Drone Building & Facade Cleaning in Washington
We clean facades, windows, roofs, solar arrays and parking structures with tethered cleaning drones and, where flight is not the right tool, water-fed poles and ground crews. Crews and equipment mobilize to Washington with travel built into a fixed quote after a free site survey.
Quick facts
- Coverage
- Statewide, nationwide service
- Season
- Seattle's practical exterior washing season runs roughly April through October; average frost dates bracket a cooler, wetter window from mid-November to mid-March, and can shift by neighborhood.
- Reach
- Up to 200 ft per staging position
- Insurance
- FAA Part 107 · $2M liability
Where we work in Washington
Seattle
Seattle added almost 10,000 new apartments in 2017 alone, part of continued high-rise and mid-rise construction downtown.
Spokane
Many of downtown Spokane's Romanesque Revival buildings were designed by architect Kirtland Cutter after the 1889 Great Spokane Fire.
Tacoma
Downtown Tacoma includes five historic overlay zones with brick warehouse and landmark buildings subject to preservation standards.
Bellevue
Downtown Bellevue holds about 1,300 businesses, 45,000 employees, and 10,200 residents in a concentrated high-rise district.
Vancouver
Vancouver's downtown has seen more than three dozen mid-rise and high-rise redevelopment projects since the early 2000s.
Season and scheduling
Seattle's practical exterior washing season runs roughly April through October; average frost dates bracket a cooler, wetter window from mid-November to mid-March, and can shift by neighborhood.
Seattle's average first freeze is mid-November, and the average last freeze is mid-March.
Water-based washing pauses in freezing weather, and recurring clients are booked at the start of the window.
How we operate in Washington
These are the rules that shape a job here; we plan around them at the survey, not on site.
Washington RCW 9A.44.115, the voyeurism statute, is the state's primary legal tool against invasive drone photography of private areas.
Washington RCW 9.73.030 requires all-party consent to record a private conversation, which can apply to audio captured during a drone flight.
Commercial drone operators in Washington have been required since April 1, 2022 to register with the state Aviation Division for a 15 dollar annual fee.
Washington Administrative Code 352-32-130 requires written permission from a state park director or designee before flying a drone in a state park.
Seattle: Seattle prohibits drone use in all city parks; commercial drone filming instead requires a Master Film Permit from the Office of Film and Music.
Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Class B airspace from the surface to 10,000 feet over most of King County; LAANC authorization is available there.
Washington L&I classifies pressure washing of buildings and structures as its own specialty contractor risk class (0504-18), requiring contractor registration, a bond, and liability insurance.
Washington Ecology's washwater guidance says pressure-washing wash water cannot go to storm drains without treatment and a discharge permit, and recommends routing it to the sanitary sewer or a holding tank instead.
Building stock
Seattle has 54 completed high-rise buildings over 400 feet, including 21 over 500 feet.
Seattle's tallest building, Columbia Center, rises 937 feet across 76 stories and was completed in 1985.
What to expect in Washington: two documented projects
We have not yet published a documented project in Washington. Until we do, the two jobs below are the reference for scope, duration and price. Both were delivered in Florida, where we operate as Vista Drone Cleaning, with the same equipment, method, insurance and price sheet that crews bring to Washington.
Reference project: Belmont Village
Belmont Village Senior Living · Coral Gables, FL, a 130,000+ sq ft luxury senior living high-rise. Delivered in Florida, where we operate as Vista Drone Cleaning.
Belmont Village needed its entire exterior - facade, windows and floor surfaces - cleaned without closing a single entrance or moving a resident. Lifts, scaffolding, swing stages and rope access were all off the table.
Before
After- 130,000+
- sq ft of exterior cleaned
- 7 days
- start to finish
- Zero
- lifts, scaffolding or closures
- 2×/year
- asked back on a semi-annual schedule
Delivered at $0.20 / sq ft, all in, across the full scope. That is a real project price, not the advertised rate, and it does not move when the published range moves.
Reference project: Miramar Centre II
Workspace Property Trust · Miramar, FL, a four-story Class A office building in Miramar Centre Corporate Park. Delivered in Florida, where we operate as Vista Drone Cleaning.
