powerwashing business

kevinkmb36

hi all...
can anyone tell me whats the best way to price powerwashing jobs??
by the square metre or by the hour or just giving a price for the job..?
im intending to buy a powerwasher soon and start doing some work with it..just looking for some advice please guys,...
thanks..:cool:

Rovi

[MOD]
Not a Forestry topic, moved to general Farming & Forestry forum.

Now, is this a general Farming topic???
[/MOD]

5live

By the hour, i would say with a general idea given as to how many hours you expect it to take so they have a general idea of the total price

kevinkmb36

thanks 5live...have you any idea what the hourly rate is for powerwashing is??
plus if its a quick job, say an hour and a half, i think the first hour has to be charged at a higher rate as to cover your expense to set up and diesel to get there......what do people think??

kevinkmb36

hi MOD...
maybe this would be better moved to diy???

David brown

kevinkmb36 wrote: »

hi all...
can anyone tell me whats the best way to price powerwashing jobs??
by the square metre or by the hour or just giving a price for the job..?
im intending to buy a powerwasher soon and start doing some work with it..just looking for some advice please guys,...
thanks..:cool:

It really depends on the type of powerwasher you buy and type of work you intend to do. if you intend to wash cattle sheds and you dont have a strong washer {200bar/30lmin}it will take forever to clean.

kevinkmb36

at the moment, im intending on buying a 13hp honda pressure washer giving 3000 psi... i think this should be strong enough for most jobs....

David brown

kevinkmb36 wrote: »

at the moment, im intending on buying a 13hp honda pressure washer giving 3000 psi... i think this should be strong enough for most jobs....

Water volume is as important as psi

Dupont

kevinkmb36 wrote: »

at the moment, im intending on buying a 13hp honda pressure washer giving 3000 psi... i think this should be strong enough for most jobs....

i would go with diesel washer if possible,pto washer on small tractor,petrol is an awful price to be using everyday in a washer that is going on full revs.10 lts yesterday cost me 15euro would have that gone in a day no bother in generator and welding generator

kevinkmb36

this throws out 21 litres per minute..do you nt think its strong enough??
any recommendations?

kevinkmb36

tks dupont...
ive been thinking of that too..petrol is really expensive these times, but i want a washer that is mobile...also plan to wash driveways and patios, and foothpaths etc..

Fries-With-That

Hi Kevin,

I'm not trying to be rude, but why would you start a business in an area you appear to have little or no knowledge.

The questions you are asking indicate you are buying a power washer and have no idea of how to price a job that indicates you have no experience in this area.

Save your money and look to something you know about, its one thing pricing a job by what you think it should cost but its another thing to price a job to make a profit which is the intention of anyone going into business.

Regards,

Fries.

David brown

kevinkmb36 wrote: »

this throws out 21 litres per minute..do you nt think its strong enough??
any recommendations?

yeah thats not bad. high water volume is great for washing yards etc but supplying the water is the hardest part. why not hire out a washer from hire centre and see how you like it.it will give you taste of what to expect. Good luck.

kevinkmb36

hi fries..
what i am trying to do is get feedback on how best to price a job etc..its a pretty tough economy these times, so people tend to go for cheapest quotes for jobs rather than who will do the best job..i do not intend to do work without making a profit , but as anyone knows, getting your foot in the door with people is the first step..no point in me giving a reasonable quote when johnny up the road is doing it for alot cheaper...very few people will not accept the cheapest quote...but he may end up doing a crap job...i already do work for people in a different area...im very competitive and do a very good job...im just looking to diversify into different areas...

kevinkmb36

tks davidbrown..yeah i will prob hire a few differnet models before purchasing....tks for ur help...

Fries-With-That

Ok, The first thing I would do in your situation is ring companies in your area that offer a power washing service and ask them how much it would cost to wash a ..Driveway..slatted shed stable give them a rough area as a guide and see what answers you get.

If you are friendly with anyone in the farming community ask them what they pay and were they happy with who they got to do the job.

