Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: jaykie on January 15, 2008, 02:23:36 pm
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Im in the process of setting up my own window cleaning business in the south east (hard water), ive never done this sort of work before so any help would be great, im getting either a Expert, Scudo or Dispatch. Ive contacted a lot of reach and wash companys and the system i think i might get is as follows so please let me know if its any good.
Thanks Chris
1 x Baffled 500 litre upright water tank.
1 x full metal cage for tank
1 x 40 inch Reverse Osmosis membare housing
1 x 40 inch high quality reverse osmosis membrane.
1 x 20 inch housing with 5 micron pre sediment filter
1 x 20 inch housing with carbon block filter
(We fit 20 inch filters for much improved RO membane protection)
1 x solenoid valve with in-tank float valve to enable fully automatic cut-off when tank is full.
1 Deionisation resin housing complete with charge of resin.
1 x HM digital TDS meter to check water quality
1 x Shurflo 100 PSI delivery pump
1 x Flowmaster electronic flow controller.
1 x pump debris strainer
1 x high quality metal hosereel
1 x 100 mtr length delivery hose (8mm)
1 x 27 ft reach 4 section telescopic fibreglass pole with VIKAN brush
1 x 4 ft 2 section pole complete with VIKAN brush for low level cleaning.
1 x Heavy duty deep cycle battery
1 x Battery charger.
1 x Protectakote blue van floor waterproofing kit.
Outside ports for filling tank and working with van securely locked.
Complete assembly,testing and installation of the system in your vehicle.
Total cost £2875.00 including VAT.
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sounds good but i think pure freedom is doing a 4040 for 2k dont quote me on this but i think windowwashrs will have a better idea than me and he will prob tell you what you get for your money
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4x40 cost £700.
There;s only one Reach and Wash company, so watch out passing off other suppliers in this way.
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that looks a good price which company is it with and do they have a websit.
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OK here is my two pence
i do object to the money you can spend on a hose reel, i got two for £30, and had one previous which has lasted years, they are they same one Alex Gardiner uses, now i don't know about you, but what do you do with you house reel, drag it up and down the road? because i don't, u just get it out, and thats it,
The pole, personally, i wouldn't bother, with fiberglass at that height, its your main piece of kit either buy
A facelift 24ft Hybrid (never used this but i hear good things) or wait for Alex Gardinier's new pole, all are around the same price ish.
Can you not make water at home? if not stick with that ro, Other than that sounds good,
But for that price i wouldn't pay more than £2500 that set up and have a 24ft Facelift Pole, but that would be sourcing the parts myself and fitting it myself
actaully heres a run down
1 x Baffled 500 litre upright water tank. 204.98
1 x full metal cage for tank ot sure
1 x 40 inch Reverse Osmosis membare housing
1 x 40 inch high quality reverse osmosis membrane. yOU CAN GET A COMPLETE RO FOR AROUND £600
1 x 20 inch housing with 5 micron pre sediment filter
1 x 20 inch housing with carbon block filter
(We fit 20 inch filters for much improved RO membane protection)
1 x solenoid valve with in-tank float valve to enable fully automatic cut-off when tank is full.
1 Deionisation resin housing complete with charge of resin. £60
1 x HM digital TDS meter to check water quality 13,99
1 x Shurflo 100 PSI delivery pump 147.99 with flow controller
1 x Flowmaster electronic flow controller.
1 x pump debris strainer " £about 10
1 x high quality metal hosereel 15.99
1 x 100 mtr length delivery hose (8mm)56.00
1 x 27 ft reach 4 section telescopic fibreglass pole with VIKAN brush facelift = £500
1 x 4 ft 2 section pole complete with VIKAN brush for low level cleaning. £60
1 x Heavy duty deep cycle battery £70
1 x Battery charger. £30
1 x Protectakote blue van floor waterproofing kit. £60
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Jakie,
If your interested i have a van and system for sale in the near future could save you a lot of money and hasle.
Have a look in the for sale section.
Rob.
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Lookin at that spec I bet a pound to a penny it's a Purefreedom system ;)
That my friend a bl++dy good deal in anyones book. The whole lot properly installed for that kind of money is very good. I,m a bit biased coz I,ve now got 2 systems from Freedom and I am very pleased with them :)
The spec is almost identical to my systems except I have 400 flat tanks in Doblos. Maybe the only thing I would change is the long pole. I use the Extel hybrid poles up to 3 floors and they are great. Short sections and as good as carbon up to that height. Well worth a hundred quid or so more in my book..
