Welcome to the UK Window Cleaning Forums

Starting or own a window cleaning business? We're a network of window cleaners sharing advice, tips & experience. Rounds for sale & more. Join us today!

Is my quote reasonable?

Potta81

Active member
Messages
204
Location
Walsall
Hi guys, need a bit of advice. I’m changing the way I price my fascia & gutter cleans & want to know if I’m being reasonable? usually I charge £20 a side to clean & £10 a side to empty. I find the emptying contents out quick & easy 90% of the time so that price doesn’t really bother me. But the fascia soffit gutter cleans do my nut. My £20 a side price was basically for any length really, it could be 5m a side some 7m etc.

so I’ve come up with a price plan!

upstairs gutter, fascia, soffit clean £4 a meter

Upstairs gutter, down pipe clearance £2.50 a meter

upstairs down pipe clean £5 each each

lower level (e.g bottom of a pitched roof)gutter, fascia & soffit clean £2.50 a meter

lower level gutter down pipe clearance £1.50 a meter

lower level down pipe clean £2.50 each

On this basis a 3 bed semi with three 5m sides, upstairs only, no lower levels. fascia soffit guttering clean & empty contents of gutters & say 2 down pipes would be a grand total of £107.50 according to my calculations.

Is this a fair quote???

since I’ve started doing this my customers seem put off by it but I’m fed up of cleaning 3 sides of a house for £50/£60 & them also expecting the guttering cleared out & down pipes cleaned as well for the same price. It can end up a near 2 hour job for 2 of us if footings are needed!

 
The 3 bed semis we do are as followers 

front 10 meters of gutters

back 10 meters of gutters

end eves 

To vac this out we charge £65 this takes a maximum of 20 muinits

To clean the UPVC gutters soffits facias and downpipes £65-75 depending how bad they are takes maximum of 45 to 50 muinits .

Then do the windows and charge whatever for that on top . 

I don’t Price per meter , I look at the job and if the gutters are growing weeds or downpipes look  blocked I stick on another £20 or so to cover the extra time .

Again with a plastic clean if it’s particularly bad and Ime going to have to hypo it I will charge an extra £20 or so . Total job time very rarely exceeds 1:5 hours evan if it’s a bad one .

This is using a gutter vac , and wfp one person total time 1:5 hours ,average price for all work done approx £145 some are more but that’s a fair average ,not bad for 1:5 hours work . We have a very compact round and do loads like this .

 
Last edited by a moderator:
The 3 bed semis we do are as followers 

front 10 meters of gutters

back 10 meters of gutters

end eves 

To vac this out we charge £65 this takes a maximum of 20 muinits

To clean the UPVC gutters soffits facias and downpipes £65-75 depending how bad they are takes maximum of 45 to 50 muinits .

Then do the windows and charge whatever for that on top . 

I don’t Price per meter , I look at the job and if the gutters are growing weeds or downpipes look  blocked I stick on another £20 or so to cover the extra time .

Again with a plastic clean if it’s particularly bad and Ime going to have to hypo it I will charge an extra £20 or so . Total job time very rarely exceeds 1:5 hours evan if it’s a bad one .

This is using a gutter vac , and wfp one person total time 1:5 hours ,average price for all work done approx £145 some are more but that’s a fair average ,not bad for 1:5 hours work . We have a very compact round and do loads like this .
Wow that’s very good money for the time. I know every area will differ in quotes & what customers are willing to pay but you’re lucky. If I charged that & did it on my own in 1.5 hours I think I’d get Aggro off my customers lol. Unfortunately I’d be up a ladder doing the lot. I was hoping to go wfp this summer but a house extension takes president this year, definitely swapping over next summer tho!

