Conservatory roof - where am I going wrong?

[DansClearView]

In the 4 months I've been going, I've done 4 Conny roofs. They seem to be quite the ball ache. Apart from time taken (still new to this and working from one solitary backpack) and pricing (dropped the ball on the prices but I'm learning) I just can't seem to get the rinse right.

I use customer water first then rinse again with pure. The ones I've done, haven't really used any product, bit of razor wash on one. I can't completely use pure as I can only carry about 125 litres with me.

Every time I think I've finished the rinse, more bits seem to appear. Customers have always been happy but I want to keep my standards high.

Thanks

 

[Pjj]

In the 4 months I've been going, I've done 4 Conny roofs. They seem to be quite the ball ache. Apart from time taken (still new to this and working from one solitary backpack) and pricing (dropped the ball on the prices but I'm learning) I just can't seem to get the rinse right.

I use customer water first then rinse again with pure. The ones I've done, haven't really used any product, bit of razor wash on one. I can't completely use pure as I can only carry about 125 litres with me.

Every time I think I've finished the rinse, more bits seem to appear. Customers have always been happy but I want to keep my standards high.

Thanks

Always scrub the rails and seals well just use tap water for this and give it a real good rinse with the garden hose untill all the bits are gone then finish with pure . On really tricky roofs squeegee the roof off with a squeegee on a pole that will remove any bits left behind

 

[Deleted member 5762]

@DansClearView I've done a couple and they are a pain in the a*se. Both luckily had polycarbonate roof panels so after scrubbing and rinsing the second one I put an old squeegee on the pole and pulled excess water down off the panels with that, but I could still see little bits of crud dropping down. Best would be to check out Squeaky Clean Dave's YouTube channel and I bet he's got a video about doing them.

 

[Part Timer]

Sounds like you're doing glass roofs, not polycarbonate, and these always give problems. We quote double for glass connys hoping we don't get them.

 

[YoungPretender1888]

In the 4 months I've been going, I've done 4 Conny roofs. They seem to be quite the ball ache. Apart from time taken (still new to this and working from one solitary backpack) and pricing (dropped the ball on the prices but I'm learning) I just can't seem to get the rinse right.

I use customer water first then rinse again with pure. The ones I've done, haven't really used any product, bit of razor wash on one. I can't completely use pure as I can only carry about 125 litres with me.

Every time I think I've finished the rinse, more bits seem to appear. Customers have always been happy but I want to keep my standards high.

Thanks

This may sound obvious but I find them a lot easier if I can raise myself up a bit on some step ladders or even a ladder with a stand off attached. Are you using degreaser or just water? Some form of chemical is an absolute must.

 

[Daftoldgit]

Regular ones are ok, but one offs are horrible, I spend a lot of time and charge a huge amount for those. Enough to deter most people...

 

[Iron Giant]

I did one yesterday and underestimated it was a wooden one and when I priced I couldn't really see the roof too well and didn't have my ladders with me there was quite a bit of moss growing on each side of the beads, I got most of it but not all of it as the paint wasn't in great shape either, 100 degree fan jets is what I use, those tiny bits you are struggling with can be moss.

I'd priced it at £150 thinking it would take me about 1-2 hours as the glass was green the moss caught me out, I cleaned the single glazed toughened glass with https://gardinerpolesystems.co.uk/quick-loq-water-through-pad-holder-1-pad.html it made light work of the glass but I spent an age dealing with the moss and the tiny bits I was on almost 3 hours that was just the roof ?

 

[Cleanco]

I cover the whole roof with watered down razr wash which melts any grime and algae off instantly and use gardiners stiff universal (red one) to scrub as the blue end bristles are great for digging out moss and removing any ground in stains. If the customer has an outside tap with good flow it will speed up the process considerably when it comes to rinsing. Just be careful not to go under the top bar that usually holds the cresting as they are prone to leak in unless they’ve been sealed. If they are glass panels then a final rinse with pure is usually needed. I’ve found if the customer doesn’t have an outside tap I can use and have to use my van mount it takes a hell of alot longer sometimes maybe doubling the time needed and never seems to come up as well as the pumps we use for window cleaning don’t put enough water out to blast into all the nooks and cranny’s which is where all the bits seem to magically appear from just when you think your done.

 

[DansClearView]

Cheers everyone. Seems I'm going about it in the right manner - customer's hose for pressure, ladder up to get the angle etc, using cleaning agent (although admittedly not in every clean, been scrubbing with pure) - it's just they are what they are - a ball ache. Guessing if I priced higher I wouldn't feel so bad about time taken ?.

