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UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 12:37:02 pm

Title: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 12:37:02 pm
is it all year round work?  do you find most people just want the sludge removed or the whole thing cleaned on outside too?
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: trevor povey on March 26, 2009, 12:52:30 pm
 TBH its a dead duck business if you are sowley depending on this for a living and IMO you wouldn,t make a living from this as most scrimmers I know (which is a lot) get all of these jobs as add ons from their customer.... stick to drives pal.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 12:58:34 pm
thats not what kev r and poleman say??? ???
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 03:20:28 pm
Been busy the last two weeks - customers want the outside cleaned more than anything but think whilst you're at it they will have them emptied too. Helps to have a window cleaning round for a supply of trusting customers. Think you'll find KevR is mostly commercial.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 03:40:05 pm
you could do commercial couldnt you?  just buy more sl2 poles?
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 03:46:11 pm
Of course, but you can't just turn up with the equipment you've got to find the work first. I haven't tried very hard for commercial because i'm not that big or bothered to be honest. The returns should be very good I would imagine but I would have to fit it around my windowcleaning regulars. For me it's more of an add on service for existing customers.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 04:53:53 pm
you could do a few commercials with low gutters. up to 25 foot? ???
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: Glyn H on March 26, 2009, 05:12:19 pm
Quote
TBH its a dead duck business if you are sowley depending on this for a living and IMO you wouldn,t make a living from this as most scrimmers I know (which is a lot) get all of these jobs as add ons from their customer.... stick to drives pal
It all depends on how you are set up and market the business.
The largest gutter cleaning specialist company turns over £20 million a year!
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 05:14:58 pm
well im getting my leaflets done and am going to market it as a professional service.  :)
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 07:22:31 pm
If you want big money then target commercial - you are unlikely to get rich on residential purely because your average householder won't stomach the price - they can always get someone to do it from ladders and don't want a method statement, proof of insurance or risk asessment. If i only had to suck out gutters i could fly through my work but most want the outsides washed and this is too knackering for one person day in day out. Cleaning windows is a doddle so is using a vac but wfp washing is hard.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 07:29:44 pm
billy said cleaning gutters is hard, especially when they are deep filled with crap.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 07:38:02 pm
I could suck them all day, the pole rests on the gutter, the vacuum does the work. Try wfpoling gutters and fascias for four hours.  ;)
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: Oakley Windows on March 26, 2009, 07:40:51 pm
Ive picked up about £1,000 of gutters in the last month, from domestics.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 07:44:44 pm
well in matt!  :)  there you go it can be done! ;)

ftp have you got the same set up as me and poleman?  sl2's and vac?
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 07:49:23 pm
Sl2's, vac, generator and trailer plus camera, Oh, and ladders. You will be very lucky if you can get by with no ladder work at all.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 07:55:58 pm
was just going to use custys electric for now, what size generator do you have? can you recommend an exact model?  dont think i will get a camera for domestic work.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 08:01:20 pm
http://www.pump.co.uk/shop/Generators/PetrolSilent/d24/sd77?code=LC5000DDC

5kva for triple 1200w motors
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 08:12:27 pm
is this your model?  looks good but just how big is this?  can you lift it out of van easy or do you keep it in the van? looks heavy.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 08:16:50 pm
It's bolted in my trailer. You'll never lift it on your own, it was all i could do to get it in the trailer, could wheel it up ramps with a wheel kit but they are heavy with a full tank and battery.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 08:20:19 pm
do you need a battery as weel as petrol?
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 08:22:41 pm
Electric start.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 08:47:57 pm
thanks ftp for your help . :)
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 09:28:58 pm
brill kev, i need some confidence, im getting glossy flyers done for it.  did you mean 99 quid for the advert? or 99 quid for a gutter clean and facscia clean?  cheers kev im made up for you.  :)
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: trevor perry on March 26, 2009, 09:52:50 pm
thats a big cherrypicker for the job you are doing or is there parts that where higher that you needed it on.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: poles apart on March 26, 2009, 10:02:08 pm
I've been doing gutters solidly for the last three weeks!
Rod
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 26, 2009, 10:04:24 pm
how long does it take to do one for 99 quid?
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 10:14:32 pm
Takes me on my own nearly four hours to empty and wash the outsides including fascias barge boards soffits and windows of a four bed detatched including setting up and packing away. if it's damp i can probably half that time because the green washes off far quicker. I could earn more cleaning windows at those prices. Maybe i'm slow or too fussy or too cheap.  ;D
£120 for four beds are being quoted round my area. Did a two bed yesterday for £50 - easy job but still had to scamper up the ladder and remove a foot of mortar.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: Clive McDonald on March 26, 2009, 10:43:53 pm
I've been a kev r fan for a while, and this is another impressive way forward. One thing i would say, if you don't mind. I think we all made a mistake posting earnings, don't go down that route with gutters.

Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 26, 2009, 10:49:01 pm
It's not big money considering the effort involved to be honest. Think how much your missus pays to have her hair set and coloured (or whatever they do) and also consider the overheads of a bigger buisiness like Kevs.
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: peter holley on March 27, 2009, 05:00:27 pm
hi kev....
were those 47 jobs from 1 advert?
was it a weekly or daily paper?

if possible could you email me the wording of the add.....it would be much appreciated....
my email address is peterholley@talktalk.net.

any more helpfull info would be much appreciated.

im away for the night, but look forward to your reply....
thanks
peter
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 27, 2009, 07:59:58 pm
so it shows there is work out ther guys  ;D
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: ftp on March 27, 2009, 08:07:01 pm
Drive surgeon, why aren't you out there earning - i understood you had the kit already  ???
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 27, 2009, 08:09:27 pm
im busy pressure washing at mo but im waiting for my flyers for guter cleaning. will get them next week. may take a while to get a few bookings. i have only got small van so need a big van to fit pressure washer in aswell as gutter vaccum kit
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: peter holley on March 28, 2009, 12:45:45 pm
hi kev....
were those 47 jobs from 1 advert?
was it a weekly or daily paper?

if possible could you email me the wording of the add.....it would be much appreciated....
my email address is peterholley@talktalk.net.

any more helpfull info would be much appreciated.

im away for the night, but look forward to your reply....
thanks
peter

Hi Peter

It was a weekly ad. one advert.

It was a template I used from the window cleaning business coach's site.

Sign up its free and have a look.




thanks for your reply will take a look... :)
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 29, 2009, 12:20:45 pm
hope i get busy!!
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: Oakley Windows on March 29, 2009, 03:43:26 pm
Kevin, do you have the same success rate advertising for windows as you do for gutters?
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: peter holley on March 29, 2009, 05:55:44 pm
  my goal is to build gutter cleaning round, i will arange to give these ones a call the following year to arange  a clean again, that is unless they dont want a monthly wc service...  ;D
Title: Re: anyone busy gutter cleaning at this time of year?
Post by: drive surgeon on March 30, 2009, 04:37:27 pm
get in there!!! ;)