Gutter Cleaning Out..?

[Guest rfitz]

Curious as to what people charge for cleaning out gutters, my prices start at $200 and go up from there, is that standard, hi, low etc.. for this type service, seems like more time is needed than first thought, tried the gutter hook, but it doesnt really get them as clean as getting up there with a ladder and putting tip in gutter horizontally and spraying with high pressure...?

[MelissaMW 14]

Personally, my time is not free. Maybe on the quote giving it's free, but working, my time is not free.

When does the CPA say you can count your own time?

[The Rob 14]

Does the CPA count their own time, or is free?

[MelissaMW 14]

Oh I so wish our CPA was free! *laughs* Only use him once a year basically, for the end of year taxes, but holy moly! Eh, at least that's a write off.

[Aplus 525]

Rob,

You mention being one of the top quality contractors in St. Louis. How are you going to maintain that status, as well as uphold your warranty policy when you do the low-medium-high quality work on decks you've mentioned before?

I suspect your low and medium quality jobs are going to prematurely fail, so you'll need to get some new contracts for them that state there is no warranty.

If you know you're work is in the top of the field, why risk ruining your reputation doing sub standard work just to make a few dollars for the present?

Referals make up around 1/3 of my work, which I'm sure I wouldn't get if I did someone a "budget" deal, and it failed within a year.

[Paul B. 523]

Rob,

If the workers are legal that's great! At least one of you is legal.

The next step is for you to get legal with their witholdings!

If your time is free, then why do you charge your customers for your time? Charge them for equipment use and materials only.

With that kind of advice, I think you need to find another CPA!

...and keep reading those business books!

Melissa,

You may give free estimates, but your time is still considered working.

- When you do paperwork for your business, that is considered working.

- If you drive to the store to pick up supplies, that is considered working.

- If you have to pick up business cards at the printer, ...your working.

These all become the composite for your hourly rate.

If you had to do the above things while working for someone else, would you expect to get paid for it? Would you consider it working? YEEES!

[Guest rfitz]

Tony so far, the substandard work as I call it has been decks that have been PAINTED with an acrylic, or similar and will not fail for a long time, these are the folks that want a once every 10 year deck treatment, at least for now this has been my experience, I havent had to skip on steps with these decks because there is only 2 steps wash and paint, kind of hard to mess that up. or do a bad job, I havent yet stained a deck that a person wanted a half ass job on, I just dont get those, most of the folks here that want the $1.00 a sq ft deal get their deck or fence painted, and I would be a fool to turn these down, they are the easiest money by far, and very time efficient, I dont have a problem offering this to people as a 2nd choice if they cant afford the 1st choice which is high quality furniture looking deck, stripping, washing, britening, sanding, staining etc.. and its hard to get a bad rep when someone says paint my deck and you paint their deck...?

[Guest rfitz]

Melissa, my cpa syas until you have your full 1st year of biz, and account for all your billing, expenses, profit. loss, etc.. you dont know what your time is worth, I disagree, so I always shoot for $150 an hour and most of the time I hit that, for example today I washed a lady's deck that is already painted red,

now she wants it brown, painted, and washed her driveway, cost of the job

$1450.00 I spent 3.5 hours there today washing and always collect half up front so thats $725.00 today, and another $725.00 after I PAINT IT brown which shouldnt take more than 4-6 hours, total labor 7-10 hours total cost of materials $85.00

[Mike Williamson 198]

Whaddaya mean you can't count your own time? What if you're the only one working???? That's crazy.

[Mike Cappa 14]

Rob, how do you know what will fail and what won't? You say it is your experience to know when something fails, yet you haven't been in business a full year, so where does this experience fit in? In my exp., (more than a year) I have seen paint and stains that are warrantied to last more than a year, fail in less than a year. Bad quality? mistake in production? hard to tell sometimes, however, it can and usually will happen every once in a while. Now, you only stand behind your work for a year? Why not the 10 years you say it will last, or what is it that you stand behind? I have to say, I liked your posts in the past and like that you are here to learn, but after seeing how you pay your help, not pay taxes, and in a sense, snub your nose up at legal operating businesses, I must say I am dissapointed. I do hope you learn and do things correctly and legally, but from reading your previous posts up until recently, it seems you contradict yourself alot (in my opinion) and you seem to talk to some people like you are a know it all in some aspects. Rob, one thing I have learned in biz, as well as life, when you think you know it all, get out, because it is all downhill from there. You are making certain changes to your setup which you say will help you, I am not going to make any suggestions, but I would like to talk to you next year, if you are still in business, to see what mistakes you did or didn't do or think you did or didn't do with the setup you are getting. I may also be in your area do to a large contract signing to do some work and if you are as good as you say you are, maybe I will hire you as a sub. But, I will check your work out first. Oh, and I pay by check.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Ron P, gutters are alot like that here too.

Paul B., I concur!!!

