Need some advice

[daryl 14]

Hello Guys and Gals I need your advice on by far the largest cleaning job I have ever had to bid on. I have to admit that the size of this church took my breath away.

(1) How much chemical do I need to clean with? (My guess was 4 55gal drums of 12% pool chlorine with 20gals of bourlox to give it some sticking power

(2) What type of boom lift would you use? The church is about 3 stores high

(3) Would you use a tarp on the awnings

(4) How long should it take a two man crew

(5) Should I give them a large volume price

Let me know what you guys think and thanks in advance

Daryl

[daryl 14]

Here are some more pic

[daryl 14]

more pic of the church

[JohnW 14]

Hi Daryl,

That's quite a big church, what's the total square footage on that building?

John W.

Superior Pressure Washing

Atlanta, GA

[Larry B 55]

Looks like fun. Are you doing the roof as well? From the looks of it you could use a scissor lift but an articulating boom will give you more reach over bushes and where the different roofs meet. Be careful with the awnings, I have found it extremely difficult to get a good enough seal on the building to keep the cleaning solution from running under the tarp. If there is room between the building and tarp you can put the tarp down between them.

[Celeste 341]

Are you sure you'd need a lift for that? Our Coress allows us to rinse up to 45 ft or so beautifully from the ground - for the cost of lift rental, you could afford to buy the wand and you get to keep that! Our personal choice on that siding would be Citracleen - we've done siding that looked that bad and it was a cakewalk with the RPC chems.

Can't offer any advise on the awnings - SORRY!

Celeste

[PressurePros 248]

Here is what I have experienced.

1) Churches are notoriously cheap in my area. Their budgets are planned a year in advance and their allowances for cleaning/restoration are skim.

2) The good news, based upon not doing the roof, that's an easy one. Your's appears to be vinyl siding.

3) I would do the majority with an extension wand/downstreaming.

4) From the pictures it's a little hard to ascertain, but while it's big, it doesn't appear humungous. (20,000 sf?) The bell tower and awnings are going to be the PIA factor and might require an articulating 40 ft boom.

How did you come up with your estimate for chemicals? Again, unless I am misjudging the pictures, it looks the size about seven houses. That would be 120 gallons of mixed solution. My downstream mix gets 1/2 chlorine, 1:5 sodium metasilicate concentrate and a 1:10 surfactant truck washing soap that has wax in it.

I figure I must be missing something if I come up with 60 gallons of chlorine and you came up with 220. Do you have a picture of the whole church taken back farther?

[flimmy 14]

Ken , I was thinking the 220 gals of 12% was a little high too. Even if you bump up the 12% a little 220 is way too much IMO.

Do you think you could get all the parts that require a lift done in one day ?

[Adrian 155]

this might be a silly question , but wouldn't an xjet reach that height?

[flimmy 14]

this might be a silly question , but wouldn't an xjet reach that height?

most of it , but he said some areas are 3 stories , so it may not do it all.

[Celeste 341]

3 stories shouldn't be more than 40 ft max - you could feasibly put the x-jet on the end of the extension wand and be able to apply chems to the third story with no problem.

[Adrian 155]

in my experiences with lifts, if he goes with articulating lift that would be the best bet as long as it has all terrain tires on it. Scissor lifts have the compressed material for tires (airless and smooth surface). That could equal alot of trouble as far as mobility on the grassy areas even to the point of sinking. If it starts to sink then a scissor lift could very easily topple over. Alot of the articulating models have all terrain tires and are equiped with outriggers to prevent turn overs. The roof certainly does not look walkable (or at least I would chicken out) plus I don't see where he would have access to all sides of the bell tower with a ladder. So I can see now where he might need a lift. But, IMHO, I would buy an x jet before I invested the 400.00 per day for the articulating lift.

[tropical wave 22]

No lift.... extension wand, x-jet, and a 10-12 step if needed for the courageous..... doesnt look all that hard, a bit time consuming but should turn out realy nice..... Im just waiting to see what the job gets estimated at, cause I have no idea from the pics on actually how large the structure is.....RPC chems and chlorine would work wonderfully but again, I cant really tell how much wall space there really is, so I cant toss out an amount of chems, sorry.... but for an easy vinyl good sized house I can get by with x-jetting a total of 10-15 gallons of wash mix which is no more than 2-3 gallons of soap and 2-3 gallons of chlorine (12%)

[flimmy 14]

but for an easy vinyl good sized house I can get by with x-jetting a total of 10-15 gallons of wash mix which is no more than 2-3 gallons of soap and 2-3 gallons of chlorine (12%)

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can wash a good sized 2 story vinyl house with 2 gal of 12% and 1-2 qts of F13 and the rest water in a 5. Then X-Jetting it at 20 to 1 and yes it turns out nice and clean.

[squirtgun 122]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I can wash a good sized 2 story vinyl house with 2 gal of 12% and 1-2 qts of F13 and the rest water in a 5. Then X-Jetting it at 20 to 1 and yes it turns out nice and clean.

What is the foot print of these houses? They must be some tall skinny houses.

I used 15 gallons of housewash on a 1 story vinyl( 2500 sq ft) yesterday and 30 gallons on a brick/vinyl(4000 sq ft) today.

I guess if your mix is getting them clean that is all that counts.

