[Temple cleaning services]

1st job yesterday on a bungalow, think i under priced it slightly as i didnt measure up. It took 2 of us 9-4.30 non stop, cleaned a block paved drive(roughly 50sqm and resand) stone patio (roughly 9sqm) small conservatory inside and out, all windows+ 2 small apexes and 2 lengths of soffit/facias, a bloody hard day 4 £200. All my gear worked great and 4 a 1st job it went well i definitly underestimated how messy it was though! The surface cleaner (running full bore 3600psi 15lpm) was good where the drive wasnt to bad but it didnt really touch the lichen/algae/black marks which i was a little disapointed with, and even spots in the middle of the stone slabs i had to lance, maybe im expecting to much! Could any1 give me some advice as to how they would clean a drive/patio start to finish e.g preperation weeding etc im not sure if i went the right way about everything!

[James Gregory]

What make is your pressure washer and does it use heat, what nozzels did you use??

[Alan McTernan]

Read through some old posts as everyone has there own method!!!
Also how did you manage to re-sand in the same day?
And FSCs are great in the right situation but on block paving double the time taken!

[Temple cleaning services]

its a loncin 13hp 3600psi 15lpm just the normal coloured nozzles, 20inch northstar fsc, i did the drive 1st and it was quite windy and sunny so it dried really quick, im thinking of maybe a turbo nozzle?

[davep]

Deffo a turbo and dont resand until a couple of days later 

[Temple cleaning services]

y would u leave it a couple of days? whats the best pre treatment for lichen and moss ive been reading through lots of old posts and bleach or sodium hypochlorite seem to be favorite?

[Alan McTernan]

The reason for leaving it 1-2 days of dry weather is to allow the sub base to dry out completely as what happens is the sand absorbs the moisture from below and doesn't fill the gaps properly so that you end up with gaps appearing inbetween the blocks

I think anyway

[Temple cleaning services]

oops and it rained about 4 hours after!

[J-W-C]

oops and it rained about 4 hours after!

You may well be going back then 

[kordun]

I cleaned 420sq metre of block paving, big driveway in 1.5 days all done with turbo. Going back on Monday to re sand. Really like turbo

[super clean]

Hi we re sand as soon as dry we dont have any probs,we allso offer a sealent,gives a wet look and helps a littel with the weed control as we all no weeds will allways grow back.Sealer looks graet customer allways loves it..

[Temple cleaning services]

super clean wot sealant do u use,how long does it take to dry and how do u apply it?

[stalwart]

Hi we re sand as soon as dry we dont have any probs,we allso offer a sealent,gives a wet look and helps a littel with the weed control as we all no weeds will allways grow back.Sealer looks graet customer allways loves it..

this i must see

[davep]

So you sand and seal straight after a job Super clean?

[AC Pressure]

On small cleans 50 sq mtrs or less i have re-sanded the same day never had any call backs however i do usually leave half a bag of sand and explain to customer that some re-sanding may need to be done.
As for the weeds again explain to customer that weeds will grow back what with birds and the wind carrying and dropping seeds they will need to be treated as they appear.
When cleaning it does concern me that after cleaning if it rains for days non stop what effect will this have on the block paving that is not sanded  and is it not best to re-sand as soon as you can after cleaning to be sure that the blocks are stable especially if customers are driving cars onto them, then go back if you are called by the customer. After all you would go back anyway to sand.
Ans as for sealing i try to avoid it i think it is more trouble than it is worth.

[AC Pressure]

Temple i used to clean with FSC first then lance after untill i bought a turbo nozzle.
With big weeds i pull them out first then give the area a quick sweep to clear any debri or stones the last thing you want is stones shooting up and smashing windows or the neighbors car 
FSC are ok but they will never remove all of the c**p fom between block paving so you do have to go over it again with your lance.
What i have started to do now is clean every inch with my turbo nozzle then go over it with the FSC and finally wash down with lance.
On some jobs when i get a lot of C**p building up and blocking draines as does happen i use my gutter vac to suck it all up.

[Temple cleaning services]

how many different size turbo nozzles can u get? r they generally a universal fit?

[Nathanael Jones]

My turbo nozzle has a quick release connector the same as my nozzles, gutter attachment, X-jet etc.

You need to get a turbo that's suited to the PSI & flow rate of your machine though, that's the important bit.

