Jeff
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Posts posted by Jeff
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Herny and others. Henry after talking with you on another BBS, sometime ago, Ive started targeting and pushing gutter cleaning for all the property managers Ivedone work for. I have some very nice size gutter cleaning contracts now. Thanks
I have some questions. I quite often use an electrians fish to go down. down spouts to check if they are clogged, works real good
Question, I have run into several clogged downspouts and at times I have to dismantle them to get debris out. Is that the best way?
Question. I also run into underground tubing that runs off down spout. That also is clogged solid and there is nothing I can do or use to get through these under ground pipes. What if anything can I do. Other than digging them up??
Question. These gutters & downspout are of course bigger than residential gutters. Where can I purchase replacement parts, such as elbows or the black tubing the fits over the end of downspouts. Lowes & HD dont carry them and I called a local company, that does seemleess gutters and he wouldnt helpme. Any place you know of were I can purchase some of the things I would need commonly.
Anything else you can think of to help make it easier or how to market gutter cleaning would be great!!
Thanks again , these gutter contracts are some of the best repeat biz I have
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Some areas now will not allow you to use any hydrants. The next county over from me use to rent the meters, but no longer allow it.
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A couple years ago, I put an extension pole and brush down on a customers lawn. It had strong Oxalic on it. This guys lawn had some real nice GREEN grass, real fine, it was hot out. 10 minutes later i pick up brush, a nice rectangle of yellow burnt grass. I had two cans of Green rustolium in my truck for some lawn furniture I was going to sand & paint. Well it matched up pretty close and I got out of there.
Do you think I should have used a primer first? LOL
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You wont need 10 rigs to be king, 3-4 should be enough, lol
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JL,How much of a bite is South Carolina Worker's Comp taking from you? Do you consider that in your P/L?
Every $100 in payroll is around $13.88 extra for W/C.
P/L ???
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Fall arrest gear is your friend. Better to have it and use it. If I recall right, a while back ( 2 years maybe) there was a guy who was in a lift, and fell out. He lived but was seriously hurt. We're talking months of rehab. Even in a lift, you need to be harnessed in and safe.OK..off my soapbox.
Beth
Harness should always be used in a lift. True story about 2 months ago, i was on a 40' JLG and I noticed the tilt was tilting on the bucket and I wasnt doing it. I came down and the tilt was real bad. I called Sunbelt to come fix it and if i didnt keep going I may not have been able to finish the job that day as I planned. I took the lift back up and it kept tilting (the bucket) and I would just adjust it back up. I saw no hydrualic oil anywhere. Then I saw Sunbelt coming in lot so i started to come down and about 3 ft from ground, there was a big jolt and the bucket tipped a hell of a lot. I grabbed on, I wasnt going to fall out, but if that happened while I was higher up and maybe reaching a little who knows, Wear your harness!!!
The reason it was tilting was it was loseing Hydrualic fkuid, but it was gathering in a little nook and was not dripping on ground. Sunbelt looked at it and I was pissed. At one tome one of the lines was fixed. Instead of useing a hose barb and the proper clamps, whoever fixed it used a straight 1/4 pipe no barbs and just hose clamps. I had them bring another lift out
As for ladder use. Yes most of the time it would be user error in ladder accidents, but they do happen all the time, by some of the most experienced in any trade. If I had to use a ladder 8 hrs a day to do what I have to, I would . But I dont so I wont. Please if anyone one uses ladders USE STABILIZER BARS and dont reach to get that one little spot thats only a few inches out of reach. Also be careful using ladders on frozen ground thatmay thaw. I prefer a pogo stick myself LOL
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I was injured in a work accident and didnt want to go back into being a union steel painter and when I moved to Myrtle Beach saw the need for pressure washing and decided to do it part-time and within a year, I realized that the need for pressure washing & reliable contractors in this area, could lead to a profitable business. I didnt work out a formal plan, but I did work out plans in my head and started from there. I'm doing alot better than i thought I would be by this time, so my informal plans are working. Ive thought about doing other ventures or spin off type biz's, other than PW biz. But this area needs good reliable PW contractors and there is just so much that needs to be cleaned always.
My plans are to have a small fleet of machines & workers that always have work. To be able to make a good living and have good employees and to pay them a living wage and someday offer them some benifits. I figure if i have that, I have a good business.
