Clean It Up
UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: Sapphire Window Cleaning on September 07, 2009, 09:23:27 pm
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Just wondering if many of you guys and gals offer pressure washing as an extra source of income?
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i thought about it when i first started out, but why bother getting another load of kit when your already setup for window cleaning, just get more w/c custys if you have a gap to fill :)
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Yes we do,
Only recently started to offer it to domestics though,
Its a nightmare to price up I find,
Dean
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I do a good bit of it. It earns a lot more on average than window cleaning for me, and i never have ppl complaining that its raining when i turn up!
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Nat would I be close to the average if i was to charge £2.50 per square metre for a general clean then extra for sealing and deep rotary scrubbing?
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Ive just started advertising it but wont be doing it myself, someone on this forum will be doing it instead ;) ;)
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I don't charge by the mtr,.. just take a look and figure how long it will take,..
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I started offering it this year from June, spent £900 on the pressure washer 220 bar (3200psi) 15 L/Per Min Honda 290gx (Jet Mac - Terry is a top bloke by the way) and 40 Metres of Hose about £200 from Pirtex and off I went.
Managed to get about £1800 of work out of existing customers which has now paid for all the gear and now looking to get some flyers done . Will concentrate on driveways initial as i'm gonna leave a blank on the flyer to put the price in this way I don't have to worry about going around to quote.... if they 'phone it's gonna be a confirmed job I hope.
Only do this because I have a week spare each month whilst i'm leafleting so popped in a newsletter to customers reminding them of other stuff I offer (the usually gutter cleans etc.)
Got some prices of a website I found which is quite rare. Did a drive last month based on these prices and did a drive in 1h 30 mins for £187, spent another 50 mins putting the sand in. Not bad for £70 odd P/H ;D
www.mr-power-wash.co.uk/pricing.html
I would however up the pricing by about .25p per m2 on the pressure washing and reduce the cost of sanding as this is a piece of p**s really.
Hope this helps.
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link to yer pressure washer matey please totus. is it mains fed or can it also draw froma tank?
you suffer any loss in pressure with the long hose?
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link to yer pressure washer matey please totus. is it mains fed or can it also draw froma tank?
you suffer any loss in pressure with the long hose?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/9-HP-GX-270-HONDA-PETROL-PRESSURE-WASHER-150-BAR_W0QQitemZ270389184028QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM?hash=item3ef473861c&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
This a'int it but it's close. Just have a nose around Terry's EBay website.
I have always used the pressure washer attached to the custy's tap, but it does have an attachment that came with it that allows you to draw from a tank if required, PLUS you'll also get another attachment that will allow you to draw chemicals through the pump if required. All comes with a manual and warranty PLUS one for the pump too (mine's a Comet pump)
Also checkout Malcom Smiths website as he has so great help pages for you to figure out which turbo nozzle you'll need to get for the pressure washer you get.
www.malcleanse.co.uk/Pressure-Washers
Have not suffered from too much of a loss in pressure. If you are using custy's water supply (as I have on all jobs to date) just check the water pressure first. I was told by a commercial pressure washing guy I know that you are more inclined to lose pressure if your hose from the tap to the pressure washer is longer though, so keep it shortish, what Terry supplys is fine (about 1.5m).
In relation to the pressure hose itself.... I bought 4x10m lengths, this way I can use what the job demands just get some double ended male connectors to go between lengths to attach.
Hope this helps.
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just remeber you need to be insured for a lot more than window cleaners, im insured upto 5 million pounds. :-*
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JSMC:
I'd also consider getting an addition lance as you'll want one for your turbo nozzle and one for these:
www.malcleanse.co.uk/Mini-Quick-Release-Nozzles-Sets
This way if you come across something that needs a little less power... you can easily change from one lance (with the turbo nozzle) to the other lance which takes the quick release nozzles instead of having to get out the bloody spanner set.
Alternatively get a Wash-Away instead of the turbo nozzle - about £450
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you not use one of those flat surface cleaners? also how much is your PLI for this. And finally once you have washed the drive do you just use buildrs sand and brush it into the gaps again?
if ye ron msn i would like to chat with you if possible
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Just wondering if many of you guys and gals offer pressure washing as an extra source of income?
struggle to keep on top with the windows ;D
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you not use one of those flat surface cleaners? also how much is your PLI for this. And finally once you have washed the drive do you just use buildrs sand and brush it into the gaps again?
if ye ron msn i would like to chat with you if possible
Not on MSN but feel free to email any questions you have and i'll help where possible:
info@totusonline.co.uk
PLI: I've just tacked it on to my window cleaning, gutter, and conservatory cleaning insurance and it went up £100....but i'm sure it depends on how long you've had PLI and if you've claimed before.
Rotary Surface Cleaners:Used one I borrowed but not bought one yet. They do save time as you don't make half as much mess, thus less cleaning up after, and a better hourly rate, but at £450 on top of your initial spend i'd start with the basics get in some dough and then buy one when you can afford it.
I wouldn't feel comfortable using them on all jobs as I've seen some really poor patios with bad pointing and with a rotary cleaner you'll probably blast out the concrete and then you'll have to re-point it :'( This is where the 25 degree nozzle would come in handy.
Sanding:
Just use Kiln Dried Sand..... about £2.50 a bag this will cover approx 25 m2. Any builders merchant.
Get a stiff brush to brush away all the excess water and crap that flies out of the gaps when doing block paved drives, when you've got rid of all this then give the area "once over" to get rid of any dirt still kicking about. Leave to dry before sanding.
