Clean It Up
UK Floor Cleaning Forum => Carpet Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: kinder clean on August 24, 2008, 06:47:14 pm
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As the header says, if your cleaning a full house, what would you charge for the following.
1 Bed -
2 Bed -
3 Bed -
4 Bed -
Paul Kinder Clean
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£ 3 - £4 per m2
I don't give per house prices. I measure up and charge my normal m2 rate and talk about the possibility of upholstery cleaning or protection. I don't charge extra for spot stain removal.
Steve
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Is that £100 for an average size lounge Steve?
Mark
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My last house was nearly all carpeted 5 beds and bathrooms ensuites and large lounge, hsl and dining room(kitchen, family room and laundry roomhard floor) , in total there was 2200 sq ft of carpeting that means that would be £660.00.
I would have charged £400-450 and have had it done in under 5 hours easily.
Shaun
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Mark
I would class an average size lounge around here as being 5m x 4m - so I would charge £ 60, £ 70 if I thought I could get it. My minimum charge is £60 anyway.
Steve
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Start at £130 for 1 bed then work up to £450 for 4/5 bed depending on state of carpet.r
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god i'm cheap. no wonder i turn all my surveys into jobs.
shaun
i'm also very slow, what you just said would take me 8 to 9 hours including furniture removal.
derek
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Derek when you have a full week and the week after is half full then add a bit on to your quotes on the time front it takes practice and also when to move furniture and when not to.
Shaun
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shaun,
yeah you talked about slowly putting prices up on the phone, hopefully when i start getting booked up i'll be able to do that. my last business worked on the same principles.
as for when and when not to move furniture youve lost me, i move the lot, i ask the customer to move as much as possible then whats left gets moved around the room till its all cleaned, i'll get faster, like u said, it takes practice.
derek
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Derek
If something isn't likely to be moved from it's original position by the customer, like for instance a large wall unit that couldn't possibly go anywhere else in the room then I don't offer to move it, especially when it is usually rammed out with glass, china and books.
Steve
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Heavy 4 posters is a definate no no ! some tv's, side boards I'm sure you get the drift, knowone else does it I'm sure.
If you want to fast track your prices then get out delivering and marketing OTT, then get booked up quick and then do it all again but this time add £5 a room or something like that, over a week it adds up and then you start to run at a more healthier profit.
Shaun
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I have now stopped moving TV units a) due to cost of items should they fall ie flat panel tv's, and b) due to the cables behind. If one goes loose and picture lost then I will get the blame.
Hand tool around most but not all times.
Wal units and sideboards. No way if they full, but dont usually move anyway cause they been there for years and are going to stay there for years.
Beds, mostly move a bit this way then move a bit that way. Mostly not practical to move a bed completely.
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shaun,
yeah you talked about slowly putting prices up on the phone, hopefully when i start getting booked up i'll be able to do that. my last business worked on the same principles.
as for when and when not to move furniture youve lost me, i move the lot, i ask the customer to move as much as possible then whats left gets moved around the room till its all cleaned, i'll get faster, like u said, it takes practice.
derek
Remember flat based furniture should not go back for 24hrs, or you may seal in moisture and could get mould/mildew problems then.
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Ikea furniture has exposed chip board on vitually everything and will avsorb like a sponge. Unfortuately, it can be found in any house nowadays, not just the " minimalists "
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I never price for a full house clean. Every room is quoted separately.
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Why do you do that, nick?
