Your driveway is the first thing people see when they pull up. If it's streaked with black mould or oil stains, it drags the whole place down — the house, the front garden, even the front door you spent weeks picking the right colour for. So the real question most homeowners ask us isn't "can you clean it" — it's "what's the driveway pressure cleaning cost actually going to be?"
Straight answer: on the Sunshine Coast in 2026, a standard concrete driveway usually lands between $180 and $450. Pavers, exposed aggregate, or anything long and awkward can push higher. Below we'll walk through the real numbers, what moves them up or down, and why those $99 specials you've seen online almost never end up being $99.
Typical driveway pressure cleaning cost on the Sunshine Coast
Here's the honest range for most homes we quote in Caloundra, Maroochydore, Buderim, Noosa, and across to North Brisbane and South Gympie. These are what proper operators (not fly-in/fly-out one-day specials) tend to charge.
| Driveway type | Approx. size | Typical price range |
|---|---|---|
| Standard single-car concrete driveway | Up to ~30 m² | $180 – $280 |
| Double driveway (plain concrete) | ~40 – 60 m² | $280 – $450 |
| Long driveway, pavers, or exposed aggregate | 60 m²+ | $450 – $900+ |
| Oil-stain treatment (add-on) | Per stain | $30 – $80 |
| Commercial / strata driveways | Quoted per m² | Custom quote |
A few things worth knowing before you read the price and either sigh in relief or raise an eyebrow:
- These are for pressure cleaning only. Sealing afterwards is a separate job.
- Most driveways on the Coast sit in the middle of each range — the extreme ends are unusual cases.
- Prices can shift slightly with fuel, wastewater laws, and insurance, but the ranges above are realistic for 2026.
Why per-square-metre pricing is the fairest way
Most decent pressure cleaners on the Sunshine Coast charge somewhere around $4 to $7 per square metre for plain concrete. That's the pricing model we use and it's the fairest way to quote.
Here's why. A flat per-driveway price has to assume the "average" job. So the small driveway gets overcharged to cover the big ones, and the big one gets cut back in time so the operator can still make a margin. Neither homeowner wins.
Per square metre, you pay for what you've actually got. A 25 m² single driveway at $6/m² is $150 in labour — add mobilisation, chemicals, and wastewater, and you're in that $180 – $280 band. A 55 m² double runs closer to $330 – $400 on the same rate. Clean, simple, no guesswork.
Pavers and exposed aggregate take longer per square metre because the surface isn't flat — the surface cleaner can't glide the same way, and there's more hand-work with the lance. So the $/m² rate goes up, usually to around $7 – $12. Same job, more time on tools.
What actually drives the cost of driveway cleaning
Five things move the number up or down:
- Size and shape. Straight rectangle? Easy. Curved driveway with garden edges and multiple turns? More trigger time, more cost.
- Surface type. Plain concrete is the cheapest. Exposed aggregate, stamped concrete, pavers, and natural stone all cost more because they take longer and need a gentler approach.
- Condition. A lightly dirty driveway cleans fast. One that hasn't been touched in 10 years — thick black mould, moss between joints, oil stains, tyre marks, rust — needs pre-treatment and more passes.
- Access. If the tap is at the back of the house, the gate's tight, or the driveway is on a steep slope, that adds setup time. Not huge, but it's real.
- Sealing. If you want the concrete sealed afterwards (which helps it stay clean longer), that's a separate line item. More on that below.
Why the $99 "driveway special" usually isn't what it looks like
You've probably seen them — Facebook ads, flyers in the letterbox, Gumtree posts. "$99 driveway clean, book today."
Here's what $99 usually buys you on a Sunshine Coast driveway:
- A low-pressure garden-hose-ish rinse with a wand. No rotary surface cleaner.
- No pre-treatment with a mould or algae-killer, so the stains come back in weeks.
- No oil stain work, no tyre mark treatment, no rust spots.
- An upsell on arrival — "mate, this is worse than expected, it's actually going to be $380."
We're not saying every cheap quote is dodgy. But a real driveway clean — one that uses a proper surface cleaner, the right detergent, and the right amount of time — costs a business money to deliver. If the price is dramatically below the ranges above, something's getting cut. It's usually the parts of the job that actually deliver the result.
What a proper driveway clean actually includes
When we quote a driveway, this is the scope. It's also a reasonable checklist to hold any other operator to.
- Pre-treat mould, algae and moss with a surface-safe biocide. This kills the growth at the root so it doesn't come straight back.
- Rotary surface cleaner across the main concrete slab. This is the spinning disc that gives you the even, stripe-free finish you actually want — not wand marks.
- Edge trim with a handheld lance to get right into corners, expansion joints, and along garden beds where the surface cleaner can't reach.
- Spot-treat oil stains, tyre marks and rust with the right product for each type of stain. Concrete is porous, so oil in particular needs a degreaser, not just brute pressure.
- Final rinse to flush loosened dirt and any leftover product off the slab and through to the stormwater in a way that complies with council rules.
That five-step sequence is why a proper concrete driveway cleaning job takes a couple of hours, not twenty minutes.
Should you seal the driveway afterwards?
Short answer: it depends.
Yes, seal it if:
- Your driveway is exposed aggregate or pavers, where sealing both protects the surface and brings the colour back.
- You're sick of cleaning it every year or two.
- You've had recurring oil stains and want to stop them soaking in.
You can skip sealing if:
- It's plain concrete in reasonable condition and you're fine with another clean in 18 – 24 months.
- Budget is tight and you'd rather just get it clean now.
Sealing typically adds several hundred dollars to the job, depending on the product and the size. It's a good investment for the right driveway — just not essential for every one.
FAQs
Most homes need it every 18 – 24 months. If you're under trees, near the coast, or on the shady side of the street where mould settles in faster, you might need it every 12 months. Sealed driveways can stretch longer.
Not if it's done properly. The damage you sometimes see — etched stripes, pitted surfaces — comes from someone holding the lance too close, at the wrong pressure, for too long. A surface cleaner at the right PSI spreads the force evenly and leaves the concrete intact. That's the whole point of using one instead of a straight wand.
Most of them, yes. Fresh oil comes out cleanly with a degreaser and a hot pressure rinse. Older stains that have soaked deep into the concrete sometimes lighten rather than fully disappear — we'll be straight with you on the expected result before we start.
Yes. Both need a gentler pressure and a different technique than plain concrete — especially pavers, where blasting joints too hard washes the sand out and loosens the whole lot. We adjust pressure, nozzle, and approach to suit the surface, which is the whole reason we don't use one setting for every job.
Get a real quote, not a guess
If you want a proper number for your driveway — not a range, an actual quote — send us a photo or two and rough dimensions and we'll come back with a fixed price. No pushy sales, no "mate it's worse than I thought" surprises on the day.
We service the Sunshine Coast, North Brisbane, South Gympie and surrounding regions — owner-operator, no rushing, and over 69 five-star Google reviews from homeowners who've had us out.
Get a fixed driveway quote
Send a couple of photos and rough dimensions — we'll come back with a real price, not a range.
- Get a Free Quote -