Anyone ever attempt 8 houses in a day? A client asked me if I’d be willing to make a trip to clean some rental properties and it’s a pretty decent drive. I was thinking of trying to knock them all out in a day. Most are small ranches, so those typically take me about :45 total. It will be a really long day, but if I can keep it an hour average per house it can be done. They are all within a couple miles of each other, so once I get up there I won’t have a lot of extra travel time. Am I nuts for even trying this?
Just get a hotel for one night and knock out 4 each day and charge him the cost of the hotel.
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Myself and one guy cleaned 27 houses and did the gutters on one day in the middle of August about 15 years ago. Granted, they were 1600sq ft ranches all in a row. Long day and finished in the dark.
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Setup and teardown is where you’ll probably lose the most time. I wouldn’t attempt 8 houses in one day unless they were all in a row and I could do at least 2 at a time.
I would also suggest making it an overnight trip. Might be fun.
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If you recall my 12v system I use, I have no setup and teardown time really. Wheel it to a spigot and go. 2-3 minutes tops. I’ll have to change batteries at some point though, I can only do 3 houses max on a charge. I’ll be charging the backup from the truck in case I need to swap twice. 45 minutes is average for me with ranches, including setup and teardown, so it is definitely doable for me if all goes to plan.
My hats off to you. I try not to rush anything anymore. That’s when I find myself making mistakes.
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Trust me I rather not, but this is a part time job for me and I just don’t have a lot of free time. I normally do 4-5 a week max. I’m taking a vacation day from my normal job to go do it, so if love to knock it out in a day.
No doubt. I wouldn’t send me guys to something like that now. When you’re young and trying to grow a business you do unhealthy things 
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4-5 houses a week is enough to justify a pressure washer. No lies.
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I mean, once you hit about 20 houses, there would be no option for me but to finish them all.
Edit…misread your post
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I don’t think that was the point he was trying to make. He was saying that your side business is at the level where it might make sense to consider upgrading to a more “pro” setup. Maybe.
I know your setup works well for the way you operate right now. But a project like what you’re discussing here is going to test its limitations.
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I misread I guess. But, I still have no means for carrying large mounted equipment. Honestly, for only going a few houses a week, I prefer my system. I have a 4 gpm, but my 12v puts out more volume and is on demand. I love it for what I do. No way it will work for large jobs, but houses get fine pretty quick. 45 minutes for ranches, 1-1:15 for large 2 stories. I think that’s pretty good considering all the houses I do are green.
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We’ve done 15 in one day, but they were all in a row and relatively small. Long, long, long day but it was relatively easy as far as the set up and actual washing was concerned. Had one guy wash and the other follow behind, so when we finished washing one house we’d immediately move to the next as the 2nd guy finished rinsing.
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Is your plan to do it solo (1 man 1 truck style?) or are you going to have a helper with you?
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Well I got 7/8 done. The one didn’t have water and he wanted to just skip it, which was fine with me because it was old painted wood siding that was in rough shape.
Started right at 8am and finished the last property right at 4 with about a :20 lunch break. Most were small houses, the last property being a 10 unit apartment building.
I’m pretty happy with how long it took me and for the most part went petty well. Pretty good day overall!
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