Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: mick hay on July 11, 2008, 02:53:48 pm
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In the not too distant future i'm going to have the funds to purchase the nessecary tools for an add on.
Now, not sure to offer.......gutter cleaning (guttervac etc)
or pressure washing.
Outlay is more or less the same , give or take a cple of £100.
So, those of you who offer either or both of these, which would you go for and why?????
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Personally I'd test the market first.
Advertise BOTH and see which gets more response.
My approach has been to advertise both and found that pressure washing has got more response.
What I'm going to do is put all the work I get into a single week and hire a machine. (One customer pays for the hire, collection etc)
That way I test the market and guarantee a profit.
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go for gutter cleaning,extra cost £1.00 ( thats if yr fussy) trowel from pound shop. ;)
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Wally thats how people expand to other branches of cleaning, sometimes it works and sometimes its a costly detour from what you are good at.
I used to pressure wash, carpet clean, paint shop fronts, buy and sell shop fittings pretty much about everything to earn a crust.
Now, all I do is clean windows, cos that is what i'm good at and it costs me nowt in plant or hire and I don't leave my normal work to do stuff that may or may not work.
Good luck with your efforts, not for me, but then if no one was to speculate the world would be a boring place.
Steve
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Couple of ex - window cleaners near me who specialise in gutter cleaning and nothing else much. When you see their prices you can understand why.
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Couple of ex - window cleaners near me who specialise in gutter cleaning and nothing else much. When you see their prices you can understand why.
Do they concentrate on commercial or mix it with residential?
Any ideas what they are charging?
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Couple of ex - window cleaners near me who specialise in gutter cleaning and nothing else much. When you see their prices you can understand why.
Gutter cleaning is very good money it is the lack of constant work that puts me off adding that as full time business, so I just stick with customer base and what I get from website which seems to be getting more and more.
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Couple of ex - window cleaners near me who specialise in gutter cleaning and nothing else much. When you see their prices you can understand why.
Gutter cleaning is very good money it is the lack of constant work that puts me off adding that as full time business, so I just stick with customer base and what I get from website which seems to be getting more and more.
It doesn't take long to get contracts and regular work for gutter cleaning. Just like window cleaning you need to sell maintenance cleans. Every six months or yearly depending on the circumstances. You can make £10 - 12K in a week on some large commercial jobs which is much more than window cleaning so the work does not need to be as regular.
The trowel thing is not a good Idea if you want this type of work. Commercial clients expect a little more for their dollar ;)
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Couple of ex - window cleaners near me who specialise in gutter cleaning and nothing else much. When you see their prices you can understand why.
Gutter cleaning is very good money it is the lack of constant work that puts me off adding that as full time business, so I just stick with customer base and what I get from website which seems to be getting more and more.
It doesn't take long to get contracts and regular work for gutter cleaning. Just like window cleaning you need to sell maintenance cleans. Every six months or yearly depending on the circumstances. You can make £10 - 12K in a week on some large commercial jobs which is much more than window cleaning so the work does not need to be as regular.
The trowel thing is not a good Idea if you want this type of work. Commercial clients expect a little more for their dollar ;)
Fair point ;)
and 10k :o I would want to see machines blood sweat and tears also
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If you set your self up properly to do gutters you will need a pressure washer to clear blocked down pipes the drains they connect to.
I offer both services as a surface washer added to my gutter kit allows me to pressure wash too ;D
I do get much more gutter work though!
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I would love to go more into this, but it's the price which puts me off.... we haven't got the money to get a guttervac or something like it, so we are doing the basics with domestic custies, still pays well ;)
Kev, it sounds like its well worth the investment though, you seem to be reaping the benefits, fair play to you ;D
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Fair point ;)
and 10k :o I would want to see machines blood sweat and tears also
This is me after 11 days in the freezing cold in on a platform doing a post construction gutter clean. We removed masses of building materials as well as 18 months worth of muck too - I was very near to tears!!!!! I earned every penny LOL ;D
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If you set your self up properly to do gutters you will need a pressure washer to clear blocked down pipes the drains they connect to.
I offer both services as a surface washer added to my gutter kit allows me to pressure wash too ;D
I do get much more gutter work though!
at the mo I really do not want to add this full time if I did I would defo get a gutter vac and a jetter so could do top to bottom drainage but tbh I am far to busy as it is and unless this house sells or I find the unit I need I just dont have the space to expand more than I am :(
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You've still got evil eyes Kev.......... ;) ;) ;D
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Nah looks like a girl thingy cat :P
:o :o :o girl thingy cat I did not write that Kev. I said you look like a p u s s y cat that made it look real bad shame on the editing there
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You've still got evil eyes Kev.......... ;) ;) ;D
You should see them when Im really mad LOL ;D
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just had to edit that post I made as sound harsh to kev and was meant in a jokey way till it was auto edited, so Kev I did not say you looked like a girl thingy ;)
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These guys are ladder men, they have a Berlingo and a really flash four wheel drive pick up thing, think they call themselves A1 Gutter Clean- seem to do allright.
