Huge commercial gutter cleaning

hey guys! doing a huge bid for 32 apartment buildings. section 8 housing. and its a mix of 1,2,and 3 stories high for pretty much every building. I have spent days walking around each building with a wheel measure, measuring the lengths of gutters. Just to get an idea, an average building has well over 500ft of gutter length. I know a lot of us in the industry offer gutter cleaning as an add on service. So for the guys who do this, and have done large jobs like this, what are some things I should consider? Here are some things I would like to point out that I have already considered…

  1. Bad part of town. This is a very high crime area, its like a mini Cabrini green. I probably will have to keep all the equipment in eye sight at all times and because of this, I may not be able to move as efficiently as I may like to. Just doing the estimate alone was a little intense at times.

  2. Due to the height of some of these buildings, I think Ill need a lift. I have a couple 32 foot ladders, but I really do not think I am going to reach these buildings with it. Also, It will probably save time and money on the quote if I can use a lift rather than hauling around and fully extending ladders. No thanks. We will still use ladders on the 1 and 2 story parts of course.

  3. The price. I already know I am going to get “well price is different from state to state” but hear me out. I’m thinking about keeping it simple, $1 a ft for 1 story, $2 a foot for 2 story, and $3 a foot for 3 story. Also, due to the complex being section 8, a government job, should I quote this higher? or should i break them a deal due to the amount of buildings? I have all the insurance and workers compensation requirements for them.

I am thinking this is going to be at least a 30k dollar job. But I guess my own self limiting beliefs are making it hard for me to realize that. I’m having trouble thinking they will pay 1 thousand dollars a building just to have the gutters cleaned. I also plan on including soft washing for certain buildings that were extremely dirty and green. Walking the roofs are not an option.

I look forward to hearing what others have to say. Thank you.!

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Pics usually help

Can you not walk the roofs?

walking the roofs is not an option, very unsafe especially at 3 stories up, and the pitch is very slanted

Can’t or don’t want to. There’s a difference.
What you don’t want to do . Another company me bid the job with blowers walking the roof if it can be done. Remember somebody put that roof on . So it can be done.

Most sec 8 roofs have pretty low pitch. Like @florida_condo_cleani said, a pic or 2 would help

aaand this is why i never use this forum anymore. thanks for the input tho dude! I comply with osha law and could care less about what another company will do.

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pics above.

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You look forward to hearing what other people say unless you don’t like it. Getting elevation is walkable. Back side is 4 ladder placements. I’d be at $200 per building and allow 15 minutes max with 4 guys. Good luck.

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You should worry about what other companies do. It’s called your market and it basically determines value in your area. As far as OSHA if your properly insured and lisenced like you said you were then all you need is the proper safety equipment. . Honestly no need to be a dick you asked for input from people that do that exact job on a regular basis. Your getting exactly what you asked for

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It’s hard to tell the pitch because google map pics are always skewed, but I walked 25 roofs for a townhome community last year with similar (from what I can tell) in a day with a blower. 25x up a ladder, 25x down.

My hips and legs were screaming the next day, but I got $200 a building out of it.

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People seem to hate that with more regularity these last few months.

I can see both sides but ultimately if you feel walking a roof is unsafe you have to price it for method you do feel is safe.

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There is lots of little cottages on the islands down here maybe 800sqft and we do the roof cleaning on them all I could do was 12 in a day not because of time but because my legs would start to get weak going up and down the stupid ladder. 25 is a lot I’d probably be in bed the next day

Indeed

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From the pictures above nobody honestly walks those do they?

I jumped out of planes for a living…I wouldn’t walk those…especially at three stories. OSHA would not be happy nor your insurance company.

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https://www.osha.gov/news/newsreleases/region2/11302015

Don’t be like Ned Stevens…,.

It’s tough to tell from the pics one side has no pitch the other side could be an 8/12 or possibly a 12/12 is it’s an 8/12 it’s walkable if it’s any more either a ladder or a lift for me .

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I’d urge everybody to read the actual OSHA citations in this case in regards to gutter cleaning. Some advice being given will get you a 100k fine lol

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Either way proper fall protection is a must and just common sense

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