This is for @awesomewash1 but I’d like to hear if anyone’s process is any different.
@racer did an awesome video about washing a house in a timely manner so check it out.
Details. This house is one block away from mine in Kansas City. When I say two story house this is often what I mean. Split level with walk out basement.
Process:
I knock on the door to let them know we’re there and going to get started. (It was just me today since we have thunder storms.
I start pulling hoses off the reels (I don’t have my hoses on the new reels yet. They were coiled on the trailer.) I started on this house at 1:11 pm. My hoses have never been plumbed into my reels. Just quick connects.)
Fire up the machine and start soaping (I don’t pre-soak unless I’m using a super strong mix)
Soap 3 sides with my adjustable injector set at “half” since these sides aren’t bad.
Walk back to the trailer to dial the injector to all the way open for the northside. (Took just over 40 seconds. Also, I would normally soap only two shaded sides and my helper would soap the northside. The sunny side gets soaped last
Soap the northside.
Walk back to the trailer to switch from soap to water to clean the injector. (Almost 60 seconds because I put a dip in.)
Walk to the first side that got soap and rinsed my way back around to the northside which had 20 minutes or so to dwell. All in all about 40 minutes to rinse because I’m an over-rinser.
Clean the front patio because I like to throw a little extra in. Wasn’t much else to do here.
10… Kill the machine. Knock on the door. Do a walk around and get paid. Pack up.
Started at 1:11 and finished at 2:18 with hand coiling hoses.
Even with a smaller gpm machine there’s no reason to take more than an hour 20, maybe an hour 30. I got the feeling some maybe doing too much.
I should also note that there were no exterior outlets on the house which may have added another 4-7 minutes, but there was a garage door keypad I threw a nitrile glove on in about 30 seconds.
Taping outlets and keyholes is usually before pulling hoses.
You’d be packing your bags to turn right back around when you found out people don’t wanna pay what you’re asking for roofs. When I asked you what you were charging I tried it about 4 times and got the same “this dude is outta his mind” look from all of them.
Maybe it’s because it seems like roofs are always getting replaced due to hail or some malarkey by the insurance companies.
These. A 40 degree tip and a pink tip in my back pocket. (Seriously. I’ve had the same one for 3 years. All it is is a 0040 nozzle).
As far as houses go, I do two weeks every month commercial and two weeks residential. During residential weeks it’s been a long time since I didn’t have two houses a day. Every once in awhile we have three.
I subcontract quite a bit of work to a retired guy in a metro area an hour north of me and get 30%. (I gave him the machine, buy all the chems. He buys hoses, wands, his own X-jets, and maintains the machine. He uses his truck too.) he does 8-12 houses a month.
That’s a long answer to say I don’t know. I know what I wanna make daily and make it happen.
You missed a green spot on the front. You also missed out on that deck. 4.00 per square foot for the deck and 4.00 per linear foot for the hand rails and steps to clean and stain.
That’s about what I ask for and get shut down. I lowered it on this one spot on to @racer number and they approved it. This is my first roof scheduled in 8 months or more.
Brodie you’re going to need sone different nozzles. Send me your address and I’ll mail you some tomorrow. What’s with the pricing not ending in zero? 379? Or do you have to collect tax?
Haha I’ll take it. I use flat rates and studied a little pricing psychology before establishing them. $329, $379, $449 for the three most common house washes get approved by customers all the time. Lol
I would like to use flat rates, but I feel this would lower my maximum houses.
Like I have a 1200sqft 1 story vinyl house that I am doing for $500.
I am assuming you are on to something though. I have however noticed either the customer is willing to pay just about whatever I ask, or they are not willing to pay unless it is like 100$
Put gun on hose and attached garden hose from reel to house, start pressure washer
Rinse all sides of the house
Spray 2-3 sides of the house using my x-jet and keep wetting the lawn or vegetation for about 3-5 minutes then rinse the side I sprayed first
Finish the last side of the house
walk around with customer and take payment
I would have that house done in about an hour and a half. I also only use about 1/3 a gallon of 8.5% bleach per house. I mix it 1:4 and use the x-jet without any of the porportioners in it. It’s working great so far. I add more bleach to the mix for houses that are really bad.
One reason my process is taking longer is because I use a small trailer that is very hard to back up. So i just detach it from my suv and roll it up to the house. I should post a picture sometime.
I don’t presoak. Rinsing wets the grass for me unless it’s windy. Bushes and other plants get rinsed for sure though.
Never been a problem. I run straight 12.5% with the injector half open on the sides that aren’t bad and wide open on the worst spots unless the gutters are really bad then the whole thing gets the same mix.
My injector is 15:1 and even wide open the house is getting .8% SH.
I’m glad you asked that though. If anyone is using an injector lower than 15:1 and not mixing their SH with water first I can see how it could cause problems.
