[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Hi all,

What are the pitfalls of pressure washing roofs? Does anyone on here clean them? How much do you charge? What equipment do you need?

I have a pressure washing set up but need some kind of cherry picker or scaffolding to get me up there...insurance is another thing I need to look at although theres no way I want to climb on roofs

Any help/thoughts guys?

TIA
John

[Phild]

We bought a monster of a Putzmeister (sic) pressure washing machine from a  guy who had gone to the extent of having a special head made for cleaning roofs then had gone to the trouble of getting the cleaning operation filmed professionally and put onto DVD's so he could market the service.

He took a £17k hit on a machine that didn't have more than 40 hours on it!

The moral of the story is "sell what the market wants not what you want to sell"

[drive surgeon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8L_biigYhE

have a look at this its easy. 

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Yeah until you slip and break your neck! Only needs to happen once! I am after a work from the ground system only.

[JandS]

2 questions.

What happens if the jet finds a weak spot in the roof and you don't notice it?
EXPENSIVE

Why is he washing uphill??

John

[Richy L]

Why is he washing uphill??

I guess it's so he doesnt have to to walk on the soapy roof tiles

[JandS]

He's washing dirt onto already cleaned areas.
Got to be dodgy washing a roof like that.
Why would you wash a roof anyway.
They done 2 bungalows round where I live
then painted them a dark red, they look sh*t.
What's the paint they use?

John

[richywilts]

iv actually done a few of these jobs cleaning the roof, treat with a antifungal biocide then coat with special roof coating paint that acts like a gortex coating where the rain beads off the roof, you target roofs with tiles that are 25years old that have lost there coating.

there is a good profit margin to be made if you price well.aquashield quoted £3500 for just one bungalow we did the 2 for £1700 and still made approx £1000 but we had actually priced really low just to get our first ones done.

the work is quite hard work lots of bending but once you get upto the top of the roof on a cat ladder and clean a portion of the tiles they are actually quite good for grip once you have removed the moss lichen ad algae and dirt.

when we setup this business properly we are hoping to setup some form of scaffold that we can be harnessed from as someone said it only takes one fall.

id suggest you invest in proper pressure washing equipment i.e honda 11-13hp and even go for a diesal engine as they do use a good amount of petrol with the use of a turbo nozzle or you will be there all day.

there are courses to go on run by kingfisher coating and nutech they are quite pricey tho but worth it to give you a good insight into this sort of business.

hope this helps

richy

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

Hey Richy

What do you think about this? http://www.monkeytower.co.uk

Pricey but could be a good investment for this type of work!!

John

[Aquakleen Restoration Services]

2 questions.

What happens if the jet finds a weak spot in the roof and you don't notice it?
EXPENSIVE

Why is he washing uphill??

John

Simples...you get the customer to sign a disclaimer first!

[cleaner-exteriors]

i used to be a roofer , my main concern would not be falling but damage caused py using high pressure as mentioned in the previous reply, you said target roofs over 25 years old but from experience that could be expensive, clay tiles are extremley fragile at that age as are some concretes, as for slate stay well away.
Also if you were cleaning a hip  and broke a bonnet tile half way up how would you replace it without disturbing the mortar on the other bonnets? you could end up paying for a roofing firm to come and relay the whole hip!
Also be wary in valleys, around dormers roof lights, and chimmneys as these are all liable to let in water in driving rain let alone using high pressure.
Matt

[richywilts]

to be honest ya dont really coat the clay roof tiles as they dont adhere to it quite that well its more the concrete tiles you tend to clean.any tiles that may be more prone to damage then yu just price higher and ask them to sign a disclaimer or waiver for any damaged tiles and leaks etc

that monkey trolley looks a gud bit of kit although its max working height is only 6.5 metres

[JandS]

Sign a disclaimer??
Your pressure washing a roof, anyone with a bit of common
would realise the implications and not sign.
It's like me asking someone to sign one in case I ruin there
carpet whilst cleaning it with bleach.
Why the need to clean a roof anyway?

John

[Joe H]

One up on the neighbours, "I got a clean roof" syndrom

[richywilts]

well thousands are having there roofs cleaned and coated every week ok it may seem strange that they want this done but there are benefits all that moss algae and lichen you see every day on roofs are absorbing rainwater and putting unwanted strain on the roof joists, the tiles become porous and absorb the water instead of repelling the rain this can ,make the roof up to double it payload this is all going to take its toll finally so why not try a product or sevice that could extend the life of your roof saving you thousands on a re-roof. not only that is enhances the appearence of the property

[BDCS]

There is a product called copper ridge that is as it says a copper strip thats fixed to the ridge tiles and it causes some type of electric reaction and stops all the growth. The same principle applies to coating of  boat hulls in copper. I think that if you really want to work on roofs you could sell this product as you don't get that horrible Disney effect roof as you do when its been toshed over by the roof coaters, I always think its usually old people in bungalows who have it done to see them out their remaining years and got talked into it by the pushy doorstep sellers. I'm not a fan - sorry

[ronnie paton]

icy you sund like a sales man

[Gav Camm lammy 283]

well thousands are having there roofs cleaned and coated every week ok it may seem strange that they want this done but there are benefits all that moss algae and lichen you see every day on roofs are absorbing rainwater and putting unwanted strain on the roof joists, the tiles become porous and absorb the water instead of repelling the rain this can ,make the roof up to double it payload this is all going to take its toll finally so why not try a product or sevice that could extend the life of your roof saving you thousands on a re-roof. not only that is enhances the appearence of the property

hey well sed ritchy got a guy for u giza bell gav

[steve78]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8L_biigYhE

have a look at this its easy. 

thats applying an anti-fungal treatment with a moose foam,that aint jetting it down,get yaself a good pair of boots,cat ladder, 13hp honda pressure washer,turbo lance with extension nozzle,good waterproofs and a 100ft of tube,an just go for it,done 4 in a week 2 weeks ago and got drenched!good tho!!

[richywilts]

hahaha ronnie im alrite at puttin it in words on a computer stick me on a doorstep and im a jibbering stuttering wreck!!!