I am new to power washing, I actually have not done my first job but I have been talking about adding the service. I don’t even own any equipment as of yet. Today I was referred to a big job by a friend, the biggest job for me ever & wants me to give him a estimate but tbh I have so many questions & I am not sure where to start.
After reading on the red tile roofs I know you want to slft wash & not pressure wash & ideally not walk on the rooof to avoid damaging the roof & obvious safety reasons.
I am attaching the pictures I was sent & will follow up with my questions.
I am assuming I would have to use two seperate mixes, one for the roof & one for the stone on the exterior.
The same stone is used on the fence as well as the mailbox.
I have $1500 at my disposal for equipment & was planning to start of with a 4.0 gpm pressure washer & whatever nozzles attachments I would need. Also a diaphragm, my initial plan is to use a ladder & wash the roof from the ladder without stepping on it. I am also not opposed to renting a bucket truck/cherry oicker if need be.
As far as washing the stone. Would I need any other special equipment?
The other thing is I don’t know how to bid for this type of work, he wants a bid for everything, windows & gutters included. I am at 575 just for the windows & gutters. What would you bid for the rest or everything, the home is almost 4000 sq foot.
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Btw I am usually a one man crew but thinking I will need a helper. I thinking this is a good opportunity to get business, as there are many of these homes around here but nobody seems to know how to wash them or at least the homeowners are not aware of contractors who do.
I am considering investing everything I make on this job & use it towards equipment. I know it’s going to be a task & will be slow at first but that’s fine, I just want to make sure I do a really good job.
Your ambition is great but your plan sucks. Walk away from this job. Way too big for your first.
Agreed. Dont do that for your first job. You can cause some serious damage with a good roof mix.
Interesting replies, I am well aware that it is a big job & will even admit that it’s more then I have ever thought of doing for my first job.
& I do apreciate the reply, but really, your plan sucks walk away is the best reply I could get?
Like I mentioned in a previous thread I am in NorthEast TX & as far as I know nobody around here knows how to work on these type of homes. I have found 2 in the Dallas area but both use the buffer on the roof which is supposed to cause damage, from researching it’s best to not walk on he tiles at all if possible
Yes I am well aware that I could cause damage & it is thus why I am researching & made this thread, to learn how to do it properly.
I have not taken the job & would not if I think I am not capable of doing it or could afford the proper equipment to do so but I would like to learn what would be the proper way of doing it to make that assesment.
What am I supposed to tell the homeowner, I can’t do it & don’t know of anybody that can.
If anybody is in North TX & knows how to properly do this job & would like to bid, I would be willing to connect you & work for free in exhange for teaching me how.
What would be a good plan sir?
I mean aside from the walking away part. One that would result in the home getting cleaned.
The best plan as stated is to walk away
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Trust me I don’t mind walking away if I don’t think I could do it or worse, would cause damage I just want to be able to tell the homeowner why & what he should ask other contractors.
Well seeing as how “my” plan sucks then figure
It out on your own or maybe someone else wants to help you. I know how to do the job. you’re the one who clearly has no clue how to do the job properly or safely so not doing it would be your best move. If you want to experiment on a million dollar house then go for it. It doesn’t effect me. But if you are serious about being a professional then be aware that professionals know what they are doing. Obviously everyone has to start somewhere but that house is not the place. I’m done with you. Good luck.
This is not your home. Don’t get emotional about it. It’s not your responsibility to clean it.
Develop a plan to learn this skill. Start with flat work, learn your chemicals.
Fifteen hundred dollars is a good start but not enough to get you much. Grind a little while, don’t pay yourself and put all of it into a setup you’ve designed to match your market.
It’s my first year. I did a large clay tile roof the other day. It was my 42nd job this year. I felt very much ready, with about a half dozen other successful roof jobs under my belt.
It turned out great. I killed a lot of stuff though, and cleaned streak some parts of the house that shouldn’t have been touched.
Luckily, for me, it was a remodel and I knew the person - very well.
Bleach In high concentration is scary. Be careful dude. That roof is going to need a lot of it, and there are no gutters to catch it, and there is no relationship between you and the homeowner to help that water get under the bridge when you burn up all their plants.
Find the nearest roof cleaner within 100 miles with good reviews. Give it to them. Pull hoses. Carry ladders. Watch. Learn. Take notes. Consider it tuition.
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I never said your plan sucks, Martinez said that my plan sucked. I am here to learn & I apreciate your reply & opinion, I was just hoping for a bit more then, walk away don’t do it.
Like you said “proffesionals” know how to do it & thus I made the thread hoping to get a professionals help but when said proffesional, “ you & Martinez” best response is walk away & don’t do it, how am I supposed to learn?
I can take constructive criticism & I would not do it if I was not going to do a good job but the point is I want to learn how to do a good job.
My plan sucks, good I accept that & I am not offended by that whatsoever but I do wish you would have told me, you need to hold of & get good at such & such before you take on a job that big. Learn about this & that product or learn about & master this tool/equipment before you do that job. Wait till you can afford this & that tool/equipment before you take on that job.
You simply said walk away & now you’re saying, I know how to do it but I won’t tell you how? Well thanks for those replies guy.
& yes I am well aware proffesionals on here know how to do it & I am hoping one of them give me better advice then just telling me to walk away.
Exactly what I would be willing to do!!!
That is some damn good advice.
I appreciate that reply & I was reading your response on another thread & how to do it, well how to clean limestone which is what I believe it is.
Have you had a chance to use the limestone product? Because in the previous thread you had samples but had not used it.
Also I would apreciate your opinion on the whole walking on the roof thing. I know you are auoposed to downstream, I have seen people use bucket trucks/lofts or shoot it up with a diaphragm, what would you do?
& yeah I know 1500 is not much when it comes to pressure washing equipment, specially for a job this big. What equipment would you recommend yo have before I took on a job this big?
Again thank you for your reply & I will take your advice & start slow, I want to learn & do a good job.
If I find somone that I think can do this job I would gladly give it to them & help them out for free in orser to learn.
Well I guess I’m a softy so here it goes. The roof doesn’t really look that bad. I try to mever walk on clay tile roofs because they tend to be fragile especially if theyre old. That one looks to be in good condition though. Still theres really no reason to walk on it. You need a 12v pump to apply your roof mix. For clay roofs I usually start at around 50/50 sh to water. That roof might come clean with 25/75 though seeing as its not too bad. If I’m not sure about the correct ratio I take a pump up sprayer and spray a small section of the roof before I start of to make sure my mix is right. The real work and money in my opinion is cleaning the house itself snd the walls around it. I’d use a similar method and mix for the roof to apply chems but rinse with my pressure washer. If you dont have a pw then a hose will be fine for rinsing the roof but you’ll need at least some pressure for the house and walls.
Thank you so much for the reply & yes the roof is not that bad but I do see some areas where it has black stains. I like the idea of starting with less chems, would I target these spots? Or spread it pretty even throughout.
& yes I said diaphragm but was basiclaly talking about the 12V pump, would you apply it from a ladder or from the ground?
The limestone does sound more difficult & I am awaiting Martinez reply as he galked about a limestone product in another thread.
Again thank you for your reply, I apoligize for coming off wrong to start off.
