Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: wayne zabel on May 13, 2010, 03:58:01 pm
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Hi Guys,can anyone give me a little advise please,haven't done any commercial work in my short time CC,today had a call from a local church who have a modern hall they want cleaning.
Its approx 14 x 14 metres,I presume its low profile commercial carpet,I'm going round to look tonight.
Any ideas on how long it should take to do HWE and any ideas about what I should charge?
Thanks
Wayne
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Pricing? Who knows, anywhere between £196 and £392 depends how good you are at selling.
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Maybe have a go at l m system on the low profile carpets..A good vac first mind you and if its your first job it will take you longer than some of us who do a lot of commercial..
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Hi,wayne.I think i started about the same time as you going off your posts.
I just won my first decent commercial today,i quoted £270.00 for about 185sqm which worked out at just under £1.50 per sqm if thats any help.
Your area is(i think ::) ) 196 sqm....at the same rate it would be - £294.
I would also love to know how long HWE would take aswell,and do i need to worry about wick back when HWE is used on low profiles.cheers
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Thanks for the above - I have just been to look at the room and its 15 x 15 mtres.
The carpet is low profile but they did point out that the room has underfloor heating,is this a cause for concern?Also are there any drawbacks to doing this sort of carpet HWE?
Low moisture is not an option as I dont have the facilities.
Any help with this would be much appreciated,I normally use Mark Powell for advice but hes on holiday at the moment.
thanks in advance
Wayne
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Put a price in for £1.75 sq m, £393. I will pop over with my LM, 2 hrs work, split the money job a goodun ;)
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Just bringing this to the top to see if I can get a few more replies
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How dirty is the carpet? If minging it could be hwe, but if "clean" bonnetting would be the easier option. usually you would bonnet the carpet after hwe to prevent wickback. You could estimate how long it would take you x your hourly rate to get a cost price.
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The carpet is quite clean with a few stains here and thre as they have toddler groups using the room.I only have HWE facilities so bonneting is not really an issue
Forgive my ignorance but why is wick back a problem on this type of carpet
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any soil that is not removed can "float" to the surface on low profile carpets, if the carpet is left too wet, so lots of dry passes are required, and dried as quick as possible. underfloor heating will help.
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Forgive my ignorance but why is wick back a problem on this type of carpet
Over wetting any carpet can cause a problem, if it's low profile tiles then water going between the tiles can draw up all the dirt below the tiles.
If it one piece of low profile then I wouldn't expect wick back.
As for time I would expect 6 hours using HWE, half that for rotary.
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Wayne
Like you I'm only HWE. Never had any problems (so far :o) and I've done quite a few low profiles in my time.
Roger
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How do you find out if they are not bitumen backed,i mean if the tiles or carpet are stuck down and you can't lift them to check.
The office carpets i am doing in a few weeks are strips i'm told not tiles.I will have chance to look at it before i do the job,but i'm just a bit worried that if i come accross a stain that needs a solvent based stain remover and i can't lift the carpet to see if it is bitumen backed.Roger will i need to use air movers with HWE on low profiles.Cheers.
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Well I did offer ???
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225sq m might as well call it a days work.
I reckon on 35sq m an hour with porty.
So what you want for a days work £300??
That's £1.30 a sq m roughly.
John
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So what you want for a days work £300??
I think i must be a pretty good salesman ! Day rate for me is £700,and have got that repeatedly !
Don`t know what is going on for me at the moment,have booked everything i have quoted,on the spot,thing is now i am in a good financial position,so got even more of a brass neck !
Ordered a new Flo jo pump,and new sol hose today,don`t want my machine breaking next week,as this is a very prestigious company,who are moving too even larger offices,so want to get in their good books
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I think i must be a pretty good salesman ! Day rate for me is £700,and have got that repeatedly !
You are obvously in the wrong job and ought to offer yourself out on a consultancy basis, selling carpet cleaning for other businesses. It would be easier for you :)
£700.00 a day , repeatedly. 3 day week (cos you don't want to be greedy!) 46 weeks per year (6 weeks hols) = VAT registered??? should be no problem with buying new van, equip etc etc. :)
At least the tax bill won't be a problem now, that must be a relief :) :) :)
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Wish i was like that constantly !!!
In reality it`s prob equiv to about 2 weeks over the 6 years i have been running,where i have earned that.
At least the tax bill won't be a problem now, that must be a relief
Was going too submit my latest lot of books,in an attempt to reduce my payment on account,but think i am just going to carry on paying them £400 a month,to try and get back in credit as such
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How is it a days work?! Buff it 100sqm a hour (depending on moving furniture) 3 hrs max?
