Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: ally gray on September 03, 2008, 07:47:17 pm

Title: am i really too old ?
Post by: ally gray on September 03, 2008, 07:47:17 pm
just wondering whats the average age on here of everyone.  Me 41 got two cheeky local lads just started up mid twenties claiming i,m way too old got me thinking? mind you wife says they got a point i look 61 .
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Mr H on September 03, 2008, 07:50:09 pm
I'm 43 but I know 1 window cleaner in his late 50's and a husband and wife window cleaning team who are both in their mid 60's and have only just cut back to doing bungalows only......

Regards
Mr H


Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: LWC on September 03, 2008, 07:52:17 pm
yep your old

sn****rs at 23 :P
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 03, 2008, 07:57:14 pm
Cant believe that 40% are 16-25, im 21, but all cleaners i see, are usually 30 +, not saying thats old b4 i get mauled, but just didnt think young people were taking to window cleaning!!
The guy who started me off, is semi-retired but still works trad 2 days a week, and would still give me a run for my money, and hes pushing 70!! But looks and runs up ladders like half that!!
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: simon123 on September 03, 2008, 08:05:37 pm
Two sayings spring to mind here ,  There may be snow on the roof , but the fire is still burning ! and many a good tune are played on an old violin  ;D
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 03, 2008, 08:10:30 pm
Research has shown that a man most of his money in his working life between the ages of 44 and 54 years old.

Don’t know why, probably because of wisdom.

Apologies for any one above this age it’s not a rule and there are always exceptions.

 ;)

Peak earning years are 45/50+ because usually, family (kids)has grown and left, mortgage is winding down, and earnings are at peak, and so profit is at peak too... but it isnt always the case..but is statistically generally true
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: simon123 on September 03, 2008, 08:14:22 pm
A good old en will beat a young en any day  ;D
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 03, 2008, 08:15:52 pm
surely a good "young en" is quicker:)
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: simon123 on September 03, 2008, 08:19:57 pm
surely a good "young en" is quicker:)
Yes he or she is , but as the great Muhammed Ali proved , they burn out quicker too  ;D  Just ask george foreman  ;D
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 03, 2008, 08:25:36 pm
I can go all day:) and all night ;) Do 8 hours regularly, and dont drop hourly rate.. But usually young people are lazy, i had a 17 yr old lad a few weeks back did a few month with me, but after dinner he was useless, and early in morning, in fact he was never much use!
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Mr H on September 03, 2008, 08:39:15 pm
A good old en will beat a young en any day  ;D

2 bulls 1 old 1 young are at the top of a hill looking down on a heard of cows....
The young bull says..... Lets run down the hill and take a cow or 2.... The old bull slowly turns to the young bull and says..... Why don't we walk down and have the lot of them....!!!

Regards
Mr H


Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: tomy jackson on September 03, 2008, 08:49:04 pm
you  realy are old with gags like that it must be ealy 60s i furst heard that one
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: darragh windows on September 03, 2008, 08:49:44 pm
a window cleaner who lived facing my mums cleaned till he dropped at the age of 72 hed been cleaning them since he was ten its all he ever knew i wonder what he would think now of all the wfp cleaners hes been gone about ten years now, i dont even think he seen a boab ,he woked with and taught many other window cleaners in his time including myself
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 03, 2008, 08:50:53 pm
you  realy are old with gags like that it must be ealy 60s i furst heard that one
Haha i wanted to say as much but prob wud of gotten told off cos im younger :)
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: mr D on September 03, 2008, 08:52:35 pm
lol 41!!

at 41 i want to be looking at retiring!
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: simon123 on September 03, 2008, 09:00:13 pm
lol 41!!

at 41 i want to be looking at retiring!
I was born in 67 too  :o
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: tomy jackson on September 03, 2008, 09:03:36 pm
im much older than that you yung pup
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: dai on September 03, 2008, 09:12:27 pm
66 in two weeks time, I'm out of the house at 7.15 and rarely get back before 5.30.
I do try and finish earlier on a Friday though.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Chris Cottrell on September 03, 2008, 09:56:08 pm
66 in two weeks time, I'm out of the house at 7.15 and rarely get back before 5.30.
I do try and finish earlier on a Friday though.

