I think I learned my lesson...don't give estimates over the phone. The house in the photo below had called and asked for an estimate on washing their siding. I checked the address and it was a good bit away, so I just told him my min. charge was $250 and I could wash his 30 feet of siding for that. I completely assumed he'd say no.
So he said sounds good...we show up today after another job and oh my...the siding is horrible.
I mean the paint is actually missing. There is artillery fungus spores on it near the bottom (from some old red mulch he had)...
So I decided to talk with the customer, and explain that his siding needed painted and that we can basically wash it to get it ready to be painted (prep it)...for the same price, but I threw in some windows and the front sidewalk to keep him happy.
He said, "so the darker spots won't come off?" I told him that the dark spots were where the paint was missing and no way would washing the house take them off. He understood. I further explained the artillery fungus, and he said his neighbor told him the same thing I did -- that it needed painted...he had already replaced the mulch with small rocks.
--
So we wash...gets the siding clean, no doubt, but of course we can't remove something that is there because there's no paint lol...
Anyway, what do you think about those pics? Would you have even tried to wash that?
--
So we are finishing up...his wife comes home and says no way in hell they're paying because the house isn't clean. I just gave them an invoice, told her about her husband's decision...but she insisted. I told her no big deal, just decide what she thinks is fair, and pay me that amount...I doubt I'll see a dime.
--
It's not like I'm slow either, I have a decent sized deck (390 sq. foot, 50+ feet of railings) to do that I'm starting tomorrow and a 300+linear foot 2-story vinyl siding wash that is only 2 years old...oh well...you win some, you lose some.
--
Anyway, I stopped to check a deck I did recently on my way home...beautiful.
Ahh man...what a day.
I think I learned my lesson...don't give estimates over the phone. The house in the photo below had called and asked for an estimate on washing their siding. I checked the address and it was a good bit away, so I just told him my min. charge was $250 and I could wash his 30 feet of siding for that. I completely assumed he'd say no.
So he said sounds good...we show up today after another job and oh my...the siding is horrible.
I mean the paint is actually missing. There is artillery fungus spores on it near the bottom (from some old red mulch he had)...
So I decided to talk with the customer, and explain that his siding needed painted and that we can basically wash it to get it ready to be painted (prep it)...for the same price, but I threw in some windows and the front sidewalk to keep him happy.
He said, "so the darker spots won't come off?" I told him that the dark spots were where the paint was missing and no way would washing the house take them off. He understood. I further explained the artillery fungus, and he said his neighbor told him the same thing I did -- that it needed painted...he had already replaced the mulch with small rocks.
--
So we wash...gets the siding clean, no doubt, but of course we can't remove something that is there because there's no paint lol...
Anyway, what do you think about those pics? Would you have even tried to wash that?
--
So we are finishing up...his wife comes home and says no way in hell they're paying because the house isn't clean. I just gave them an invoice, told her about her husband's decision...but she insisted. I told her no big deal, just decide what she thinks is fair, and pay me that amount...I doubt I'll see a dime.
--
It's not like I'm slow either, I have a decent sized deck (390 sq. foot, 50+ feet of railings) to do that I'm starting tomorrow and a 300+linear foot 2-story vinyl siding wash that is only 2 years old...oh well...you win some, you lose some.
--
Anyway, I stopped to check a deck I did recently on my way home...beautiful.
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