Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: groundhog on August 17, 2007, 09:28:32 pm
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I pulled up at a customers house this morning at about the same time as a van pulled up on the opposite side of the road, it was a company called Sure Seal (gutter specialists). Anyway I didn't take too much notice until this chap pulled a power pole out of the back of his van, I then noticed that it had a large vacuum hose running along it, this should be interesting I thought as I have never seen a gutter vac in action.
Next thing a couple of blokes in suits and clipboards turn up, I think these were the blokes bosses as they were very interested in how the guttervac was working. Anyway they eventually got it set up and up to the guttering and switched it on, he poked it in and tried to get the crap out of the incredibly blocked guttering, it was full almost to the top with moss and muck and even had grass growing out of it, he poked and prodded it but he couldn't get it to suck up anything, by now a large crowd was gathering to see the spectacle. I felt sorry for this poor bloke who looked like he didn't have a clue what he was doing as his bosses and a large crowd + me watched him fail miserably to clear anything out of the gutters with his flash new machine! ;D
Anyway by now he was obviously getting fed up and he started to try to break up the muck in the gutter with the end of the guttervac, with this the attachment on the end fell off into the gutter and try as he might he couldn't get it to slide back on, so out come his ladders and up he goes to retrieve it, then they were spending some time getting it re-attached so I thought I better get some work done so I cleaned the windows on the house I'm at.
20mins later and I've finished, I come round the front of the house and there he is again, up the ladder this time with a bucket and trowel! ;D The gutter vac was lying on the ground in the garden and the suits + the crowd had dispersed, I wandered over and couldn't resist shouting up to him 'You can't beat the old methods can you' ;D He just glared at me and didn't reply ;D
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I've had this type of arguement on various forums. What if there is a big clump of grass growing in the gutter/downpipe.
I've done one job in the past where there was a 2 foot tree growing out of the downpipe, now you tell me what sucky machine is going to get that out.
These machine are great if there is only dry loose material (builders clean type thing) other than that the manual method works best.
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I have a petrol power washer & pole with getter attachments from Northern Tools.
Fantastic bit of kit, cleans the down pipe out & all the gutter no problem even if full. I've had it over a year now so i've got it down to a fine art now. Very little comes over but what does is only a quick rince & the only time i go up the ladder is to check the gutters are clean like new.
The best bit, i'm not risking my neck cleaning the gutters by hand up a ladder & it's 10x quicker & the getters look like they have been polished.
'You can't beat the old methods can you' ;
Yes you can mate, invest in equipment that does the job. ;)
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Yes you can mate, invest in equipment that does the job. ;)
here here
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I havn't cleaned gutters for ages but the last time, when I worked in a partnership, we used the lance from Nothern Tools which worked brilliantly.
The gutters did clean spotless.
Problem was the muck went everywhere. Down the walls, over the windows and all over the ground around the the house.
We then spent ages tidy up and jet spraying all the walls and paths around the house and cleaning their windows.
Next job, we went back to using ladders, a modified trowel and a bucket on a piece of rope.
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I also have an extendible lance with gutter attachment from northern tools.
Like already said on here is does a really good job but does make a mess and you spend a while clearing everything up.
I gave up on it to much mess for my likings and now use my ladders for gutters.
Paul
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Ross, that's what i use, not a problem.
Clean the gutters in meter sections to the down pipe. Holding the lance at about 30degree angle & slightly in front of you.
Macc
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I also have an extendible lance with gutter attachment from northern tools.
Like already said on here is does a really good job but does make a mess and you spend a while clearing everything up.
I gave up on it to much mess for my likings and now use my ladders for gutters.
Paul
What is there website address?
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I pulled up at a customers house this morning at about the same time as a van pulled up on the opposite side of the road, it was a company called Sure Seal (gutter specialists). Anyway I didn't take too much notice until this chap pulled a power pole out of the back of his van, I then noticed that it had a large vacuum hose running along it, this should be interesting I thought as I have never seen a gutter vac in action.
