Jeff
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Posts posted by Jeff
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Jeff, I did. I have rented stuff from this company before. My total cost delivered, tax, title, shipping, fuel surcharge, EPA charge, and gas tax is $1068.00 for the week . It is a 4x4 straight boom 60 ft. lift, JLG or Gienie. I have been in business for 13 years full time and know to do my homework ahead of time so that is why I am asking you guys what you think. I am shifting my company from primarially janitorial/window cleaning side to the exterior cleaning and roof cleaning. I appreciate everyone's imput so far and welcome more.Damn good price, you are lucky.
I have never done a big restoration cleaning like that building. I did a huge entrance wall that looks like the same as whats on that building and did not like my finished product. i thought it was just concrete. I was limestone
Best advise, Call Prosco & Echochem, they know this stuff
Good luck
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I would check that lift price it seems real low for a 60 footer for a week. Base price should be more. They dont always tell you TOTAL until you ask or rent it. theres at least a $75 each way pick up delivery charge, taxes and madatory insurance that usually is another 12% on top of everything. 60 footer I forget but its at least $1800 a week around here and possibly more than that
Get your #'s correct
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Looks like you'll need a restoration cleaner. Check with echochem. Thats more than just concrete
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I was on the fence about helping local start ups a while back, I helped a young guy who wanted to do it part time he had a good job with an AC company, but was recently married so I helped him a little and he does maybe 30-40 houses a year and called about a year ago to thank me and bought some chems off me
I figure talk to the person who wants or needs the help and l get a feel for them. Might get burnt, but I would hope most people would appriciate it and maybe help me in the future. Theres a local guy who was in biz for years and I started giving him resi work and he doesnt have heat and has sent me some very good jobs, one job was over 4k for one days work
Then there is Christian from Pressure Works, he had asked for help in I think it was TGS, I didnt jump at helping him and then I met him, nice guy and smart. I didnt really help him with anything, because he picked up stuff off the BB's pretty quick. But we have helped each other, I give him some wood work and he has helped me out when I needed an extra worker and machine. He has given me the heads up on a couple larger jobs and what he hears is going on around tow.
With Dave V he came here and wanted to tell me in person he was going to come into town and I thought it was cool that he did it in person. I could of helped him or not. I figured why not, he's making quite a move dropping everything up north and moving here. I figure he's an OLD man (lol almost my age) why not help.
I figure what goes around comes around. If you help someone sometime they will probably help you. I got burnt once a little, but those people lost out, not me. I just wont get them work anymore
I figure I'll do what feels right to me at the time. I can't blame anyone for not helping a competitor, you could get burnt, so do what you feel is right and don't feel bad if you dont help
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Amy,Teak is indigenous to Asia and is produced primarily in India, Burma, Indonesia, and Thailand. Never heard of teak from the Caribbean. The wood may be something else, possibly similar to teak. Just like wood marketed as "Phillipine Mahogany" which is not anything close to true mahogany at all.
In six years in this business, have never seen a true teak deck let alone worked on one. The following picture is plantation grown Burmese teak furniture stained with Ready Seal light brown.
Hey Rick how you been?
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What happened I couldnt find TGS at all and others couldnt either. that the gremlins got it
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Jeff hot is great for many things oily, dirty concrete etc. You need more GPM Gallons Per Minute
Get a 5.5 or bigger and you wont believe how much quicker you will work.