Looks like I do need to invest in some more tools and possibly a second back pack to apply solution with. It's a case of dipping in a bucket at the moment.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I use my scaffold because I am above the roof when scrubbing and rinsing. Hot water is alot easier and either spray roof with some degreaser or dip the brush in it before scrubbing. You will find that when you get a van system then it will get alot easier.

 

[Iron Giant]

Cheers everyone. Seems I'm going about it in the right manner - customer's hose for pressure, ladder up to get the angle etc, using cleaning agent (although admittedly not in every clean, been scrubbing with pure) - it's just they are what they are - a ball ache. Guessing if I priced higher I wouldn't feel so bad about time taken ?.

Looks like I do need to invest in some more tools and possibly a second back pack to apply solution with. It's a case of dipping in a bucket at the moment.

You don't need a separate BP, yesterday I used the water fed pad I linked earlier and a plant based degreaser which has the same viscosity as washing up liquid, Ecover washing up liquid would do the job as well apply to the pad and suss galore although I'm not sure if these pads can used on self cleaning glass @Alex Gardiner may be able to enlighten us.

 

[DansClearView]

Hi guys.
Just wanted to re-visit this thread. I've been on a big job this week, Fascias, soffits, windows - all haven't been touched in about 2 years. Been there a day and a bit already. Got the Conny roof on Monday - glass panes - about 16 panes, white mostly green. How quick should I be doing this job in? I know I like to take my time, I know I'm working from backpack and not hot water can system, just curious how long it should take more experienced folk.
Cheers

 

[Iron Giant]

Hi guys.
Just wanted to re-visit this thread. I've been on a big job this week, Fascias, soffits, windows - all haven't been touched in about 2 years. Been there a day and a bit already. Got the Conny roof on Monday - glass panes - about 16 panes, white mostly green. How quick should I be doing this job in? I know I like to take my time, I know I'm working from backpack and not hot water can system, just curious how long it should take more experienced folk.
Cheers

It's a how long is a piece of string question, use loads of tfr and if possible connect to an outside tap as glass paneled conny panels can harbour loads of moss which come out as small black specks and it can take an eternity to rinse them away without garden hose pressure

 

[Pjj]

It’s very difficult to say without pictures as we have no idea on size or difficulty, but a day plus sounds a long time on a house

 

[Elliott randall]

It's a how long is a piece of string question, use loads of tfr and if possible connect to an outside tap as glass paneled conny panels can harbour loads of moss which come out as small black specks and it can take an eternity to rinse them away without garden hose pressure

Yeah to be fair a day at most for us but there’s two of us on the job

 

[DansClearView]

Meant to say the house has gotta have 5 or 6 bedrooms and a granny annexe and it's just me doing it. The conservatory on the other hand is pretty standard. Hoping I can clean it in about 2 hours.

 

[Iron Giant]

Yeah to be fair a day at most for us but there’s two of us on the job

A day for two people to clean a conservatory roof bleedin heck what are you doing

 

[PC]

If there are small bits left here and there don’t worry about it. Especially this time of year as it will rain before you know it. Then the rain will wash those bits off and replace with more bits from the roof above. Just concentrate on cleaning up the pvc supports rails and finials etc and the outside of the gutters. Get all the green etc off and that’s good enough.

 

[scottish cleaning service]

I'm lucky because I have a 2.4m scaffold when I clean connys. If I was doing one now then my plan is to spray roof with hypo then scrub with wfp. If they have an outside tap then i would use that to rinse. I would tackle the sides the same way. I don't use degreaser now after I did the softwashing on a house a few months back. I sprayed the SFGs and downpipes when i was spraying the walls and windows then I used the wfp to scrub and rinse SFG, downpipes and windows. They came up great and didn't need the ladder and in no time atall I was finished. The customer was delighted so this is now my go to method when its safe to do so. ?

 

[Cleanco]

I hope you are charging well for the time you’re putting in. I did one a couple of weeks ago, it was a five bed house and I did a gutter clear, full fsg, conny roof plus windows. I charged £350 and it took just over six hours on my own. Hope that’s a good reference for you although tbh I wish I’d have charged a little more as it was a proper graft on my own.

 

[Elliott randall]

M

A day for two people to clean a conservatory roof bleedin heck what are you doing

no lol I’m saying a con roof with all the guttering cleaned and emptied including all the windows etc and we can easily do it in less than a day. I didn’t make myself clear lol