Many householders can clean their windows if they can be bothered because a lot can be cleaned from the inside out, but not many fancy gutter cleaning off a ladder. A lot of window cleaners don't fancy it either. :-\
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That's a good idea.
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The info given about gutter cleaning have made the most interesting threads i have read on here in a couple of years. It has inspired me to look outside my comfort zone and given me a direction to aim for.
Fair play to kevin r for giving open answers to some good questions.
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Fair play to kevin r for giving open answers to some good questions.
I got a lot of my info from the forums and Glyn H, so I'm happy to pass on what was freely given to me and what I have learned in the process ;)
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I'm thinking the same Mark- whether we pursue this or not the threads do have more vitality. Where Kevin is at the moment is too far in front of me to even think about, and I don't seem to have a lot of luck getting commercial work.
We may do better if we started stand alone biz's like A1 gutter cleaning, instead of saying we are window cleaners but do this as well. I bet a seprate yellow pages ad would work. We complain as window cleaners about the work being spread out, but as gutter cleaners this wouldn't matter.(because it's one off and the money's bigger)
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I agree about separating the business from window cleaning.
A website, company bank account, professionally printed stationary and a decent signwritten van and i can see lots of mileage with this line of work.
Off topic, but i wfp'ed the outside of a painted house which had turned green in places. The quote for painting was gonna be well over 1K. Plus scaffolding.
I used my trolley and a product called sandtex to mix with water.
I rinsed the exterior in about hour and half. When back next day to rinse off with tap water for another hour. He offered me £200 before i started.
I didn't take photos but it came up like a repaint. Excellent. Very profitable.
I have though about marketing this as well as a separate entity.
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Cons: hard dirty work.
Pros: can be lucrative or specialised even. Hourly rate would be a true rate - no moving between jobs and minimal set up time so if you priced well you can predict your earnings for the day to the exact amount. Can be done in the rain with no complaints from customers. Unlikely a customer will climb up to check your work.
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I disagree about having stand alone services, Why? well a lot of of work comes from clients that like us to do everything. We usually start off with windows or gutters and end up doing masses of extra work. We have full maintenance contracts for several large companies.
In fact we have added some services (Carpet cleaning & suspended ceiling cleaning) at our clients request.
Its like being Tescos - all you need under one roof in a sense...LOL ;D
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I disagree about having stand alone services, Why? well a lot of of work comes from clients that like us to do everything. We usually start off with windows or gutters and end up doing masses of extra work. We have full maintenance contracts for several large companies.
In fact we have added some services (Carpet cleaning & suspended ceiling cleaning) at our clients request.
Its like being Tescos - all you need under one roof in a sense...LOL ;D
not sure why Kev, but everything you have said today I agree with and IMO aswell is so true
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I disagree about having stand alone services, Why? well a lot of of work comes from clients that like us to do everything. We usually start off with windows or gutters and end up doing masses of extra work. We have full maintenance contracts for several large companies.
In fact we have added some services (Carpet cleaning & suspended ceiling cleaning) at our clients request.
Its like being Tescos - all you need under one roof in a sense...LOL ;D
not sure why Kev, but everything you have said today I agree with and IMO aswell is so true
Ian,
I think some people take pride in offering one service and nothing else and fair play to them, but in my experience I used to miss a lot of work I could do because I never advertised those services.
I have tried having stand alone websites in the past for certain services but I find I get more enquiries through my main site.
Im not sure being a "specialist" one service cleaner is that important.
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I disagree about having stand alone services, Why? well a lot of of work comes from clients that like us to do everything. We usually start off with windows or gutters and end up doing masses of extra work. We have full maintenance contracts for several large companies.
In fact we have added some services (Carpet cleaning & suspended ceiling cleaning) at our clients request.
Its like being Tescos - all you need under one roof in a sense...LOL ;D
not sure why Kev, but everything you have said today I agree with and IMO aswell is so true
Ian,
I think some people take pride in offering one service and nothing else and fair play to them, but in my experience I used to miss a lot of work I could do because I never advertised those services.
I have tried having stand alone websites in the past for certain services but I find I get more enquiries through my main site.
Im not sure being a "specialist" one service cleaner is that important.
I run a business what makes it money is good for it and me ;)
there is a line though, you cant do everything. related services work very well as you know, I do the same not on the same scale as you on the gutters etc as said before not right for me at the mo.
Always expanding always will, turning work away would be like me not going on a pc not going to happen ;D
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aup kev
I hold several gutter cleaning contracts all for my commercial window cleaning contracts ...whats a standard spec for you?