GPM GPM GPM GPM is the way
Good luck with your PWing
Jeff
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$275 is a fair price for that house(in my area and my opinion) without ext gutters or wax.How many of these premium price house washes are repeat annual customers??Theres something to be said about customer retention in the continuing success of of a company charging rates like that. I can preach professionalism to the customer all day in my polo shirt,brochures,fancy rig,etc etc.95% of the time it's not got going to matter to the person who lives in a house like the one pictured, especially since they'll be pissed to learn what their neighbors paid.I know I'm close to maxing out my market by evaluating my numbers and by lake side mansion owners telling me that they are shocked with my quote.Just my limited 2 years of experience take on it.Have you ever seen a trailer park,Ken?jkIts plain & simple its a North vs South thing, you just are not going to get the same price. A house here cost $250k the same house in much of the north will cost 600Kor more. We are trying to compare apples & oranges and you cant. I assure you if I was up north, I'd be charging about the same as Ken
my guys are at a neighborhood today, the richest neighborhood with in 30 miles anyway. I am charging $1800 it has a lot of dirt daubbers and is BIg. I bet some up north would be getting a lot more, but after the 1800$ and the $400 plus driveway, Im more than paying my workers gas, travel etc and 3 guys will be done and back in less than 8 hours.
That house in the picture would take 2 hours for the basic wash, but we also will do it at least every year instead of once every 3, 4, 5, years or more. Im with Ken on pricing, but only up there.
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poll a little funny..I want to pick more than one option...Did you try to. It let me pick the three i wanted to
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All our reels have 300-400ft on them and i buy them in 100ft sections non marking and we carry an extra 200 ft at least on each truck. sometimes we will wash with up to 500ft
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No way, Larry. You know I don't let you off that easy. You guys are assuming no one advertises in my area for $250 housewashes and that everyone makes $40 per hour being a working stiff. Look up Philadelphia demographics and compare them to your metropolis. Look up townships like Upper Providence, Haverford and Newtown Square and compare those to your more affluent 'burbs. A McDonald's manager makes $30K-$35 here just like he/she does anywhere else. I don't live in some magical area where everyone gets dreamy when I walk in the door and says "whatever you want to charge us is fine".---------------------------------------------------------------
From Wikipedia when Google'ing Philadelphia median income:
The median income for a household in the city was $30,746, and the median income for a family was $37,036. Males had a median income of $34,199 versus $28,477 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,509. About 18.4% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.3% of those under age 18 and 16.9% of those age 65 or over.
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Doesn't sound like a wealth center to me.
Here is Myrtle Beach:
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The median income for a household in the city was $38,787, and the median income for a family was $46,052. Males had a median income of $30,189 versus $22,119 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,006. About 5.1% of families and 8.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.8% of those under age 18 and 4.8% of those age 65 or over.
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Looked up some homes in Myrtle Beach:
all the way up to:
Jeff, you are not marketing to the right people. You are not selling the value of your service. Period. Lets put together a wager. I'll come down and spend a week with you. If, out of ten sales calls I don't sell at least one housewash at triple what you normally charge and two houses at double, I'll incur all my own charges. If I do succeed, you pay all of my travel expenses and give me my fee for the week of training ($3000) Since you are relatively certain that you cannot charge much more for a housewash and I am a yankee selling in a southern market, it should be a sure thing.
Larry this line tells me a lot:
That homeowner and his wife might earn $50,000 annually combined, so $500 is a lot of money to them for about an hour of work
That's your guilt talking. Thats you selling with your wallet not the value of the service. Just because you wouldn't spend that much for a house wash (a car, a new set of speakers, a dress shirt) doesn't mean there aren't people that will. You wanna be around in five years to be able to wash their house for them right? It costs a ton of money to stay in business that long (if you don't wanna stay just owner/operator) You owe it to your customers to make this profitable enough not only to stay afloat but to be able to raise your family in the same type of comfort those that are hiring you do.
Read the next post....
No! you might stay and corner the market lol. Ken, I'll stay with my condos and leave the salemanship or lack of to others
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Sorry about the delayed response was out of town for a couple nights. I'll break down my numbers. You probably won't believe it but I'll write the numbers anyway.Probably won't believe you???? Ken, I believe everything you say, you sure don't seem like one to lie about stuff
15 calls a week and 80% close thats nice!!!. I was just saying that house in that picture there isnt much to it at all.
