Always charge to resand. It’s a separate service that costs you money and time
Yeah I agree, however I already provided the quote. The sand is pretty cheap and its not a huge area. I’ve already quoted him $500.00 AUD for what will at worst case be 5 hours work. First paver quote/job so I’ll be prepared for next time
Good idea, customer stays happy and you still make money. And you get the reputation that you stick to your guns. You can adjust fire on the next job.
Yeah, if I changed the quote he’d likely realize I’m not as experienced as I come across so could risk losing the job altogether. Did the same when I first started window cleaning, would undercut myself with charging free screen cleaning etc or underestimating the size of the job, you live and learn.
When I said to hit the corners with the turbo I didn’t mean the whole edge. Just the areas where a surface cleaner can’t get into. Think of an inside corner of a brick wall or any other obstacles. The good thing about a surface cleaner is it keeps mulch or whatever else from being thrown all over the place. You will run into areas where you won’t have a choice but to use your wand though.
Leave it
What @anon26752184 said. Leave it. It helps even out the lines left from the surface cleaner and kill/remove any mold and such left over. I definitely agree don’t up charge this time for re-sanding. It’s not the customers fault you didnt know the proper way to clean/charge. Hold true to your first quote. It will go along way with future cleanings and referrals!
I would rent a surface cleaner for now. It will definitely do a better job and save you lots of time.
And make sure the surface cleaner is the right size for your machine. Don’t try to go too big.
Also, check out Racer’s video on cleaning concrete. There’s a link here in the forums.
I hired a surface cleaner for my first pressure clean. Wasn’t too impressed however I didn’t pre treat and the nozzles likely weren’t right for my machine. I’ll buy some nozzles and then chuck them in the rental. I heard that for every gpm you should go 4 inches so that would mean a 16" SC however the rental places around here only seem to stock 20"
2 x 25025 in a 20" will be perfect for your 4GPM machine
(25020 will give you too much psi and potentially cause damage)
Cool, thanks for that! Ill order some so I can put them on the hire cleaner.
You’ll have to go slowish with a 4GPM, but with the pre & post - it will turn out great!
I’d still have a 50/50 sprayer mix to do touch ups and around the edges/walls for a nice finish
also just quickly what would you charge for a 150sqm brick house wash, I was thinking 400 aud? I’m also doing an exterior/interior window clean. You’re in aus eh?
I quote ALL my work, so there’s no ball-park figure/sqm. I get asked all the time over the phone, but I won’t do it.
Experience as taught me there are too many variables with house washing and even driveways (over here anyway). It always pays to see the job, prepare for anything that might take you time or be a problem on the actual day, like furniture/parked vehicles/animals etc.
This way, the customer and I are always on the same page, no surprises for them (or me) and it’s good to explain the process of what happens - and make that personal connection too.
Might be different there, but here, the houses vary greatly - even right next to each other. Not just in the construction/materials itself - there are a lot of sloping blocks for example. So the driveway could be 50 metres long and on a 35º angle and the house is at the top. This job would be very tiring for the driveway - but the neighbor opposite has a flat driveway, which would be very quick and easy.
Same area driveway to be cleaned, but not the same price
Short version - I always give a quote. Part of that quote includes pictures - just to be sure what is included, insurance purposes (if ever needed) and also for a nice before an after!
Also, always take before pictures.
That way if a customer says you killed a bush or your house wash faded their painted trim, you have pics to show it was already like that.
I forgot to do this on one job this year. Wouldn’t you know it. It’s the one job the customer said she thought I faded her trim above her windows. I told her it was almost impossible that my house wash mix could do that. But I went ahead and painted the trim.
First paver clean, lot more work than I thought. Had a friend help me by keeping the plants wet, managing hoses and helping re-sand. Lucky he was there as it would have taken way longer. Btw the pic is only from a portion of the job.
This job was the next day, they are definitely a lot more work than a driveway or pathways due to all the crap that gets blown out from the gaps and the resanding.
@wap2dem Nice work on the paver project! What type of sand did you use for the joints?
Thanks! Just dried sand for pavers/bricks from Bunnings