by the hour or foot?

[CWheeler 14]

How do you goes charge for PWing drives houses etc... I'm not asking for rates but if y'all tend to measure out everything or just estimate the total # of hours and charge accordingly. I have been estimating hours and charging accordingly. I have been very accurate 99.9% of the time doing this. I am thinking that with improved techniques and equipment my times have obviously gotten faster over the years. In saying so i feel i might be losing out on some money by not measuring and charging flat rates. Any suggestions would help, thanks in advance.

[814jeffw 71]

Flat rate is the way to go, just makes you feel good. To many variables in house washing especially. Measuring, doesn't always suit. You could take two identical house and put them on different landscapes with different obstacles, and have two totally different prices.

Jeff

[CWheeler 14]

i agree every house is different as far as obstacles. Do you have a set amount for a certain size house? Also how do charge for drives? I want to set up my new rig with multiple guns so pricing on time is going to be harder for me to do, that is why i am looking for some alternative methods.

[Ron Musgraves 240]

I use both, we do customer service for residential home contractors. We have a trip fee 175 to 225 depending on the location.

We charge 75 per hour after the first hour. average house takes 2 hours and we dont prorate the hours. (Scope is only the concrete) Pools and decorative in backyards will extend the time.

We will not do these any other way, you find to many different situations.

Edited June 14, 2008 by Ron Musgraves

[Rob R. 14]

I take into account distance traveled, supplies needed (last week I needed to fill my water tank twice) due to customer having poor water pressure due to her well..Use of ldder, or if I have to climb on the roof etc etc.. Take all these into account and base your price off that..

[john@AEC 37]

Hi

You ultimately need to pay yourself (and your labourers) by the hour (plus expenses and profit for the business), so what ever way you work it out you need to get a consistent hourly rate.

Measuring the job is a good start - particularly for flatwork.

Houses can get complicated - site access, gardens, simple rectangular building vs complicated shapes with lots of corners, number of windows and screens, size of eaves, overhanging trees which give shade but promote mould growth, flat ground vs side of hill, single level house vs split level, part 2 level or all 2 or more level, wall material, is it covered in just mould or also dirt and other atmospheric fallout - especially oily soot from diesels... and the list goes on. This is where GGF (General Gut Feeling) comes in, you know what will make the job take longer or use more products, but only experience will tell you how much extra THAT job will use.

The other side of the argument is "What is the job worth to the client?", but that is a whole new discussion.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Take this post for what it is, help. I don't know how far you have gotten or what your knowledge base is regarding business so I will start with the basics. This of course is based upon wood restoration and will vary depending upon which facet of pw'ing you are currently focused on. House washing for most is pretty cut and dry as they measure by sqft/stories or by the type of house and siding they will be cleaning.

The following will give you reference and transcend into other pw'ing based upon what you have already learned to do.

Charging by sqft -vs- hourly. Well, you need to have a handle on both as I will explain before you can present either.

Charging by the hour is a good measure but in order to determine your rates, you need to first determine your productivity rate...ie sqft/hr.

Once you have a handle on this, you can be more accurate on your pricing without losing money and still maintain your margins.

Solidify your methods for each service you provide. Time yourself or your workers to determine how long it takes under normal circumstances to complete each service (washing, stripping, neutralizing, sanding, defurring, staining/sealing, etc.) How long does it take to do 'X' sqft of ...

You must establish a benchmark not only for pricing purposes but also for tracking employee productivity.

As you gain experience with this, you will also be able to account for difficulty factors and compute them more accurately into your pricing.

Now, let's go hypothetical for a moment.

Let's say you want to get paid $50/hr for one man to perform a service.

Let's assume that your worker can wash a deck at the rate of 100 sqft/hr and the deck including rails is 250 sqft. Given these variables your formula would look something like this:

250sqft / 100sqft/hr = 2.50 hours

2.50 hours X $50 = $125.00 to wash

Now for staining it takes some a little more time and should include prep and in that figure the total time should be averaged based upon when you arrive and start till all is packed up and the job is finished.

-this may not be in the exact order but the typical services are here-

Set up time = :30

Light sanding the handrails = :20

Application time 1:15

Break down time = :15

Total job time = 2:20

2:20 X $50/hour = $110.00

Carry forward the wash price of $125.00 + $110.00 to seal = $235.00

Now remember, the figures here are just for example. You can plug your own actual numbers in to come up with something more realistic.

This is the most basic way to price a job and once it is based upon real time productivity will give you insights into your labor costs. This does not however include prices for products, fuel expenditures and supplies which should be a part of this equation.

To determine them lets start by asking these questions:

Depletables:

-How much plastic will be required?

-How much tape will be required?

-How many brushes, stain pads/handles?

-How much product will this job require?

-How much Sand paper will this job require?

-How much fuel will the wash require?

-How much stripper/cleaner and neutralizer will it require?

etc...

Tools:

Pump sprayer cost?

Sander cost?

Ladder(s) costs(s)?

etc...

Most will assume that the tools are already bought but the products and supplies to complete the work will be consumed or disposed of after a few jobs depending on use and durability. But the costs associated with them needs to be included in your pricing.

Once you have been able to make a list of all the necessary implements of destruction you need to perform your service you will have the costs that go into your service to plug into your formula based upon which service they are a part of.

I'll stop here before I write a book and have to charge everyone who reads a plug nickel for my carpal tunnel syndrome. :)

Rod!~

Edited June 15, 2008 by Beth n Rod
further elaboration and corrections.

[Rob R. 14]

Good post, I will be stripping my first deck (12x20) monday morning using sunbrite's rip it and then applying the sunbrite wood britener as well...This deck has alot of stain on it as you can see, its behr semi-transparent and the customer wants the same color code back on, not sure if I want to use an airless or to brush it on :/

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Rob,

Please upload your attachment rather than copy and pasting it. It throws the formatting off.....

Good luck with the deck.

Beth

[Rob R. 14]

Rob,

Please upload your attachment rather than copy and pasting it. It throws the formatting off.....

Good luck with the deck.

Beth

I tried and got this error...

An error occurred while attempting to create a folder for your files. If the problem persists, please notify the webmaster

[ejprofpressurecleaners 14]

Hello. We run a business in Miami, Florida and we actually do measure and charge by the foot. I think it all depends where you are located whether you charge hourly or by foot. Why not charging by foot for a few jobs and then see what works best for you.

The only time we do not charge by foot is when we are doing hugh commercial jobs and then we bid by both and sumbit what we think is a good offer.

Hope this helps.