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Do people really pay £400 for a 5 bedroom house for carpet cleaning? We've been charging £200 do the full montey using prochem chemicals - would love to charge more
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i price each room seperatley as well, i can refer back if the next time they only want the lounge doing instead of the whole house and i know what to quote without having to go and measure, this is good for letting agents when i am constantly going back to the same houses but cleaning different rooms.
pricing is such a personal thing, shaun asks £450 for a 5-bed and takes up to 5hrs, i have never taken more than 3hrs on any house but would charge around £250 for a 5-bed, i guess that is a similar hourly rate. i don't think i do an inferior clean to shaun, i just move my a**e quicker!!!
as for moving furniture, i tell the customer that what they can move by themselves to vacuum then i will move to clean the carpets.
colin
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colin
a 5 bed house consists of, 5 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms and a hall stairs and landing, + ensuites. if you class the hsl which are usually large + the ensuites as 2 rooms then thats 9 rooms. (minimum). lets say it takes you 10 mins to set up and 10 mins to pack away, that means you clean each room in 17 mins. i'm guessing you don't prevac which is fair enough, but what about edging, do you not edge. are you usain bolt in disguise.
when it comes to speed i'm obviously doing something wrong.
any one out there who have got a 5 bed full house to clean with furniture, and can do it in under 3 hours, please can i come and watch to see how the pros do it. (north westish only)
ps, can i bring norris mcwhirter along cos i reckon it'll go in the book.
please note, i'm writing this with envy and not like i don't believe you guys. i just need to get faster for when the time comes.
derek
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Colin I like quite a few cups of tea but 3 hours :o that's approx 1 hr up stairs and 1 hour down and then stairs and set up and set down.
Is there only Kryptonite that can slow you down?
Shaun
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well ok, not counting setting out your gear but definaltely 3 hours or less for the actual clean. last friday me and my casual helper did:
1 all carpets 3-bed detached
2 all carpets 1-up 1 down
3 all carpets 4-bed detached
4 h/s/l & through lounge
5 h/s/l & lounge + 2 large rugs
some of the jobs were quite a few miles apart.
as far as i could tell, all customers over the moon.
home by 2.30pm
i only use my helper when REALLY busy or job needs to be done quickly, a helper cuts the time on the job by more than half.
colin
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ps my last post doesn't mean that a 5-bed takes 3 hours with a helper, i would still say that would be 3 hours by myself
colin
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Very recently cleaned a 5 bedroom house in a well known London square. Took me a full day plus a further 2 hours. God I must be slow ;)
Ok, it did have four reception rooms, a top/attic floor playroom, a basement gamesroom/gym which extended under the garden 8) and there was some furniture which needed doing. The tab ran well into the 4 figure mark.
Give me an empty 5 bed rental of the "Wimpey Exec. Home" style and like Colin Thomas, I'll be through it in ca. 3 hours
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Dont forget a lot of CCs mostly clean only the open exposed areas of carpet, not moving any furniture. Doing it this way you can clean twice as much in a day, easy. Also some clean the carpet edges with a hand tool, while others will use the wand. Some pre vac, others dont. Some use air movers, some dont. Some have more powerful equipment than others. Theres a whole load of reasons why CCs times doing jobs will vary considerably, just like the prices for doing it.
Dave.
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elliot, as you point out, the job you did was a VERY large town house, that would take even me all day, your right to point out that i'm talking an average wimpey type 5-bed and no i don't get the furniture tool out to go around the edges of the carpet but i do move all furniture that i can and i run one of the most powerful truck-mounts so sorry to all porty guys but that does cut time down,
colin
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How much ££££££ Colin lend me a couple of quid!
What furniture do you move?
I mean a 3 bed house consistes of 2 downstairs rooms, hsl, 2 med sized beds and a box room minimum, may be 90 sq yards.
a 1 up 1 down is just that plus stairs
4 bed detached is 4 beds inclusing master and small beds, hsl, 2 rooms and a study
jobs 4 and 5 speak for themselves.
What time did you leave that morning about 4am?
Does that include vac? prespray?
I thought I was fit but bloody hell Colin do you have super hero tendancies?