Welcome to the nuthouse by the way ;D
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why save money? why not spend £4,000 to £2,000 its not going to depreciate it will still be making you money in 5 years time?it will still be making you money in 10 years time its completley serviceable not like a vehicle that will defo die at some point. you can offset it against your profit so more proffit you make the more you want to spend on decent equipment.
Dont go letting an employee use it if you install it yourself..............imagine them having a head on colision and the tank and equipment go flying through the front halk killing them ? have it installed by the people who supply them if not get your equipment and take it to a engineer who knows where the tank etc should be installed for chasis and weight correction.
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Its still alot of money to clean windows though
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Its still alot of money to clean windows though
Sorry mate but I totally disagree wth you. The time I would take sourcing all the parts. The aggro of getting them delivered then spending days putting it all together will cost me money in the short and long term. I would have no guarantees or decent back up coz it would be a peacemeal system however well I put it together.
I take my vans to Grimsby in the morning and pick up a fully installed and working system later on the same day that earns me money from the next day. My first system was an Ionics one which cost me a whole lot more but it was worth every penny. It earns me money day in day out and has paid for itself many times over.
Easyclean also has some very valid points to make as well.
We all have different opinions and all are valid. I guess it depends on your individual outlook and aspirations. I think it is very little money for a Pro system. There's also the back up to consider and yes in a way you pay for it but in a tight corner it's worth it's weight in gold.
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its paid for its self over and over, but you think its earn t you more money that doing at a diy route, your that much faster etc
spending 5grand on a system and earning 15 grand that year doesnt mean its paid for its self, but you can do the same job alot cheaper
even with a ladder its still not worth spending 1000's just to clean windows
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Aspirations.. my point exactly.. 15 grand? I dont and wont put earning figures anywhere but in my books but if all I earned from a van in a year I wouldn't be in this business.
Take the figures quoted above for example. Under £3k for a full sys. Depreciate it over 3 years even without tax relief its only costing in real terms less than £20 a week. I will stick with manufacturer fitted systems. It makes sense to me. Also the guy says he is starting out on a window cleaning business. Much better to start out if poss with a system he knows will be fitted together properly and he will have loads of good back up. That will free him up to get out there and get the work in.
I bought my Ionics sys before I had 1 customer. I haven't regretted it once.
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Im in the process of setting up my own window cleaning business in the south east (hard water), ive never done this sort of work before so any help would be great, im getting either a Expert, Scudo or Dispatch. Ive contacted a lot of reach and wash companys and the system i think i might get is as follows so please let me know if its any good.
Thanks Chris
1 x Baffled 500 litre upright water tank.
1 x full metal cage for tank
1 x 40 inch Reverse Osmosis membare housing
1 x 40 inch high quality reverse osmosis membrane.
1 x 20 inch housing with 5 micron pre sediment filter
1 x 20 inch housing with carbon block filter
(We fit 20 inch filters for much improved RO membane protection)
1 x solenoid valve with in-tank float valve to enable fully automatic cut-off when tank is full.
1 Deionisation resin housing complete with charge of resin.
1 x HM digital TDS meter to check water quality
1 x Shurflo 100 PSI delivery pump
1 x Flowmaster electronic flow controller.
1 x pump debris strainer
1 x high quality metal hosereel
1 x 100 mtr length delivery hose (8mm)
1 x 27 ft reach 4 section telescopic fibreglass pole with VIKAN brush
1 x 4 ft 2 section pole complete with VIKAN brush for low level cleaning.
1 x Heavy duty deep cycle battery
1 x Battery charger.
1 x Protectakote blue van floor waterproofing kit.
Outside ports for filling tank and working with van securely locked.
Complete assembly,testing and installation of the system in your vehicle.
Total cost £2875.00 including VAT.
www.purefreedom.co.uk ask for andrew Mccann
if yopu live anywhere near bedford or st. neots give me a bell on 07788 732789
I will show you the system I have.
Ian
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well if you want to put yourself into debt before you can pay it off thats fine, i know id rather have the money i my pocket and buy it when i can afford it,
and then end of the day someone with ladders can start up for alot cheaper and do the same job without the big finical outlay and danger of not being able to pay the bills
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well if you want to put yourself into debt before you can pay it off thats fine, i know id rather have the money i my pocket and buy it when i can afford it,
and then end of the day someone with ladders can start up for alot cheaper and do the same job without the big finical outlay and danger of not being able to pay the bills
A trad person cannot do the same job as WFP, love to see you get some of the windows we do with a ladder.