Like I stated in another post, its a North & South thing, wages are at least double up north than they are here for most, so that plays a big factor in pricing here
I'd like you to come here for a few years and let you see how it is or florida. You would do well Im sure , How well Im not sure. Im sure you would change your rates some but still be at the high end
Im not trying to bust your B's it just surprised me at the rates for that house
have a good one
Jeff
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North & South are two different worlds when it comes to many things and pricing is no different
I have a buddy in Ma who is a mason and he makes $41 an hour and great bennies. I know a guy here in SC that is a good mason as good as my freind up north, has been doing it for over 15 years and he makes $18 and no bennies.
So I bet my buddy up north would expect to pay more than the buddy here in SC for a house wash
It all has to do with, what the market bear
I would like to get $500 plus for a house of 2100 sq ft, but I wouldnt make enough to support a family, because i wouldnt be getting any work
North & South are just different
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Maybe thats why you had to jury rig your hose instead of being able to buy a new one.Ouch, Don you funny
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I think Ken's point, Jeff, is that if we all raise our prices - we will still get the same amount of work - and get compensated better. If a homeowner get 4 estimates for house cleaning, $210, $145, $235, $275, $585 - of course, you will get yourself ruled out everytime at $585 - but if those numbers are now instead $510, $445, $535, $575, $585 - voila, now if you have great sales, you can get your price. I use to get alot more money pressure washing, when I was a painter - but the work was very incidental - it's only by coming here to these sites - that I have been made to feel guilty for my pricing - but that is ok - since I have also learned how to make a 7 hour job a 1 hour job. So all is good. I think for now the buck a foot per floor way of pricing is going to be the bottom price - and only for vinyl - if it is wood siding I will be upping those prices considerably - and there will be minimums, especially for work further away then 15 miles - once the work becomes too much to handle.Don't feel badly about charging! If you start feeling guilty and then rationalize with thoughts of the competition does it for so and so - so no way you can get that price - then pretty soon, you will be in the same boat I am in with painting - working for people charging as little as $24/man-hour. Yeah that's right! I did a 10K paint job - and after materials, my company effectively billed out $24/man-hour. Imagine that! You keep up with the attitude - oh I can't charge that much - pretty soon, you will be doing $25 house washes - heck it only takes an hour of your time right? And what makes you so special, more so than a painter - with their tons of equipment, ladders, scaffolding, liability, comp, trucks, etc. People are scary - and if they can get away with only paying $25 to have their homes cleaned - they'll jump - never mind you will starve, your kids won't have shoes, they will still do it - and don't care the reason it's so cheap is because some scab, illegal immigrant, who is totally illegal, is willing to work for pennies on the dollar.
Dan, i agree with you, for the most part. Im just saying thats an hour job for soap on and soap off. I could never get that here in my area of SC. I'm from Mass, 23 years ago i could get the same for a house in Ma that I get now in SC. I was a painter in the union in Boston for many years and did some side painting and got good money. I know now painters arent making what they used to just a decade ago, its a shame and its because of a lot of immigrant cheap labor
I wont do painting here because they dont want to pay and i just dont like painting at all anymore. i was guestioning Ken, just because that seems high and you know it probaly isnt that high at all for his area. 20 plus years ago in Randolph Ma I would have gotten $250- $300, so $450 isnt really that much 20 years later. The $450 isnt high, but the $800+ does seem high.
