[nathankaye]

Well for all ny speal on pricing confidently on other threads, i have a long way to go on pricing in pressure washing jobs (perhaps)
Iv only been doing p/w since begining of july, but really enjoying it and improving all the time (esp down to good advice on here). But need to be more confident in pricing i realised today.
Went to price up my clients' mothers drive. Blocked pathed and around (didnt measure) 30m long by 3m ish. Due to my machine (will upgrade when funds allow) i reckon finished by 2ish and so quoted 250.  My client nearly snapped my hand off and commented that it was a good price dont often get that anymore. Well, realised straight away obviously i need to change my plan of pricing and be more confident, by not thinking im asking too much.
Tho im happy earning that for less than a full days work, obviously want to earn as much as possible. Heres to needing to be more confident

[David Deer]

Before you quote just do a simple sum on paper :
Take your £250
remove-
cost of running a vehicle including petrol to get to job
petrol for pressure washer
chemicals
insurance
ppe
depreciation on equipment
reinvestment set aside for new pressure washer
business running costs (incl. phone, internet, stationary accounts etc)
The also think about things like re-sanding, specialist stain products and any other things you may have to do on the next job
training and development
tax and ni
potential cost of re-visit if you miss a bit
Then see what you have left. I would bet you it won't be £250.

[Mike Halliday]

Did that price include re-sanding?

It's slightly low but it was sub 3hr job (maybe 4hrs with a crap machine) do another one in the afternoon and you hit £500

The big problem is the attitude.......'tho I'm happy earning £250 for Less than a days work' .....I beating my helper with a bamboo if we only have £250  of work in a day ( cos it's obviously his fault  )

[Smurf]

Google earth pro might help you in pricing jobs up.

http://www.cleanitup.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=200341.msg1757332;topicseen#msg1757332

[Smurf]

Before you quote just do a simple sum on paper :
Take your £250
remove-
cost of running a vehicle including petrol to get to job
petrol for pressure washer
chemicals
insurance
ppe
depreciation on equipment
reinvestment set aside for new pressure washer
business running costs (incl. phone, internet, stationary accounts etc)
The also think about things like re-sanding, specialist stain products and any other things you may have to do on the next job
training and development
tax and ni
potential cost of re-visit if you miss a bit
Then see what you have left. I would bet you it won't be £250.

Darn!!! So I should quote about 4k for a small drive then ? That sounds good enough for me

[Smurf]

Well for all ny speal on pricing confidently on other threads, i have a long way to go on pricing in pressure washing jobs (perhaps)
Iv only been doing p/w since begining of july, but really enjoying it and improving all the time (esp down to good advice on here). But need to be more confident in pricing i realised today.
Went to price up my clients' mothers drive. Blocked pathed and around (didnt measure) 30m long by 3m ish. Due to my machine (will upgrade when funds allow) i reckon finished by 2ish and so quoted 250.  My client nearly snapped my hand off and commented that it was a good price dont often get that anymore. Well, realised straight away obviously i need to change my plan of pricing and be more confident, by not thinking im asking too much.
Tho im happy earning that for less than a full days work, obviously want to earn as much as possible. Heres to needing to be more confident

You can also get too greedy as some may only charge £1 per square metre to clean block pavers. Then 50p per square metre to resand if they want it done.

Myself I tend to go in at say £2 per square metre to clean block pavers. Then £1 per square metre to resand.  I don't win them all but I feel that is a fair price to pay for a proper job well done. I also have a set min price of £95 to clean and £60 to resand no matter how small the job is.

I would also add pw fuel, cost of sand, travel time etc to the job too and if drainage is really bad dump the price up more.

[Mike Halliday]

I price about the same as Smurf for cleaning & Re-sanding, but also apply weedkiller 24hrs before cleaning so charge £3:50m/2

There are companies around me who charge really cheap prices but it doesn't have any effect on my bussiness as often I am the only company quoting for the work so the price I give is accepted as how much it cost to do the job.......they can only compare my price with a cheaper company if they have the cheaper companies price, if the only price they have is mine then that's what they accept as the price to do thier job(hope that makes sense)

As for the cost of doing business you need to seperate the fixed cost of doing bussiness  and the additional cost of doing a job. Insurance,  wages etc still have to be paid even if you are sat at home..... fuel, chemicals wear & tear on machinary are the cost of the job. Thinking it's not worth getting out of bed for £250  can be misleading as even after expences it's still more than you will earn sat at home watching TV