Next thing a couple of blokes in suits and clipboards turn up, I think these were the blokes bosses as they were very interested in how the guttervac was working. Anyway they eventually got it set up and up to the guttering and switched it on, he poked it in and tried to get the crap out of the incredibly blocked guttering, it was full almost to the top with moss and muck and even had grass growing out of it, he poked and prodded it but he couldn't get it to suck up anything, by now a large crowd was gathering to see the spectacle. I felt sorry for this poor bloke who looked like he didn't have a clue what he was doing as his bosses and a large crowd + me watched him fail miserably to clear anything out of the gutters with his flash new machine! ;D
Anyway by now he was obviously getting fed up and he started to try to break up the muck in the gutter with the end of the guttervac, with this the attachment on the end fell off into the gutter and try as he might he couldn't get it to slide back on, so out come his ladders and up he goes to retrieve it, then they were spending some time getting it re-attached so I thought I better get some work done so I cleaned the windows on the house I'm at.
20mins later and I've finished, I come round the front of the house and there he is again, up the ladder this time with a bucket and trowel! ;D The gutter vac was lying on the ground in the garden and the suits + the crowd had dispersed, I wandered over and couldn't resist shouting up to him 'You can't beat the old methods can you' ;D He just glared at me and didn't reply ;D
LOL, sounds to me they chraged alot for a service that clearly does not work, go get a extend pole a gutter attachment and away you go.
I saw the same sort of thing today with a bloke trying to van a drain, I loked at him and smiled. Did not get a smile back so i thought i would wait and see, i done a house about 30 mins with me and a guy and when i came back he was still there, only now there was to of them. I cleaned about 4 houses and drove past the same spot and there they was doing it still. as i pasted I said "maybe you want to try a jetter" the reply was: We no that tell are boss. and they charged over £300 for a job that I could have done in 20 mins with a jetter, what is this world coming to.... and people moan at £10 a house (I say welcome to the real world)
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www.NorthernTool.com
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Christ technophobs say my site was a little hard to read (it's easy compared to this one), can you add the link to the thing your talking about?
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http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200314015_200314015
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is this what your looking for, CLICK ON THE PIC TO SEE THE VIDEO,
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/th_GutterKeeper.jpg) (http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/?action=view¤t=GutterKeeper.flv)
http://www.upkeeper.com/gutterkeeper.html
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The lance is £99.99 + vat
gutter attachment is £9.99 + vat
washer nozzle £30 +vat.
The nozzles are a must & there are 5 different ones in the pack.
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is this what your looking for
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/th_GutterKeeper.jpg) (http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/?action=view¤t=GutterKeeper.flv)
http://www.upkeeper.com/gutterkeeper.html
Would love one but the cost :o
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is this what your looking for
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/th_GutterKeeper.jpg) (http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/?action=view¤t=GutterKeeper.flv)
http://www.upkeeper.com/gutterkeeper.html
Would love one but the cost :o
is this what your looking for
(http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/th_GutterKeeper.jpg) (http://s157.photobucket.com/albums/t42/joeuk_bucket/?action-view¤t=GutterKeeper.flv)
http://www.upkeeper.com/gutterkeeper.html
Would love one but the cost :o
so would i macc, sometimes it seems , ridiculas here we are preaching the safety to customers about height, and regulations, and this is why we now use warter fed poles ect, we got the job of cleaning out their gutters, and out comes the ladders and bucket lol,
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That's why i invested in the lance, i could see i made myself looking like a plank. LOL
Also my days on ladders are over. I've spent my life on them & it's
taken it toll on me, i'm getting old. LOL
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how do you deal with over grown plants in gutters with your system, the gutterkeeper shows it sucking it up, i know its rare to see plants like that, so how would you deal with that from ground level,
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from what i see no change at all. We clean gutters every day, and the system I see would not work, when gutters are blocked they are blocked. a lance may move stuff but would not solve the problem, gutters cannot be freeded without a ladder in most cases. If I am wrong let me know as I am always looking to work smarter and safer.