Be honest with the farmers and tell them why you're asking, in my experience people are prepared to give someone a break if they don't think they're going to get conned.

Best of luck with the venture.

Thoie

One pricing model you could look at is a "call out" charge, and then an hourly rate. I'm not saying it's the best model, but it means your initial costs (travel time, petrol to get there, turning down another job) are covered, and then you can have a lower "per hour" rate.

kevinkmb36

ok tks fries....
sounds like some pretty good advice there...
thanks for your input.....

dar31

ive got some one in for the last two years to powerwash everything.
all livestock buildings are washed and disinfected.
the lad has a diesel, steam cleaner.
€16/hr i think it was, he supplied the diesel

kevinkmb36

tks thoie....
yeah thast the way ive been thinking abt too..i suppose it really depends on the job and how long it will take...but for a small job, i think i would have to use the call out charge and rate..otherwise i reckon id be wasting my time...

kevinkmb36

16 p/h seems to be a pretty good deal to me....considering the price of petrol and diesel, i think i would have to charge more than that..

GERMAN ROCKS

i would think its a hraad thing to do because when you might think a shed is spotless the farmer may still see dirt will not be happy about with the job. also would farmers really go for this. i personally wouldnt. I have both a pto washer for sheds, concrete etc and a steam cleaner for the tractors/ machinery. i wouldnt use the steam cleaner for the sheds because its just too slow. anyway i wouldnt pay for someone but instead spend 3 days every spring or summer normally when its wet and do it myself. id say it could be popular alright with private householders alright who wouldnt have a power washer and want walls, gutters, drive ways etc but id say 90% of farmers would have a power washer of some sort.

would other boards.ie farmers on here use this service if someone appraoched you offering this service?

just do it

dar31 wrote: »

ive got some one in for the last two years to powerwash everything.
all livestock buildings are washed and disinfected.
the lad has a diesel, steam cleaner.
€16/hr i think it was, he supplied the diesel

How many hours did it take him and what size sheds have you? I've been thinking of getting mine done but just never got around to it. And I definitely won't be buying one!

dar31

just do it wrote: »

How many hours did it take him and what size sheds have you? I've been thinking of getting mine done but just never got around to it. And I definitely won't be buying one!

think he was the guts of 4-5 long days at it,
the sheds or of all different shapes and sizes.
reckoned we couldnt do it our self for the price we paid him, it usually took us half the summer to get it all done as we never got a good run at it.

if i remember right, one of the slatted sheds, a 4 bay double with central passage and 4 bay bedded area at the back of one side, took about a day and a bit 12 hrs or so. walls floor and all steel work and dissenficted.

David brown

dar31 wrote: »

think he was the guts of 4-5 long days at it,
the sheds or of all different shapes and sizes.
reckoned we couldnt do it our self for the price we paid him, it usually took us half the summer to get it all done as we never got a good run at it.

if i remember right, one of the slatted sheds, a 4 bay double with central passage and 4 bay bedded area at the back of one side, took about a day and a bit 12 hrs or so. walls floor and all steel work and dissenficted.

that seems to be good going. did he clean the sides of the gang slats as well or just the top.

dar31

David brown wrote: »

that seems to be good going. did he clean the sides of the gang slats as well or just the top.

yea sides and all
could of been a few hours over the 12 but not many

Red21

Fries-With-That wrote: »

The questions you are asking indicate you are buying a power washer and have no idea of how to price a job that indicates you have no experience in this area.

Save your money and look to something you know about, its one thing pricing a job by what you think it should cost but its another thing to price a job to make a profit which is the intention of anyone going into business.
.

