[DP]

Just need some help with a bit of pricing. its been a long time since I have had to quote these kind of areas, so any assistance would be much appreciated.

Details:
3 floor office building approx overall area 1500sq metres
Best guess on cleanable carpet area ie ex desks cupboards cabinets etc about 1,200sq metres including 2 double width staircases (all furniture to remain in situ)

Would use wet extraction (steameasy 400 still works well) with bucket boy,  plus possibly one other machine but me thinks too much humidity to hit in one go.

Given the furniture arrangements (loads) estimated 20-25 man hours, will have to be weekend (s)

Carpet is the usual looped grey tile (about 70%light to 30% heavy soiling) plus the odd coffee and plant water stain.
Building used by 200 staff never been cleaned in 7 years.

Ideal for truck mount, but haven’t got one yet, remember that demo that went wrong! still no news yet. 

Once again many many thanks for any help
DP

[Len Gribble]

DP

I have also been looking at office flooring and the one I have seen HWE is a defiant NO GO due to them having raised floors so it will be/has to be a LM system. Staircases should not be a problem with HWE, not many LM systems cover this!

I like it some one who also take linear it the equation. And don’t forget if doing over the weekend, no cleaners have been in before you!

Sorry probably of no help here

Len

[DP]

Hi Len

No problem with flooring here all surface run cables. Linear is always a good idea on larger cleans as you know and not unique to carpet but other cleaning trades as well and served me well in the fire industry.

Never good enough on its own but definitely a cross reference for the visuals and back up when your never absolutely sure.

I guess what Im really asking is an idea of the up to date sliding price scale or metre rate. I could go on labour hours only but that’s just one side of the coin and not very accurate, i.e £1.00 per metre x1200 = £1,200 @ 25 hours =£48 per hour, think client will kick back but mainly because I have no knowledge of current rates as I said its been a while since I have quoted large area's

PS no probs with the cleaners we do that as well 

Best regards DP

[Fox]

When ever I quote jobs I always focus on labour and hours not by area.

Not that that helps you on this one! 

Fox

[martin19842]

hi there,

i used to have a contract in park royal, north london, and if i remember correctly i think it was about 12000sq ft over three floors, total occupancy 120 staff, and we were in there at £1.25 sq yard plus VAT.

it was a great contract, as it was on  a rolling schedule, over x number of months, and was a nice earner for all those involved,

i never quote that a job will take X hours, i always quote that the job will be done and will cost £xxxx.xx

put emphasis on providing the quality service, at the time that the client wants it irrelevant of the time it takes.

we have some jobs, it takes us longer to organise and travel than it does to actually do the job..  therefore time on site on the tools in my opinion is not the most important  factor.

regards

martin

[DP]

Thanx Martin for that.

I too would never quote labour hours. For me that was just a cross reference.

 £1.25 per yard is higher then I had expected, however that goes to show how out of date I might be and really the point of this post.

Many thanx again.
DP

[SMP]

Len,
What is a raised floor and how do you spot them?

Cheers

[Len Gribble]

Steve

Raised floors you will normally find in new type buildings, it for there cable runs. When doing survey ask if they are not sure look for access panels.

Len

[Ian Gourlay]

Why is it a no goer, In houses cables run under floors.

Just so I fully understand do not and loose a large job or blow out an offices system at a cost of 4million  when my cover is for3million

[DP]

Raised floors in office buildings usually hide computer cables etc. This in itself isnt a problem. However the panels themselves are made up from laminated plywood housed in a galvanized tray. any moisture trapped in these trays will cause the wood to expand and destroy the panel.

Any dry system should be ok as long as chemicals used are not volatile. I have even wet cleaned these area's and as long as you use absolute minimum water they are fine but still risky.

Normally the areas that house these floors  have high volumes of electronics and clients refuse any service that will raise the humidity.

There are other buildings that simple have raised floors by design to just keep services tidy underneath. In these areas clients aren’t normally so paranoid.

Risk of being boring , is there any more idea's on the carpet pricing ? 

[Ken Wainwright]

Hi DP

When I've quoted for large offices, I've quoted in two different ways. For bonnet cleaning I've quoted on day rate, and for all other systems, ie HWE Host & Dry Fusion I always quote on Sq.M.  For day rate, I include my own labour costs, other labour & sub-contractors, materials, travelling including time travelled if not local etc. etc. When I have the final figure I will then at least double this to give profit for the business and to cover normal overheads. Quite often it has been plus 200% or even more. HWE would have a larger premium for, say, 2 days work than the same time spent elsewhere on a bonnet.

On a job like this I would break down the task into it's component processes such as: To pile lift vacuum, pre-condition etc. etc. Carpets to: Board Room, Accountants Office and so on.  I would not normally break down the cost to individual areas, just a total at the bottom. My perception is that the prospect will then have a feel for what's involved and the areas sound more than just "1st floor carpets". Check your liability insurance. For example, you may have sufficient Public Liability, but the Treatments Risk may be as low as £5k.

Subject to agreement with the prospect, I would include:
13amp power sockets, hot water and WC(s) for soiled water to be made available. Employees personal effects and any ongoing files etc to be removed from the floor. Fixtures, furnishings etc. will not be moved for cleaning purposes.  It is not uncommon in offices for power sockets to be less than 13amps so are of no use to us. Check first so you don't blow fuses.

Good luck

Safe and happy cleaning
Ken

[DP]

Many thanks Ken for your example, if in doubt grind it back to costs x profit always a safe bet at the end of the day and good advice.

Best regards
DP

[Chris Bailey]

DP - it would be interesting to find out what the £per sqm works out at when you have calculated your costs x profit price!!