Shaun
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shaun, get real, i wear my underpants UNDER my trousers and still get that amount of work done in a day, get a good helper and you will see how much more work you can do in a day, i can't be ar**d with these guys who spend all day with a furniture tool to clean the edges of the carpet, cleaners who use furniture tools to clean rugs are idiots, 99% of customers are realists, they want a good job at a realistic price, in my opinion most customers don't want you in their houses more than 2 - 3 hours, after that, your a bloody nuisance!!
colin
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Colin as usually you don't hide ;D saying that though days like that bring you muchos money!
But you never answered the question, what furniture do you consider moveable?
I ask because I consider furniture moving as half the bloomin job!
Shaun
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colin
did a 10 roomer, 5 bed, 3 reception, 1 bathroom and a large hsl.
there for just over 6 hours, spent 30 mins after that chatting to the women, oh and i had a helper, women gave me £300 as quoted plus a £50 tip,
no complaints about being there too long and she was over the moon with the results, i find people like the fact that there getting value for money by how long i take. not saying they don't get value for money from you, and if i had a choice i'd rather do it a lot faster like you, but my point is people round here don't seem to mind how long i take. i get a lot of tips, all though £50 did make my jaw hit the floor.
derek
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I DO NOT BELIEVE IT !!
£400 -£500 for a carpet clean !
Some of you will not move furniture !!
And then I read posts saying " its very quiet "
I regularly take £500 a week cash ,£65 ,£120 jobs every day we are cleaners not brain surgeons.
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i wonder if brain surgeons say.
400k a year, we're brain surgeons, not footballers.
think about it.
derek
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Think about what ?
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dryasabone
The 21st century, we`re in it, think about that!!!!!
Daryl
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Daryl,
I must be on a different wavelength,
Think about what ?
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I DO NOT BELIEVE IT !!
£400 -£500 for a carpet clean !
Some of you will not move furniture !!
And then I read posts saying " its very quiet "
I regularly take £500 a week cash ,£65 ,£120 jobs every day we are cleaners not brain surgeons.
i despair i really do.
you dont need to be brainy to warrent earning good money.
derek
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Derek,
I really would like you to share your reasons why a Cleaner should deserve a salary equivalent to a quantity surveyor or solicitor.
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dry
why should a fireman who risks his life or a nurse who works 80 hours a week get pittence compared to tiger woods who just goes for a walk everyday with a stick hitting a ball into a hole.
you get paid what people will pay you, just cos there a surveyor doesn't make them a better person than me.
if your self employed then you deserve as much as you can get, i work 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and anyone who earns good money being selfemployed know what i'm on about.
are you saying you only earn £500 a week cos you don't want to upset the surveyors.
derek
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The points of being self employed is that you can either work harder and earn more money or work less and have more time, it gives you options.
Do you think some of the richest men and women in the world are solicitors? Many can't read or write but they have drive and skills theat set them above the rest.
My brother can speak 4 different languages including Japanese, it says Dr on his letter heads but he spends more time farting around (and happy to do so) and earns a good wage (not humungous) for about IMO 10 hours per week (lazy sod!)but he is on the pay roll!
I am NOT on the pay roll so it's up to me to earn what I want, if I work I want paying for it.
Shaun
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Derek,
You say I ONLY earn £500 cash a week.
Find a job in the paper or in the job centre as a cleaner paying that after tax and I will give you my gold medal
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whats that got to do with what we're talking about, you wont get a job that pays that much but ask the person who's advertising the cleaning job (who wont be a brain surgeon) how much he gets paid, a lot, and why? cos he's a self employed cleaner who's got his head on right.
put together a cojent arguement why dont ya.
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Derek,
You said in your last post that you work 7 days 24hrs so I suppose it s not worth saying you should get out more ??
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dry, you put your point across so i answer that point, so instead of a reply ou put another point across, i answer that one so you try another point. if you can't back up your points then i'm wasting my time. your boring me now,
good night.
enjoy your walk tommorrow,
think of me working hard and upsetting the surveyors who earn peanuts compared to a thickit carpet cleaner. who doesnt deserve £145 for 3 hours work.
derek
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Derek,
Now now,
read this tomorrow.