 
upstairs gutter, fascia, soffit clean £4 a meter

Upstairs gutter, down pipe clearance £2.50 a meter

upstairs down pipe clean £5 each each

lower level (e.g bottom of a pitched roof)gutter, fascia & soffit clean £2.50 a meter

lower level gutter down pipe clearance £1.50 a meter

lower level down pipe clean £2.50 each
Sorry but this is far too simplistic, every job should be priced individually. As long as you say that prices start from the above then I wouldn't complain. This would also give you leeway on the quote as obviously they like the initial price 

 
I am usually happy with £200 a day so that's where i start from. Its not just as easy as clearing gutters, clean pvc and last but not least clean the windows. I usually have to remove vegetation growing near the drainpipe or fix a gutter bracket or stop end. The size of the house matters as well. If you charge well then you can take your time and make it shining and witness the reaction from the women in the house.

 
Was only couple days ago you says

i make a grand a week and work 7 days , 

 Which one is it ? 

I'm happy with 200 a day then i only would need to work 5 days but i'm so busy and don't like letting folk down. Made 250 Saturday doing a PW roof with my mate. Sunday was 110 gutter clear. 200 Monday gutter clear and windows. Tues, Wed probably 400 and tomorrow is 400, Friday should be at least 300 big PW job. It changes all the time, next week i have a grand job which should take 3 days but i need to buy a grand wacker. Tonight I got a call to lay slabs because someone let them down and they know how reliable i am. Might take the job on with a mate because i will have the wacker to do the prep work. All the money i make gets spent on new equipment because i need an Extreme 35 pole as i got a new customer on the riverfront who is two high but she said the other 7 flats want a new window cleaner because the other guy has let them down. I'v been riding an upcycle since middle February and it doesn't look like abating. This isn't just happening too me, my mates are very busy also, seems like too much work and not enough workers up here.

 
Seems like actually window cleaning is a sideline!!! your running a handyman business!!!


It was two years ago when i started with 2 customers, now i have 100 which takes me 5 days max to complete. The rest of the month i do everything else like gutters, pvc cleans, powerwash, softwash and small joinery jobs. Doing a massive driveway at the moment but it will be my last because my back cant take the strain anymore. Only reason i am doing it is because its one of my customers and she cant get anyone else to do it. Might add on grass cutting next year because my elderly customers are struggling with it. Pvc clean and gutter clear today. 

 
Last edited by a moderator:
It was two years ago when i started with 2 customers, now i have 100 which takes me 5 days max to complete. The rest of the month i do everything else like gutters, pvc cleans, powerwash, softwash and small joinery jobs. Doing a massive driveway at the moment but it will be my last because my back cant take the strain anymore. Only reason i am doing it is because its one of my customers and she cant get anyone else to do it. Might add on grass cutting next year because my elderly customers are struggling with it. Pvc clean and gutter clear today. 
Funny enough am doing a strimming job for one of my new customers on a estate I am trying to get established on this Sunday morning. Primarily besides the money, am doing so people will see my signwritten van working in their neighbourhood.

 
Funny enough am doing a strimming job for one of my new customers on a estate I am trying to get established on this Sunday morning. Primarily besides the money, am doing so people will see my signwritten van working in their neighbourhood.


When one has gained trust with a customer then they want you to do everything for them. They know they will not get ripped off and you will be back each month to clean their windows so the continued contact is there. I know a window cleaner with a few staff who has been going 40yrs. He told me he is adding grass cutting to his services. I just laughed it off and thought it was a pipedream. Only now am i understanding his wisdom but i will only be cutting my customers grass, no one offs or non window cleaning customers. I am going to invest in all Stihl cordless stuff and get their 3kw backpack which is £800 but i am insured for £10k worth of tools.

 
@scottish cleaning service You seem to be able to find many types of well paying work in your area. Is it a fairly expensive area Paisley? My bro in law does pretty well as a handyman in Edinburgh as the people there in general don't do a lot of DIY and maintenance themselves. Is that similar to west of Glasgow?

Do you ever find work north of Dumbarton or are the people more self sufficient further north?

