First Apartment Complex Bid

Had a property manager of an apartment complex reach out to me for an estimate on the siding. There are 12 apartment buildings, each building being roughly 12,000 SQFT and 3 stories tall. Approx. 144,000 SQFT of total siding. Water spigot in front and back of each building. No breezeways. Property manager said the last time they were cleaned was 5 years ago though they aren’t super dirty. The siding is 75% vinyl 25% split face block (first 10 ft from the ground). This is a big step up for me compared to residential washing but I think it is the perfect opportunity for me to take a step up and I believe I am fully capable. I plan to tackle this with a 8GPM and 4 GPM. Cleaning the vinyl will be simple as that is 80% of my day to day work but I am not as experienced in cleaning split face blocks. My plan is to use an xjet and apply 12.5% SH with surfactant and rinse with white tip. The split face block is relatively clean with a few black streak stains per side. I have a picture attached. Does this look like organic growth and do you think this will be my best method of cleaning aside from 12v? Another concern is pricing. I know this varies but I planned on charging $.08/SQFT * 12,000 SQFT/building * 12 buildings bringing my estimate to $11,520. I have planned for 40 hours in 4 days to complete the entire job. This is 3 buildings per day approx 3.3 hours/building.

Planned Expenses:

  • Worker 40 hours x 20 hour = $800
  • 4 55 Gal Drums of SH = $800
  • MISC Chems = $400
  • Mix expenses = $200

Total Estimated Expenses: $2200

Estimated Profit would be $233/hour

Am I crazy or on the right track with this estimate? I took time on the property and in my laptop to plan everything out but this is my first bigger job so I have no experience besides reading to back it up.

Lastly, I plan to create a contract stating terms and conditions that will protect myself. Should I include this with the estimate?

I’d like to have this sent out in the next few days but wanted to see if anyone had input / answers to a few of my questions before sending it over.

Thanks for any help!

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Any advise on what to apply to remove black stains? 3% SH right?

I’d go 5-6% myself, go from there.

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On a big project like this it would probably be worth it to do a test spot on the brick

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Just did a brick wall exactly like that and I was at 6%… and it took longer than I wanted it to. I think at 3% you’ll have multiple passes. As deck said worth a test area.

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6ft wand and turbo. I love that style building. Less to wash.

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how long did you let SH dwell for? Did it take multiple applications?

I know this varies by location but does my price seen reasonable or should i come down alot more due to volume?

Your price is more than double what I would charge but you will need the extra income to take care of the damages you will cause from rinsing with a white tip. Should take about 1.5 hours per building with one 8gpm machine

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I think he meant that he’d be rinsing the brick with a white tip, not the vinyl. Which isn’t much different from using a turbo, as far as potential for damage goes.

@Innocentbystander corrrect. Using Jrod for vinyl and white tip for split face block. Maybe I’ll come down a little in price. $$$8500

My apologies, I was just going off this. I’m still confused though, are you washing with an Xjet or Jrod tips?

No worries. I was going to use jrod for 8GPM machine and xjet with 4GMP to apply SH. Than rinse vinyl with jrod tips and split block with white tip

Read this. Then re-figure your numbers accordingly.

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I would cut back on the SH to 5-6% and use F9 products for the black streaks :slight_smile: Congratulations!!!

The black streaks are more than likely organic so SH will take care of them.

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