we're there.

An outdoor tap with steady flow — pressure equipment needs volume, not just a trickle — and clear access to the surfaces in scope. Tell us in advance about anything fragile, any gate codes, and any planting you're particularly attached to.

Yes. Stride carries $10 million public liability cover. The certificate of currency is available on request, and body corporates and property managers generally require sight of it before work starts.

Cleaning removes what sits on a surface; it does not alter the surface itself. Oil that has penetrated porous concrete, rust bleed, efflorescence, paint spill and UV-faded discolouration will usually lighten rather than disappear. Etching, spalling and delamination are physical damage and need a concreter or a specialist coating, not a cleaner. You'll be told which category a mark falls into at the assessment, with an expected outcome, before the job is priced.

It is driven by exposure, not the calendar. A shaded southern elevation under tree cover in a humid bayside suburb will need attention far sooner than an open, north-facing slab. As a working guide: driveways and paths every one to two years, house exteriors every two to three, gutters annually where there is significant tree cover. We give you a specific interval for your property once we've seen it.

Yes, on most jobs — shot from the same position before and after so the comparison is fair. If you'd prefer your property wasn't photographed, say so and it won't be.

The Redlands is home ground: Redland Bay, Cleveland, Capalaba, Alexandra Hills, Thornlands and Victoria Point. Selected work is taken across Greater Brisbane depending on scope. Send an address and you'll get a straight answer either way.