[drive surgeon]

you deffo underpriced mate. i work on my own and charge £60-£70 per hour. i aim to earn £150 before lunch then £150 after lunch. you should look to earn around £300 a day working from 9am till 5pm.  i know some guys who are earning £500 a day doing block paving.

[creighton foyle]

drive surgeon i'm sure you are a very genuine guy but every time i read one of your posts i think of you as more of a virtual drive cleaner than a real one why do you think that is ? i'm baffled

[Blast Off Stoke]

  If i charged that much around here where i work,I would soon be out of work ! 

[drive surgeon]

well maybe people expect it cheaper by you. i only price what the customers are happy paying.  if you take all your overheads in to consideration you need to be earning a minimum of £40- £50 an hour for it to be worth it. how the hell would you pay a mortgage etc if you did not earn that much??   i struggle on what i charge especially when you have to consider the winter.

£some guys down south charge £2.00 to £3.50 a sq metre to clean so if its a £150 sq metres of block paving. you work out the charges.  i know its different in some places and dont forget if your a small business you charge less than a bigger company. 

[super clean]

super clean wot sealant do u use,how long does it take to dry and how do u apply it?

We use a resin sealer drys in couple of hours on a nice day all ways give 2 coats comes in 20 l drums covers about 80 sq meters apply with roller  £45 a drum give us a ring 07962 015349

[AC Pressure]

I went to quote a job 5 weeks ago 620 sq mtrs of block paving not been cleaned in 5 years i put in what i thought was a very good price to clean and re-sand at £775 the guy was getting 4 other quotes i have not heard a thing from him he must have thought i was too expensive.
The other quotes must have been higher than mine i drove past today as it is only 1 mile from me and he still has not had it cleaned.  : do these people want it done for nothing.

[drive surgeon]

baldrummy.  jesus mate you mean you were to cheap!!!  i would expect a crap job at that price.

jesus the bare miminum you would want for cleaning is a £1.00 a sq metre. so thats £620 minumum.

then there is the cost of all that sand £50 to £80

then there is the labour for brushing it all in which must be a days work easy so at least another £200 minimum.

so even at a £1 a sq metre which is cheap you are still way to cheap. you are looking at a minimum of £900 for a job that size.  i have got quotes from loads of competitors over the years and this is what sort of prices were coming out .

if the custy wants a good job doing he wont expect to pay cheap prices.

most guys on here charge at least £1.50 a sq metre for block paving just for cleaning cos of the sludge and mess.

i have lost numerous jobs in the past due to charging too cheap. the bosses think to themselves hang on im not going to get a good job done here for cheap.

[drive surgeon]

baldrummy can i ask how you got the £775. what were your charges. and is this on your own or with another guy.

i work with a lot of business people like accountants, solicitors etc and they advise me on n allkinds of stuff. and they say if your cheap its no good.  people expect to pay for a quality job with no problems.

cheap usually means either you just started up or you wont get a good job done.

i can advise you if you post your charges.

[AC Pressure]

drive surgeon
I tend to charge a little less for the bigger jobs so this one came in at £1.25 per sq mtre to clean and sand.
After expenses Sand, Petrol, Insurance, wear & Tear, Diesel, tax, Nat Insurance etc and the job taking me 3 days i would clear £160 per day now i know this is not enough for some people however myself i would have been happy with that.
Did i not get the job because i was too cheap , no i don't think so because it still hasn't been done and if the guy had used me because i was the cheapest then he would have got a bloody good job done for his money as i never do a crap job i take pride in my work and always do a good job.

http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx54/baldbrummy/016-1.jpg

[davep]

How does he know it would be a good job?  If a plumber came in and told you it was £2.50 to fit your boiler what would you think?  Too cheap, what am I going to get for that!

Quote too cheap and custys will presume its going to be a quick spash n dash 

[drive surgeon]

baldrummy. yes you do a good job so you deserve to earn more money than you are getting.  when i firsat started jet washing 7 years ago i had a car wioth my machine in the back. i charged a minimum charge of £40 but worked on £40 an hour. so 3 hours was £120.  7 years later and all my expenses and bigger vehicle and loads of overheads im now working on £60 -£70 an hour.  sometimes £80 an hour on commercial cleans.  most custies will pay £60 an hour for a good job.

you should big up yourself and get the money you deserve.  godd luck mate.  

[drive surgeon]

exactly dave p.  do you have a minimum charge?

[davep]

Not really, hard to price the smaller jobs.  Needs to be more than carpet cleaning or its not worth doing.  May pass some I get your way if you want them as think your only down the road