A prospective tenant walkthrough was booked for Thursday and the job was only confirmed on Monday afternoon. Lifts and scaffolding could not clean the building in the time available, and nothing could block the entrances or take over the parking lot.
Before
After- 48 hours
- to complete the entire building
- ~29%
- below traditional pricing for the same scope
- Zero
- lifts or scaffolding on site
- Minimal
- disruption to tenants and daily operations
Services offered in Washington
- Facade and building cleaningStucco, EIFS, brick, painted concrete and metal panel, cleaned from the air without lifts or scaffolding.
- Window cleaningPure-water drone glass cleaning for high-rise and commercial buildings, no swing stage.
- Roof cleaningSoft-wash for tile, metal, shingle and flat roofs with no foot traffic on the membrane.
- Solar panel cleaningPure-water rinse for rooftop and ground-mount arrays, priced per panel.
- Parking garage cleaningDecks, drive lanes, walls and stairwells at a flat per-square-foot rate.
Pricing in Washington
We publish our prices. The commercial rate of $0.12–$0.25 per square foot, fixed after a free site survey, is our published national rate, and every job in Washington is a fixed price after a free site survey. There is no minimum charge on any job, and a maintenance contract runs 20–30% below the one-off price per visit. The full model is on how we price.
Washington questions
Have you completed a project in Washington yet?
Not a documented one yet. Our reference projects are two jobs delivered in Florida: Belmont Village in Coral Gables, FL (130,000+ sq ft of exterior cleaned, 7 days start to finish, Zero lifts, scaffolding or closures, 2×/year asked back on a semi-annual schedule) and Miramar Centre II in Miramar, FL (48 hours to complete the entire building, ~29% below traditional pricing for the same scope, Zero lifts or scaffolding on site, Minimal disruption to tenants and daily operations). Work in Washington uses the same equipment, method, insurance and price sheet, and the first documented Washington project will be published here when it is delivered.
Do you really serve Washington?
Yes. Crews and equipment mobilize anywhere in the United States, with travel built into a fixed quote after a free site survey. In Florida we operate as Vista Drone Cleaning. The first documented Washington project will be published on this page when it is delivered.
When is the washing season in Washington?
Seattle's practical exterior washing season runs roughly April through October; average frost dates bracket a cooler, wetter window from mid-November to mid-March, and can shift by neighborhood.
Can you fly a cleaning drone in Washington?
Washington RCW 9A.44.115, the voyeurism statute, is the state's primary legal tool against invasive drone photography of private areas. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) is Class B airspace from the surface to 10,000 feet over most of King County; LAANC authorization is available there.
Do you need a licence to pressure wash in Washington?
Washington L&I classifies pressure washing of buildings and structures as its own specialty contractor risk class (0504-18), requiring contractor registration, a bond, and liability insurance.
How is pricing set?
Commercial work is quoted per square foot, fixed after a free site survey. $0.12–$0.25 per sq ft is our published national rate, and bigger jobs get lower rates. Crews and equipment mobilize anywhere in the United States, with travel built into a fixed quote after a free site survey.
More general answers are on the national FAQ. See every state on the states directory.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spokane,_Washington
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacoma,_Washington
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellevue,_Washington
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver,_Washington
- https://www.almanac.com/gardening/frostdates/WA/Seattle
- https://www.flyusi.org/guides/drone-laws/washington
- https://uavcoach.com/drone-laws-washington/
- https://www.seattle.gov/special-events/policies-and-compliance/drones
- https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=296-17A-0504
- https://apps.ecology.wa.gov/publications/documents/95056.pdf
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Seattle
Our core services
- Facade & building cleaningStucco, EIFS, painted concrete, glass and metal panel, cleaned from the air.
- Roof cleaningSoft-wash for tile, metal, shingle and flat roofs with no foot traffic.
- Window cleaningPure-water drone glass cleaning for high-rise and commercial buildings.
- Parking garage cleaningDecks, drive lanes, walls and stairwells at a flat per-square-foot rate.
Get a free site survey in Washington
Tell us the property. We survey it for free and send a fixed price.