Reasons why: blockages ( cannot allot of the time be unblocked by a lance)
2, if a gutter is blocked alot of the times its because the down pipe it jammed or a tennis ball is blocking it(lance cant fix this can it?) simple hand grab (this works most of the time) if not take down the blocked pipe and free from floor level
3 Pressure jetting a gutter: (I wouldnt do it) asking for water on any ceiling in the house (gutters are made to catch rain water) not to get water blown at them from below (no brainer really)
4, lance from floor level (you cant see the gutter therefor you do not know if it is empty or full still !!!!!!!) god i am saying obvious stuff here (forgive me if i am wrong) but that just common sence.... :-X
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how do you deal with over grown plants in gutters with your system, the gutterkeeper shows it sucking it up, i know its rare to see plants like that, so how would you deal with that from ground level,
that is not rare at all where i am living, i see it day in day out, i had a customer the other day asking me for that service, they had a gutter company round charged them £300 for stopping a leak (that never stopped) I charged them £80 (and emptied the problem) and stopped it straight away, they had a plant (should I say tree) growing out of the gutter, it dont take to many brain cell to say the plant would go to the weakest joint and come though (which it did)
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and the company, never thought to remove the tree if that was the obstruction, am sure they did not do the job right , £300 %%%% me , it makes me angry the customers that fall for the cowboys,
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Also my days on ladders are over. I've spent my life on them & it's
taken it toll on me, i'm getting old. LOL
Yup. Me too. Although I've havn't spend my life just a good few years. Wfp the tops and trad the downstairs and if they don't like it - there's other customers who'll be quite happy.
As for a 3 extention ladder and doing gutters, nope. Not anymore. Lance or not. Doing gutters may be high priced work but for me, I prefer the sedate life. A nice easy bungalow and a good price.
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and the company, never thought to remove the tree if that was the obstruction, am sure they did not do the job right , £300 %%%% me , it makes me angry the customers that fall for the cowboys,
"Yes did it from floor level" how you clean it from floor level i will never know (you cant see if its empty from the floor. Can you?. People get sold, and then ripped off sometimes.
Try to never do a job thats underpriced just to get the job, unless it benifits you in the long run.
I use a pole and a gutter thing I got a while back (it works as long as there are not cross supports every 10 inches (if there is its glove and bang and many times up the ladder)
hes the link for the gutter attachment:
http://scrimcity.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=453&oscsid=d94e0eed8f62c2ff547e7a944c3f8198
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Ross, that's what i use, not a problem.
Clean the gutters in meter sections to the down pipe. Holding the lance at about 30degree angle & slightly in front of you.
Macc
You should not be washing the crap from the gutters down the downpipe, this could end up making the problem far worse!! ;D
A method that I have used is to block up the down pipe with a cloth (so no debris go down there!) then take the end stop off the end of the guttering I then put a hose up at the other end and turn it on so that the water flows down it and falls out of the end I have removed, I place a large bucket underneath to catch the worse of the crap, I then rod the gutter through using drain rods with a bung and cloth on the end, an old unger pole would work . Works well for me! ;)
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There is an attachment on the Gutter Keeper (see http://www.upkeeper.com/gutterkeeper.html) that blows out the downpipe from the ground and at the same time you can vacuum from the top!
Rod
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I clean windows wfp. I also clean the odd house trad with my ladder where I know wfp will not do a good job. My choice.
Wfp Keeps me safe I know. But I am not afraid to go up a ladder. I would not want to clean trad full time. Same applies cleaning gutters.
I dont use a Lance. I will clean gutters out trad method useing my ladders. I charge a high price for the service, I earn a better rate per hour then w/c. I know the gutters are clean. I test when finished that the water drains away, If their are other problems such as leaking joints I offer to fix them for a price while my ladders are out.
