Clean It Up

UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: M.Acorn on February 09, 2014, 06:24:17 pm

Title: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 09, 2014, 06:24:17 pm
Going to see this on Thursday, furnished office space over 2 floors, me on my own with my porty, can only be done on a weekend.
Thinking 1 weekend per floor, without killing myself.
Specified hwe, would be a mare getting around furniture with a rotary anyway
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Adrian Walton on February 09, 2014, 06:43:40 pm
1300sq yards on your own i'd get a water boy.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 09, 2014, 06:46:27 pm
 Wish I could mate, can't specify where it's at, but you have to be vetted and have full disclosure security clearance to get in.
Did 1000 sq m a couple of years back, took 2 of us 2 long days and that was empty
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Simon Gerrard on February 10, 2014, 01:01:14 am
One weekend per floor sounds about right, Mark. Don't envy you tho. Could you not do some of it with LM?

Simon
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 10, 2014, 09:12:29 am
Yeah what I am thinking Simon, was there shortly after the building was commissioned , as the builders walked all over the brand new carpet with muddy boots, from what I  can remember it's very densely populated with furniture
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Steve Chapman on February 10, 2014, 10:06:34 am
Ive worked inside prisons for quite a few years which require the highest clearance from the home office, but there is normally a provision for temporary clearance for contractors or at very least be escorted, other wise theyd never be able to get anything done.

Its not realistic to get that much done on your own over such a small window.


Steve
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: ian harper on February 11, 2014, 06:30:30 am
number one is fatigue, the type of system used will have a basic hourly production rate for example wand work will be slower compared with a mechanical  system. there are industry standards. I had a look to see if i could find my charts but my memory failed me what book they where in sorry.

I take it your trying to work out how long so you can work out price? well if that's the case hourly rate on this type of job it will be UK minimum wage, hourly rate, the materials, then a percentage of overhead, and your profit added. its a very different world. business expects transparency in your numbers unlike home owners.

AS far as time and getting the best result mix it up with the machines as the dirt levels will not be the same in every area. lets also not forget frequency how long ago it was cleaned and when its next going to be cleaned, costing can be balanced out and then sold to the customer, say you get a discount on my time for the first clean if you have a ongoing contact.

One last thing it sounds like you telling the customer what system your be using? give them the choice with the price for each.

Good luck
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: maxcampbell on February 11, 2014, 09:08:32 am
Last Saturday I HWE'd 1,600 sq ft of offices by myself with a TM - it took me 6 hrs. There was no furniture to move, to speak of, and almost no spot treatment. With a well-set up porty, with APO and a hose on a hot tap it would probably have taken about an hour longer, apart from set-up time, so at 225 sq ft per hour, 12,000 sq ft would be 53 hrs work.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Craigp on February 11, 2014, 09:25:46 am
1600 sqft in 6 hrs with TM sounds a bit slow. But then thats whys it's probably best not to discuss along with prices we are all different.


For the original post, I wouldn't consider doing that without a helper.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: maxcampbell on February 11, 2014, 11:12:00 am
That was a bit slow, but it was 4 separate spaces and a staircase, all agitated before extraction, and included setting up & packing away, and getting out & moving fans about, etc. It was the only job that day, so didn't rush, but any quicker and some quality would have suffered.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: wayne zabel on February 11, 2014, 12:02:43 pm
Ive got Approx  250 sq mt of offices to HWE next week,would I be able to do that in a day on my own?
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 11, 2014, 12:09:37 pm
I will know a bit more once I have seen it on Thursday, going to try and get a helper there if I can, but doubtful , due to the very high security clearance required to get on site.
It's not a prison, but I can't go into details  ;D
This is one of many buildings that is on the site, It has only been cleaned the once and that was just me cleaning up after the builders, guessing I did that a few years back now.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Steve Chapman on February 11, 2014, 01:07:37 pm
Go on tell us where it is, we wont tell anyone !  ;D
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 11, 2014, 04:39:37 pm
Can't Steve, was warned over 2 years ago, no posting on f/book or other forums etc, not allowed to even talk about it, sure the N.S.A have prob got their eye on me  ;D
Would love to be able to talk about it and tell you all some of the stuff I have seen
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Susan Dean (1stclean) on February 11, 2014, 09:13:30 pm
if ypur local to Essex I lend you a truck mount if you want
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: peter maybury on February 11, 2014, 09:29:26 pm
If I were you I would team up with somebody with a truckmount for the weekend and split the job. If the people in question have to pay somebody to come in over two weekends then it will be another problem for them. I personally would encap it and just truck the worst areas. I just do not see how anybody with a portable can compete on cost with areas like this. I did large areas with porties for years and it is just such hard work. Where some see this a big job to many it is just a normal days work. Put the time saved into marketing for more work.