I wouldn't go along with this, powerwashing is the kinda work that it only takes a few weeks on the job and you'll have a lot of experience in the area of pricing and how best to get things done.
The best way to start is consider the first 3 or 4 weeks as a bit of write off. If you line up a good bit of work for this period you'll be armed with enough experience to start proper.
You could first line up jobs for people you know by telling them you just wanna get a few hrs under your belt, money isin't the issue here but i'll bet most of them will give you a few quid anyway.
If you're well advertised you will get the work but I can assure it won't be from farmers, you will be washing driveways, footpaths, fasia and soffit.
The way you price powerwashing is completely down to the gear you have, I know guys in this business with fairly decent gear who can cover an average amount of ground in a day and they'll usually charge by the hour or by the day.
The guys who are making the money are the ones with the top notch gear because they'll can get a days average powerwashing done in 2 hrs. If you're serious about if you should not only travel this country but also the Uk to check out what gear is on offer.
If it takes average guy 2 days to wash a driveway thats -16hrs at €16=€256
If you do the same driveway in 4hrs and charge €160/€170 both you and the client are happy.

milkprofit

I paid 17 euros 2010
15 euros in 2011
For agood man with steam cleaner he supplied diesel
moved mats shoveled dung etc -- calving box. calf hs. cubicles
For soliled walls (sh-t) you do not need large volume you need
Turbo Lance this is vital ----3000 psi good
Hire one see the difference

kevinkmb36

thats pretty good advice red31... thanks..
yeah im looking to get good gear for the job..still not sure to go petrol or diesel...diesel a good bit more expensive but if i get enough work, twil pay for itself in a short time....as can use green diesel with that..im still looking around to see what i can pick up...to be honest, im not really looking to get into washing sheds for farmers etc, i would do it if i was quiet, but think i would get more work doing private houses, foothpaths, paving, driveways etc.....possibly may do roofs aswell if there is a market for it.....
anyone got ideas whether its ok to powerwash moss etc off roofs off houses? i know it will change the colour of the slates/tiles etc...but could it damage the roof in anyway ...?

lakill Farm

I hot washed the gutters, fascial(timber) and roof of my house in summer 2010. I had bought the house a few months beforehand and it needed a painting. So be honest it does take much to powerwash slates or tiles but you need to be above them when washing and not below or else you will blow water under the slates or break them.

So you need either a cheery picker or teleporter, ( Cherry picker is €100 a day, teleporter about 120 for standard or €180 with a basket that has its own independant controls. and you will need insurance for working at heights. Not cheap .

kevinkmb36 wrote: »

thats pretty good advice red31... thanks..
anyone got ideas whether its ok to powerwash moss etc off roofs off houses? i know it will change the colour of the slates/tiles etc...but could it damage the roof in anyway ...?

kevinkmb36

if i have to use a cherry picker or a teleporter then it adds alot of expense to the customer..plus there are delivery charges involved too..which can be alot....
depending on the house, i was thinking i could do it off roof ladders...with a safety harness aswell..
yeah insurance is an issue too..it may end up being too expensive to get insurance to be on roofs etc..will look into it but may knock that on the head if its really expensive..

lakill Farm

Talking to a roofer the other day and his insurance is about 20k a year. Alright its slightly different but to be honest im sure it would be the guts of 10k. The risk is the same surely. And you would be working with wet tiles/slates, where he has scaffold and safety nets.

kevinkmb36 wrote: »

if i have to use a cherry picker or a teleporter then it adds alot of expense to the customer..plus there are delivery charges involved too..which can be alot....
depending on the house, i was thinking i could do it off roof ladders...with a safety harness aswell..
yeah insurance is an issue too..it may end up being too expensive to get insurance to be on roofs etc..will look into it but may knock that on the head if its really expensive..

kevinkmb36

well if its anyway close to 10k then its defo nt a runner..but a roofer may have several guys on a roof at the same time so he would have insurance for all his guys...whereas i would be working on my own....im only looking at diff options to make sure ill get enough work to justify getting a washer.....

Rovi

And don't forget that in order to get the insurance in the first place, you'll probably have to have some sort of certificate/qualification/ticket for working at heights/operating cherry pickers and/or teleporters, probably renewable (for a fee) on a regular basis.

kevinkmb36

i have tickets for cherry pickers and loadalls anyway so thats not a problem...