My unwritten plan is to organize my business. The office stuff, this could be my only real down fall
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This is really getting detailed now. You guys are getting hung up on pricing and how many people are being used. It really doesn't matter as far as pricing if I am making money. Let me try this approach, if the going rate is $500 for any service or job that one does. Then from that you start deducting your controllable and fixed expenses, whatever you have left is your profit. You will have to pay rent, electric, phone, insurance etc. some of which is a fixed expense and some, or a portion is controlled. Labor is a controllable expense. How I run my business may be different from you but it doesn't change the price of the job(there are variables in pricing but relatively the same). So let's take that $500 job and it takes you all day to do that job by yourself. You have reduced a lot of expenses and you walk away with a good portion of that. Now I come in and do two of those jobs a day with an employee that cost me $100/day. I take that $100 off the $1000 and I am left with $900 with a few dollars more in expenses related to having the employee but, at the end of the day who has more dollars in their pocket me or you?Same is with the house washing. Taking someone's example of 3-4 hours to do a house washing by themselves they would gross $600 at the end of the day(if they do two houses). Me with my helper get three houses done I gross $900 and pay someone $100.00 for the day. In the end I have more dollars in the bank. With two people you are working safer and more productively for more money, not less.
Also in regards to pricing there is not one of us that does not give discounts for more frequent cleanings. This is how you bid jobs successfully and create more income with less work. Take flatwork for instance, I give a one time, or initial price, then I give pricing that is tiered for monthly, quarterly, bi-annually, etc. so that in the end they see a savings per cleaning if they do it more often. Going back more often is easier to clean and you can afford to pass on the savings that it will save you in time and effort. What I am saying here is many contractors who wash homes do not even use this approach. If you were to charge $300 for a house and they got it done every four years how much money will you charge or make in four years? Do you think they will even call you again? I tell the customer that it is $300 now and if you do it every year it will be $250.00 and your house will always look this way. If you wait two years it will be $275. If you wait after that I am sure there will be a price increase and you will probably pay more like $350. This creates a maintence plan for the customer, increased traffic for me, upsell potential on later work(driveway, deck, pool, fence, etc), and I put more dollars into my account, use these jobs to fill schedules, add value to my business, and when I go back I can clean less agressively and rely on other equipment like X-jets and such to do the cleaning.
FYI- In my area I am aware of my competition but I would like to think they are trying to keep up with me! I do not worry too much about them.
Now I am giving away too much for free! Send checks to ...
Everrett is absolutly right on discounting. I do it all the time, Asfor having employees its great. They make me money everytime. Like the complexes i do. I'll have 3-4 machines cleaning, say 3 machines, 3 guys. I bid a building at $400 times 20 buildings. on a hot summer day I alone would clean only one building. Not what I consider a good days pay $400. But I have 3 guys working the buildings. I usually set up one doing the front and one doing the back & sides, then I have 1 machine doing another building or maybe they have multi level walkways and I put him on that. The buildings go straight down a line. They know what to do, just keep rolling down the line of buildings. They get use to it and they can do 4 buildings a day the 1st or 2nd day. Now 4 buildings X $400 = $1600 I pay out $400-$500 payroll for that day and chem & gas I still make anywhere from say $800-$1000 a day and we finish in 5 days. Good weeks pay for me. And the 4th guy who didnt work the complex is doing my $100 house washes say he does 4 houses, pay him $100 for the day, thats another $300 in my pocket. It pays to have employees, when your real busy. It was like this this past summer I had 3-5 guys working and some days, many days I didnt pick up a wand and we did this for months
Discounting I have a gutter cleaning contract 47 buildings every 3-4months its close to $6000 minus $900 for a lift. I told them Id discount it 10% not counting lift charge if they do it every 3-4 months 5% if its done every 6 months. They needed it every 3-4 months so I discounted it over $500+ big deal The first time we did it it took 4 & 1/2 das the second time 3 days, me and one other guy. the discount helped them make the decision to do it 3-4 months and add it up i do it 3 times approx a year, does the discount hurt or help?
You have to discount and even go a little low to get the regular 1/4ly, biannual or annual contracts. In the long run you can make very good money.
Those $400 buildings i do house washes that are half the size sometimes, but its very competitive around here so you have to figure out how to do them and still make great $$$ and the only way is Discounts & employees. Im not trying to just make a living I want to make a killing and have a large very busy business
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Jeff,I think this place may have the swivel mount reel you were looking for.
http://www.powercleansystems.com/index.html?Body=/PowerCleanAccessories.html
Scott, thanks I'll be calling them. They look like the Rapid Reel, Ive called a couple and they say they can get them and then they find out the they are discontinued. The dont make them anymore. Maybe this guy has some in stock
Thanks Jeff
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Hell of a job, Great work!!
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www.titanprod.com These are the reels I use and as far as I am concerned are the best on the market.I 2nd that, good reels
Hey Mel or anyone else. Im looking at getting another hose reel for my portable machine I have hooked up to my water tank. I have the 22" titans with 200' of pressure hose with plenty of space for more hose. Do you think the 18" titan will hold 250' of pressure hose for this other machine
Thanks
JL
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Im praying for my brother and all you folks down in Florida, be careful & safe Please.