[wesley 15]

Daryl, unless I am missing something your chemical consumption should be nowhere near 220 gal. Also you dont need to waste your time and money with a lift. X-jet (m5) everything and whatever you cant reach from the ground you can get just by using a 12" step ladder. As far as the awnings go use a light bleach mixture and get on the ladder and spray your detergents all over it (saturate). Then just rinse, rinse,and rinse. I don't know how you are mixing your chems but on a vinyl job like this put 2 gal. of 12.5% bleach, 1 cup of tide and a dash of rinse aid and the rest water in a 5. Use your m5 without proportioners and spray. With the mix like this you can spray on real light and do 50' to 85' sections in 15 mins. or less. There is no need to saturate the church with your mixture like this it will cleanup nice and fast. If you are doing the roof you will have to ask someone else how to do that. Feel free to call if you have any questions. I am about to walk out of the door heading to N.C. for the roundtable. Wesley (706)-306-4791 cell.

[flimmy 14]

Scott , 1 house was 300'( length of all sides) x 1.5 story's and it didn't use all the 5. They come clean and I've never had any complaints. Alot of my customers even refer there friends and relatives. I do use hot (120-140 deg ) water in washing and rinsing. I use hot water for everything but wood.

[tropical wave 22]

Scott(s), the last house I just did was a raised ranch type, 2 story, vinyl, not too dirty and I used just about 12 gallons total, with about 3 gallons left over in a bucket.....m-5 the whole thing, so that came out to 2 1/2 gallons of citriclean and about the same in 12%, but the mold wasnt too bad so the 12% was tuned down a bit.....

[squirtgun 122]

Michael,

I'm talking about mixed housewash.15 gallons will have 7 1/2 gallon of 10.5% and 5 gallons of citrcleen,wet wax,rinse aid and water.I don't add the wet wax or rinse aid for the vinyl/brick combo's.

The 2 houses I have done wash in the last 2 day are what I call mold mansions,big houses with lots of thriving green algae and mold.I mix the house wash strong to make sure they are completely clean when I leave.I do usually have a couple gallons left over,if we are also cleaning the concrete I will xjet it there before running the surface cleaner.If not it goes into a drum and gets used on the hnext house if it hasn't gone flat by then.

[CCPC 26]

What is the foot print of these houses? They must be some tall skinny houses.

I used 15 gallons of housewash on a 1 story vinyl( 2500 sq ft) yesterday and 30 gallons on a brick/vinyl(4000 sq ft) today.

I guess if your mix is getting them clean that is all that counts.

I'm with Scott on this on. Whatever works I guess. Maybe houses are dirtier here in the south because that dillition just wouldn't work on the houses I've been washing. On average, I apply my house wash with the M-5 (open) and for the average 2,500 sq ft. house I would use about 15 gallons of mix (depending on what kind of exterior). Allthough, I did wash a 4,300 sq ft. vinyl house yesterday that I only required about 20 g. of mix. In my view, I would rather apply my chem. a little strong and make short work of it, rather than applying the chem too thin, and having longer dwell times, and potentialy less then desirable results.

In regards to the Church, from the pictures it seem a lift wouldn't be necessary. An M-5 with extension poles, maybe a coress for rinsing, and a couple of ladders. Just be sure to tackle the job on a day with very little wind, and be sure the parking lot is free of any cars.

[jason c. 14]

hey scott, why dont you add the wet wax and rinse aid to your mix on vynil/brick combos?

[squirtgun 122]

I don't like the way to wax makes the bricks look.Sometimes it will give bricks splotchy look,even when you pre-wet.We pre-wet all brick to keep the amount of chem absorbed into the pores to a minimum.

[tropical wave 22]

Scott K,

I was agreeing with your post about using only about 15 gallons of total mix an an average sized house.....the house I was speaking of wasnt very dirty, it was the gutters that were a mess and the house and the gutters were an upsell as I was there to do the deck.....the house mix was tuned down as far as the 12% due to the fact that the mold was very light..... I couldnt even waste the last 3 gallons, it just wasnt needed, so the whole house took about 12 gallons total... not too bad... :)

[Mike Williamson 198]

What is the foot print of these houses? They must be some tall skinny houses.

I used 15 gallons of housewash on a 1 story vinyl( 2500 sq ft) yesterday and 30 gallons on a brick/vinyl(4000 sq ft) today.

I guess if your mix is getting them clean that is all that counts.

The most I use for a 1 story 2500sf house would be 5 gallons...if that. I can't imagine using 30 gallons of mix on any house...That'd have to be a HUGE monster of a house...if you're Xjetting, that's 6 buckets of mix! At most I'd use 15 gallons on that 4000 sf, but doubtful because of the vinyl.

[Mike Williamson 198]

Michael,

I'm talking about mixed housewash.15 gallons will have 7 1/2 gallon of 10.5% and 5 gallons of citrcleen,wet wax,rinse aid and water.I don't add the wet wax or rinse aid for the vinyl/brick combo's.

The 2 houses I have done wash in the last 2 day are what I call mold mansions,big houses with lots of thriving green algae and mold.I mix the house wash strong to make sure they are completely clean when I leave.I do usually have a couple gallons left over,if we are also cleaning the concrete I will xjet it there before running the surface cleaner.If not it goes into a drum and gets used on the hnext house if it hasn't gone flat by then.

You're over-using the citracleen, but if it works for you, great! should be 3/4 gallon per 5 of mix...so 15 gallons should have 2.25 gallons of citracleen. I don't even use that much and get great results.

[squirtgun 122]

When I used the normal mix of citracleen I wasn't happy with the result(longer dwell times)I bumped it up after talking with Steve.

I am trying a soap I bought locally right now,it's actually a car wash soap.It melts the spider webs and other stuff really well and we are only using about 2 cups per 5 gallons.

With the cost of shipping now days if we can buy some of our chems locally and they do the job as promised we'll give them a try.