We pay by check and withold all the required state and federal taxes, social security, etc.... We get copies of two ID's. Everyone who works for us is legal.

[James 625]

I just want to work 200 day's a year and average 500 to 800 dollars a day. I go to bed Dec. 26 wake-up in Jan. go Florida for 10 days go back to bed and wake up Mardh 16 ( St..Paddys 17 ). April's booked.

Ritz cracker you have to calm down. If you want to get big. Sit down with you SCORE rep. and do a BIZ plan. If you went into biz ( 2003) in my state CT. you would be in the toilet. I've had bad weather since last April 2002. Don't become a Royal Flush ! You have many grand idea's which will work in time. In this type of biz take it slow.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Good advice.:yoda:....

[herbie1 14]

A good rule of thumb when you are doing gutters is to upsell gutter guards. Most houses have either vinyl or seamed metal gutters. You can get vinyl guards at Home Depot, Lowes, etc for about $1.00 for a 3 ft piece. Installing these after you clean out the gutters is where you can really up the ante for the customer and for your bottom line.

[Henry B. 4]

Ron P, gutters are alot like that here too.

Paul B., I concur!!!

We pay by check and withold all the required state and federal taxes, social security, etc.... We get copies of two ID's. Everyone who works for us is legal.

I have to agree with Beth here, Being legal is the only way to save your own butt. I pay all the taxes ect. run background checks on employees, pay benifits and 5 days off a year. I worked too damn hard to find good employees to putz around with the legal issues and low wages.

As for Gutter cleaning. I've been doing them for about 15 years now and I love doing it. It gives us something to do during the winter and it gives our customers something to call us for.

Henry

[beyoungsr 14]

Herbie 1,

Once you install the guards the customer will no longer need your services.

Seems like a one time up sale!

[Mike Cappa 14]

yes, but...

what do you get to clean them compared to what you get to install gutter guards? I get on average 85 to clean, and on average 800 to install the guards. It is like getting a 10 year cleanout contract in one job. I would rather install gutter guards for everyone on time rather than clean out their gutters each year.

[Henry B. 4]

As I said before, I have been cleaning gutters for a loooong time now and I have found that most gutter guards out there just don't work that well. I use a system called permaflow gutter guards now and they seem to work very well. Expcecially when you compare them to the wire or plastic mesh screens. In my area, the heavy snow and ice just crush those types right down to the bottom of the gutter and cause more problems. The leaf stems also constantly get stuck in them and cause further problems. I've decided that no gutter guard is perfect for any condition. Even when you include the helmut gutter guards which are guarranteed for life!. I have seen them cause ice dams and other problems and I have also been contacted to clean out gutters with them installed. Which is almost impossible unless you take off part of the system and use a pw to rinse it out. Helmut gutter guards run about $13 a foot and are just too expensive for most home owners. They all in one gutter/ gutter guard systems just can't handle the amount of water volume we get in storms here in maryland. I've found that Permaflow is the most versatile system in my area and on some houses I won't even reccomend it! My customers consider me an expert in gutter cleaning, instellation and repairs and I have to be honest with them if a gutter guard they want me to install won't work. It's true I may loose some jobs like this but I would rather have a clients trust than their money. Over time, I earn the money honestly and it gives my crews something to work on year round. Gutters arent just for winter work, we do them all year long and if done properly, it works out very well for a new struggling company.

There are many ways to enhance your business growth during the slow cold times and maybe one day I'll write a book on it or something. <G>

I could easily talk all my clients into installing gutter guards and only offer a one year guarrantee for it and make myself a fortune in one year. But, what do I do next year for work?

Sometimes it's better to just take it slow and allow your company to build up over time instead of just jumping in with both feet and going broke. If your in the Montgomery County Maryland area, look in your local Gazette Newspapers for gutter cleaning companies. You may find 5 or even 6 companies in there along with mine. 15 years ago when I started doing gutters there were about 25 of them. Most of them went broke by trying to push too much to fast or just plain old bad business practices.

What's the rush for? If your planning on building yourself a good trust worthy company that's going to be around for a while you have to take it slow and easy and keep your over head costs down. If you don't, your just going to be yet another company that got ground out by that slow and easy going company.

My suggestion to anyone starting a bussiness is to do it slowly. Get your customers trust and faith instead of just their money. If a job is easier than you thought, consider discounting the job a bit. What better way to earn trust than to say hey, this was a bit easier than I counted on. I'm going to discount it by $5. Not a lot of money to anyone but it does say something really important to your client. WOW, I've never had another company be that honest before.

Henry

[CLASSICPW 14]

I have never seen the need for high pressure on the interior of a gutter. I don't advertise it, but if a customer requests a gutter clean while I'm there I break out the ladder, long gloves and a bucket. For a normal single home $60/side. Takes 1/2 hour total for $120. Wash down with a garden hose until the water runs clear. I love easy money.