Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: dazmond on April 30, 2010, 02:48:45 pm
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Im planning on having my usual b.o.b(2squeegee version for 14"/18" squeegees)/pouch/microfibres etc with a spray bottle with gg3/pure water hanging off my belt(no carrying bucket!)
i will wfp all upstairs windows when possible and get a little 5 step ladder for reaching over the odd kitchen extension with the pole.reachable bottom windows ill trad accept big conservatories and obviously ill wfp all big country houses/commercial jobs.
ill have 300 lts of water with me every morning and a small DI in the van for top up if needed(prob will on first cleans!).im hoping after all first cleans are out of the way and i hone my technique that 300 lts will last 5-6 hours most days.i will also have a backpack with me so 315lts every morning to take out.
my 50L trolley should last an hour or more after first cleans esp if im tradding some downstairs windows before i need to refill.
i have a lot of compact domestic work and i think this will suffice for now.
in a few years maybe ill upgrade to a bigger van and 500lt van mount but with buying a kangoo(payload 625) i dont want to push it with the weight limit!as ill have 3.5 metre ladders(mainly for my granny flats!)and a 8ft single pointer(for public area footpaths downstairs windows and the odd badly flakey/leaking leaded ones)
ill also be still carrying my unger trad pole just in case i need it for the odd job where wfp would be unsuitable)
does any of you work like this?
ive not decided on the poles yet!maybe one will do!30ft SLX and use it without one section for most of my work and just pop the extra on when needed.
ive no work over 30ft.
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45% of my round is wfp up trad bottoms using the system you are talking about,
35% is all wfp
20% is still done trad and is mainly bungalows and bottom flats and shops
the 300 litres will last the 5 to 6 hours you need using this method
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thanks stu!im more into the idea that ill be ADDING wfp rather than replacing trad.then i have the best of both worlds!
ill be happy if after a few months im 10% faster than trad alone.the safety aspect and the piece of mind really appeal to me as well.16 years of ladders day in/day out! ::) ::) ::) ;D ;D
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I'm 100 percent wfp.. why make life hard for yourself Daz with trolleys and spray bottles etc? A van mount will do everything that you need and it will do it much faster than any other method of working. I would say that I am now working 75% faster than I was when I was trad!!
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So one red sock and one black sock then? ;D
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i'm 100% wfp, dont see the point using it upstairs only , much quicker and better to wfp the lot.
daz
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tell you what dazmond just let us know what youve decided to do in 2 years time ;)
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I'm 100 percent wfp.. why make life hard for yourself Daz with trolleys and spray bottles etc? A van mount will do everything that you need and it will do it much faster than any other method of working. I would say that I am now working 75% faster than I was when I was trad!!
apart from a backpack ;D ;D ;D
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cant understand that when the same advice is given by so many experienced wc that a van mount is the best option with a backback/trolley for odd awkward bits.
that the advice is still ignored.
myself and these guys have already done the learning curve of starting off with working practices similar to those you describe and we have all arrived at the same conclusion which is easiest and fastest.
Van mount ....van mount....van mount
if you dont go straight for it you will end up spending more in the long run when you realise through experience that we were right. then end up with redundant kit taking up space like us!!!!
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cant understand that when the same advice is given by so many experienced wc that a van mount is the best option with a backback/trolley for odd awkward bits.
that the advice is still ignored.
myself and these guys have already done the learning curve of starting off with working practices similar to those you describe and we have all arrived at the same conclusion which is easiest and fastest.
Van mount ....van mount....van mount
if you dont go straight for it you will end up spending more in the long run when you realise through experience that we were right. then end up with redundant kit taking up space like us!!!!
Well said big red one! :)
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cant understand that when the same advice is given by so many experienced wc that a van mount is the best option with a backback/trolley for odd awkward bits.
that the advice is still ignored.
myself and these guys have already done the learning curve of starting off with working practices similar to those you describe and we have all arrived at the same conclusion which is easiest and fastest.
Van mount ....van mount....van mount
if you dont go straight for it you will end up spending more in the long run when you realise through experience that we were right. then end up with redundant kit taking up space like us!!!!
because some disagree i have had a trolley and hated it so strapped it in the van and added a hose so it became a van mount and i still hated it, so i bought a tank and got a proper van mount and loved it, then i bought a back pack for awkward work and loved it. then i read from between the posts some guys that just used the backpacks or small trolleys, so i read post after post and i tried various combinations and i can make a small trolley work for me quicker than any van mount. and as an experienced trad i dont rule out doing bottoms just as quick trad.
but maybe i am wrong and your right, i just think people try things then get a van mount and wish they did it sooner and then the learning process stops as they think thats the best it can get.