[Smurf]

I price about the same as Smurf for cleaning & Re-sanding, but also apply weedkiller 24hrs before cleaning so charge £3:50m/2

There are companies around me who charge really cheap prices but it doesn't have any effect on my bussiness as often I am the only company quoting for the work so the price I give is accepted as how much it cost to do the job.......they can only compare my price with a cheaper company if they have the cheaper companies price, if the only price they have is mine then that's what they accept as the price to do thier job(hope that makes sense)

As for the cost of doing business you need to seperate the fixed cost of doing bussiness  and the additional cost of doing a job. Insurance,  wages etc still have to be paid even if you are sat at home..... fuel, chemicals wear & tear on machinary are the cost of the job. Thinking it's not worth getting out of bed for £250  can be misleading as even after expences it's still more than you will earn sat at home watching TV

Mike can I ask what weedkiller product do you put down?

[nathankaye]

I did a job about a month back and already weeds are showing on a block pathed drive. I would have thought the hypo i put on after turbo nozzel and left to soak/sit on top would have prevented weed regrowth for longer. (I do rinse down the drive after hypo).
So i was thinking of applying a weed killer after but before resanding. Would that help better than weeding before cleaning??

[Smurf]

If customer are willing to pay £10.99 a bag of dansand sold a wicks then that also might be worth a shot instead of using the cheaper kiln dried sand. I've not used it myself yet so can't really comment if it's any good or not to help prevent/reduce weed growth after a clean.

Most weed killers really need to be applied on the folage to be effective that is why I asked what mike was using.
Any roots & seeds left in the joints/sub base untereated and new seeds blowing about will soon start to  take hold again. That is why one of the reasons sealers are are often used afterwards as also helps to reduce weed growth.

[nathankaye]

Im same as you with the sealers, when i used to mention it to clients, the huge majority werent interested, especially with added cost. I have thought about that sand, BnQ near me do one slightly cheaper  and i get a discount on trade as well, but its the added expense. But then i can always improve my sales pitch perhaps 

[Mike Halliday]

 Smurf, I believe it this one, although I buy it from a local farm merchants

https://www.pitchcare.com/shop/professional-total-weed-killers/asteroid-pro-450-glyphosate-5l.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=google_shopping&pcode=112AST545&telx=01902-440268&gclid=Cj0KEQjwoau9BRDMvsnv5MCh24UBEiQAKOqcfdi4LPnOJrTOarlzn1BIu_x1bKqteaa_hiNheUwfs9gaAjCK8P8HAQ

This is it in action 3 weeks after application, some of these weeds were 4ft tall

[nathankaye]

Is that within 24hrs?
Thats great!

[Smurf]

Is that within 24hrs?
Thats great!

Mike did say "This is it in action 3 weeks after application, some of these weeds were 4ft tall" Nathan.

Many thanks for the link Mike...I take it you have to be trained & licensed to use it for reward?

[Mike Halliday]

Many thanks for the link Mike...I take it you have to be trained & licensed to use it for reward?

Training?.? Licenced??? What's them??

Luckily my helper was trained In the use of  weed killers by the council,  he did 10yrs of driving a quad bike around Hull squirting weedkiller on anything that wasn't grass.

[nathankaye]

Is that within 24hrs?
Thats great!

Mike did say "This is it in action 3 weeks after application, some of these weeds were 4ft tall" Nathan.

Lol ill have to learn to read n not just look at pictures lol   

[Smurf]

Is that within 24hrs?
Thats great!

Mike did say "This is it in action 3 weeks after application, some of these weeds were 4ft tall" Nathan.

Lol ill have to learn to read n not just look at pictures lol   

Don't worry as I often do that too 

[Smurf]

Many thanks for the link Mike...I take it you have to be trained & licensed to use it for reward?

Training?.? Licenced??? What's them??

Luckily my helper was trained In the use of  weed killers by the council,  he did 10yrs of driving a quad bike around Hull squirting weedkiller on anything that wasn't grass.

Ride em Cowboy ...Yehaa 

[Simon Campbell]

I've used that dansand smurf and without doubt it does work however it only delays the weeds, they still come back and at double the price of a regular bag of kiln dried sand I just recommended normal sand. The outcome is still the same

[Smurf]

Thanks for the heads-up Simon