Some people have faith in business some dont, some take risks some dont.
being self employed is a risk in itself, and being trad is far more of a risk to your health than wfp. I did trad for years, and still do.
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Can i say all your information has been great, the reason im doing this is because ive just received 7 ½ k and want to put it to some good use as got family etc now and don’t want to go down the route of old a waste it on things and have nothing to show for it,im still doing my current job as im in a lucky situation where i don’t start work till 3.30 and finish at 9.30 so have the day free to set this up. M.B.S and Brightnclean your both spot on as this is a pure freedom system, there the miles away from where i live as im in Eastbourne but believe its worth travelling if im getting a good system. I also am going to use ladders for those people who don’t want there windows cleaned with reach and wash system but thats something i need to learn as i no its not as easy as it looks.
Once again thanks everyone im glad i found this forum.
Chris
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ww i use wfp, but for someone who is starting out they are not going to notice a return, it maybe faster but that only counts if you have a full set of work, when i started out i had a few days work, i could do it in two days, or 20days it didn't matter really, it was in my interest to do it quicker so i could have the time off and do things.
Jaykie what im saying is, youve got 7.5k that isnt 7.5k that needs to be spent, be as tight as possible with your money, in my opinion you shouldn't run before you can walk
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Re you suggesting using the old style of window cleaning till i got a lot of custom then moving on to wfp.
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have you tried mark on 07950 706623 from essentially pure, tell him the price he may match it for you like for like his about 30 min up the road from you
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yes too start, because wfp wont make you better or worse, its just a tool, and if you can clean a house for 15 and the original outlay was around max £500 ure going to earn that back pretty quick, whereas, if it was £3000 will take alot more,
at the end of the day what do you have to loose, you will need ladders etc for some jobs even if you do have a wfp,
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Like any other business you get out of it what you are prepared to put in. There is always a demand for professional window cleaning. It does vary from area to area but it is there nonetheless.
Start out as you mean to go on. There will be a lot of properties you will have to miss out or even worse do dangerous things from a ladder to clean the windows especially if you work alone. I use both WFP and trad but WFP is the preffered method for a lot of reasons not the least of which is safety. Ladders aren't unsafe. It's the incorrect use of them that is and wfp prevents this.
I invested in my business and it has paid off handsomely. Things can always be done in a cheaper way but it isn't usually the best way to do it.
Also if you start out totally trad you will then face the switchover to WFP which is totally unneeded if you are WFP from the start.
Be loud and proud and stand out from the competition :)
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Its got nothing to do with not starting out how you want to finish, ultimately you clean windows to earn a living, ad too start off with ladders will make you a living, all the work he picks maybe just perfect for ladders and will never need a wfp,
you have to agree its a tool like any other, just because you and i have one doest mean that he needs it,
7,5k will earn interest but a several 1000 pound machine will ot earn you interest.....yet but later it will if you have the correct work
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Like any other business you get out of it what you are prepared to put in. There is always a demand for professional window cleaning. It does vary from area to area but it is there nonetheless.
Start out as you mean to go on. There will be a lot of properties you will have to miss out or even worse do dangerous things from a ladder to clean the windows especially if you work alone. I use both WFP and trad but WFP is the preffered method for a lot of reasons not the least of which is safety. Ladders aren't unsafe. It's the incorrect use of them that is and wfp prevents this.
I invested in my business and it has paid off handsomely. Things can always be done in a cheaper way but it isn't usually the best way to do it.
Also if you start out totally trad you will then face the switchover to WFP which is totally unneeded if you are WFP from the start.
Be loud and proud and stand out from the competition :)
Have to say that makes total sence.
Alex W, you are right it is a tool but to start trad when there is no need is the wrong option IMO, I do understand where you are coming from on the money side, but if you are building a business for wfp what is the point starting trad, that would be like building as house with foundations made of jelly.
get the foundations right first time, as under pinning is expensive. that is an odd way to look at it I know but it is true.
Ian
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ww you cant build a house on jelly but im sure as you know that you can build a business from working with ladders, theres alot more pressure if you spend all that money but are not getting any returns yet.
you can clean windows without wfp
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ww you cant build a house on jelly but im sure as you know that you can build a business from working with ladders, theres alot more pressure if you spend all that money but are not getting any returns yet.
you can clean windows without wfp
I started trad years ago Alex and as I said I know where you are coming from, but why start this way if you dont need to. I know you say about the outlay, but this is very small if you think about the earning you get back. I know a guy that left his job quite a well paid one for a 9-5 he got an ionics system and a new van why because he started as he means to go on.
Why risk all that ladder work if you dont have to, this is my point.