Peter
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Darran Pryce on February 12, 2014, 09:08:06 am
With three of us, 1 vac n pre spraying, other two (LM) took us 5-6 hours. 
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Hilton on February 12, 2014, 10:33:54 am
if ypur local to Essex I lend you a truck mount if you want

What a fantastic gesture, I would take up the offer if I were you you will kill yourself trying to do it on your own with a porty.

Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: JandS on February 12, 2014, 11:34:10 am
I did almost exactly that amount a couple of years ago although the floors were clear as it was a bookstore.
Took me just about exactly 42 hours over 4 nights...2 nights first floor one week and 2 nights ground floor week after.
Oh and 2 hours on the ground floor on the 3rd night just to finish off a small section.
They closed at 10pm and opened again at 8am and I had to be gone by then, the staff loved it as someone had to be in with me all the time so it was double bubble for the lucky person.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: *Hector* on February 12, 2014, 11:38:26 am
Can't Steve, was warned over 2 years ago, no posting on f/book or other forums etc, not allowed to even talk about it, sure the N.S.A have prob got their eye on me  ;D
Would love to be able to talk about it and tell you all some of the stuff I have seen

So it is Mildenhall Septic Yank base then  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 12, 2014, 12:50:36 pm
Getting closer Hector, but no not there.


Susan that is very kind of you to offer, I am near Huntingdon,so quite a way fro you guys I guess, not got the job yet, but will give him some options when I go see it tomorrow.
Have done large areas, with a helper, and yeah it's very hard work,but I am not work shy, check my yell.com page for pics, as they are on my desktop and can't be bothered to go up into the office an turn that on  ;D
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 18, 2014, 02:47:55 pm
Booked, gonna be a slog, but worth it   ;D
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: wayne zabel on February 18, 2014, 04:04:39 pm
Good luck,Ive just done 250 square metres of offices and I found doing that a nightmare.Glad I don't do a lot of commercial jobs.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: gwrightson on February 18, 2014, 04:07:34 pm
Good luck,Ive just done 250 square metres of offices and I found doing that a nightmare.Glad I don't do a lot of commercial jobs.

Did 400 sq metres   yesterday afternoon.

DODDLE  :)   

Give me commercial any time

Geoff
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 18, 2014, 04:12:50 pm
I don't mind them Wayne, got a helper with me, so will soon get through it, not sure if I will book anything in for the following Monday though, as my body takes a bit longer to recover these days.
Did burghess hall in St Ives a couple of years back, 2 of us 2 days that was 11 thousand sq ft, so it's do able, that was with my Steempro
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 18, 2014, 04:21:03 pm
(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1392740361_242.jpg)

(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1392740385_247.jpg)

(http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/1392740423_250.jpg)

Plus the upstairs bar, foyer and a long hallway
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: davep on February 18, 2014, 05:13:20 pm
You better get a cimex out
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Darran Pryce on February 18, 2014, 05:19:21 pm
How long did it take you to do and how much solution did you use?
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: gwrightson on February 18, 2014, 05:21:15 pm


cimex would get through that in no time, and save your back.

