Clean It Up

UK Window Cleaning Forum => Window Cleaning Forum => Topic started by: e newlands on July 21, 2010, 10:35:43 pm

Title: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: e newlands on July 21, 2010, 10:35:43 pm
anyone solely survive on gutter cleaning
 
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Richard Neal on July 21, 2010, 10:41:48 pm
bloke round here started gutter cleaning, now he also does driveways, drains, forecourts and he just started advertising window cleaning  ;)
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Window Washers on July 21, 2010, 11:04:37 pm
some companies do, a company I compete with and I cant remember there name (lol) do this only could be craigs gutters or jims gutters or something like that cannot remember, so the answer too post is yes  ;)
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: richard jagger on July 21, 2010, 11:06:56 pm
BENS GUTTER a franchise.
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Window Washers on July 21, 2010, 11:07:32 pm
BENS GUTTER a franchise.
thats the one lmao
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Sean Dyer on July 21, 2010, 11:08:10 pm
its bens i think ww

i met a chap a week or two ago as i was cleaning some biggish properties he was doing annual / 6 monthly cleans of gutters on the houses, charging maybe £20 for a semi and £30 - 35 for bigger properties, he carried his triple ladder around like a windy and he wasnt far behind me !!
as there wasnt an awful lot to clean so he zipped along, still he said its hard keeping track of whose moved and died etc in 12 months but seems viable but i would rather have a round that gives me definite work and do gutters extra
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Window Washers on July 21, 2010, 11:11:09 pm
its bens i think ww

i met a chap a week or two ago as i was cleaning some biggish properties he was doing annual / 6 monthly cleans of gutters on the houses, charging maybe £20 for a semi and £30 - 35 for bigger properties, he carried his triple ladder around like a windy and he wasnt far behind me !!
as there wasnt an awful lot to clean so he zipped along, still he said its hard keeping track of whose moved and died etc in 12 months but seems viable but i would rather have a round that gives me definite work and do gutters extra
I would prefer to do gutters day in day out way more money in them, problem is repeat business..
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: geefree on July 21, 2010, 11:46:09 pm
No
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: mci services on July 21, 2010, 11:51:14 pm
can a man live on gutter cleaning alone?

I would say yes but unfortunately I have a family to feed as well as just me. if i was on my own and needed very little then yes
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Sean Dyer on July 22, 2010, 07:55:40 am
its bens i think ww

i met a chap a week or two ago as i was cleaning some biggish properties he was doing annual / 6 monthly cleans of gutters on the houses, charging maybe £20 for a semi and £30 - 35 for bigger properties, he carried his triple ladder around like a windy and he wasnt far behind me !!
as there wasnt an awful lot to clean so he zipped along, still he said its hard keeping track of whose moved and died etc in 12 months but seems viable but i would rather have a round that gives me definite work and do gutters extra
I would prefer to do gutters day in day out way more money in them, problem is repeat business..

he admitted he was only making 120 -150 a day

and it would be difficult to get round h and s having staff that high all day
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: AuRavelling79 on July 22, 2010, 08:30:52 am
Women can.


Jenny Agutter comes to mind.


 ;D
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Window Washers on July 22, 2010, 08:35:23 am
its bens i think ww

i met a chap a week or two ago as i was cleaning some biggish properties he was doing annual / 6 monthly cleans of gutters on the houses, charging maybe £20 for a semi and £30 - 35 for bigger properties, he carried his triple ladder around like a windy and he wasnt far behind me !!
as there wasnt an awful lot to clean so he zipped along, still he said its hard keeping track of whose moved and died etc in 12 months but seems viable but i would rather have a round that gives me definite work and do gutters extra
I would prefer to do gutters day in day out way more money in them, problem is repeat business..

he admitted he was only making 120 -150 a day

and it would be difficult to get round h and s having staff that high all day
getting round health and safety, use a gutter vac.
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Sean Dyer on July 22, 2010, 01:17:18 pm
not for everything

any gutter cleaning ive done, (which is quite alot) i reckon a very small percentage would suit a gutter vac, no way you could clean out the stuff ive cleared, tiles, etc and very heavy clumps etc

besides by the time you have surveyed it my ladders are on roof of car and im finished

also what about downpipes, you still need to get the ladders off

if its a huge commercial gutter then fair enough but domestic is ladders, or if too high scaffold tower or small mewp i reckon, i honestly dont see point in gutter vacs i would love to see the same house done and timed with ladders vs gutter vac and see the difference in the clean too

but going back to original post , i reckon gutter cleaning is an extremely viable and profitable full time business model , especially if run with other services as the prices are great , only downside is drumming up enough work to keep it regular , which is where window cleaning wins

also marketing costs for keeping enough work have to be considered, at least windows, you keep your work for a long time

guttering seems quite seasonal too on the whole although saying that i picked two up this week but the rain has been heavy at times so people have obviously noticed it..

i reckon keeping a day or two a week free for guttering and having a window round would work pretty well
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: afssm123 on July 22, 2010, 04:41:44 pm
Do you have a problem cleaning gutters over conservatories for example?
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: mick hay on July 22, 2010, 04:44:27 pm
i tried this to see what the response was.

went door knocking one evening, offering the service, and wasnt quoting cheap either!

