[werdan69]

I have been pressure washing for NCP gave it up.With all the public ignoring signs and the needles left by drugs users plus giving a few people a soak as they ignore signs and paying out for new clothing as NCP say they have to give them as good faith although they were in the wrong .Money was rubbish they give you a rough price then you have to compete charged £400 for a car park this would be 2 stairs and paypoints plus walls .They praised me for the good work i did but thought with all these people walking around my insurance was going to go mad.

Now i need advice LCA want me to Deep clean the town removing chewing gum foodstains and graffiti gave a sample of my work by removing graffiti and chewing gum they want a price to put into their budget ,a friend of mine says they have a budget but will not tell me what that is.I need to Know

1.what do i charge
2.are the LCA a risk to work for
3.and should i have a legal contract setup by a solicitor and not the one a have done

and for anyone interested in cleaning caravan give it a go as i was cleaning them at my sisters caravan site and was chargeing £60 for 1 wash a year or £80 2 wash a year done 320 caravans at £80 start back in feb when season starts for caravan owners there are over 1000 caravans on this site and have approach 2 more site with good feed back.

[exoclean]

Hi wedan69,

I suppose if your going to clean public areas make sure your insurace more than covers the risk involved some local authorities insist on a minimum of £5 million public liability others less. As you have found out yourself some members of the public ignore any warning signs but unfortunately its usually us that bear the brunt of it.

With regards prices, depending what method you use to remove graffiti and from what surface, the price can vary but when I was doing my research into this some people were charging anything from £10 to £ 90 per sq mtr. Total overall area taken into consideration of course but bear in mind all the costs of chemicals, time etc and of course your profit. If the intention is having a regular contract and wish to keep the customer happy then maybe you should offer a discount for subsequent cleans.

Where are you based and who are the LCA? Is it a local authority?

Good Luck

Paul

[werdan69]

local authority is cardiff and rhonda cynon taf

[werdan69]

£10 million is the min liabilty

[preston powerblast]

Sounds very risky to me.

[werdan69]

i know it might be risky but risks you have 2 take .Cardiff is having a face lift and want to keep certain areas kept to a clean standard and are willing to pay but what is to much to ask

[Paul Forster]

Local councils have to make acounts public under the fredom of info act. Get hold of thier financial statment for last year and see what was previously spent.

When tendering for Grounds Maint contracts previously i always had a butchers  at the acounts in this way.

[preston powerblast]

I live and work in the newest City in the country, but public safety has to be my highest priority.
What chemicals are you going to use, have you done a risk assesment?
I do a lot of work in our town centre and this is always done between 2.30 - 5.30am. I have to use barriers and signs to close areas off.

[exoclean]

Cardiff town centre is huge, I was there some months back and it looked as if someone had started a section of it and then decided to stop. I think they were having problems getting the gum off, judging by the results I think they were just doing a cold wash. Its a lot of block paving make sure your prices reflect that, charge by the sq mtr.

Be Lucky

Paul

[Paul Forster]

The LA may well want a method statment. Make sure you do comprhensive written assesment for each area.

I would ask the LA what level of liability cover they require. As far as barriers go i would use the steel mesh type  barrier grids  and screw ply  on this will then shield passers by from steam etc. Would definatley get a written up contract.

paul

[preston powerblast]

The green scaffold netting is good, this is what I use on towers when I'm removing paint.

[mobile valeting & Power wash Services]

The big firms charge up to £600 per day for removing chewing gum only and the local councils pay it, I have only recently started chewing gum removal and am about to start a 6 week contract for my local council during the Winter period removing chewing gum from the main padestrion way, I only work during the early hours ie 11pm till 0600am, insurance limit 5mill max, I use a gum tech and go over the area with a flat surface cleaner comes up a treat, council well happy and will pay for the service, area is coned off by the council even before I get their, Charging wise I charge per day at roughly a third of the big boys prices and it works for me, might not souns a lot but, day rate x 7= x 6 = a good living, graffiti I price per job £150 plus cost of chemicals, to each his own good luck.
Malky

[exoclean]

Out of interest, do you ever gets compalints for the noise you make during the early hours? I know in some city centre's people live above the shops, would they not be disturbed running your equipment?

Paul

[mobile valeting & Power wash Services]

I only use the petrol generator during the early hours so not a problem, there are not an lot of residents in the precint where I am doing the work anyway, no problems so far, it may be a totaly different scenario with your centre though.
Malky

[preston powerblast]

Where I worked there was no residential, plus there wasnt only me working there were council sweepers trucks, ride on sweepers.
Our council are so tight fisted, that they bought grime buster trailers and gum buster trailers rather than put the job up for tender.
Make loads of stupid rules up for us and then flaunt them themselves.
I do a lot of work for M&S Group which they pay for themselves.

[werdan69]

i have been offeed the contract that hydrotech failed at thats why you have noticed that someone had started but never returned .They used a cold wash with a lance with some sort of block to remove chewing gum on the end the manager from St David center said they turned up on the day done a video with the manager on it then never turned up again.My problem is now i have just been told to start at 7pm til 12am then 4am til 7.30am sunday can start at 4am till 11am what a load of boll**ks the contract is big and they have given me a budget to work from which is very nice.Will need to work within a time limit i will take on more equipment and more people so will have to give wages doing my head in.

[Ged]

hi guys
as a relative newcomer to the pressure washing game , could i ask how you guys who do commercial jobs like town centers and stuff , how you manage for a water supply. do you use tanks or bowsers or standpipes or what. the reason i ask is it's an area i'm considering for the future.

Ta

ged

[werdan69]

i use a water tank and stand pipe which i pay for to the water board where they alocate certain areas where you can use these.Not cheap

[preston powerblast]

If its council work they give you hydrant points to fill  up your bowser.
But obviously you need to have a hydrant key and standpipe.

[skid]

Hiya
Im a newcomer to council work, do you guys tender for all the council work you carry out and if so do you find the work in tender magazines that cost an arm and a leg.