then you should speed up old timer  ;D ;D


























only kidin Dai
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Tim82 on September 03, 2008, 11:11:06 pm
26 and a half!!
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: mark dew on September 03, 2008, 11:29:30 pm
I'm 39.
Hats of to the people going hard all day. I only started 4 years ago and can easily remember how incredibly hard cleaning trad was.
Just lifting my arms up to keep cleaning was a struggle. I ached for the 1st 6 months, before i got used to it.
I could have easily given it up if i had better options at the time.
It's easy to see why people give it up. Especially when trying to build a round up.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Paul Coleman on September 04, 2008, 07:19:06 am
I'm 51 and can do as much in a day as I ever could - if not more.  Sustaining it day in and day out is the bit that's not so easy so I tend to plod a bit more than I used to.  Still earn more money though as I use my head a bit more.  Trouble is, it gets what's left of my hair wet.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: simon123 on September 04, 2008, 08:14:25 am
After reading this post I feel quite young in comparison to you old farts !  ;D
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Clean Dude on September 04, 2008, 08:15:38 am
Mind you, I have been diagnosed with the mental age of 12  :'(
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: trevor perry on September 04, 2008, 06:34:10 pm
i am 41 and recently beat a team of four young men together in an endurance lifting contest that involves holding 20kg weight in each hand and putting above your head  alternately for as many repetitions as you can,i managed 400 reps the combined total of the other lads was 220 reps p.s my dad is 70 and can still out work most young lads easily.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 04, 2008, 06:53:42 pm
i am 41 and recently beat a team of four young men together in an endurance lifting contest that involves holding 20kg weight in each hand and putting above your head  alternately for as many repetitions as you can,i managed 400 reps the combined total of the other lads was 220 reps p.s my dad is 70 and can still out work most young lads easily.
400???, you were holding 20 k in each hand, so 40kg altogether???
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: trevor perry on September 04, 2008, 07:24:01 pm
i am 41 and recently beat a team of four young men together in an endurance lifting contest that involves holding 20kg weight in each hand and putting above your head  alternately for as many repetitions as you can,i managed 400 reps the combined total of the other lads was 220 reps p.s my dad is 70 and can still out work most young lads easily.
400???, you were holding 20 k in each hand, so 40kg altogether???
yes thats right 40kg alltogether if you check out www.fitness4x4.com  then you will see the bloke who started this training he is 60 years old and can still beat everyone his son rajko was the athlete who took part in the last man standing series and he recently achieved his personal best of 600 reps
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: baldeagle on September 05, 2008, 08:39:24 pm
I'm 63, and I didn't start until four years ago!
I work three days a week, three weeks in four, plus the odd "one-off",  on a separate day.
Originally started as a Handyman, following redundancy, but drifted into W/C'ing.
It keeps me fit, gives me an interest, and there are a lot of very nice people out there - my previous job didn't bring me into contact with the public.
I get a couple of small pensions, and now I'm a widower, with a clutch of daughters "flown the nest", and so the least important thing for me is the earnings, but at least I'm not a drain on the State.
Almost all on the pole, only use ladder on three jobs, one is a 200 year old cottage where I can't park the van, because of the traffic - six windows trad, just two of them are upstairs, involving going up six rungs only, and the other two jobs involve using the ladder to access roofs, with one window at the far end of each.
Oh yes, may I say that I've had plenty of help from this site, and the 'cleaners here in Staffordshire are a very friendly bunch - always waving to each other, and judging from their signals, it's always seems to be two o'clock!
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: baldeagle on September 05, 2008, 08:43:32 pm
I've just looked at me profile on here, it say's "Senior"

See what I mean?

The moderators are all  Gents, - or they can't spell "old f-rt"!
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Russell Macdonald on September 05, 2008, 10:10:30 pm
I'm in the majority.

Even the kids out number the oldens.  ;D
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: simon123 on September 06, 2008, 06:14:09 am
You know when you are getting old , when you look in the Greenwoods shop and admire the latest range in slippers and hanker after the mohair cardigan !  ???
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: mci services on September 06, 2008, 08:37:33 pm
i am 36 but my old man still did his bit till he was 70
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: DaveG on September 06, 2008, 09:26:57 pm
im 36 plus VAT ;D
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: neil100 on September 06, 2008, 09:49:39 pm
I am 50 yrs old,and spent the last 29yrs w/cleaning fulltime.I will semi retire before I reach 55, I am fit as a fiddle, and wfp is so easy compared to trad cleaning.

I have allways done sport since I was an infant at school, I cant run or play squash or play football anymore as I have  dodgy Hips. So its swimming and cycling and the odd fell walk for me. But I can still rcycle at over 20mph if I do a flat route.