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Thats the difference between a porty and a buffer, Dave.
Getting a buffing machine is a no brainer really.
Same money - less time spent doing it.
Shaun Bradbury from Dry Fusion will be at the NCCA Technical Day in Warrington on Wed June 9th.
I reckon that will be a good day for all those without buffers to have get an insight from a top man in that field.
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Thats 3 hour max and could be done in two hours but its always nice to have a chat with the clients and maybe tak some picies.
Def a l m job wayne.
Wayne have you got the job yet?
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Wayne just a thought second hand rotary ebay £150 drive board £50 try and get one with the machine 3x pads to start £60 you could be up and running for £260 buy more pads at a later date.
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Thanks for all the advice,put the quote in tonight and going away for a week tomorrow, so I will know in a weeks time.
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Please can anyone answer the question i asked before cheers...........................................
"How do you find out if they are not bitumen backed,i mean if the tiles or carpet are stuck down and you can't lift them to check.
The office carpets i am doing in a few weeks are strips i'm told not tiles.I will have chance to look at it before i do the job,but i'm just a bit worried that if i come accross a stain that needs a solvent based stain remover and i can't lift the carpet to see if it is bitumen backed".
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Keyplus
Only certain tiles are bitumen backed not carpet, strips or otherwise.
If the tiles have been installed properly they will have been laid on an easy-release adhesive or tackifier, so you should easily be able to pull one up.
If they are bitumen backed, just look at the side of the tile, it will look like a thick, solid lump of tar, for want of a better description and if you wipe anything against the side of the tile you will get a sticky, dirty transfer.
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if unsure either don't use a solvent spotter but a citrus based (gel) spotter or apply the solvent to a cloth and dab the stain out without directly applying the solvent to the carpet
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Cheers chaps.
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Sorry for the question but how do you go about working out the surface area of rooms etc
Regards
Danny
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That a joke or what?????????
John
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No !
Im a window cleaner by trade so i want to make sure im using the right methods when pricing carpet cleaning or contract cleaning
I said it was a stupid question
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length X width = area sq.
or you could cut out a sq metre of cardboard and place it down and draw round it with some chalk then count the squares when youve finished. whatevers easiest really. ;D
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That a joke or what?????????
Sadly it appears not mate, now I'm all for helping each other but........
And before the next question arrives, yes water is a liquid and is wet ;D
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That a joke or what?????????
Sadly it appears not mate, now I'm all for helping each other but........
And before the next question arrives, yes water is a liquid and is wet ;D
Sorry chaps - i should have been more specific.
I want to know what tool you use to measure. Do you use visual tools or are you digital on commercial works>?
Do you use a measuring tape???
Rotawheel ????
or something like a Leica DISTO™ D2 which is used in construction for surveying purposes?
I have a Leica DISTO™ D2 which is a digital instrument on order for a construction company i was forming which is currently on hold.....
Just curious
Cheers
Danny
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Sonic laser measure from Tesco,was £10. few years back,one of the best small work items i have bought,always get comments from customers about it,and it`s also good for winding my cats up,with the red dot ;D
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Do they still sell them?
The one i have ordered is £125
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go on ebay and you will find cheap laser measurer's.
but are they as accurate?
do you need the accuracy for this type of work? lenght x breadth
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Mine is ok,test it be doing the same measurement a couple of times,it`s close enough for me,although you need to keep fresh batteries in as when they start going flat,it does affect it
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i got a cheap one, £40 i think it was, useless, gives false readings off certain wall types. one i know is white tiled walls,
you can have it for a tenner if ya want it. ;D
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On a lot of commercial the ceiling tile sqares are 50 cm across, so for example 20tiles x 10 tiles would be 50m2 , I then deduct any none cleaned parts.
People are always impressed with my trick of measuring the floor by looking at the ceiling, it has won me more than a few jobs.
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If when bidding at a church you understand they are looking for low bid, decide if you want to work that cheap. If you are doing green encap bonnet cleaning like myself, sell them on the difference (safer for kids, especially the crawling toddlers). Get them to focus on how you are NOT Yet Another Carpet Cleaner and it may give you the competitive edge you need to get the job without needing to be the cheapest.
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Or you could use a tape measure ::)
I've managed to get by for 29 years with one, even on the biggest jobs.
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I just stride
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A rough idea is all i work on in reallity..
You will get an idea after you have quoted a few jobs and gain confidence and experience :)
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I just stride
don't forget to factor in you get smaller when you get older ;D
sorry joe, couldn't resist ;D
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that means there is more sq yards then. ;D