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Small job to quote

Mabozzer

Member
Messages
92
Location
Scotland
Schools already had a rediculous quote so I said I'd back back to them. 

They want the inside of the the windows cleaned and dust off the curtains (proper dusty could be 10-20 of dust) 

Picture shows half the windows and my artistic view of carrying it out! 

What's your price and method? 

IMG_20190313_193329.jpg

 
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i wouldnt take the job on......i only want regular,easy run of the mill WFP work,a few commercials and larger jobs.....

NO inside window cleaning

NO inside conny roof cleaning

NO gutter clearing

i will clean solar panels,f/s/g jobs and outside conny roofs but no inside work.....but thats just me...ive been in this game a long time and ive found out what work i will and wont do through trial,error and experience....

 
How are you supposed to "dust off" the curtains?

Have you got a gutter vac?  Can't see how else you'd do it and even that will just suck it off the curtain and blow some of it back out around the room again.

I wouldn't take it on as you'll only end up doing a very average job even if you try your hardest.  If you do it, manage expectations and charge 50% more than you want as it will likely take 50% longer than you think

 
Doubt I'd have anything to reduce the vac poles down to a flat hover attachment. It's my kids school so I don't mind helping out, I normally brush/static mop the hall floor after school fair etc. PTA put a lot of effort in over the year and after they got a quote for over 2k through the proper channels the PTA suggested giving me a call. If using the vac with just bear pole on one motor I'd probably need to take the geny as someone would say "that's not PAT tested!" But it would probably pull the curtains off!

Cleaning the windows; with someone footing the ladder I could trad them. Surely that's acceptable on council work?

 
Ask the school if they have a portable scaffold tower that they assemble @Mabozzer. Our school does as they need it to reach the lighting in the atrium and school halls. They assemble that for us when we clean the inside of the atrium once a year. We clean those windows inside traditionally. There is so much dust around the glass box sections that these have to be washed down as well.

Their scaffold tower is on wheels. They are the only ones allowed to assemble it but its left to us to move it around ourselves. As the top windows are around 40' high and my son has to lean out of the tower to reach some windows, we have a safety harness for him to clip himself to the tower incase he falls.

 
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Doubt I'd have anything to reduce the vac poles down to a flat hover attachment. It's my kids school so I don't mind helping out, I normally brush/static mop the hall floor after school fair etc. PTA put a lot of effort in over the year and after they got a quote for over 2k through the proper channels the PTA suggested giving me a call. If using the vac with just bear pole on one motor I'd probably need to take the geny as someone would say "that's not PAT tested!" But it would probably pull the curtains off!

Cleaning the windows; with someone footing the ladder I could trad them. Surely that's acceptable on council work?


Each council will have its own rules on what equipment can be used for a job and what equipment can't be used. In most cases it's down to the facilities manager at the school to decide which is the best method to access and complete a job.

The school also allows us to use their extremely long triple ladder to clean the entrance atrium where we can't use the scaffold tower due to limited space and lighting.

This is definitely a job where we are both working together and assisting each other for safety reasons. When we do the outside we separate and might end up cleaning on opposite sides of the school, but I check back with son every hour or so to monitor progress and check he's ok. 

However, the schools health and safety policy was overridden by the council when it came to cleaning solar panels. The council put the panels up but the school had to pay for their maintenance. They also had to pay for the cost of safety equipment to facilitate cleaning them. With annual safety tests, that would cost the school more than the electricity they generated so the panels haven't been cleaned in the last 5 years.  

 
Thanks Spruce, I do remember them having a tower up before so I'll ask the questions first. 


And if you can get a tower ask them if you can use one of their PAT tested and certified vacuum cleaners to vacuum the curtains. You might have to purchase a few bags for it though.

I appreciate the rules regarding electrical appliances being brought onto site and why there are these rules, but surely it doesn't make sense that your non PAT tested vacuum cleaner is OK to use as long as its on your non PAT tested gen set.

 
Probably better of taking the curtains down and washing them. Take them to a commercial launderette wash and ironed..

 
Probably better of taking the curtains down and washing them. Take them to a commercial launderette wash and ironed..


Certainly another option. What we don't know is the age of the curtains or their condition. They might just fall to pieces with washing which would probably also mean they would fall to pieces using the vacuum cleaner. Either way, that's drama and probably why the quote was so high from the other guy.

I appreciate that @Mabozzer is 'doing his bit' for his local school and applaud that, but he needs to be very cautious with this situation. I would also try to get a disclaimer signed regarding the condition of the curtains. Curtains that are always closed are going to be destroyed by the sun (UV) very quickly. How much are 16 curtain drops to replace?

This is one reason why some would advise not to get involved. The curtains would be the stumbling block to me quoting.

 
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I am guessing there are quite a few teachers in the school get the head to ask them to wash a curtain each at home  ?  I would ask to inspect a curtain before pricing maybe and make them aware of the condition and if they are looking fragile it takes a potential headache away then you can price just for the windows 

 
Very good points, at one point in a post  I had typed something about damage but deleted it. I'd need to mention that in the quote. 

As above about taking them down and washing them, I thought that would be a good idea but there's a lot of other things going on after school so I'll want to get it done in one visit like an in service day etc. 

 
Spruce, my thoughts were that if the geny was in the van then it would be fine. I'd certainly argue that it's OK but one thing for sure is the vac needs replacing as it's had a hard life and shows it. So I'll rule out my gutter vac. 

 
A gutter vac would cause a bad smell inside. Best vac to gently vac them - Kirby with one of the specific attachments. I use one to clean chandeliers dust. Causes no damage.

 
Very good points, at one point in a post  I had typed something about damage but deleted it. I'd need to mention that in the quote. 

As above about taking them down and washing them, I thought that would be a good idea but there's a lot of other things going on after school so I'll want to get it done in one visit like an in service day etc. 


My experience with our school is that no matter what is arranged and booked before hand, it never works out in our favour. So we never expect to be in for a day and go as it never works out that way unless it's done over a weekend.

If you plan it to take a day, quote and reserve 2 days because that's what it will take.

For example, if they do have a scaffold tower and they assemble it for you, they will take the opportunity to use it to replace a few light bulbs which they will have just started a few moments before you arrive. Or they need to use it to repair a section of the ceiling; or you arrive and they haven't assembled the tower yet despite it being planned as the groundsman with the CISRS certification is unavailable at that moment because he ............. (excuse).

 
My experience with our school is that no matter what is arranged and booked before hand, it never works out in our favour. So we never expect to be in for a day and go as it never works out that way unless it's done over a weekend.
I was booked in to do the outside and all insides of a junior school.

I got there and found out that they had arranged to have all the floors varnished on the same day... ?

 
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I was booked in to do the outside and all insides of a junior school.

I got there and found out that they had arranged to have all the floors varnished on the same day... ?


That's exactly what happens. It is just a free for all sometimes.?

 
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