Honest House Washing Prices in Wellington, A 2026 Cost Guide
Wellington-only pricing for house washing, driveways, roofs and gutters in 2026. Suburb-level context, bundle math, and what cheap quotes leave out.
House wash $250–650 · Driveway $190–550 · Roof clean $280–750 · Gutters $140–500.
Full pre-sale package $900–1,800. Prices vary by suburb cluster, heritage central and coastal properties sit at the higher end. Bundles save roughly 10%. Most quotes are free and come back within a few hours.
- $250–650house wash, exterior
- $190–550driveway clean
- $280–750roof soft-wash
- $140–500gutter clean
Want a fixed price for your property? Send your address and a couple of photos, free quote back inside 24 hours.
Pricing posts for Wellington house washing aren’t hard to find. What is hard to find is one that actually talks about Wellington, not Wellington lumped in with Hamilton and Tauranga in a regional round-up, not a vague range pulled from somewhere else in the country.
This guide is Wellington-only. The prices here come from jobs James has done across the region since 2001. They reflect what Wellington homes actually cost to clean: the heritage timber suburbs, the coastal salt factor, the hillside access challenges, and the difference between a standard exterior rinse and a proper soft wash.
What Wellington house washing actually costs in 2026
Here are working ranges. These cover the vast majority of Wellington residential jobs, detached homes, standard and two-storey, typical access. Body-corp complexes and commercial sites are quoted separately.
| Service | Typical range |
|---|---|
| House wash (exterior) | $250 – $650 |
| Driveway clean | $190 – $550 |
| Roof clean (soft wash or low-pressure treat) | $280 – $750 |
| Gutter clean | $140 – $500 |
| Path / deck / patio | $120 – $380 |
| Full pre-sale package (house + drive + gutters + paths) | $900 – $1,800 |
The ranges look wide. There’s a reason for that, and it’s not a cop-out, it’s the honest answer. A small single-storey bungalow in Johnsonville with flat access and no salt exposure is a genuinely different job from a two-storey heritage villa in Thorndon that needs soft-wash staging, careful chemistry, and an extra hour of setup. They shouldn’t cost the same.
Why Wellington pricing varies by suburb cluster
This is the bit generic pricing posts skip. Wellington isn’t one market, it’s several, stacked on top of each other geographically and architecturally.
Heritage central suburbs (Thorndon, Mt Victoria, Kelburn, Aro Valley, Wadestown, Mt Cook, Hataitai)
These suburbs have the oldest residential stock in Wellington: 1900s–1930s timber villas, painted weatherboard, heritage character cottages. Soft wash only, no high pressure on old painted timber, full stop. The method involves low-pressure application (200–500 PSI, not the 2,000+ PSI of standard water blasting), biocide chemistry, careful staging around windows and joinery, and slower work on ornate architectural features.
That costs more than a standard rinse. A typical heritage villa exterior wash here runs $380–$650, depending on size and condition. Worth it. High pressure on a 90-year-old painted weatherboard causes paint failure, forces moisture under the cladding, and creates far more expensive problems than the cleaning was ever meant to solve.
Coastal properties (Lyall Bay, Island Bay, Petone foreshore, Eastbourne, Plimmerton, Kapiti Coast foreshore)
Salt doesn’t just sit on the surface, it bonds into painted and unpainted cladding over time, especially on northerly and westerly-facing elevations that miss the rain rinse. Coastal house washes require salt-neutralising chemistry as part of the solution mix, and often a second pass. That adds cost: typically $30–$80 to a standard house wash, depending on how heavily salt-affected the property is.
Skipping the salt-neutralising step on a coastal property means the mould and biofilm come back faster. It’s false economy.
Northern and standard residential (Karori, Khandallah, Johnsonville, Newlands, Tawa, Churton Park, Whitby)
Standard method, standard rates, good access in most cases. This is where the lower end of the pricing range sits. A tidy three-bedroom single-storey in Johnsonville with flat driveway access and no heritage complications is a clean, predictable job. $250–$380 for the exterior wash, depending on size.
Hutt Valley, Kapiti and the Wairarapa
Standard rates, no travel surcharge. James covers Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Petone, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa as part of the regular working area, no extra charge for the drive.
Pricing by suburb cluster, at a glance
| Suburb cluster | Method | Typical house wash |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage central (Thorndon, Mt Vic, Kelburn, Aro Valley) | Soft wash only | $380 – $650 |
| Coastal (Lyall Bay, Petone, Eastbourne, Kapiti foreshore) | Soft wash + salt neutralise | $320 – $580 |
| Northern / standard residential (Karori, Johnsonville, Tawa, Whitby) | Standard or soft wash | $250 – $450 |
| Hutt Valley + Kapiti (inland) + Wairarapa | Standard or soft wash | $250 – $450 |
These are house-exterior-only figures. Driveways, roofs, gutters and paths are in addition.
What “house wash” should actually include
This matters because not all quotes cover the same scope, and some deliberately don’t.