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its got nothing to do with starting how you mean how to go on, why dont you go and buy 10 vans and hire ten people because thats the way you mean to move on
you live within your means, and im afraid that by spending all that money on a system before you even have work is a waste of money,
am i right in thinking he has never cleaned a window, and might hate it
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ifthis guy is just starting out i am inclined to agree with alex .all very well having top notch gear but if you have no work whats the point??? also he has no experience yet . put the money in the bank and find a local window cleaner who needs some help preferably one who uses both trad and wfp and see if you are still as keen after jan. feb. and the first half of march have been and gone then good on ya but even then i would not lay out all that dosh with no work even if i had it . as for all the comments about the hassle of diy well everyones different but i enjoyed building my system and am still enjoying uprating and improving as i go along
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just got to add that you REALLY DO NEED TO LEARN TRAD evenif you dont use it much
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Alex
you live within your means, and im afraid that by spending all that money on a system before you even have work is a waste of money,
I think I have to agree with you, I started trad nearly a year back then 4 months ago went wfp. Although now I wished I had been wfp from the start, going wfp from the beginning might not have been the right thing to do. Build up a round and save the money and then go wfp. But try not to leave it too long before you make the switch, just make sure you enjoy wc'ing first and can deal with it before spending quite a bit of money, Luke
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Thanks for all your info its been brill, i see everyones point, where i live theres a lot of 3 storey houses so i wont beable to reach 3rd floor without WFP so would have to turn a lot of work away, Ive got 7.5k and thought that i may as well get the full system so that in 6 months time i haven't got to start trying to get the money together, the money i got will pay for everything i need, van, tools, ladders, wfp, clothing etc etc, this isnt something i thought over night ive been thinking about it for the last year, and im deffinetly not one to give up easily as ive always made a success at everything ive done, but nows the time to make money for myself and not others.
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you dont have to spend all that money to get a perfectly effective wfp set up.Diy is not difficult to do and can save you hundreds if not thousands of pounds.You talk about turning work away but (no offence intended here) you dont have any yet.You can make wfp as cheap or as dear as you want but thats up to you .Imo you should find a window cleaner who needs some help and offer your services you are in a good position with your job to build this up as a business without blowing all that cash in one go.With 7.5k you could go diy route get some trad gear and still have enough left to buy the system you describe in six months time meanwhile start canvassing and make some contacts also let us all know where you are maybe someone on here is nearby and can help out .Good Luck whatever way you decide to go there is always a lot of useful info on here ;) ;D mind you there is also a fair amount of old :o :o :o :o(swearings banned by the way)
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jaykie
if you believe the work is there go and get it first, if you can get a few days work from town houses tell them when you can do it and then go and get the kit, people wont mind waiting a bit for their windows to be done if you are going to do them, and also go and get some work
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ive got all my squeegees, t bars, buckets, cloths etc, ive decided going to start canvesing and get some work, getting van with money as need a new vehicle any way but putting rest cash in another account to get WFP system when im ready and got good trade, as for essentially pure yes there about 40 mins up the road but they wanted £3200 plus vat and £500 to fit so not worth it.
If there are any window cleaners in EASTBOURNE needing help for a couple of days a week please contact me at jaykie@hotmail.com or add me if you wish.
Cheers all
Chris
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Try brodex
Mo 8)
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Whose brodex
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Forget the last message as just google searched it cheers
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ive got all my squeegees, t bars, buckets, cloths etc, ive decided going to start canvesing and get some work, getting van with money as need a new vehicle any way but putting rest cash in another account to get WFP system when im ready and got good trade, as for essentially pure yes there about 40 mins up the road but they wanted £3200 plus vat and £500 to fit so not worth it.
If there are any window cleaners in EASTBOURNE needing help for a couple of days a week please contact me at jaykie@hotmail.com or add me if you wish.
Cheers all
Chris
nice to read that imo you will find this is a good way of getting started and wfp aint as complicated as you might think anyone with a modicum of common sense and some technical ability can build a system and some bits can be re used as you up rate.Hope it all goes well mate good luck
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good points by alex and lj thorpe is right that you should learn traditional cleaning but you are better off by squeezing every possible quid out of every job you go to and with the amount of conservatories with windows above, you can only do this by using wfp.
A backpack is the price of a good trade ladder, so you ain't gotta spend 1000's to start with wfp.
I'd recommend buying a nice clean looking van though as it gives a good 1st impression and that is worth an extra quid or 2 on the average quote compared to turning up in a car with ladders on top.
Best of luck.