When sanding make sure the drive is completely dry, don't sand as soon as surface is dry as it's the wet areas between the blocks that really need to dry out.... otherwise you'll find that the sand will "drop" and then the custy will want you to come back and re-sand again. Use a soft brush and get something BIG or you'll regret it.
As we are going into the winter months i'm guessing that sanding will make the job a little trickier what with cooler weather and more rain so it could be a couple fo days before you could re-sand. Also make sure that on the day you are going to do it that no cars are going to be on the drive...obvious i know but you'll be p**sed off if you turned up to see Mrs Custy's Beamer still on the drive. ; :-[
Anything else just keep asking... i'm sure other guys will have different views/ideas and more experience than me, but i hope this is giving you a good idea about what you want to do.
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curious about blasting out pointing from drives and patios. Does this happen much? Also when sanding this could cause load sof problems as our weather isn't the best so finding good dry days is quite hard and these days will be taken up with window cleaning
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curious about blasting out pointing from drives and patios. Does this happen much? Also when sanding this could cause load sof problems as our weather isn't the best so finding good dry days is quite hard and these days will be taken up with window cleaning
I'm trying to avoid these type of jobs personally as i've come across a few and am new to pressure washing. More through lack of knowledge. However, this does not mean they cannot be done. If anyone else can provide advise on how best to tackle these jobs......
I have a week spare at the moment so i can pressure wash 1 day and have at least another 4 days to sand if needed. I do try and bulk pressure wash more than one job at a time, and then sand later on when the weather has allowed it, sometimes the same day during some of the hotter days we've had this year, but realistically as we enter winter i'm not so sure how you go about providing this service being new at it.
Any ideas? Might be worth checking out the other parts of the forum, but any info from experienced pressure washers would be appreciated i'm sure. If they'll give us window cleaners a few tips that is !!!!!!!:o
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what's involved in sealinga drive? is this the coating of the drive witha substance? PVA type stuff but for outdoor use
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The thing with jetwashing is the equipment isnt cheap and could take a while to pay for itself. If your custys dont want the service you also have to pay for advertising
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None of my customers have ever asked about sealing their drive, so I just don't mention it. IMO its more hassle than its worth. I just wash & re-sand.
The equipment isn't cheap for a pro setup, £1200 minimum for a decent machine, a bit of hose (50mtrs is my recommendation) and a few accessories (X-jet, long lance, turbo nozzle etc),... but when you have an existing customer base of perhaps 300-400 people and an average job price of £150,.. you'd have to be doing something really wrong if you couldn't get it to pay for itself very quickly!
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we did a sealing job after cleaning a drive once but we used the fine sand in the gaps but im sure there is something else involved
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to get sand in they use a wacker plate , i have a karcher pressure washer & t-racer patio cleaner , dont do pressure washing at the moment but thinking of it t-racer is a lot faster and it does'nt get spray all over the walls or blast everything form in between paving
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t Racer lol, have had so many customers who buy them start the job then realise its not going to do a proper job and call us in, we use the kit from Jan at techclean (£2000) you will need this for large drves and commercial work, if your serious about cleaning get in touch with her. Trouble is at the moment every Tom Dick n Harry has started to do jet cleaning, gardening, window cleaning, gutter cleaning etc etc now when you go round and quote prices for a proper job they compare it to someone who says they can do it for next to nothing with there little pressure washers, lucky we been going a while so have regular customers and good recommendations. Doing a job yesterday and had someone doing the same thing down the road with a lance only set up his finish was very poor and very streaky his customer has had our card and is calling us in the new year. Now then how do i set up a window cleaning round to get some xtra income lol ;D
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I started of my business as pressure washer/graffiti removal and have started window cleaning. I have a 600 litre tank in my vehicle which I am going to use for pure water. As far as pricing jobs goes, you will be up against lots of cowboy cleaners ie no insurance so I tend to price jobs on how long the job will take. If you have a rotary cleaner jobs will be very quick. If you use a lance it is very slow and VERY dirty, you will also remove a lot more sand from the joints which just means you will have to replace a lot of sand. Simply business do a very good deal on insurance.
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Have got a large tank in the back ov the van but dont you need a load of other stuff to get the pure water you need?
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can the pressure be adjusted on most pressure washers? Also what is minimum HP of engine you would use?
any othe rtips from experienced pressure washers would be helpful
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I think that I am at the other end of the scale to most people looking at pressure washing as add ons. As some will remember I sold a very succesful window cleaning business to concentrate on pressure washing.
How did it pan out for me - I have had a difficult year financially but am now back on track, I have been very busy throughout the year with continual jobs, Islington - end of last year into january this year, from there straight to a store clean in Bath, till May. From there straight to a store clean in Cobham, from there to Beeston - store clean with drain jetting, from there to Haverhill - store clean with drain jetting, started a store clean in Newbury and am starting two more in Kent this month.
I have also picked up another high profile supermarket that are having pressure washing jobs done by my company, one in Upminster, next week one to do in Oxsted and then back to Newbury and another clean for the new client!!
These are large works and they incorporate multiple services, elevated and low level and can be weeks of pressure washing at a time.
I do some residential window cleaning (buildng a nice little round up again) but am also looking into a vacuum recovery loop system for pressure washing and have the potential of works at Heathrow airport and this will be pressure washing.
If you invest in your pressure washing side of the business and do it well you can have a very good business. There is a massive amount of cleaning out there and we are coming out of a very deep recession, people will be spending their money again. Be ready for it, the next ten to fifteen years should see returns for initial investment and hard work over the difficult times
Good luck
Rob ;D
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m clean you seem a serious professional in pressure washing and me i only require a small washer for drives etc with a flat surface cleaner. I reckon a little washer honda power about 9hp would suffice for what i wan tto do with it.
thanks for the input mate.