Cost of living is a lot different up north than here in my area too
To bad about the paint biz dan, I wish I could say it would change someday, but the way we just let the immigrants roll in, it will probably only get worse, thats why when people say the economy is great, I have to say....not that great if you cant even make a living wage. Every generation for decades the wages/prices went up, now they have actually gone down, its wrong
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How is everyone cleaning dirt daubbers I just got a rush job on a high end house 4000sq ft in the richest area around here. I looked at house and new i was going to get good money. And then I doubled my price because they have approx 100 DIRT DAUBBERS on many areas of house, its brick & Dryvit and most DD are 20 to 25 ft high
I usually use good house wash mix and spray a few times and rinse with some careful pressure and then I will use a fairly soft truck brush and work on the daubbers and rinse
Anybody have a great way to tackle these dirt daubbers, any new and improved methods
I also got the driveway. I charged more than I ever have before for sq feet I went $.15, its going to be a nice job, but a PITA with the Daubbers
I'm trying to only do residential that pays well, I'm learning Ken & Mike
I love the front entry of this house its double doors and total its about 25 ft up with some beautiful wood. I saw that door and I said if they can afford the door they can afford to pay top dollar, I'm telling you I love this entry way, its real pretty. I don't know how much it cost but i bet its at least around 20K
Give me you dirt daubber cleaning methods....please
Thanks Jeff
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I quoted him $298.75Here is what I did:
$200 base price for a 2 story house + 79 steps around the house * $1.25
so ....
$200 + 79(1.25) = $298.75
I guess thats a reasonable price and I got the job ;)
You did fine
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$450 for silver plan soap on/soap off.$585 for Gold plan which would include a wax/polymer and manual gutter brushing via extension pole.
Anywhere up to $850 to include walkways, driveways, anything that can be washed.
Man I got to move to your area. I would never pay that much. an extra $145 for wax? I didnt see any gutters. Im not starting a low ball thing either
Ken how many houses do you do a year about, whats your closing rate, just wondering
2100 sq ft no gutters and no ladder work about $200- $250, you might get up to $350 if your lucky, but you wouldnt get many
$850? it probably has a little 2 car drive a small walk and a 10X 10 patio. Im not trying to start with you dude. what do you get in PA for sq ft rate on concrete
You would never get $850 around here
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I don't get this - if it's tandem axle, then you need a title, if you need a title - how will the next 'buyer' ever get it insured to go on the road????Here in South Carolina you don't have to register most trailers, it could be sold here and no one would ever know its stolen. No plates on 99% of trailers here. Thats why so many are stolen around here.
Fricking theives, I hate to here someone lose their equipment
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I like the name Scott
Hey you should have the baby Aug 11th, thats mine and my late dads Birthday. Tom Jones was born on the 11th too, Whats new ***** cat.
Congrats to you I cant help you with a name, but I sure cant wait to see pictures of the baby. Man you are going to love being a Dad, I am sort of glad I waited to later in life. nothing bothers me with my kids. I can see they are just being Kids.
My little Jessica is a tough one and she was born last Aug10th
I'm very excited for you and yours Scott, cant wait to meet you and your new family some day
PS, just watch out for post partum, its real. But a little pill can take care of it
Man you are going to flip when you see that baby come out, its coollllllll
Jeff
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Well Ken & I are cool where ever we post
Doesnt it feel good to be able to tell some cheap sun of a gun, no thank you. I love when they cry poor mouth , then tell you how much they will pay me. I love saying good bye to those types
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Congrats Micah , enjoy
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Is the surface cleaner even. When I used to rent them, a couple times the arm on one side was bent from a weld repair so one nozzle was closer to the ground and then another time the tire was low on air on 1 side. Could be that or probably what the others have stated
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I tried to rent a truck several months ago to tow a large trailer. Every agency I called told me that their trucks were not set up for towing because they don't allow their vehicles to be used for that purpose...Same here and the Uhauls have their hitches welded to close to the bumper for most trailers except theirs. I couldnt get my trailers hooked to Uhauls
Dirt Daubbers(sp)
in Residential Pressure Washing
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Better than I expected. I'd say 95% came off completely and the rest we got down to a slight stain left on some spot
We knocked them down dry, applied chem a few times when needed. We also soft brushed many and that worked well. We used simple cherry & 12% a little strong when we brushed
I was happy and the homeowner was too. I told her they cant wait 2 years next time, eventually it will ruin areas of her dryvit