The reason I ask is that we've been planning to eventually move to the lower Highlands but I'm worried about finding enough work window cleaning as I've heard there isn't enough work to specialise so you have to branch out.

Basically, do you have any advice for someone finding work in the loch Lomond area?

 
When one has gained trust with a customer then they want you to do everything for them. They know they will not get ripped off and you will be back each month to clean their windows so the continued contact is there. I know a window cleaner with a few staff who has been going 40yrs. He told me he is adding grass cutting to his services. I just laughed it off and thought it was a pipedream. Only now am i understanding his wisdom but i will only be cutting my customers grass, no one offs or non window cleaning customers. I am going to invest in all Stihl cordless stuff and get their 3kw backpack which is £800 but i am insured for £10k worth of tools.
 As regards grass-cutting/ odd gardening jobs, most of them would probably think I was ripping them off. Thing is, Id still want to get about 35 an hour, or id be taking a hit. And, all or most of the gardeners rates round here are like 15 an hour max. Mind you, I guess you could do a quick mow of grass, take half hour and get 15 or so, without even mentioning hourly rates (which I dont really do anyway) Apart from a few who asked me, and I explained how I was told on a business start up course, that we need to aim for 35 an hour minimum. This could well vary elsewhere, but anyway. Its what i aim for. Has to be taken into account all costs etc, and the day of unpaid work producing water etc. my minds starting to think of a beer now. I love saturdays ⚽ ?

 
I just did this one a cpl weeks ago, both sides of the porch, 

Top gutters front and back (7mt each side) 1 down pipe

Was in a pretty bad state but got it nice n clean.

I charged them £95 for gutter vacuuming and cleaning then £10 for the window clean.

Time spent was 1.3/4hrs (was raining id say 1.1/4hr in dry)

So by my pricimg id say your about the same.

My odd job rates are £70 9-12 or £140 a day 9-4 or £25 an hr

Screenshot_20191019-122831_Facebook.jpg

Screenshot_20191019-122838_Facebook.jpg

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thats a good job HWCS, did you use chemical on gutters etc first?

I had this hideous fsg job in the summer, I do try and avoid. It was one of those nightmare ones where the underside of the soffit/facia was full of little air vents all the way along. the muck just would not end coming out of them. Havent seen many with those vents, cant really see there purpose either, luxury hibernation dwellings for spiders maybe?

 
Thats a good job HWCS, did you use chemical on gutters etc first?

I had this hideous fsg job in the summer, I do try and avoid. It was one of those nightmare ones where the underside of the soffit/facia was full of little air vents all the way along. the muck just would not end coming out of them. Havent seen many with those vents, cant really see there purpose either, luxury hibernation dwellings for spiders maybe?
No mate fairy liquid in water and juat dipped my brush in it, gave it a good hard scrub and then changed the brush head to a brand new one and dipped that in water to rinse it all.

Im new to this and this was my first proper paying job like this, i did a cpl cheap as testers for a cpl of my pensioner cpls to start and it worked and they were pleased, i use a big telescopic car wash type handle and heads, and where possible attatxh them to custys outside taps.

Am investing in a gardiner back pack asap to make the job a bit easier hopefully, although tbh its working ok with what i have.

 
The place I used to go to wasn't ? And before the usual crowd kick up with their suggestions, I dealt with an aluminium diecast foundry there. I suppose it's like most towns and cities countrywide, there'll be nice and not so nice areas.


Its handy for Glasgow Airport which is in Paisley. Reason its called Glasgow is because Glasgow council paid for building it so we let them call it Glasgow. You can't get Landscapers for love or money up here because they are all fitting plastic grass. I'm doing a bit myself at moment, laying 220 grey slabs because my customer couldn't get anyone to do it. A bit tough on my back but money is great and I have a few helpers. Did a gutter clear, pvc clean and wfp windows and then trad the glass today for £180 and woman delighted. Her neighbour took my number for next year. Lack of tradespeople up here and the young ones only interested in computers.

 
Back
Top