Project guide
The spring wash-down
Winter leaves salt, sand and a grey film on everything, and one weekend takes it off. The number that decides how long it takes is not pressure — it is gallons a minute.
TYPICAL 900 SQ FT · 1 DAY · WASHER 1 DAY · FLOW BEATS PRESSURE
The sequence
How the job actually runs
In order, with the tool each stage needs. Skip a stage and it comes back as the stage after it.
- 01
Clear the ground
Cars out, furniture off the deck, plants covered on the downwind side. Everything you move now you do not move wet.
- 02
Start high
Siding and soffits before the driveway, so the runoff lands on something you have not finished yet.
- 03
Concrete and interlock
Surface cleaner attachment if you have one, overlapping passes, and keep the wand moving. Streaks are stripes you cannot un-see.
- 04
Deck and dock
Back the pressure off and let the flow do it. Full pressure at close range furs the boards and shows all summer.
- 05
Re-sand if you washed interlock
Washing takes the joint sand with it. Re-sand, and if you re-compact, do it over a protective pad.
How big, how long
The three sizes people ask for.
Day counts are for one or two people working at a homeowner’s pace, not a crew’s. Book the longer number.
Typical jobs
| Driveway and front walk | 600 sq ft | 1 day |
|---|---|---|
| Add the deck and the siding | 900 sq ft | 1 day |
| Whole property, including the shop | 1,500 sq ft | 2 days |
Tools this job uses
Anything marked “ask us” is a machine in the yard that is not on the rate card yet. Send the request with your dates and we will tell you what it costs before you commit to anything.
The planner
Your numbers, not an average
Tell it the size and it works out the material, the days and which machines you actually need — including the ones you do not.
Tell it about the job
Square feet. Length times width, near enough.
What that takes
900 sq ft spring wash-down · two of you
- SURFACE
- 900 sq ft
- WASHER
- 1 day
- COMPACTOR
- —
Driveway, walks and the house at one pass each.
Only if you are re-sanding an existing interlock surface — and only over a protective pad.
Estimates from average jobs — ground, grade and weather vary. When in doubt, book the extra day: it is cheaper than a second delivery. And order your stone before you book the machines.
The tools, and the ones you can skip
| Tool | Verdict | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 5000 PSI washerTwelve gallons a minute is what makes a driveway one pass instead of three. | Needed | 1 |
From experience
What people get wrong
Judging a washer by pressure alone.
Flow is what moves dirt. Twelve gallons a minute finishes a driveway in a fraction of the time five does.
Full pressure at close range on wood.
Back off, widen the tip, keep moving. Furred boards do not recover.
Washing interlock and walking away.
You just removed the joint sand. Re-sand it or the joints open.
Starting at the driveway.
Top down. Runoff always lands on the thing you have not done yet.
Running a plate over freshly washed pavers.
Only over a pad, and never on large-format slabs.
Before you dig
The parts that are not optional
One sentence and one link each. We rent machines — we do not read by-laws for you, and none of this is legal or engineering advice.
A protective pad before the plate touches finished pavers.
Running a plate compactor straight onto a laid surface chips corners and cracks faces, and on large-format slabs it does it on the first pass. Use the roller pad or the rubber mat, every time. On slabs over about 18 inches, do not run the plate at all.
Water goes somewhere. Decide where.
A driveway wash moves a surprising amount of silt and salt. Keep it out of the storm drain where you can, and off the neighbour's lot always.
Be clear about this
What we do not supply
The machines move material around your site. They do not haul it to the curb and they do not bring it in. Sort this out before you book anything.
- Detergent and degreaserWhatever the surface needs. Ask before you put anything on a deck you like.
- A water supplyAn outdoor tap that actually runs. A cold machine at twelve gallons a minute wants more than a trickle.
- Joint sandIf you washed interlock, you will need it.
- Ladders and fall protectionFor anything above the first storey, that is your call and your gear.
Questions
The ones we get asked
Does more pressure clean faster?
No. Flow does. Gallons a minute is the number that moves dirt off a surface, which is why a contractor-duty machine finishes a driveway in one pass and a homeowner unit takes three.
How long does a driveway take?
About a day for a driveway and the front walk, one to two if the deck and the siding go with it. The prep — moving cars, covering plants — is a real part of that.
Will pressure washing damage my deck?
It can. Full pressure at close range furs the boards and you look at it all summer. Widen the tip, back off, and let the flow do the work.
Do I need to re-sand my interlock after washing?
If you washed it properly, yes — the joint sand comes out with the dirt. Re-sand it, and if you re-compact, only over a protective pad.
Showing our work
Where these numbers come from.
Anything marked [VERIFY] is trade convention we have not yet put in front of a supplier. It is good enough to plan against and we would rather say so than dress it up.
- Ontario One Call — locate requests for homeowners
- Landscape Ontario — provincial law requires locates before digging
- Government of Ontario — silica on construction projects: legal requirements (O. Reg. 833)
- City of Barrie — retaining walls information sheet
- Bobcat — Toolcat 5600 published specifications
- Normal-weight concrete, about 2,400 kg per cubic metre — the standard value
- [VERIFY] Trade convention — not yet confirmed against a supplier or a published standard
Next
Related guides, and where we work
Laying an interlock driveway
The base is the job. The pavers are the part everyone photographs, and they are two of the seven days — get the eight inches under them right and the driveway outlives the house. Read the guide
Opening the cottage
The opening weekend is one trip, and everything you forget is a two-hour round trip to get it. Plan it as a haul, a wash and a power question, in that order. Read the guide
Renting in Barrie
Inside the flat-rate delivery core — one trip covers drop-off and pickup. Equipment in Barrie
Renting in Innisfil
Inside the flat-rate delivery core — one trip covers drop-off and pickup. Equipment in Innisfil
Tell us the dates. We will confirm by text.
Pick the machines, send the request, and we will handle the hauling.
kempenfeltrental@gmail.com · 7am–7pm, 7 days