If someone has had a desk job all their lives they would struggle at w,cleaning.Though Your never to old to w/clean.

I am now earning the most i have ever earned but that is just down to how good wfp is compared to trad cleaning,

My freind who got me into w/cleaning is now nearing 65 and still w,cleaning trad. Hes not as fast as he was but he likes w/c because it still keeps him supple.

Neil :P
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Clive McDonald on September 06, 2008, 09:56:27 pm
I'm 53 and  got to earn a load of money, not a chance of slowing till at least 65, and even then I would like a business I can run.

Have you made any money neil? I mean over and  above raising kids going on hoiday buying a house.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: kris martin on September 06, 2008, 09:59:46 pm
yeah your too old... ;)
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Clive McDonald on September 06, 2008, 10:03:52 pm
I'm too old it's just that i have to earn this money.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: kris martin on September 06, 2008, 10:11:27 pm
im only joking i know 3 fello WC's one ever 60 and the other 2 coming up to 60...   and there still doin the job well..
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: neil100 on September 06, 2008, 10:25:28 pm
Yes I have made money,and I am Ok on the fiancial front.

W/cleaning has been good for me,I just wish I was in my 20s now and into wfp. I would be very well off and retired by the time I would reach 50.

But my health is more important then money so I hope I am still cycling when I am 70.

Neil
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Clive McDonald on September 07, 2008, 07:48:31 am
Good that's nice to hear.

Some on here have been trad and worked hard and got nothing over a lifetime. I feel sorry for these, it's even worse when they switch, find this site or one like it, and with the injection of new ideas new tech and renewed enthusiasm start earning twice their previous.

I agree it's not all about making money, we all have to make a living, but it's nice to be in control.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Klean07 on September 07, 2008, 05:54:32 pm
I'm 50 next month. Been wc since 1987 wfp since last year. Climbing ladders for 20 years ha taken its toll so thank god for the wfp. Would like to take a back seat though in about 5 years time and let someone younger do the donkey work.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: Clive McDonald on September 07, 2008, 08:12:03 pm
I think fitness is a marvelous thing and I was interested in what neil said about his cycling. That is determination and drive (which are things i admire). I like the keep fit but don't always practice what i preach, I have a cannondale but the best I ever did was about 12mph. Recently i've been trying to jog but a heel spur has been bugging me, i've invented something like what a woman sits on when she's had a baby and stitches for my heel and seem to be succeding.(at least i'm not stopping any more). I've bought an ipod shuffle £32 from morrisons and think they are the best thing on the planet.

I was useless at sport at school, but got to like footy badminton ,squash running, mountain bikes, circuit training although I was never any good at any of it.

I've been trying for a couple years now to try and get fit again, usually when we go on holiday i go jogging everyday, but this slides. It's hard when you have to keep stopping you feel such a fool! This holiday I used a treadmill and ran a lot slower (it was the fastest i could go) 8kmph for up to an hour every day. This seems to have helped, I now run slower but don't stop.

After a run a lot of my aches disapear, stretching important too but I haven't got back to that yet.
Title: Re: am i really too old ?
Post by: seandyer2003 on September 07, 2008, 08:27:02 pm
I think fitness is a marvelous thing and I was interested in what neil said about his cycling. That is determination and drive (which are things i admire). I like the keep fit but don't always practice what i preach, I have a cannondale but the best I ever did was about 12mph. Recently i've been trying to jog but a heel spur has been bugging me, i've invented something like what a woman sits on when she's had a baby and stitches for my heel and seem to be succeding.(at least i'm not stopping any more). I've bought an ipod shuffle £32 from morrisons and think they are the best thing on the planet.

I was useless at sport at school, but got to like footy badminton ,squash running, mountain bikes, circuit training although I was never any good at any of it.

I've been trying for a couple years now to try and get fit again, usually when we go on holiday i go jogging everyday, but this slides. It's hard when you have to keep stopping you feel such a fool! This holiday I used a treadmill and ran a lot slower (it was the fastest i could go) 8kmph for up to an hour every day. This seems to have helped, I now run slower but don't stop.

After a run a lot of my aches disapear, stretching important too but I haven't got back to that yet.
I love biking, i have a mountain bike i paid a grand for last year, a cannondale prophet, and although i havent done much recently, i usuallt go out 2/3 times a week, nothing better than grunting up side of a big mountain and flying back down, went up and down snowdon last year, took 2 hrs up and 20 mins down :) ;D ;D