Schmick vs. a typical pressure-washing company: an honest comparison
The short version: a typical pressure-washing company brings one tool and uses it on everything. Schmick soft washes by default (the method cladding and roofing manufacturers actually recommend), documents every job with photographed before-and-after proof, and on the Plan sends the same operator back each visit. You pay for a finish, not a visit.
What you get from a typical operator
Most exterior cleaning in Sydney is one person and one pressure washer. That is not a criticism of the people — many work hard and charge fairly. It is a limitation of the model. When the only tool is high pressure, every surface gets high pressure: render, painted weatherboard, roof tiles, sandstone. Some of those surfaces cope. Others are quietly damaged in ways that show up a year later as flaking paint, scarred render or water inside a wall cavity.
The other limitation is accountability. A typical job ends with a wet driveway and an invoice. There is no record of what was done, no checklist it was done against, and if something was missed you find out on your own time.
What Schmick does differently, specifically
First, the method. Schmick soft washes anything that can be damaged by pressure — render, cladding, roofs, sandstone, painted surfaces — and saves real pressure for concrete and stone underfoot. This is not a house preference; it is what the manufacturers themselves specify. James Hardie warns that high-pressure blasting can damage fibre cement, and BlueScope tells Colorbond owners to use gentle fresh-water washing and never abrasives.
Second, the proof. Every job is worked against a written checklist — the Schmick Standard — and photographed before and after. You get a condition report, not just an invoice. If a gutter was full, you see what came out. If a wall was grey, you see the change.
Third, the person. On the Schmick Plan the same operator returns each visit, learns the house, and owns the result. One-off jobs get a trained crew working to the same checklist.
Where a typical operator is the right choice
Honesty cuts both ways. If you have a plain concrete driveway and nothing else, a competent local with a pressure washer will do a fine job, probably cheaply. You do not need a documented condition report for a slab of concrete.
Schmick earns its keep when the property has surfaces that can be ruined — render, heritage sandstone, coated steel, timber — or when you want the whole exterior maintained on a schedule rather than rescued once it looks bad. The more your home is worth, the more the method matters.
The questions to ask anyone you hire
Whoever you choose, four questions sort the field quickly. What pressure will you use on my render and roof, and why? Are you insured for work at height? Will I get photos of the finished work, including the areas I cannot see? And who do I call if something is missed — the person who did the job, or a call centre?
Any operator with good answers to those four is worth hiring. Those answers are Schmick’s starting point.