Included in a proper Wellington house wash
Full exterior of all cladding (weatherboard, plaster, brick, fibre cement, Linea). Biocide chemistry that kills mould and lichen at the root, not just water-rinse. Spouting exteriors. Window frames and sills (soft wash). Fascia boards. Ground-level concrete surrounds if accessible. Before-and-after photos emailed to you.
Separate line items, NOT hidden add-ons
Roof cleaning (different method, different gear, different time). Gutter cleaning (inside the gutters + downpipe flush). Driveway and paths. Deck and fencing. If a quote arrives as a single line without saying what's included, ask before you accept.
Red flags in cheap quotes, the honest version
The pricing space for house washing has some operators who quote low and either do less than promised, use pure water with no chemistry (so mould comes back in six weeks), or charge for extras on the day that weren’t disclosed.
Things worth watching:
"Full exterior wash" at $150–$200 for a standard home is almost always a water-only rinse with no biocide, or the gutters and paths were quietly never included. The mould comes back in 6 weeks because nothing was killed at the root. Ask specifically what's covered.
No chemistry mentioned in the quote. Water alone doesn’t kill mould or lichen. It removes the surface layer, and the stuff grows back from the root within weeks. A proper wash uses a biocide formulation. If the quote doesn’t mention it, ask whether they use it.
Travel surcharges added after the quote. For Wellington-region work, travel should be included. If a contractor is based outside the region and adding a fuel levy, that’s fine, but it should be in the original quote, not a surprise on the invoice.
No before-and-after documentation. Not a scam indicator, but a quality indicator. Contractors who do the work properly want to show it. If you need documentation for a bond inspection, insurance claim, body-corp records or warranty compliance, ask whether photos are included.
Upsells discovered on the day. “While I’m here, the roof’s in bad shape, I can do that now for $X.” Fine if it’s genuine and you have the choice. Not fine if it’s leverage.
Questions to ask any contractor before they quote
These aren’t trick questions, any competent Wellington contractor should answer them without hesitation:
- Do you use biocide chemistry, or is it a water-only wash?
- What PSI do you run for painted weatherboard or timber cladding?
- Is the quote fixed, or could it change once you’re on site?
- What’s included, specifically roof, gutters, paths?
- Do you provide before-and-after photos?
- Are you insured for public liability?
- How long have you been working in Wellington?
Bundle discount math, a real example
Booking multiple services in one visit typically saves 10% off the total vs booking each separately. The saving is real because the travel and setup cost only happens once. Here's how it stacks on a typical job:
| Service | Standalone price | Bundle price (10% off) |
|---|---|---|
| House wash | $350 | |
| Driveway clean | $280 | |
| Gutter clean | $220 | |
| Total | $850 | $765 |
Same visit, same setup time, James is already there. The saving is real because the travel and setup cost is only incurred once. For pre-sale jobs especially, where the whole exterior needs to look right, a bundle almost always makes financial sense.
Fixed prices vs ranges, which one applies to you?
About 85% of Wellington residential jobs can be quoted accurately from an address and a description, James knows the suburb, knows roughly what’s typical in that area, and can give a fixed price without a site visit. For the standard three-bedroom in Tawa or the unit in Newtown, a fixed quote via email or text is usually the right approach.
The remaining 15% genuinely need a look first. Heritage properties with complex cladding, multi-storey with difficult access, heavily lichen-affected roofs, coastal properties with years of salt accumulation, body-corp complexes, for these, a site visit gives a better price (and avoids surprises for both parties).
If you request a quote and James thinks a visit would give you a more accurate price, he’ll say so. Either way, the quote is free and there’s no obligation.
The cost of skipping it
Not really a pricing point, but worth including: exterior cleaning is maintenance, not cosmetics. Mould on cladding holds moisture against the surface and accelerates paint breakdown. Lichen on a roof slowly degrades the surface of concrete tiles and damages Coloursteel coatings. Blocked spouting causes fascia rot and can lead to water entering the roof cavity.
The annual house wash at $300–$450 is considerably cheaper than the paint job it postpones, the fascia it protects, and the roof it preserves.
Common pricing questions
Why is my neighbour’s quote different from mine?
Property size, access, cladding type, method required, and what’s included in the scope. Two houses in the same street can legitimately have different quotes if one has a heritage timber exterior that needs soft wash and the other is a plaster-over-batten new build.
Does price include GST?
Quotes from Clear Water Blasting are GST-inclusive. Some contractors quote ex-GST, check whether the number you’re looking at is the final figure.
Do I need to be home?
No. As long as access and a water tap are available, the job can be completed and photos emailed to you.
How long does a house wash take?
A standard three-bedroom single-storey typically takes 2–3 hours. Two-storey properties or those with soft-wash requirements (longer dwell time for chemistry) may run 3–5 hours.
Is the price the same in winter?
Yes. James works year-round across the Wellington region, and pricing doesn’t vary by season.
Can I get an annual rate?
The maintenance plan sets up a recurring annual or biannual service with fixed pricing and priority scheduling. Worth looking at if you want exterior maintenance handled without having to remember to book it.
Written by James · Clear Water Blasting Services
Owner-operated since 2001 from Johnsonville. James does every quote and every job himself across Wellington, the Hutt, Kapiti, Porirua and the Wairarapa.
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