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am i wrong in thinking with a trolley and backpack ill have ALL THREE!as the trolley can be used as a van mount for stand alones with extra hose?ill be very rarely humping trolley in and out of the back of van during my working day!ill be taking it out at 9am every morning and putting it back in at 4 most days!with 6 trips back to the van for refills(simply replacing 2 barrels).ill move van to where trolley is on my round,fill up.move on and so on and so on!
the time taken to refill trolley will only take a min!a bit of time pushing around.prob about the same as you lot unsnagging hose caught on that bloody car wheel,wheelie bin etc AGAIN,reeling in and out and gathering it all together.
ill have a lot less of a trip hazard and a car parking on my hose!less chance of draggin it through dog muck etc.no worries about hose across pavements/roads!
am i not makin sense lads for my particular nature of round??
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am i wrong in thinking with a trolley and backpack ill have ALL THREE!as the trolley can be used as a van mount for stand alones with extra hose?ill be very rarely humping trolley in and out of the back of van during my working day!ill be taking it out at 9am every morning and putting it back in at 4 most days!with 6 trips back to the van for refills(simply replacing 2 barrels).ill move van to where trolley is on my round,fill up.move on and so on and so on!
the time taken to refill trolley will only take a min!a bit of time pushing around.prob about the same as you lot unsnagging hose caught on that bloody car wheel,wheelie bin etc AGAIN,reeling in and out and gathering it all together.
ill have a lot less of a trip hazard and a car parking on my hose!less chance of draggin it through dog muck etc.no worries about hose across pavements/roads!
am i not makin sense lads for my particular nature of round??
yes yes yes ;D
but on the other hand you can drag 100m of hose and leave it unattended walk across roads spend time picking up flower pots wheelie bins and drag it from car tyres. but according to some this will be faster. and the whole reason for changing is safety and speed
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If using a 50l trolley I would definitely attach a hose reel. You may be a big lad but it will be heavy and difficult to manouvre.
Either that or go for a backpack and keep filling up.
The bottom line is YOU have to do it. People will advise you to use different methods on here but it`s up to you.
I think you`ve already decided to go for the 50l trolley so there`s no point debating it. You could be right or you learn by your mistakes.
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sorry daz when i said yes yes yes i didnt mean you were wrong i think your bang on the money ;)
50 l is heavy but you mentioned plonking in the two containers so what trolley are you going for ive lost track
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sorry daz when i said yes yes yes i didnt mean you were wrong i think your bang on the money ;)
50 l is heavy but you mentioned plonking in the two containers so what trolley are you going for ive lost track
Pure Freedom. Do keep up Stu ;D.
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sorry pete does one as well ;D that the containers just slot in
its hard to keep up on about six different posts on the same question ;D
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hi g griffin.i AM A BIG LAD!6ft 2in with big arms! ;D ;Dno joke!!im sure ill will be fine with the trolley.i used to hump big wheelbarrows about with soil in full to the brim all day!!the pure freedom trolley looks well designed and dont forget as a lot of my work is house after house all next door to each other itll be gettin lighter and lighter as i work until i fill up again!! ::) ;D ;D
i really dont think itll be a problem and the advantages as stated above i think itll be worth it!!
best wishes
dazmond
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hi g griffin.i AM A BIG LAD!6ft 2in with big arms! ;D ;Dno joke!!im sure ill will be fine with the trolley.i used to hump big wheelbarrows about with soil in full to the brim all day!!the pure freedom trolley looks well designed and dont forget as a lot of my work is house after house all next door to each other itll be gettin lighter and lighter as i work until i fill up again!! ::) ;D ;D
i really dont think itll be a problem and the advantages as stated above i think itll be worth it!!
best wishes
dazmond
Ok mate, I must accept your final answer ;D. No more changing your mind...please :-\.
Good luck with it all, let us know how it goes ;).
