I have a good size Job to bid and will have no water source. I am renting a trailer mounted 3500 psi 5gpm pressure pro unit connected to a 350 gallon tank. My question is if I am cleaning the pvc fence at 5gm and have a 330 gallon tank. Will I only get 70 minutes of run time before I have to refill tank. Is that correct?
Unless they have screwy math in Texas lol.
The fence is about 289 yards long and cleaning both sides. With the 5gpm machine how far do you think that would take and how many times would I have to refill tank you think.
No idea. Is it a 6 foot tall privacy fence? 3 slat fence? Are you soaping with the washer or jyst rinsing with it?
It is a 6ft pvc privacy fence and hoping to apply chemicals with pump sprayer and rinse only with washer
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You are a better man than me. Pump spraying that fence will take awhile. No money in that.
I pump sprayed a pvc fence once… but it was only 4 feet tall and split rail, rinsed with all my hoses, the customers hose… like my 4th job ever with 5 different hoses linked together.
Actually they were mixed between 3/4 and 5/8. Still took all dang day and I didn’t charge enough. I’m a little embarrassed about that one actually. Lol
What is your opinion on the project should I just use my regular 4000 4gpm machine and connect several hundred feet of hose or stick with the trailer and tank
White pvc fences clean pretty easy. I doubt you’ll use more than 30 gals of house wash. With a cheap chem sprayer you can knock out a 50 yard section pretty quick. You will use less water to rinse if you don’t get carried away on the surfactant.
Is there nice grass or bushes around it you’ll use more water. When you say no water, is there a hydrant around or a shop close by that you can drive over to and fill up your tank? 1 or 2 short trips to fill up a tank may be cheaper than renting a trailer. If the fence only has a little mildew on it and not much grass and bushes to water then you probably may get away with 350 gallons… Hard to say sight in seen
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The picture above is the fence that runs along the back of the property. I don’t have access to hydrant some areas of fence are bad most it just common mold and algae growth
Knowing what I know now… and what I’m capable of at this moment. I’d probably run it one of two ways.
- I would never run more than 200 feet of hose again unless 200 feet of water hose and 200 feet of pressure hose could get me from end to end without moving the machine/trailer. If someone called me to do this job tomorrow, I’d throw a second 330 gallon IBC tote in the bed of the truck and with one on the trailer I’d X-jet the thing. I don’t X-Jet often because I hate dicking with 5 gallon buckets off the trailer. Two tanks gives you over two hours of wash time.
I’d presoak, which I don’t normally do, and X-jet a strong mix on the white PVC fence. I’d X-Jet it from a point where I could cover the most fence possible without moving my feet. There’s not a ton you can do to white pvc with SH damage wise. I’d give it plenty of dwell time so rinsing was minimal. With X-jet you’re not limited by the length of pressure hose, but you are with the draw hose unless you place 5 gallon buckets all along the fence line which sounds like a pain. I’d leave it on the trailer.
- In an ideal situation, with limited experience, I’d have priced in the biggest tank I could rent and safely tow through the grass with my Tundra, and even more ideally I’d do both sides at once with a helper on the other side passing a gun over that I was downstreaming a strong mix with. I’d move the trailer as little as possible and wash 150 feet one way, 150 feet the other. Mine doesn’t downstream so well over 150’.
If that’s not the case, get on craigslist and buy as many $60 IBC totes as you can haul. If it was within a 30 minute drive of me, I’d drop off one trailer with IBC totes the night before, fill them. I’d show up the day of the job with two IBC totes on the trailer and one in the bed of the truck so one is always getting filled. If it sounds like a pain in the butt to do a job inefficiently, I add an access charge. My estimate for this particular job would probably get turned down if I didn’t have adequate time to rent a large tank.
You have a house and a pool how much water do you need?
The fence I did was along a road with poison ivy and mosquitos puddles and I had to run the hose around a bunch of trees and landscaping. It was about 400 feet away from the house at the corners. This doesn’t look that bad. I’d still run a tank or two so I wasn’t always dicking with a garden hose connected to the machine.
Thank you sir I really appreciate the advice you have given me. I felt like I couldn’t turn this one down normally my work is commercial but thought it would be a good learning experience.
Another option which I haven’t needed to use in awhile is subcontracting to another pressure washing company. Last time, they did a $3000 job for $2200 and I made $800 to sit in my truck and make sure the generators were turned off when they were done. Subcontracting is a beautiful thing. I subcontract all of our window washing now and act surprised like it’s my birthday when I open the mailbox with checks/or inbox with credit card payments and I did none of the actual work.
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What would be a general price range you would charge for that job
Whatever you need to cover expenses and make the profit your business plan requires.
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What @Innocentbystander said. For me that’s no less than $125/hour. I think this could be done in an 8 hour day with the right tank, rented for probably $100 for the day so $1100.
got to have a couple of 100’ hoses to go from house to your tank…
looks to me anyway…before i rent a tank get 3 100’ hoses
