First Conservatory clean done

[Chris34]

Thanks for the feedback so far, also how much would you guys quote for something like this, with of course the gutters, frames sills and windows around the conservatory too,

I went in too cheap in the end but I was fine with it for the learning curve, was £60 including all the windows on the house, I'm thinking around £50-£60 just for the whole conservatory in future ?

Yeah what PJJ said is the method I use. No matter how small the panel it's £12 per panel (used to be £10 for me) but that includes the sides. For the type of job you have done though I'd charge more because it was really bad and £80 wouldn't have interested me.

Basically you look at the panel and think how long is it going to take to clean that panel, a longer panel will obviously take longer. Then you have how easy will it be to access / set up etc, the harder it is to carry out the job the higher the price. So a side that is awkward to get to will probably get £40 added on top. One covered in moss will get £70 on top etc.

Finally you want to be earning more for this type of work than regular windows. You have had to spend time quoting for it, thinking about it and then setting up / buying degreaser / unforeseen time consuming problems. So you don't want to be earning less per hour than you would window cleaning.

 

[K in Kent]

One of my customers is having a pyramid lantern built on top of a extension, it's going to be a big job (10 months) and they are having all types of fancy glass. The builder was saying that it will be more work for me... etc... he then starts asking about the equipment I was using, he said that they are having self cleaning glass installed and that they just install what the customer wants but he said that with the pyramid glass it's self cleaning and if you read the documentation you find in the small print that it basically voids the warranty if you clean it in a way that isn't accepted by them.

He was basically saying to be careful, as after they have installed it they have nothing to do with it, they just fit it and then that's it no comeback on them.

And again, more reason for researching these things yourself. I know Pilkington Glass have a pdf and specific guidance on how to clean their glass. Although in the above circumstances I would say the onus is on the owner to check all that sort of thing themselves before hiring anyone. Although if it did go pear shaped for some reason it'd be one of those things where everyone is trying to blame someone else and pass the buck....so better just to do it correctly in the first place.
Another reminder of how careful we have to be with customers property because there is the potential to do some very costly damage, whether it's windows or with addons like patios etc etc.

 

[Chris34]

And again, more reason for researching these things yourself. I know Pilkington Glass have a pdf and specific guidance on how to clean their glass. Although in the above circumstances I would say the onus is on the owner to check all that sort of thing themselves before hiring anyone. Although if it did go pear shaped for some reason it'd be one of those things where everyone is trying to blame someone else and pass the buck....so better just to do it correctly in the first place.
Another reminder of how careful we have to be with customers property because there is the potential to do some very costly damage, whether it's windows or with addons like patios etc etc.

Yeah totally agree, I learned to be careful years ago. At the time it can look like you're just being awkward when you say you can't do something without a waiver or something in place, but I've seen and heard of many things go wrong and it's only protecting yourself from potential problems. People get very angry when things go wrong and I don't like being shouted at ?

 

[K in Kent]

Yeah totally agree, I learned to be careful years ago. At the time it can look like you're just being awkward when you say you can't do something without a waiver or something in place, but I've seen and heard of many things go wrong and it's only protecting yourself from potential problems. People get very angry when things go wrong and I don't like being shouted at ?

Yeah exactly. You've got to cover your back and people will look to pass the bill on to you if they possibly can, and use it as a reason not to pay you.
I do think some people come into this game oblivious to the things that can go wrong and not caring about the best and safest way of doing things. If you're a cowboy you don't care cos you won't be around to worry about compensation claims.
But if you're serious about growing a business you've got to act like a professional - and that also means being suitably knowledgeable. I mean, customers paying for a professional service are entitled to have a professional doing the job who knows what they're doing.

 

[AndyD]

One of my customers is having a pyramid lantern built on top of a extension, it's going to be a big job (10 months) and they are having all types of fancy glass. The builder was saying that it will be more work for me... etc... he then starts asking about the equipment I was using, he said that they are having self cleaning glass installed and that they just install what the customer wants but he said that with the pyramid glass it's self cleaning and if you read the documentation you find in the small print that it basically voids the warranty if you clean it in a way that isn't accepted by them.

He was basically saying to be careful, as after they have installed it they have nothing to do with it, they just fit it and then that's it no comeback on them.

If you’re planning on cleaning the lanterns every clean you won’t have any issues at all. I do about 3 every Month and they always come up a treat just using PW.