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dazmond heres my advice ;) stop asking for advice and go with your gut instinct and IF it doesnt work try something else. but trust me the first month no matter what you try will not go well but after that it will get better. then when you are having problems ask away and you will get specific answers to specific questions
my intro to wfp was five minutes demo from my brother who had a trailer system and five minutes looking at the trolley system his employee had. then i found forums after i had worked out most of my mistakes by myself the hard way
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i will g griffin and stu mac!thanks for everyones thoughts pro and cons!ill only find out by using the equipment day in/day out myself!
i must say im quite excited about this new way of cleaning and gettin off the ladders for the majority of my work!
i will let you know how it goes!going from my first day to completing first cleans then on to wfp 6 months on!
i really believe itll make a massive difference to my business over time and im willing to put the time ,effort and money into doing it.
one year on this forum has improved my attitude and business that beats all the 16 previous years in this game!
goodnight to all of you&sincere best wishes
dazmond
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am i wrong in thinking with a trolley and backpack ill have ALL THREE!as the trolley can be used as a van mount for stand alones with extra hose?ill be very rarely humping trolley in and out of the back of van during my working day!ill be taking it out at 9am every morning and putting it back in at 4 most days!with 6 trips back to the van for refills(simply replacing 2 barrels).ill move van to where trolley is on my round,fill up.move on and so on and so on!
the time taken to refill trolley will only take a min!a bit of time pushing around.prob about the same as you lot unsnagging hose caught on that bloody car wheel,wheelie bin etc AGAIN,reeling in and out and gathering it all together.
ill have a lot less of a trip hazard and a car parking on my hose!less chance of draggin it through dog muck etc.no worries about hose across pavements/roads!
am i not makin sense lads for my particular nature of round??
Yes you are making sense. The trick is to gradually make your round evolve so that the much faster van mount option is the best way. It might sound a bit callous as it involves passing some jobs on or even dropping a few but I find that adapting the round to suit the fastest equioppment is more financially viable than using the equipment to do the fiddliest part of your round. I do have a few jobs still where I carry a backpack along a walkway or an alley but they are much fewer in number than they were. This is probably because I now price them in a manner that is appropriate to allow for the messing about (and consequently get turned down more).
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Ok this is my last post on this subject as it is getting boring, and trying to give Daz good advice is like banging your head against a brick wall!!! Lots of the experienced window cleaners on here, and certainly the more successful ones are all telling you to forget trolley/backpacks etc and get yourself some proper kit ie a van mount!! We just don't want you to make the mistakes that we all made when starting out, which was to go for a trolley or backpack instead of a superior van mount.
Look around when your out and about and see what other established wfp'ers are using... nearly all of them are using a van mount because it is the easiest and quickest way to work. Nobody that I know who purchased a trolley in the early days is still using it. They really are the worst piece of wfp equipment you can buy!! An example of this would be a certain Mr Williams who posts on here, about 6 years ago I believe he went out and purchased himself a 125ltr omni-trolley, he put it in the back of his van and filled it up, I don't think he ever managed to get it out again, he gave up and simply strapped it down and used it as a van mount, but what a wate of money and space, he could of got himself a tank that would have taken up less space yet held 5 times that amount of water at a fraction of the cost!! But we all made mistakes back then in the early days of wfp, but you don't have to, Go out with an experienced wc who uses a van mount and see for yourself how easy and efficient they are to use.
I know your probably not going to listen, but remember this advice in 6 months time when you are taking your trolley to the local dump!! ;)
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Someone (davids3511) has offered to let him have a go with both his backpack and van mount. I think he should take him up on the offer.
All the deliberating and talk on here can`t prepare you for wfp. Experience is what counts, even just holding a pole, moving a backpack etc.
Groundhog, I bet that was not your last post on this subject ;D.
Ps. a reply to this does not count.
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Someone (davids3511) has offered to let him have a go with both his backpack and van mount. I think he should take him up on the offer.
All the deliberating and talk on here can`t prepare you for wfp. Experience is what counts, even just holding a pole, moving a backpack etc.
Groundhog, I bet that was not your last post on this subject ;D.
Ps. a reply to this does not count.
OK, one last post to say that I agree with your post!!! And thats it... no more!!!! ;D
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Someone (davids3511) has offered to let him have a go with both his backpack and van mount. I think he should take him up on the offer.
All the deliberating and talk on here can`t prepare you for wfp. Experience is what counts, even just holding a pole, moving a backpack etc.
Groundhog, I bet that was not your last post on this subject ;D.
