Pressure cleaning on the North Shore changes as you go up the highway: mostly apartments in North Sydney, an even mix in Willoughby, and mostly detached houses in Ku-ring-gai. We do strata common property, house washes, roofs, gutters and decks, and the wash water stays out of the harbour and the bushland creeks.
At the 2021 Census, flats and apartments were 75.7 per cent of occupied dwellings in North Sydney and separate houses 11.1 per cent. In Willoughby it was close to even, 47.1 per cent flats and 44.7 per cent houses. In Ku-ring-gai, separate houses were 68.6 per cent, above the 65.6 per cent for New South Wales.
So a North Sydney job is usually strata common property, and a Ku-ring-gai job is usually a detached house: walls, roof, gutters and a deck.
Sweep, don't hose
Ku-ring-gai Council tells residents that only rainwater should go into street drains, to sweep driveways and gutters rather than hose them, and to wash vehicles on grass or at a car wash. It names oil, grease, garden fertilisers and car wash detergent as common chemicals in stormwater.
North Sydney Council says stormwater is not treated and flows directly from the street and gutter into the harbour, and asks people to use a broom instead of hosing footpaths. Willoughby City Council describes stormwater as untreated runoff from hard surfaces that carries litter, animal waste, oils and chemicals into waterways.
That fits the Sydney Water rule for hard surfaces, which allows washing for safety or contamination rather than looks. A slippery path or an oil stain is a job. A tidy driveway that just needs a sweep is not, and we say so.
The councils, and the page we read for each
The state rule is the same under all of them: wash water must not enter the stormwater system. Each council words its own guidance, and we read the one for the address before the job.
These are parts of North Shore, not a list of jobs. None has a page of its own yet, because a page that swaps one place name for another is worth nothing to you.
North Sydney
Chatswood
Willoughby
Lane Cove
Gordon
Pymble
Wahroonga
The lines that suit North Shore
The detached houses of Ku-ring-gai are where the house wash in either storey count, the metal roof soft wash and the timber deck clean come up most. Strata work further south runs against the commercial minimum on the rate card.
One rate card for all of Sydney, every figure including GST. The minimum for an attended job is $249, and the truck runs from Penrith.
Ku-ring-gai says to sweep driveways, not hose them. Will you still clean mine?
If there is a safety or contamination reason, such as slippery algae or oil, yes, with the water contained. If it only needs a sweep, we will tell you that instead of charging for a wash.
Do you work on North Sydney apartment buildings?
Yes. Common property is quoted per site against a published minimum attendance, with a free induction and the certificate of currency supplied.
Can you soft wash a big upper north shore roof?
Yes. Metal and Colorbond roofs have a published starting price for a single storey. Large, steep or two storey roofs and all tile roofs are quoted after a look.
Is the North Shore priced differently?
No. One rate card for all of Sydney.
Where the local detail came from
Every local figure and rule on this page is somebody else's published work. Each link was opened and returned a page on the date shown.