Knocked for 2 hours got 4 jobs £55 each, 3 bed semi type of houses.

One day i intend to get a couple of door knockers and a man in a van doing this for me

Just depends how big you wanna get.............. ;)
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Sean Dyer on July 22, 2010, 04:49:27 pm
easy do them in about 3 hrs max if close together, not bad money eh 220 for 3 hours
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Davo on July 22, 2010, 07:50:37 pm
i tried this to see what the response was.

went door knocking one evening, offering the service, and wasnt quoting cheap either!

Knocked for 2 hours got 4 jobs £55 each, 3 bed semi type of houses.

One day i intend to get a couple of door knockers and a man in a van doing this for me

Just depends how big you wanna get.............. ;)

Its a big untapped market, could be as good as PVCu and Conservatory cleaning. If you put the work in promoting and canvassing then i think you could easily make it a full time living. saying that it depends what you call a liviing.


Mark
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: cat9921 on July 22, 2010, 07:53:15 pm
Man can not live on bread alone never mind gutters  ;D

Adders  ;)
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Dave Willis on July 22, 2010, 07:55:39 pm
I reckon you can make a living from it. But why? It's bloody hard work, stick to windows.
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: e newlands on July 22, 2010, 09:45:25 pm
I reckon you can make a living from it. But why? It's bloody hard work, stick to windows.

ive someone in mind and thinking of taking him on
just to do gutter cleaning
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Steven Shoreditch on July 22, 2010, 09:52:07 pm
Each of us needs a slave.  I usually have a woman on hand for this kind of work.
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: mick hay on July 22, 2010, 10:01:56 pm
its always good to have a finger in another pie!

After that winter we had, i thought i needed to do something about another income stream, so ive also got into pest control.

Im loving it, another recession proof biz. Not for the tight wads tho, you gotta spend a lot on advertising if you want to earn at it!!!
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Steven Shoreditch on July 22, 2010, 10:50:55 pm
I try picking crabs out of my pubes before I call the council, when possible.
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: mick hay on July 22, 2010, 11:06:12 pm
I try picking crabs out of my pubes before I call the council, when possible.



??? ??? ???
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: e newlands on July 23, 2010, 06:36:22 am
I try picking crabs out of my pubes before I call the council, when possible.

how do you remove from bum hair or has the council got a specialist contractor
do you use the 2 mirror and tweezer technique
im always interested in learing from others
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Steven Shoreditch on July 23, 2010, 08:03:36 am
I have a feeling that my last post was not in the correct context.
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Smudger on July 23, 2010, 08:22:22 am
Get your ladders out for this then....


3 storey -  30mins all done with the gutter vac

Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: bobby p on July 23, 2010, 08:23:27 am
only recently ive started doing gutters as a extra and its very good money. i havnt yet worked out how to get the dirt into my bucket and not on the floor though ! im thinking i could place my ladder up there in one place and using a pole rake the full length towards me .is that how you guys do it?
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Steven Shoreditch on July 23, 2010, 12:21:58 pm
Make an 'S' shape hook and hang your bucket on a rung of the ladder.  The more you fill it, the better it gets at stabilising the ladder too.

Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Davo on July 23, 2010, 05:55:53 pm
Get your ladders out for this then....


3 storey -  30mins all done with the gutter vac



That looks spot on smudger, may i ask what you charged for that particular job?







Mark
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Richard Neal on July 23, 2010, 08:09:54 pm
ive had to go round one of my customers today wo had a 'company' round lastweek to do her gutters, 3 of them were there for an hour and a half, sprayed it all down with bleach his ladder only reached the sills so he was standing on the top rung and then hosed it all off, messed up all the windows and has noe killed a load of her plants and messed up all of his painted shelves and stuff in the garden.
We had to go and rinse off all their work as it was still filthy and then do all the windows.
They charged £150.............
Title: Re: can a man live on gutter cleaning alone
Post by: Smudger on July 23, 2010, 09:08:55 pm
Davo,

you may,  but i respectfully decline to answer.

darran