The lance can do a job but its not for me. I preffer the trad way. I will not clean gutters on a 3 storey house though. That is one area that a Lance can make someone a lot of money.
For me I make my money on windows. I still will clean the odd gutter job, But I dont know for how much longer.
Nel.
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how do you all price up gutter cleaning then? (traditional methods)
just, it is something i am prepared to do if i am asked to do it. just would like to know how to price up the work.
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I have a petrol power washer & pole with getter attachments from Northern Tools.
Fantastic bit of kit, cleans the down pipe out & all the gutter no problem even if full. I've had it over a year now so i've got it down to a fine art now. Very little comes over but what does is only a quick rince & the only time i go up the ladder is to check the gutters are clean like new.
The best bit, i'm not risking my neck cleaning the gutters by hand up a ladder & it's 10x quicker & the getters look like they have been polished.
'You can't beat the old methods can you' ;
Yes you can mate, invest in equipment that does the job. ;)
macc would you please post a link to the items that you bought , i have been onto the northern tools website and think i can see the items you mean but which washer did you go for
thanks
Bill
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I've gone for the upkeeper after seeing it at the Cleaning Show and after speaking to someone on this forum. Due to get it next month so will give an honest review.
Doug
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http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200314015_200314015
http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200314015_200314015
I have a petrol power washer & pole with getter attachments from Northern Tools.
Fantastic bit of kit, cleans the down pipe out & all the gutter no problem even if full. I've had it over a year now so i've got it down to a fine art now. Very little comes over but what does is only a quick rince & the only time i go up the ladder is to check the gutters are clean like new.
The best bit, i'm not risking my neck cleaning the gutters by hand up a ladder & it's 10x quicker & the getters look like they have been polished.
'You can't beat the old methods can you' ;
Yes you can mate, invest in equipment that does the job. ;)
macc would you please post a link to the items that you bought , i have been onto the northern tools website and think i can see the items you mean but which washer did you go for
thanks
Bill
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http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200308357_200308357
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http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200058024_200058024
Their number is: 0800 169 2266. Phone them & they will send
A cataolue.
Macc
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Gutter vac lol,cleaning gutters now theres a job which requires ladders,i know someone that`s got one and at the moment he`s hunting round for his receipt to see if they`ll take it back.
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Gutter vac lol,cleaning gutters now theres a job which requires ladders,i know someone that`s got one and at the moment he`s hunting round for his receipt to see if they`ll take it back.
Omnipole or Ionics
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Ionics.
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Ionics.
:o :o
Any chance of getting him to give me a bell or forward us his details before I put pen to paper. Contact details on my website , click on the icon.
Thanks
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Omnipole do a Gutter-spike to fit on their Power-Pole which allows you to spike out tough obstructions and then carry on using the vac. Does it work? I do not know.
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Gutter vac lol,cleaning gutters now theres a job which requires ladders,i know someone that`s got one and at the moment he`s hunting round for his receipt to see if they`ll take it back.
Perhaps he couldn't carry it up the ladder! ::)
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You are joking. ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
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When did he buy it?
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I'm fed up with doing all the add on jobs after a year of advertising on my bills and doing loads.
From now on I'll only quote if asked, remove all mention of gutters/fascias/conservatory roofs and charge loads to do them if they dare to ask.
Its the only way. Something like £75 per hour minimum rate for them, I've grown to hate them. That should scare most people off. If it doesn't, it's worth it!
I mean come on, it always takes longer than you think, always worse than you think, and always hard work. Windows rule. They only ask you to do them because they are being cheapskates. They always think it'll be a tenner. Hate hate hate.
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They always think it'll be a tenner. Hate hate hate.
;D ;D
This made me laugh. I've stopped doing these 'cos i've always underpriced the work anyway and when i have charged more with new requests its like i'm asking for the wife to be thrown in as well.
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looks like there is a UK website for the upkeeper, www.upkeeper.co.uk