Yeah there is so much around the Hampton roads area… only been doing it less then a year and I have alot of stuff I still need to learn… i am no where near
A expert , lol
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Atlas1 who is on here has a nice roof washing setup for sale including trailer
Guess I need to look him up.
@Racer how many gallons of roof mix did you use?
I did my first roof last Friday. 2500sf house. Burned though 15 gallons of sh on the roof alone. Mixed with cling and elemonator. Made 40 gallons total. Wiped the crud out in about 8 mins. It was a whole house so I used more but 15 just on the roof. I have my second roof this Friday. I only work on Friday lol. I work 4/10s as an API inspector in a chemical plant.
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What was the square foot of the roof
Not sure exactly because I use a Proportioner. Used about 15 gal of SH
What ever happened to that guy? Good stuff.
Is that side in the lower photo still not finished? Still looks green… I’m a Noob for sure and I’ve got a little wissy washer just a two and a half gallon per minute but I find it does a pretty good job on the residential houses I do with the proper tips ones and sh I’m able to get houses and high peaks fairly easily since I’ve got a lower flow it does take me a little longer it may take me two and a half hours. In most cases I use Dollar Store bleach on really bad houses I may use anywhere from four to six gallons of it put it on let it do its work and get the house clean in my neighborhood on an average 1500 to 2000 square foot house you’re not going to get more than 100 to 125 bucks there are a ton of guys out here with the big machines that offer their specials I wish I could get that kind of money that you’re getting but on the other side of it I don’t feel right asking for that much since I haven’t got the top-of-the-line equipment either but the house is sure do look pretty in the customers are happy. This was 1800 sq ft and took 1.5 hours
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Your prices shouldn’t depend on your equipment. If you’re getting the job done, most customers don’t care. Don’t sell yourself short. All better equipment does is help you be more efficient and quicker, not necessarily better.
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It was clean, but still wet. I think it was reflecting the greenery around it. This was in the middle of the woods.
As @Racer said, don’t sell yourself short. People in general pay for results, professionalism, and the way you make them feel.
If the “going rate” is low in your area, that can be tough. But don’t make the mistake of basing the “going rate” on the $99 housewash bandit signs you may see in your area. It’s likely that most professional outfits are charging more than that.
And even if rates are a little low in your area, you can still set yourself apart with your marketing and customer service. You can tap into a segment of the market that appreciates the personal service that they can only get from an owner-operator. You want customers who don’t call around to get the “best price”, but the ones who search for the “best company”. Make yourself the best small company to deal with, and those with the right outlook will find you and pay you what you’re worth.
All that said, I think it’s highly unlikely you’ll ever make $150+/hr with a 2.5gpm machine. But if you can get your rates up to ~$100/hr, and then upgrade to a 4 or 5.5 gpm setup, you’ll be ahead of the curve and pulling $200+/hr.
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Thanks Racer, I appreciate that. I get thst, but at the same time I don’t want to turn away anything I can make money on (even though it may not be what it should). $100-$150 bucks in my pocket is better than not getting it right now). I did do a larger house 40’ to the peak at the rear, hardie siding with a deck, driveway wash as well and I got $750 for it).
Customer loved it and gave good reviews as well. It was one of my first jobs and I probably did a better job than most would, I do care about doing it right and giving a little extra to make sure it’s right… Kind of a perfectionist at times)… I ‘worked’ to hard on it, by that I mean I didn’t let the chemicals do the work. I have learned quite a bit since then but for my first season, I didn’t really even start this until July after the company I worked for went out of business I would consider it a successful first attempt next season I definitely will be upgrading to a better machine. Duck season I think we’ll try to raise our prices and focus on the service and not worry about the guys doing the $125 wash even some of these guys with the trailers and larger companies that offer the 125 special. From some of the ones I’ve seen they kind of blow through it without paying any attention to detail and it really doesn’t look very good and then they hit you with up charges for everything else I want to offer a little bit more in my service to justify the price because I think people appreciate getting something that they pay for if that makes sense
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I am making over 100 to 250 an hour with a 3.5 gpm machine. Not sure if his area is doable because of the cheap bandit signs. I also can’t sell a driveway for more than 125, but can sell a 900sqft house for 350. Most people won’t even pay 50 for a driveway.
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Yeah it’s amazing you can walk up to a black filthy driveway tell him fifty bucks and they look at you like you’re nuts but what I found works for me is a package deal I gave him a price and while my standard is probably a hundred twenty-five if I need to do a driveway etcetera I’ll put it all together in a price and say Here’s your price and here’s what’s included which normally is the driveway and I can get it that way and they’re so happy once it’s done and they see the difference. These were done with my $60 Black & Decker scrubber picked up from Lowe’s
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Thanks man appreciate that I shoot to try and make 50 an hour with what I’ve got even if I’m a little bit less most of those are cash job so with the minimal investment in it that’s my in my pocket and keeps me going to the next one
$50 an hour is not much after taxes and expenses. You can bump it up I am sure.
Package deals are great, but I have noticed they really bite me in the ass most of the time. Say I sell a 1500sqft house for 450 and every side is super easy to hit, can knock it out in an hour and then upsell the driveway and sidewalk for 100. I will be there 3-4x longer because of my equipment. I have a. 20inch surface cleaner running on a 3.5gpm 4000psi pressure washer. Not ideal at all. A little driveway like that would be worth it though. What have taken an hour for $450 took almost 5 at $550… The driveway and sidewalk was bad.
That was a real example.
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Lol, yeah, have had a few of those too. In my area your average driveway is probably 40 foot 2 car with my scrubber I can knock that out in about 30 minutes or so but I have run across a few that were a lot dirtier than I thought they were they took me a bit longer. And me having a smaller machine house is obviously take longer as it is, sometimes I have found I am having to use a lot more chemical applications. Sometimes it just eats the green off the house sometimes it takes a few coats all learning experience for me
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How long do you think it will take you to get a 4 rpm machine? Make sure you get a belt drive one if possible.
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Getting one this winter. I’m a contractor so I do other stuff, but really enjoy the pressure washing. I could get one now but want to make sure I have funds for any slow weeks this winter to pay the bills
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