[craigp]

hi,

i have to qoute some theatre curtains today 

there 11ft x 20ft  not sure if that was each or both, assuming there wet cleanable what would you recommend i charge ?

what material would you expect them 2 be ?

they have scoffolding, i think it would be 2 men its 2 portables a full day what do you think ?

anyone done these ?

help appreciatated,

Craig

[Liahona]

Craig, I would leave well alone mate. They are usually velvet, very "heavy" and you would need to re-apply a fire retarding agent. 11 x 20 is very small so I would imagine that the sizes would be for one curtain. If you want me to look at it for you I would be happy too. I would charge 3 or 4 thousand to do the job but I wouldnt want to do it so that is a slightly higher price than what it desserves. Best, Dave.

[Paul_Ashworth]

This would need to be done by someone who can dry clean then in situ.

[woodman]

You can do these curtains insitu with out dry cleaning and fire retardent would not be affected, although I would still price it to apply as it may be a requirement of the theatre and of course you will earn a good deal more.

[idealrob]

I would charge 3 or 4 thousand to do the job but I wouldnt want to do it so that is a slightly higher price than what it desserves. Best, Dave.

If it per curtain thats no more tan 43 sq metres, so you think nearly £100 per q m is ok.........get reaL and get realistic.
As a professional drycleaner on te high street and a carpet cleaner £200- £250 would be more reaistic including taking down, dry cleaning, flame retarding and re- fitting, incl insurance, certificate, WAHR and a £250k inestment in property and machines. 

idealrob

[Shaun_Ashmore]

at the end of the day if you want the job you put in one price is you need the job that's another price.

I personally think that take down, clean and rehang for £250 isn't enough, I'd have gone for double that but onsite curtain cleaning is far more time consuming and maybe more expensive so I'd charge that more, without seeing them first.

What would Derek Bolton would have guessed a price at to onsite clean?

Shaun

[AJB]

Having a friend who has done this type of job before, i would say that must be per curtain.
Dry cleaned in situ, this is a full days work.
I myself would quote £500 to clean, and £250 to re-apply a flame retardent, which is a
requirement on theatre curtains.
But seriously faced with this job, i would probably double it, as i dont think my shoulders would be much good for a few days and i would want some serious money, just incase.

[idealrob]

How many curtains do you clean per year ? We are hear to run a business, and as there are 43 sq metres her even the dearest high street dry cleaner wont charge £150, i would take item down, send to d/c and re hang and on your so caled double prices make £350 for an hours work. Its ok charging big big prices, but its another getting jobs.Thats why i went into dry cleaning as it stoped the average quick upstart getting work. Today minimum investment is £50k plus shop rent & rates, and that why we clean lots of curtains in the north east, both direct and subcontract.
Please tell us of the big, big jobs you get and how oten?
I am not trying to be aggressive, just realistic, and my dad became a millionare out of cleaning, so it works
idealrob

[jacko]

Recently cleaned 600 SqM of curtains (cotton velvet) at an MOD base officers mess. Used Exracta spirit 2 with good results. (solvent) Used Craftex dry cleaning compound.

For heavier staining i agitated the soloution b4 extracting. The vacuuming took just as long as the solvent clean. Swags, tails, valences, 12 foot high curtains so a bit tricky. Hired a platform and worked alone - took a week.

[idealrob]

one swalow doesnt make a summer, ok fair point, i would still have cleaned  them in a days work as a drycleaner, and not had to work on my own. Its a question of earning the bes living we can.
i would think the best pice any d/c  would charge would  be  min £600,

idealrob

[paul wright]

lol 4 grand lol lol

[idealrob]

lol 4 grand lol lol

Well said

idealrob

[jasonl]

Yes 4 grand lol, for that I would skip thecurtains , and buy new for 2 grand, and make 2 grand, or do what I have done many times, drop them into Ideal Robs shop, and double whatever he charges me !

[AquaMagic]

I think you lot are missing the point, Dave said he'd charge that rather than walk away, so if he doesnt get it he isnt botherhed becuase he didn't want to do em, but if he does get em, cher-ching, its worth a go rather than just saying "i dont want to do em"

He who dare's

Dene

[paul wright]

ok then so what would be his norm price ? 2500 pounds ?  still lol lol lol most stupid thing ive ever heard lol

[Liahona]

It has been said that I think you missed my point.  I wouldnt want the job so priced it way higher than it should be charged at.  I dont care if I got the job or not but if I did I would certainly want a lot of money to do what I didnt want to do in the first place.   Having said that, Craig suggested it would take two people two days to do the job. That is or should be by most peoples want, £200 pounds an hour for say 16 hours.  Thats in all £3200.  So by me charging 3 or 4 thousand wasnt too far off. With reference to what a dry cleaner would charge.  I dont give a monkeys what other trades charge for what they do.  We charge buy what we want or what we can get by the clients we clean for.  Paul, you said that my comments were the most stupid thing you ever heard.  I respect your opinion but if I get what I charge and others would do the same for what I consider a "stupid" price of £250, then who is the stupid one?  Not me I assure you.  £250 FOR TWO PEOPLE FOR TWO DAYS AND THEN CHEMICALS ON TOP, thats stupid!!!!!!  Best, Dave.

[paul wright]

hi dave, well if u can get that sort money then good luck  the rest of us must be doing something very wrong, and the job jacko done on your prices is 60,000 pounds , would be intresting for jako to say how much he got, also i very much doubt it take two days jacko was doing 100mts day on his own,  imo i be more than happy at 500 plus extra for flame ret and think id done very well its only cleaning not brain surgey  :

[idealrob]

     So by me charging 3 or 4 thousand wasnt too far off.

I have no axe to grind , but agan thebest laugh  had this year, you say £200 per hour etc but forget that the charge you would make to clean the curtains is nearly £100 per sq metre, yes one hundred pounds per square metre just answer one question, who sells theatre velvets at that price new, answers on a postcard please. Thats why we are laughfng.

We ave all got silly prices for silly jobs one n a while, but most commecial jobs will get at least 3 quotes.

Thanks for making my day

idealrob

[craigp]

Rob,

Dave gets silly prices on all his jobs, have a look on his website at his client list.

hes probally the most expensive carpet cleaner in the UK.

Craig

[idealrob]

i have seen his so called list of celebreties etc, that wasnt my point, the point was you dont pay 4 or 5 times the price to clean what you woul new, eg a suite might cost £3k, but you dont charge £15k. to clean it.
We have a impressive list of business clients built up over 50 years, and both my father and uncle are mllionares out of the cleaning business, my uncle stating as  rep for george Holloway in London in the 60`s to selling out for many millions 40 years later, so we can all earn money at good prices, but not stupid ones.
Yes i quoted a siilly price for a job last year, 5 times what i normally charge, but still got it
idealrob