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Mr. Bone,
How long have you been in business?
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Mr Neal,
I have been in business for just over 2yrs and I trade fairly sucessfully,through honesty and sensible pricing.
I also have no delusions of multi millionaire status as I am aware of my trade standing.
However I do enjoy an above average income based upon my skill basis.
I am a realist.
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I totally agree with you, honestly I do.
Whilst your skill basis hovers around the level of an average road sweeper, you don't deserve more than the 250 quid a week you earn (you forgot to deduct your fixed costs, variable costs, income tax and national insurance so I'd predict you're working to around a 50% profit margin).
But please don't try to tell the rest of the industry that they're doing it wrong. You're making a laughing stock of yourself in front of guys who've been nurturing their businesses for many many years.
You do things your way, if that works for you great but please cut out the jehova's witness-style preaching, we don't buy it :)
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Mr Neal,
You state that I am making a laughing stock of myself,
would you please point out what everybody is laughing at ,
so that I can intelligently respond as opposed to you being abusive whilst sitting safely behind a computer screen ( or delivering leaflets )
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I cleaned three flights of stairs this morning and two rus and a large bedroom, charged the custy £350 I was more than happy with that and it only took me three hours
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OK.
You seem to have failed to grasp the concept that as a business owner you are no longer "just doing a job".
You can't compare the turnover generated by your business to a salary earned from employment. As I said above, you haven't deducted any costs from the amount of money you "earn" per week.
I'm sure many other seasoned professionals in this business would share my disdain for your opinion that we are "just cleaners" and don't deserve to gain any higher income than you'd get from a minimum wage job. The type of services you offer may require minimal amounts of cerebral capacity but there are a lot of us in this industry who go a lot further than you do, in terms of utilising a comprehensive range of equipment and products in conjunction with a great deal of training, learning and self-development.
To describe this metaphorically, you're like a mobile mechanic who only has an adjustable spanner in his pocket and only offers to do work involving tightening up bolts. Anyone can tighten bolts up, but you need a whole lot more knowledge, training and skill to be able to strip an engine down and rebuild it.
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Mr Neal
I know it took you nearly 20 mins to respond and get the dictionary , why you are being abusive is beyond me.
It can only be your lack of syntax and fear of intellectual engagement, I bet you can not clean carpets either. (you started it )
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What have I said that's "abusive"? Please point out any abuse against you and I'll delete it.
I'm not sitting here pressing the refresh button every 10 seconds mate and I don't need a dictionary because I listened sometimes at school when they taught me stuff ;)
You seem to have forgotten to respond to any of the points I raised, whilst at the same time being extremely hypocritical and directing abuse at me.
I'll take that as a concession :)
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P.S. Are you drunk? If so please don't delete your posts tomorrow or mine won't make sense :(
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by the way it is an analogy not metaphorically .
I hope you do not get your chemicals mixed up ( probably )
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Mate thanks for your concern but you sound like the kind of guy who'd put his trousers on backwards, don't forget the zip goes at the front! ;)
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Mr Neal
It has taken me 20mins to respond not that I am searching for a dictionary but just that I have finished laughing. Keep it up ,if anybody needs advice they now where to go .
P.S.
I am away on holiday and it aint Blackpool.
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A tent in the back garden doesn't count!!
;)
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is that a council house oop north
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Dry as a Bone/clean as my footpath
If your just using dry system I can see why you are happy to earn what you do, some carpets can and should be dry cleaned but most need HWE as it gets them clean.
Dry has its place but why do most wet clean, its because it works better.
We are business owners not just cleaners, we do marketing, sales, design, repair, accounts, administration and cleaning. Show me a cleaner that can do all that.
I have put my minimum up to £100 with no loss of business and always work around £100 an hour, why, because I do lots more than just clean carpets.
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apart from Neils last post, the last 16 posts have been off topic so we'll take it that everything on this topic has now been said, so I'm locking it :) :)