Gutter Squad

12.5% SH weighs pretty close to 10 lbs per gallon. I know that a 50 gallon drum (55 gal size holding 50 gals) weighs 508 lbs per a supplier near me in Dayton. (I know this figure because we were talking about hazmat requirements for having markings on the vehicle or not).

After reading quite a bit about LLCs and S Corps, I have begun making the change to an S Corp from my current DBA status. The fact that I can pay myself dividends from the profits of the corp instead of just paying myself directly as a corporate employee has significant tax benefits when considering the self-employment tax "penalty." Also, I won't get double-dipped on taxes as a C Corp does. It also seems that more and more, LLC are just being viewed by courts and the IRS as sole-proprietorships or partnerships.

Has anyone ever used High Pressure Washer Concentrate from Share Corp? Here is the MSDS from it... looks like a great blend similar in components to Simple Cherry + F-13... anyone tried it before or have any thoughts? MATERIAL SAFETY DATA SHEET Share Corporation HAZARD RATING: 4 - Extreme; 3 - High; 2 - Moderate; 1 - Slight; 0 - Insignificant II - Hazardous Ingredients 2-Butoxyethanol 1.00-5.00 25 ppm (skin) 25 ppm (skin) N N Y 111-76-2 Sodium Metasilicate 1.00-5.00 N/E N/E N N N 6834-92-0 Sodium Tripolyphosphate 1.00-5.00 N/E N/E Y N N 7758-29-4 Potassium Hydroxide < 2.00 2 mg/m3 C 2 mg/m3 C Y N N 1310-58-3 Cocoamide DEA < 2.00 N/E N/E N N N 68603-42-9 Looks like a house wash meets gutter cleaning compound to me... only comes in liquid. Called and got prices - not great - not completely horrible either.

$649 for a 55 gal drum - they had smaller sizes as well & in turn the price went up. Its more expensive than powered, but the chem combo just seemed nice. Looks pretty similar to powerhouse from sunbrite, though, which is $446 for 55 gal... only real difference seems to be potassium hydroxide vs. sodium hydroxide. I am looking around because I am trying to get away from powders to use my roller pump for chemical applications.

I use an 18' extension pole with the screw-on brush and just dip the brush in the chemicals... it will reach almost any 2nd story, except some of the old victorians that are like 28' up. Brush 'em on and let it sit for minute or so and rinse with a low pressure zero nozzle.

On the payment front - I set most of my people up on recurring monthly billing via their credit card or checking account. It makes it that much more affordable (an easy) for them. $23.25 a month is not nearly as intimidating as $279 - not to mention less than any other bill they get (plus living in Ohio, I still get paid in Jan, Feb, and March). I do a good deal of work for people whose incomes are sub 50K, they make up about 80% of the population around here. That way I get paid every month and I just go out and do my existing accounts and pick-up whatever else comes my way from the yellow pages and my doorhangers.

And yes - I do have full liability insurance and pay taxes.

I guess I should also qualify the fact that I upsell about 75% of the customers into a basic service package (or better) that I offer. They get the house washed annually (summer) and get a gutter cleaning in the spring and fall. The one story (basic) package is $199 and the two story package is $279. (Depending on services they range up to $769 yearly) The house washes usually take an hour maybe two the first time and the gutter cleaning takes anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes the first time. The thing is - as you all know - once you have cleaned it properly, it is really easy to keep it clean - same with the gutters. I end up spending maybe 2 to 2.5 hours total on each of the accounts the following year... hence, I am making between $80-100 an hour. Almost every account I have is less than 20 miles away, so gas and drive time isn't a big deal or cost to me. Plus, people see my truck in the spring, summer and fall at their neighbor's house (which looks great) and pretty soon are asking about the service.

I operate in the Dayton, Ohio area - that price doesn't sound too crazy to me... I have a flat rate price for homes up to 2500 sq. ft. $149 for a one story and $199 for a two story. The perimeter of a 2500 sq. ft. house should be somewhere around 200 linear feet, so I am getting at worst .75 per linear foot on a one story and .99 on a two story. After that, I can just charge at the same rate for additional linear feet or additional sq. ft. - it comes out the same. These rates work really well around here, because there are tons of homes in the 1000-1600 sq. ft. range.

We accept them through Paypal as well using the email invoicing. I like that fact that I never have to ask the customer for their credit card info - hence no liability for it!

Anyone know where I could go to get prices lower than about $3 per gallon in Western Ohio? I'm in the Dayton metro area... just been going to pool supply stores, but sure could use some SH for a buck less or so...

This is an old thread... but I just thought I would chime in since the season is close to starting back up. I start @ 50 cents per foot and go up from there depending on height of the gutters and condition. Rarely do we scoop the gutters, but we do have some custom made telescoping poles (up to 24') with scoops that are hinged for ground work & ladder work. In most cases, even with heavy debris in the gutters, we can blast them clean. We position our ladder at the center of the gutter run and go from there. We have a gun with two lances (each 60"). No lance close in, then the first lance goes on, once we hit everything we can with that, the second lance goes on. We are using large zero degree nozzles and a turbo nozzles. Once we are done cleaning the gutters on the inside, we clean the exterior if the customer wants for an additional charge... if you haven't used it, use white wall cleaner for tires - works great on gutters. Customers love watching us and are amazed how quickly we get done and how their gutters interior has been cleaned right down to the aluminum. Using this method we can usually do up to 250 feet per hour.

Anyone else here from Ohio? I have been operating for about a year now (up & down). I am specialized toward gutter cleaning & basic house washes. We use a 2.5 GPM unit & a 4 GPM unit - I'm a simple cherry fan. I have scored a few four figure gutter cleaning contracts in Dayton for apartment complexes (nothing amazing, but keeping me alive). I am fully insured and also have my service vendors license for collecting sales tax. My question: Does anyone know of any other licensing that I should have in the state of Ohio? When I started up, I called just about every governmental office I could think of and none could come up with any special license requirements. Aqua Force Pressure Washing The Gutter Cleaning Co. Dayton-Springfield-Columbus (Ohio) 800.678.8290 937.399.1233 info@theguttercleaningco.com

Tegrey Family of Coatings inc., Thanks for your reply (and everyone else's). It looks like I have all that I need then... it just really seemed like I needed something else considering all the red tape in other states! I do have two 1099 contractors, carry full liability insurance, and pay my WC insurance (and my double-dipped SS tax). Thanks Again!