That carpet perfect for encap 

Geoff
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Darran Pryce on February 18, 2014, 05:22:55 pm
I'd have encaped it all the way.   Our 17" Victor sprite would have done that in no time...
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 18, 2014, 05:51:29 pm
They had prices for lm, but went with my slightly higher price for hwe  ;D
2 Of us just under 2 days, he was vaccing, pre spraying and agitation + filling and emptying the machine, while I went behind and sucked it up .
As for how much solution, god knows, quite a bit, but under 5ltrs of all the chems I took.
They had big catering sinks, with steaming hot water, filled up my buckets in no time at all.
I did go over a few patches with my victor and  a pad though, carpet was thick rubber backed and in wide strips, so it can be rolled back and stored, almost like a gym floor
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: JandS on February 18, 2014, 06:25:12 pm
Dynamall it Darren??
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Darran Pryce on February 18, 2014, 07:12:49 pm
That's what we use.  No issues with it, just expensive.  We have used SPM  which worked a treat. 
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Neil Jones on February 18, 2014, 07:42:35 pm
Did you agitate with the duo? Why not just use the rotary for that, quicker and better.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: wayne zabel on February 18, 2014, 07:45:49 pm
That's what we use.  No issues with it, just expensive.  We have used SPM  which worked a treat. 

Im getting a bit confused now.

Ive never done any LM apart from very small jobs with my Floormac or Encap,I understand the theory of both I think but the above post has confused me.

I understand that with encap systems a special chemical is used that encapsulates the soils and it is then vacced up.

I'm confused by Darren saying he's used SPM ??? ???

Where does SPM come into the equation.

Am I getting mixed up?
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 18, 2014, 07:47:34 pm
I didn't but my helper did and I didn't want to get it done in under 2 days, s it would have looked like I was taking the wee, for what I charged them
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 23, 2014, 01:20:22 pm
Job went great, started at 8 am was out by 5.30 pm and we were taking a break every couple of hours and also stopped for a half hour lunch break.
Carpets had been down for 16 years and had never been cleaned before, offices don't have cleaners, due to the security there.
And they have to fight to get vac's provided and by the look of it they lost.
Water from recovery tank was coming out like sludge.
Went over a couple of the worst areas with my buffer and a new pad, but I wasn't getting any transfer, some areas of really damaged carpet, due to office chair wheels grinding the fibres away. Only about the 2nd time I have used my buffer with pads and the flipping bristly bit came off the board, so have to re glue that in the week.
Client who booked me came and had a look after I had been there for a few hours and she was over the moon with the results.
Next week will be a doddle with 2 machines.
Didn't enjoy  being monitored constantly, but that was all part of the job, no pics either.Not allowed to take phones into the building.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: Phil @ Extreme Clean on February 23, 2014, 06:23:57 pm
Wayne S-P-M- for Bonnet cleaning at 1 scoop per 5ltrs  :)
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: maxcampbell on February 23, 2014, 10:22:49 pm
So how many sq ft did you clean in that day?
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 23, 2014, 11:16:00 pm
Around 5 thousand give or take
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 24, 2014, 09:43:03 am
In answer to that deleted post, just wanted to get an idea of how long it would take others to do it and what method they would use, that's all  ;D
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: maxcampbell on February 24, 2014, 04:14:55 pm
Around 5 thousand give or take

You did bloody well, then. I've just finished 1,713 sq ft - little furniture, very little spot treatment - 2 men & TM (only 1 wand - other pre-spraying, scrubbing, moving stuff) took us 4.5 hrs (380 sq ft / hr). Your 5,000 sq ft, 9 hrs was 555 sq ft / hr.
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: David Ware on February 24, 2014, 05:38:42 pm
If you using TM and had RX20 fitted you would be working just as efficient at the end as you were at the beginning. Fatigue always sets in after pulling your arms back and forward at the end of a long days work.
David
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 24, 2014, 06:01:04 pm
 ;D

All I was doing was wanding, and the occasional re damping down with a 1ltr sprayer , my helper was doing all the bucket work, pre spraying and agitation.
The building is 12 thou sq ft, but there was quite a bit of it I couldn't get too, did most of the offices on top floor and downstairs corridor, so next week they can move a lot of the stuff into the corridor , so I can get into the other offices, but yeah, once I get going I can knock it out in no time.
Made a lot of money, nearly what I would earn 10 years ago as a chef in 2 months !!
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: davep on February 24, 2014, 06:51:02 pm
Did you fill machine with a hose.  Save using a bucket?
Title: Re: How long to clean 12 thousand sq ft ?
Post by: M.Acorn on February 24, 2014, 07:13:24 pm
Nope my mate was bucketing for me, 2 x 10 ltr buckets at a time