Mine just clear out gutters,check downpipes for blockages report any defects back....I noticed you said you blast the drains out you do you class this as a add on to the guttering or offer it as part of the maintaince check with the gutters, if so can it become time consuming cheers mick.
ps received my vac system from glyn after receiving good advice fron yourself,mr h,alex and omnipole
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Ian,
Running a business that suits you is what its all about ;D
I offer a lot of services as I have leaned a lot of services over the years. When I started on my own I did very well from window cleaning alone and had no need to do anything else. As my profits increased I have been able to a) advertise more and attract new work, b) buy better equipment c) expand my services.
I now am lucky enough to spend my time doing all sorts which I enjoy. If I only did residential windows now I would hate it, but a friend of mine loves residential windows and nothing else. It all comes back to what suits you and your budget.
As you know I build the odd website to - why? for fun!!! its something I enjoy on a rainy day.
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aup kev
I hold several gutter cleaning contracts all for my commercial window cleaning contracts ...whats a standard spec for you?
Mine just clear out gutters,check downpipes for blockages report any defects back....I noticed you said you blast the drains out you do you class this as a add on to the guttering or offer it as part of the maintaince check with the gutters, if so can it become time consuming cheers mick.
ps received my vac system from glyn after receiving good advice fron yourself,mr h,alex and omnipole
Hi Mick
I do much the same as you, but I do clear down pipes with high pressure. Unfortunately doing this sometimes blocks the drain / soak away so I clear it as a standard. Its very rare to have to do it and its usually a minimal blockage so its the work of moments really. I just put a drain cleaning attachment on the pressure washer and the jobs done. Puts the customer at ease knowing you' ll look after the whole job.
I also clear any debris from drain covers as it makes the job complete. I do this with the omnivac hand tool. Nothing worse than leaving a job with lumps of muck on the drain covers.
Im glad you got your kit, Im know it will make you some money. Spend a little on advertising it when you can and it will pay dividends.
Good luck
Kev ;)
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aup kev
I hold several gutter cleaning contracts all for my commercial window cleaning contracts ...whats a standard spec for you?
Mine just clear out gutters,check downpipes for blockages report any defects back....I noticed you said you blast the drains out you do you class this as a add on to the guttering or offer it as part of the maintaince check with the gutters, if so can it become time consuming cheers mick.
ps received my vac system from glyn after receiving good advice fron yourself,mr h,alex and omnipole
Hi Mick
I do much the same as you, but I do clear down pipes with high pressure. Unfortunately doing this sometimes blocks the drain / soak away so I clear it as a standard. Its very rare to have to do it and its usually a minimal blockage so its the work of moments really. I just put a drain cleaning attachment on the pressure washer and the jobs done. Puts the customer at ease knowing you' ll look after the whole job.
I also clear any debris from drain covers as it makes the job complete. I do this with the omnivac hand tool. Nothing worse than leaving a job with lumps of muck on the drain covers.
Im glad you got you kit, Im know it will make you some money. Spend a little on advertising it when you can and it will pay dividends.
Good luck
Kev ;)
Kev the more I hear from you the mo i want the gutter vac what is the prices for full set up and the add on's you need?
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aup kev
I hold several gutter cleaning contracts all for my commercial window cleaning contracts ...whats a standard spec for you?
Mine just clear out gutters,check downpipes for blockages report any defects back....I noticed you said you blast the drains out you do you class this as a add on to the guttering or offer it as part of the maintaince check with the gutters, if so can it become time consuming cheers mick.
ps received my vac system from glyn after receiving good advice fron yourself,mr h,alex and omnipole
Hi Mick
I do much the same as you, but I do clear down pipes with high pressure. Unfortunately doing this sometimes blocks the drain / soak away so I clear it as a standard. Its very rare to have to do it and its usually a minimal blockage so its the work of moments really. I just put a drain cleaning attachment on the pressure washer and the jobs done. Puts the customer at ease knowing you' ll look after the whole job.
I also clear any debris from drain covers as it makes the job complete. I do this with the omnivac hand tool. Nothing worse than leaving a job with lumps of muck on the drain covers.
Im glad you got your kit, Im know it will make you some money. Spend a little on advertising it when you can and it will pay dividends.
Good luck
Kev ;)
;) ;) double wink back kev...and one for Ian as well ;) good nite gents
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nite matey ;)
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I started buying the basic set up but as the jobs have got bigger and taller my kit has expanded.
With out getting all the invoices out I don't know how much I have spent exactly but the set up now makes the job really efficient.
Buy a basic set up and you will soon start to see what you need as you go, thats what happened to me anyway. The basic set up is fantastic for any residential property with standard gutters, it only starts to get complicated when you do commercial with large, and deep gutters at height.
;) night night guys!
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Kev
Do you have a gutter clearance flyer you use for the domestic market you could show me?
Jason
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I know a young guy that has his gutter vac, generator and other bits in a purpose made trailer. It really looks good and he only needs to hook it up to the van when needed.
He charges 4.50 per meter for gutters, and is obviously getting it, he's the same one man band that's having to go VAT registered.