[steve123]

I am thinking of adding pressure washing to my services and would appreciate some advice.

I currently have a large window round (almost 1000 customers) so already have a target audience to start with.

I am thinking of hiring the equipment for the first few jobs till I get a feel for it, and to see if it takes off, that way if it is not as well received as I hope I am not left with hundreds of pounds tied up in equipment.
The difficulty I have is pricing. I don't think I can add on the full hire cost but will factor it in as a small % otherwise I will be too expensive.
But how do you price when you have no experience?
I cant use an hourly figure as I have no idea how long any job will take. If I had a ball park figure for a sq metre it would be a start but that again would have to be a guess at this stage.
help please!!!

[Griffus]

If you're serious then buy a proper set up, then offer a few family and friends freebies, or at cost, then you'll have an idea of what you're doing.

If you've 1000 customers, whay not test the water before taking the plunge   

[steve123]

If you're serious then buy a proper set up, then offer a few family and friends freebies, or at cost, then you'll have an idea of what you're doing.

If you've 1000 customers, whay not test the water before taking the plunge   

Thanks Ian, not sure at this stage what "cost" would be but I get your idea.

I am just trying to work out what my potential earnings are before I commit to buying any equipment. I guess I will have to do a bit a research to see what other guys local to me are charging so I have an idea. I don't want to end up under or over pricing really as I have found neither to be good in the long term.

[Smurf]

If you have 1000 window cleaning customers already shouldn't you be asking yourself first do you have the time available to offer anymore services. Personally I would struggle to cope will that many monthly window cleans let alone anything else working on my own. That's roughly 50 houses a day, 5 day's a week, 4 weeks every month. That would defo put me into an early grave for sure....

Anyhow just hire a decent petrol cold 15 lpm plus pressure washer for the day then have a go at a filthy block paving driveway. Then that should put you off ever considering pressure washing for a living as its filthy hard bloody work compared to wfp window cleaning.  And don’t forget to call back & re-sand the joints on another dry day 

[steve123]

If you have 1000 window cleaning customers already shouldn't you be asking yourself first do you have the time available to offer anymore services. Personally I would struggle to cope will that many monthly window cleans let alone anything else working on my own. That's roughly 50 houses a day, 5 day's a week, 4 weeks every month. That would defo put me into an early grave for sure....

Anyhow just hire a decent petrol cold 15 lpm plus pressure washer for the day then have a go at a filthy block paving driveway. Then that should put you off ever considering pressure washing for a living as its filthy hard bloody work compared to wfp window cleaning.  And don’t forget to call back & re-sand the joints on another dry day 

Thanks Smurf, I will take your advice, i have a meeting tomorrow with the owner of a large local hire company to see about hire costs. We have the same book keeper so am hoping for some discount 
As for the windows, I have been doing it so long I can run the job in my sleep now. I have a good team of lads who turn over good money so I have loads of spare time so looking for something different to break things up a bit.
 

[Smurf]

A pressure washer will certainly break things up a bit used in the wrong hands. 

Will take a while to gain experience using one but you will soon find out how destructive they can be.

[geefree]

And how they break down constantly.....


I would certainly be looking for something easier,  but having said that its another earner,  but it surely defines the phrase " where there is muck there there is money"....

dont buy any chinese crap ones from ebay ... and i would recommend 6.5 bp as a minimum.  unless you want to spend all day on drive .

 as all the 5.5 ones on ebay are crap..

[Smurf]

I used to use a 7 hp 10 lpm PW but seemed to take forever so now use a loncin 14 hp 3600 psi 15 lpm PW that makes the job go a whole lot faster. Also came with a two year warranty.

I would recommend Terry from jetmac systems as found him very helpful & offers a great customer service too. Depending what you are looking for he has a good selection of pressure washers upto 30 lpm at competitive prices.  

Here is his ebay shop if anyone is interested http://stores.ebay.co.uk/JETMAC-Systems?_trksid=p4340.l2563

[evil genius]

I'll second the recommendation for terry at jetmac. Great customer service and very reasonable prices.

[Smurf]

Depending on your budget you may also want to go down the hot/steam cleaning root. So maybe you should be looking at adding a separate hot-box/ boiler as well to a PW. Incidentally that’s what I'm now also considering myself as seems to be a good idea to use hot water or wet steam on difficult cleaning jobs.

Regarding pricing that all depends on your location so would find out what others charge in your area.

[Griffus]

Jetmac or Malcleanse, both good guys.

Who's waffling on about PW always breaking down? Only happens if you buy crap, bulletproof ------ if you spend on the right machine to start with....

[dmckellar]

if you are doing driveways you will want a good honda engine and a mosmatic dish (different sized dishes)

price it per sq. meter.

just google driveway cleaning and then add your area and see what people charge.

but remember its not just a case of washing it, you then may be asked to seal and also you need to sand the driveway - preferably on a dry day

its not as easy as some folk think because you can end up making the monoblock loose if you arent careful

[Smurf]

why honda? have you used any other make of engine?

what HP engine do you use also what size lpm pump 15, 21, 30 or bigger to drive your fsc's?

I don't know about you lads but I have two larger fsc's but found my small fsc cleans deeper and quicker than them both.

Regarding sealing I don't do it as find most ppl do not want to pay the cost to have it done. Also ppl expect far too much from sealing as they don't bother to maintain the surface so when weeds, algae and moss start to come back you will end up getting complaints. That’s far too much hassle for me Does anybody else agree?

[jaespray]

hi smurf. i to would like to know the true advantages from sealing block paving..
i agree with you far too much trouble. doing it. and later on
john

[Smurf]

hi smurf. i to would like to know the true advantages from sealing block paving..
i agree with you far too much trouble. doing it. and later on
john

There is no real advantage I think apart from making a bit more money from customers.

Weeds, moss, algae & lichen will still come back after time. But I'm sure others including suppliers will disagree. Personally I think it's cheaper for the customer to have the surface cleaned every year or so as most sealers will last only 2 years or less anyway. I always let the customer know that it's upto them to maintain the surface once cleaned as weeds etc will come back.

[TN Cleaning Services Ltd]

Just go and buy a petrol or diesel pressure washer from somewhere like machine mart.
You can get a pretty decent one for around £1000.
Doesnt sound like you need to hire equipment if youre doing ok with the window cleaning.

[Smurf]

Just go and buy a petrol or diesel pressure washer from somewhere like machine mart.
You can get a pretty decent one for around £1000.
Doesnt sound like you need to hire equipment if youre doing ok with the window cleaning.

machine mart??? Don't think so

[TN Cleaning Services Ltd]

If he wants to go and have a look to see what he wants and get some ideas,
machine mart is ok for that sort of thing.


Tim