Technically started business last year but didn’t get much into it. Full time job got in the way a lot. Anyways first quote this year up here in Canada and it’s still cold supposed to be 10c on the weekend. Customer asked for deck to be cleaned because they’re selling their house. Deck is 10x20 unfinished pressure treated wood with aluminum spindles by the looks of them. Deck is pretty dirty and not that nice to look at structure wise.
My plan is to ds my hw mix with no follow up of ox or anything as they aren’t planning on doing anything else to it after. Was thinking about quoting around 350. I’m still trying to figure out the market in my area. About an hour north of Toronto. House is fairly close to mine so travel is not really a factor.
Haven’t done a deck yet but figured probably 3 hours to get set up, apply hw mix and rinse. 350 about 100ish an hour. Am I way out to lunch with this price? Trying to gain the most knowledge from the guys on this forum.
That deck will scoff at your Ds solution. Stronger chem via pump up or 12v. Cleaned with 1000-1500 psi. Imo that price is outrageous. I’m in central fl so there’s that.
He doesn’t think you’re too low that’s for sure. I agree with Daniel. House wash mix won’t do anything. He is from Florida which has the lowest prices for pressure washing anywhere but you’re still probably way too high especially considering there aren’t any wood spindles. Every market is different though.Get around Boston or out in California and $350 might be about right. The spindles are usually the most time consuming on a deck that small. Depending on your equipment it shouldn’t take you more than about an hour. I almost always brighten with oxalic even if it’s not being stained. It just makes such a huge difference for a few more bucks and a few more minutes of work.
Anytime you’re putting chems on a deck you need to test first. You know better than me what the cold does to the efficacy of the HW mix so adjust accordingly, increased dwell time etc. I don’t think $350 is too high to clean that with steps, railings, weather etc.
Owner said it was 10x20. I think the picture squished a little when uploaded for some reason. There isn’t many spindles but I will be doing the vertical surface under the deck where it is closed in as well. If DS won’t be strong enough what percentage you think will be good? 4-6%?
That’s a little too strong. You have to be careful because SH can fur the wood. Be sure to test like @MDA1775 said and see what you think. I would probably start about 2% and maybe 3%. You’re better off going a touch low and doing a couple applications than going to strong. Don’t let it dwell too long and don’t let it dry.
If you haven’t done so be sure to read the “Deck Cleaning 101 Thread”. There’s a lot of great info there and will tell you exactly what to do.
I’d do a bit more research before you do it (not saying don’t quote/do it). You are definitely going to want to apply oxalic or citric, especially since they aren’t planning on doing anything to it after you clean it. There’s a ton of good info on the wood cleaning 101 thread.
I have read through that a bit yesterday and this morning. So many people have different methods of doing the same thing. Some ds their hw and it’s fine some say it’s not strong enough and use 12v or pump up. Some use sh some use percarbonate. Some use of or Citric all the time some only if their going to be staining after. I know I need to gain some experience and see what works for me in my environment just trying to find a middle ground to start at.
Not sure where you read that but I don’t believe it is true.
That’s because every deck is different. It all depends on how dirty and how much organic growth is present. Different people use different products such as SH, sodium percarbonate, etc. See what works best for you and go from there. I use SH to clean but I can’t really see the deck so I can’t confidently tell you what strength you should go with. Go back to the 101 thread and start reading from the top.
Lol… My dad who was drafted during Vietnam tried talking me out of choosing the infantry. I was dead set on it and nobody was changing my mind. There are times I wish I would’ve went into something that I could’ve used when I got out but, if I use that argument, I probably should’ve picked a whole different branch and that wasn’t happening. Even if I could do it over again I would still choose the infantry route. My back and body definitely paid a price though.
If you’ve got a small machine, say a 4gpm, it may pull strong enough. Otherwise just use pump up or 12v on worse places. Don’t need to go that strong, deck not that bad, say no more than 2% should do it. If they’re selling, I wouldn’t bother neutralizing since mix won’t be that strong and they’re not staining. Having to do the skirt, I’d probably be 250-300 range, but you have shorter season so typically prices a little higher up north.
Thanks for the info guys but customer decided to do it themselves before I could even quote it. Glad to get the information from you guys regardless. I think I’m going to stay around the $0.50 sqft price for a minimum then adjust up depending on filth, problems, having to move stuff etc.
Being below freezing still at night and having nothing ready for the season yet was one of the driving factors for pricing this one so high. Didn’t want to rush and throw everything together for this weekend when I didn’t want to start before end of the month when average temps are up. But everything is for sale for the right price
