Buyers form an opinion from the first photo and again from the footpath. A mould-streaked wall and a grey driveway read as deferred maintenance, and deferred maintenance reads as negotiating room.
Exterior cleaning is the cheapest presentation work available before a campaign. Here's the order that makes sense.
Work top down
Doing it in this sequence means you're never re-cleaning something you already finished.
- Roof clean and gutter clear — everything below catches the run-off
- House wash — walls, eaves, fascia, gutter faces, window frames
- Driveway, crossover, paths and entry steps
- Patio, alfresco, pool surrounds and decking
- Fencing, retaining walls, letterbox and bin area
- Optional: seal the driveway and paving for photo-day depth of colour
How much lead time to allow
Book two to three weeks before photography. A full exterior is typically one to two days of work, and you want buffer for weather — sealing and roof coating both need dry conditions.
If the roof needs repointing or restoration, allow considerably more. That's a three-to-five-day job for a typical home and it can't be rushed into a campaign deadline.
Where the money actually goes furthest
In our experience the driveway and the roof deliver the biggest visual shift for the smallest spend, because both are large surfaces photographed from a distance where colour uniformity is everything. A house wash comes next and often removes any temptation to repaint.
Need this done?
Free quote, fixed price, no obligation
We cover 183 Sydney suburbs. Send photos and we'll usually quote without a site visit.