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Hope all the Florida folks are doing alright, just got off the phone with my brother in St. Cloud and he said its pretty wild, not real dangerous yet. GOOD LUCK ALL
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Beth & Rod, Id like to rate this BBS, Its great !! To bad it took me so long to get here. I like all the info & discussions and ofcourse all the other members what an informative and fun tool this is. Keep up the great work
What a great group of folks:club:
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Ladders are as safe as the user.And just because it may look clean from the ground does'nt mean that it is clean."Cleaner than it was" is not acceptable for me.For you guys who spray and rinse,....when you're done with your next house get a ladder and go up and see how well you did especially the window area.Like I said earlier, if I used cleaner strong enough to clean without brushing I would be doing alot of aluminum trim painting.Jeff, Ladders are safe, but not as safe when holding a wand, with water & pressure coming out of it. Ive used ladders all my life, as a steel painter in the painters union and I was on many many large projects. I have dealt with OSHA and have had many OSHA training classes, some years ago. I can tell you if you were on a large project and OSHA showed up and saw you on a ladder witha pressure wand working, the least they would do is tell your boss to get you down and not do it that way or at the most, close the job down. I know they would have you erect staging or get a man lift
Of course you wont see OSHA on any residential jobs so you can do it. But it isnt totally safe, no matter how experienced anyone is. Not to say I myself havent done washing off ladders and many other things off of ladders. But the way you talk of ladder use is against many common OSHA rules. As for clean enough we all have are own ways and My customers are happy with the job we do and so am I and I making a good living and have a great reputation in my area.
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If you had streaking, my initial reaction is that you allowed the house wash mix to dry, which is a definite no-no. I apply the mix to an entire side of a house, and within 30-45 seconds, completely rinse the windows. You should not have streaking. The other thought is the windows leaked a bit, and the streaks you saw were inside the house.I've used Cascade Rinse additive, normally used in automatic dishwashers, and it helps a bit, but really, under normal circumstances, no rinse aid is needed.
I agree!!!! Rinse/wet windows within less than a minute and in the heat of the summer even quicker, and after you rinse whole side hit them again. This is definitly a situation where you rinse, rinse, rinse. I tell my worker constantly about rinsing windows & shrubs, windows I dont want to have to come back & clean and I never do, with good rinsing
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I understand not getting under the siding, I almost always apply chems & rinse at an angle because yes in the past when i started PWing I had alot of the problem with weep holes, well not alot, but it did happen. So I figured it out. I apply at angle and rinsing I actually go from left to right or vise versa and its more like pushing the water across & down the siding, with alot less chance of anything getting behind siding or in holes. these 1 story homes with 15 -20 foot peaks, i cant justify doing them another way. Its clean, no problems with drips etc. Homes with brick & or wood siding is even easier. Homes with stucco/dryvit, sometimes I have homeowners request we dont do the fronts, but thats because of poor building and theres a ton of law suits and replaced dryvit around. As for being on ladder with wand I dont like that. I just do it the best way I know how and cost effectivly, with very good results and happy repeat customers. I am in no way putting down how Everitt & others do thier house washing, I just like the way I do it, with simular results. But I also am learning every day and from this thread!
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What are you guys washing off houses that you need so much brushing & direct pressure, is it pollution, dirt? Just wondering if its a north/south thing. Do must people you deal with up in your area clean yearly
I mostly deal with a little green mold and black mildew on trim and of course some dirt, dust, webs & some bugs and a lizard or 2. I have had to brush a couple homes in 5 years. Mostly everything washes right off with application of chems, brushing gutters & a real good rinsing & the homes sparkle
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From start to finish the storm I heard lasted approx 60 hrs in cozamel/Cancun area, what a nightmare that must of been
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I wish i could get the prices you do up north, but i wouldnt get it down here. I do small one story homes for about $100+ this is 1100 - 1600 sq ft homes. I brush almost all gutters and apply ox as needed and quite often restore the vinyl shutters and I charge more for that if I see it needs to be done when I do the estimate. I run into into alot of siding this is oxidized and i try to get the homeowner to let me clean the siding properly and I tell them the price and they tell me no they just want the dirt, mold & mildew off. Some homes Ive told them i cant do them at all because the oxidation is so bad, People have told me why did you charge my neighbor this amount and you want to charge me over double. I just try to explain to them the problem with thier siding. Ive done only a few homes this year that they were willing to pay. Im lucky thou, Id say at least 85-90% of the homes i do are one story and are washed once a year. 2 guys working different homes we can get 5-8 homes a day plus some extras as gutters which many homes have very little gutters to clean, driveways etc. The higher end homes 2500sq ft & up I always get much better money. But alot of the homes are splash & dash with alittle extra care than my comptition.