Ps. a reply to this does not count.
OK, one last post to say that I agree with your post!!! And thats it... no more!!!! ;D
I`ll be watching.
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now groundhog i certainly wont be getting the 125lt trolley!now that would be mega heavy!! ;D ;D ;D
i lug around(on the 2 big estates i have) at present( trad) a 3.5m trade ladder/18ft trad pole/rectangle bucket and rojak stopper all at the same time!!(i have very large hands!) to make my job as safe as possible.
i wont have to do that.ill have my modern day window cleaning cart.no ladders to climb.bliss!!
paul i know what you mean.i will automatically go for the bigger accounts that are more wfp friendly over time.
some of you think itll all be a big mistake and a waste of money!i can always get a tank at a later date and use it as a full van mount with option to use trolley here and there.so it wont be "a waste" as some of you say!
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now groundhog i certainly wont be getting the 125lt trolley!now that would be mega heavy!! ;D ;D ;D
i lug around(on the 2 big estates i have) at present( trad) a 3.5m trade ladder/18ft trad pole/rectangle bucket and rojak stopper all at the same time!!(i have very large hands!) to make my job as safe as possible.
i wont have to do that.ill have my modern day window cleaning cart.no ladders to climb.bliss!!
paul i know what you mean.i will automatically go for the bigger accounts that are more wfp friendly over time.
some of you think itll all be a big mistake and a waste of money!i can always get a tank at a later date and use it as a full van mount with option to use trolley here and there.so it wont be "a waste" as some of you say!
Dazmond. It certainly won't be a waste whichever equipment you choose because you will still be working more safely than before and you will be getting practice with WFP for the time when you want to move up to the next level. Both of those things are positive IMO. Our hearts are in the right places. We just want to help you make life a bit easier for yourself. I have a 50 litre Omnitrolley classic that hasn't seen the light of day in a very long time. I only keep it in case my van is off the road in the future so that I can use it as a mini van mount in a smaller van. Probably needs a new battery by now. It has two flat tyres (perished or punctured - I'm not sure). However, with a new battery I could certainly earn money with it if I ever had to hire a small van for a couple of weeks. Just hook up some microbore to it and away I go. Along with some loose containers of water and a backpack for harder to access jobs it would work. I would earn less than usual but I would earn. So I wouldn't say they are all bad. However, a stopgap is all I would use it for.
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Dazmond. We just want to help you make life a bit easier for yourself. I have a 50 litre Omnitrolley classic that hasn't seen the light of day in a very long time. I only keep it in case my van is off the road in the future so that I can use it as a mini van mount in a smaller van. It has two flat tyres (perished or punctured - I'm not sure). However, with a new battery I could certainly earn money with it if I ever had to hire a small van for a couple of weeks. I would earn less than usual. So I wouldn't say they are all bad. However, a stopgap is all I would use it for.
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Dazmond. We just want to help you make life a bit easier for yourself. I have a 50 litre Omnitrolley classic that hasn't seen the light of day in a very long time. I only keep it in case my van is off the road in the future so that I can use it as a mini van mount in a smaller van. It has two flat tyres (perished or punctured - I'm not sure). However, with a new battery I could certainly earn money with it if I ever had to hire a small van for a couple of weeks. I would earn less than usual. So I wouldn't say they are all bad. However, a stopgap is all I would use it for.
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Still watching :)
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Still watching :)
I never said a word!!!!! ;D
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i will g griffin and stu mac!thanks for everyones thoughts pro and cons!ill only find out by using the equipment day in/day out myself!
i must say im quite excited about this new way of cleaning and gettin off the ladders for the majority of my work!
i will let you know how it goes!going from my first day to completing first cleans then on to wfp 6 months on!
i really believe itll make a massive difference to my business over time and im willing to put the time ,effort and money into doing it.
one year on this forum has improved my attitude and business that beats all the 16 previous years in this game!
goodnight to all of you&sincere best wishes
dazmond
Dazmond you are in manchester arent u?
When you are set up give us a shout i wouldnt mind seeing how youre getting on as im going the same route soon, ive been saying it for ages and i have got wfp and use it for some commercial but i havent yet taken the plunge on domestic for loads of reasons but i am doing in the next 12 months i will be fully 100 % wfp where possible.... So you will be a case study for me lol as my rounds sound the same as yours....
GOOD LUCK
sean