[Blast Off Stoke]

  If i charged that much around here where i work,I would soon be out of work ! 

[drive surgeon]

well maybe people expect it cheaper by you. i only price what the customers are happy paying.  if you take all your overheads in to consideration you need to be earning a minimum of £40- £50 an hour for it to be worth it. how the hell would you pay a mortgage etc if you did not earn that much??   i struggle on what i charge especially when you have to consider the winter.

£some guys down south charge £2.00 to £3.50 a sq metre to clean so if its a £150 sq metres of block paving. you work out the charges.  i know its different in some places and dont forget if your a small business you charge less than a bigger company. 

[super clean]

super clean wot sealant do u use,how long does it take to dry and how do u apply it?

We use a resin sealer drys in couple of hours on a nice day all ways give 2 coats comes in 20 l drums covers about 80 sq meters apply with roller  £45 a drum give us a ring 07962 015349

[AC Pressure]

I went to quote a job 5 weeks ago 620 sq mtrs of block paving not been cleaned in 5 years i put in what i thought was a very good price to clean and re-sand at £775 the guy was getting 4 other quotes i have not heard a thing from him he must have thought i was too expensive.
The other quotes must have been higher than mine i drove past today as it is only 1 mile from me and he still has not had it cleaned.  : do these people want it done for nothing.

[drive surgeon]

baldrummy.  jesus mate you mean you were to cheap!!!  i would expect a crap job at that price.

jesus the bare miminum you would want for cleaning is a £1.00 a sq metre. so thats £620 minumum.

then there is the cost of all that sand £50 to £80

then there is the labour for brushing it all in which must be a days work easy so at least another £200 minimum.

so even at a £1 a sq metre which is cheap you are still way to cheap. you are looking at a minimum of £900 for a job that size.  i have got quotes from loads of competitors over the years and this is what sort of prices were coming out .

if the custy wants a good job doing he wont expect to pay cheap prices.

most guys on here charge at least £1.50 a sq metre for block paving just for cleaning cos of the sludge and mess.

i have lost numerous jobs in the past due to charging too cheap. the bosses think to themselves hang on im not going to get a good job done here for cheap.

[drive surgeon]

baldrummy can i ask how you got the £775. what were your charges. and is this on your own or with another guy.

i work with a lot of business people like accountants, solicitors etc and they advise me on n allkinds of stuff. and they say if your cheap its no good.  people expect to pay for a quality job with no problems.

cheap usually means either you just started up or you wont get a good job done.

i can advise you if you post your charges.

[AC Pressure]

drive surgeon
I tend to charge a little less for the bigger jobs so this one came in at £1.25 per sq mtre to clean and sand.
After expenses Sand, Petrol, Insurance, wear & Tear, Diesel, tax, Nat Insurance etc and the job taking me 3 days i would clear £160 per day now i know this is not enough for some people however myself i would have been happy with that.
Did i not get the job because i was too cheap , no i don't think so because it still hasn't been done and if the guy had used me because i was the cheapest then he would have got a bloody good job done for his money as i never do a crap job i take pride in my work and always do a good job.

http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx54/baldbrummy/016-1.jpg

[davep]

How does he know it would be a good job?  If a plumber came in and told you it was £2.50 to fit your boiler what would you think?  Too cheap, what am I going to get for that!

Quote too cheap and custys will presume its going to be a quick spash n dash 

[drive surgeon]

baldrummy. yes you do a good job so you deserve to earn more money than you are getting.  when i firsat started jet washing 7 years ago i had a car wioth my machine in the back. i charged a minimum charge of £40 but worked on £40 an hour. so 3 hours was £120.  7 years later and all my expenses and bigger vehicle and loads of overheads im now working on £60 -£70 an hour.  sometimes £80 an hour on commercial cleans.  most custies will pay £60 an hour for a good job.

you should big up yourself and get the money you deserve.  godd luck mate.  

[drive surgeon]

exactly dave p.  do you have a minimum charge?

[davep]

Not really, hard to price the smaller jobs.  Needs to be more than carpet cleaning or its not worth doing.  May pass some I get your way if you want them as think your only down the road