Do people up north usually wash thier homes every year
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OLD SCHOOL I'm 44:lgbugeyes
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I agree on more frequent cleaning, thats how I do all the banks i do, I do them every six months building and all walkways. There is hardly anything to clean off them. It takes half the time to clean them then the first time. I do alot of complexes and it wouldnt be cost effective for me to do them in such detail, althou egg stains (Halloween is soon), I do use ladder and hand wash. Everyone has thier best way to do things. Id like to see you work some day Everitt I dont get the ates you folks get up north. I know I use to get good money for house washing many years ago in Mass.
JL
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You guys bring up a topic that I have not spoken up about enough but it bothers the heck out of me. X-jets and different types of chemical injectors are great tools. In my opinion though they are ONLY tools that help speed up time and make it easier to apply chemicals, at a lower pressure to a large area. This is it, not for anything else. I see more and more people posting and in person that use these tools to actually wash. Apply chemical, close valve, change tip or for the M5 they turn the nozzle and rinse. Two problems for me with this, the first is that you do no justice to elevated problem areas like dormers and gable vents. The person who actually gets up and washes and actually sees up close the results WILL do a better job. Secondly, you are simply washing from the WRONG angle. While you should wash from a higher angle than the siding to prevent as much water as possible from running down and it will not loosen the siding, there are times where you need to get the bottom lip of the siding. This should not be done from the ground, it should be done with just a slight angle below the lip and not directly below. I have seen a lot of "popped" seams and where two pieces come together where people tell me that the washer did everything from the ground. This is just my feeling but even with extension poles, a ladder and getting up close is still the way to go for results as well as customer perception. The customer "thinks" that I do a better job regardless if they are the same or not. We still can do an average house in about two hours with this method. Just my opinion and how we do it.Everett, you use ladders and extension poles on all your house washings. Isnt that a real pain and can you get every area that well. Im sure you do great work of course, but it seems like to much work and a better chance of injury being on a ladder so much. Ive seen guys that use ladders all over a house and it seems that you actually would see less, because you are so close to the house. I get customers all the time that tellme thier house has never been done so well and the last guy did it with a ladder and didnt get the peaks well at all. I use a ladder if I have to but, I like the Xjet and sometimes chem. injecter, with know problem at all and if theres a problem with siding, popping off, which there very rarley is, its always because of crappy instillation. Im not putting down the way you do it, it just seems like alot of extra work for me, If I was to do it that way. I can get the same clean results from my cleaning and usually the customers are amazed at the Xjet at work
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Thanks for the tip Jeff, The only thing i am bothered about is the fact that the house had alot of bugs and crap on it and he is one of the customers that says, and i quote " When sparkle wash did it it looked like new, and jesse i am not Sh*&%ing you. The other tought part about this guy is he thinks everything is going to look like new, on all three things i washed he said that they looked like new last time. I know these have not been maintained for atleast 5 years, one surface was painted concrete, If we can make everything look like new then painters, siders, roofers....ect would have no place for work, and this is my firts customer so i also wonder if i didnt do enough homework before i started. I have the right equipment and have been reading these boards for atleast 4 months now and i was confident i could do it. Frustration, but i am not giving up, some people are just unpleasable.To bad your first customer is a PITA, but really dont let it frustrate you to much, if you know you did a good job, just move on. I figure if the other company he's talking about did such a great job, why didnt he have them do it this time. You'll be nervous for quite a few jobs to come, if your just starting out. Its natural. But as you do more jobs and learn technique and what to look for it gets easier. After a dozen or so houses that your happy with, it will get you some confindence. Hey you might even make some mistakes, but your lucky you have these BBS's to come to. Ask questions all you want before and after jobs. Everybody is willing to help I'm sure
How do you do your house washes. Do you Xjet, what kind of chems are you useing and whats the ratio
Good luck
JL
We've all done it.
in The Club House
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I once did a house wash and to get the sides of 2 little widow dormers, I went up a step ladder and got on the roof it was about 8-10' high. Got off step ladder, up on roof, cleaned and ready to come down. OOPS step ladder blew over. Well I knew the homeowner was home, but he had told me he was going to tale a nap and paid me ahead of time.
Well I kept looking and thinking I can just jump like the stuntmen do in the movies. I decided to try to wake up the homeowner. So hear I amm jumping up & down on the roof, banging my foot, going over to the side with windows and knocking on house. This guy sure can sleep!!
Well I did my stuntman thing. I knew to jump and try to land easy on my feet and then roll, you know the stuntmen do it all the time. Well I did it, other then a good stinging feeling when i first hit the ground I was fine, Real good tuck & roll technique I used.
I no sooner got down and the homeowner came out and said hows it going, He couldnt sleep.:lgbugeyes I didnt mention to him I just jumped of his roof. I surprised he didnt ask why I was limping