General Cleaning Issues - Floorcare, car valeting, buying and selling businesses, pricing, staffing, market research, etc.
builders clean HELPPosted by seanc (seanc), 25 January 2004
HI I AM LOOKING AT STARTING UP ON MY OWN DOING BUILDERS CLEANS ANY ADVISE FROM ANY ONE WOULD BE OF GREAT HELP 
THANKSPosted by Scots_cleaner (Scots_cleaner), 25 January 2004
Hi there is lots of builders clean work out there if i was you check out all the construction sites in your area speak to the site agents be picky about what builder you work with they will get every penny clean wise out of you?Posted by seanc (seanc), 26 January 2004
thank you i will be wary as this semms to be the most comman advice i have had so far the main thing i do not know is do i do 2 cleans on a house or just do the sparkle Posted by squeaky (squeaky), 26 January 2004
just be cautious as many builders want work done for next to nothing and then moan about the standard.
I have spent 8 years doing Builders cleans and have recently given it up,it is a thankless job not very well paid and I never get the satisfaction from it that I get from other cleaning that I do.
The builders around here (devon) cannot get buildres cleaners for love nor money and I am not surprised.Posted by jake (jake), 26 January 2004
seanc
builders will usually tell you what type of clean is required, some require 3 cleans, others just 1. my advice is to the best clean you can , and be THOROUGH!
As squeaky says, it can be a thankless job sometimes, but you will get to work for appreciative builders, which makes it worthwhile. Oh and don't expect to get rich!!!!!
JakePosted by seanc (seanc), 27 January 2004
if i was to charge about £10 phpp would that be about right for hants area and worth the hassle sorry for keep asking but befor comitment i need to know for when speaking to site agents (look a fool if i dont chek out from people i know it does sound like lots of haslePosted by Fox (Fox), 27 January 2004
Hia
I think about £12 per hour would be suitable for your area. However I would not price any of these by the hour to the builder.
Walk the site listen to what they want, calculate in your head as you are looking the amount of hours you think it will take.
Add a few hours on and charge for builders clean to be carried out in one quotation. Explain exactly what will be provided for this price - eg: window frames may not be included or removal of heavy rubbish into skip etc.
Builders cleans can be hard work and as they are one offs do not contribute to your regular income, however it can be very rewarding to see the difference you have made and the finished article.
Hope this helps
FoxPosted by catrodney (catrodney), 27 January 2004
Sean,
Having read your post re;prices for builders cleans,Fox beat me to a reply but having said that if you follow her advice you shouldnt go wrong,they are hard work and like everybody says a thankless task, but there are companies who make good money at it.Posted by petra (petra), 28 January 2004
I always give a fixed price per house, never do by the hour. Four bed with 2 en suits £150, but only took 6 man hours, as the builders were very tidy,
PetraPosted by suedsct (suedsct), 29 January 2004
hi im sue and new on this today. I too am starting a cleaning busines and thought about builders clean in my town as ist very busy. Just got my first client through my next door neighbour i said from £6 an hour she wont pay anymore but when she sees what i can do she might! im very good. shes got no DW 
so i will have to get the gloves on! I shes got many wooden floors in the house, 2 kids, and just 2 storey thank goodness, and start on Friday 29th. 
Im taking on Brighton & Hove and surrouding areas. any advice or tips welcome folks.
SUE Posted by suedsct (suedsct), 29 January 2004
Per house is a very good idea, thank you Posted by petra (petra), 29 January 2004
for domestic work anything from £7 per hour to £12 per hour goes, but £6 if they supply everything and it's cash yes.
PetraPosted by suedsct (suedsct), 29 January 2004
its domestic yes and it will be cash. I wont go lowwr than £6 i advertised from £6 and she wont pay more but i am confident she will pay more when she sees my work. are you in comm only ?
thanks for your reply Posted by squeaky (squeaky), 29 January 2004
We tend to charge £8 an hour minimum , more depending on the house and what the expect you to do.
We turn work away all the time at £8 ph but we have been doing it for 10 years and our name is quite well known because we do so many things in the cleaning line.
The best advice that we can give you is be versatile.
regards
MarkPosted by seanc (seanc), 31 January 2004
thank you every one for your avice i am going to give it a go do some rep work tommorw just hope it works out and i dont have the probs with payment as some of you guys if im not in it i cant win it i suppose Posted by suedsct (suedsct), 1 February 2004
My first job went well, she was pleased with my work and said its hard to find a good cleaner. I was tucking into the limescale and using white vinegar she was v impressed with this as she doesnt like chemicals around the house such as bleach. She still only gave me £18 for the 3 hours, if that were me and I was very pleased I would have given £20 but there you go! Im wondering how I can up the fee in the next week or two to £20 bearing in mind shes about 10 miles east along the coast and 7 mins inland through town traffic. I met her through my next door neighbour so she knows exactly the distance. her house is not heavy cleaning mainly real floorboards and untidy, only heavy bit was no dishwasher! very little space around the sink so hard to wash up when they pile it up to the taps! 
Posted by paul@ctcs (paul@ctcs), 1 February 2004
For builders cleans we charge a set rate of £95 per 8 hour day per cleaner and i know one of our rivals who charges £120 which makes many prices mentioned on this post sound rather cheap but presumably location and local competition dictate prices.We also charge £12 per hour for domestic cleaning but we are fortunate enough to have excellent staff and a great reputation.
PaulPosted by SteveTruman (SteveTruman), 1 February 2004
Just remember guys the builders need us more than we need them , so price with that in mind. With more and more health and safety issues coming into play you should not be charging less than £120-00/house going up to 160/180 for the bigger houses.
Regards
Steve
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