The five questions that separate a soft-wash specialist from a "pressure-clean anything" outfit, and the red flags to watch on the doorstep and on the quote, on the Gold Coast to Byron coast.
Short answer: Pick the operator who gets on the roof before they quote, names the method for each surface in writing, and shows you the public liability certificate and Work Safe at Heights ticket on request. Cheapest quote wins only if the scope is genuinely the same.
The difference is in the diagnostic, not the gear. A real restoration cleaner walks the job before they price it. They look at the tile or the coating, the pointing, the gutters, the render and the driveway, and they tell you which surfaces need a clean, which need a repair pathway, and which are fine as they are. They put the method for each surface on the quote, name what the wash water is and where it goes, and tell you the realistic life span you should expect. A pressure-washer is a person with a pump who quotes from the kerb and uses one nozzle on everything. On a roof, that costs you the coating. On render, it costs you the paint. On a coastal home, both fail twice as fast as inland because salt and humidity speed everything up.
Most homeowners ask one question, which is "how much". The five that actually predict whether the job will hold are different. Will you get on the roof before you quote, or is this a kerbside price. Is this a soft-wash that kills the mould at the root, or pressure-only. Where does the wash water and any degreaser go: into the stormwater drain, or contained. Can I see the public liability certificate and the Work Safe at Heights ticket. And what is the realistic life span you are quoting to, in writing. An operator who answers all five with a straight face is rare, and worth their quote. One who deflects on any of them is telling you something. The "soft wash vs pressure" guide explains why the second question matters more than any of the others.
A few patterns repeat. A van without signage doing door-to-door in your street after a storm, with a price that drops when you say no. "Fully insured" said out loud with no certificate when you ask, which on this coast usually means there is no policy. A "lifetime" coating warranty, when every coating wears out and the manufacturer says so. Cash only and start tomorrow, with no invoice if it goes wrong. A quote that says "pressure clean roof" and a number, with no method, no surfaces named and no inclusions list. None of these on their own prove someone is bad. All of them together is the door-knock pattern that the QBCC and the ACCC both warn about on the Gold Coast. If the quote you have in front of you reads like a receipt instead of a plan, ask for the plan, or get a second one and compare.
Coastline Restoration Co.