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Pressure washing prices
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Green Pro Clean Ltd
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Imprint prices include all cracks repaired. Flag stone, crazy paving etc prices, includes re-pointing. Not interested in doing part of the job. If they don't want it done right I aint interested in doing it.
Hello Andy,
Sorry only just seen your post. There's no need to seal products like silka because they set in situ with adding water.
The purpose of sealing block paving or using products like silka is to stabilise (harden) the jointing sand and protect it from erosion by rain / wind etc.
The sand itself is necessary to maintain paving strength and friction between blocks to spread weight of traffic. Without it blocks becone lose and/or break under weight of vehicles etc.
So it's a choice between self setting sand which can also have weed inbitors added to it like Dansand or sealing normal kiln dried sand with product like Resiblock Trade. There are obviously other brands and additional effects like wet look / gloss sheen but much more expensive and 2 coat systems - that's recommended by manufacturers anyway.
However,quality and effectiveness vary greatly. But for stabilising jointing sand I don't think there is anything better value for money than Resiblock Trade
If using sealant rather than silka the earning potential is greater as are its selling points i.e. the protective barrier it provides against stains,oil etc.
But yeah it is silka/dansand & co. on their own OR
kiln dried sand with sealer
I agree completely with Pro Green who is spot on.
RE block paving as I've already mentioned I use Resiblock Trade which is a no frills,budget milti purpose paving sealer made by Europe's leading manufacturer. May sound like an advertisement but it's true. Look at their client list....Disneyland paris,Man Utd stadium,Waterloo Station,ports and airports worldwide etc etc.
True,they won't be using Trade on these jobs but shows their experise and reputation.
Cost of Trade for block paving,one coat = £1 per sq m approx.
Put another way one x 5 litres = £20-£25 (incl p+p) and covers approx 20 sq m at recommended application rate of approx 4 sqm /litre.
It is a one coat system and sprayable which is much MUCH easier and faster to apply than roller.
Spraying also leaves neater finish and no risk of picking up the sand and spreading over surface of the blocks as with roller.
I have never found a more effective stabilising product for that sort of cost.
A more well known alternative available in B&Q and Homebase etc is Thompsons (one coat) for about £28-30 ish. It is rubbish in comparison.
The only other product I know of that does a decent job for similar price to Trade is Screwfix No Nonsense Sealer which is about £12/5 litres but needs 2 coats so takes longer to apply. But as with many Screwfix products it does the job at very reasonable price and easy to get hold of.
I charge £6/sqm upto about 100 sqm and happy to knock it down for anything over that. That is actually pretty cheap compared to some local companies where £8-£9/sqm is commonplace - particularly the other top ranking sites on page 1 of Google. But invariably where customer is getting several quotes,specially bigger jobs, I will end up with it.
For me block paving is a fantastic earner eg 100 sqm = £600. I get 25% discount with Resiblock so sand and sealer = £100 max.
So 1 day cleaning and couple of hours the next day to sand /seal = £500 and time for another job that day.
£400-500 as a day rate I'm well happy with and don't consider myself cheap,just more competitive,very busy and earning good money..
I don't flatter myself into thinking it's my salesmanship or product knowledge that gets me the job.Yes u got to show the customer u know what u are talking about but ultimately their overriding concern is price.Simple as that.
I ONLY offer fixed price for block paving,re-sand,seal and clearly state that is with 1 coat of Trade.That way I know what the costs are time needed to do the work.
With other products and paving surfaces all that goes out of the window and u MUST use the correct product and explain costs to the customer and let them know what they are getting for the money.
Many products require 2 coats and have to be applied by roller or squeegee (don't even bother with that method). I did a 70-80 sqm block paving drive + 36sqm Indian Sandstone patio last week. The guy wanted Resiblock Superior Wet Look for blocks at £210 / 25 litres and 2 coats by roller and Resiblock Invisible sandstone Sealer at £99/5 litres. Everything had to be cut in round the edges by brush,then applied with rollers 1 per coat and 2 coats of the superior - I was there all day. Using Trade and including re-sanding I could've had it done in 2 to 2.5 hrs.
And even with my discount it cost him over £400 just for the sealants + sand and rollers= 450. Trade would've cost 100 max.
So the differences between products,prices and labour are considerable. As a general rule anything that involves 2 coats and rollers I charge £5 per sqm PLUS cost of sealer for clean/seal.
So that job worked out about 450 profit for 2 full days. But that's still decent money as far as I'm concerned.
I live in the real world and charge on that basis too and think 1000 / week is good money and anything above that is a bonus.
Forget a "I wouldn't get out of bed for less than ?" attitude cos u won't get the work. It's all well and good wanting a tenner a sq metre. We all want that...but we're not going to be very busy. It's about earning a decent living and pricing sensibly and doing a decent job.
But u need to understand the products available and what they can do and cost. I've used many different sealers at request of cistomers looking to save money and Resiblock really are in the premier league and their stuff lasts -but apart from Trade- it is pricey.
Other brands are cheaper but less effective or resiliant/long lasting. I've also never needed more than 2 coats of any Resiblock product for any paving type including PIC,limestone,sandstone and other natural stone,clay/concrete blocks.
But it's a decision for the cistomer.You can advise/recommend but I'll apply whatever they choose. I'm quite happy to pass on my 25% discount cos if I'm being paid fairly for applying it there's no need to rip people off....well the odd one deserves it maybe tbh.
But ultimately I don't actually care what product they want. It's not my problem. If they want me to use something new I'll research it first and use it. BUT I ensure I've either emailed them a proper written quote specifying products and application methods or just an email to that effect and that the products are THEIR choice.
I ask for confirmation email confirming agreement with that and have never had any grief or comeback, and don't leave them opportunity to try and get out of it or complain. I have had couple of customers moaning that one coat of Trade dries clear and they wanted a sheen (2 coats can achieve that but they didn't want to pay for it)...."oh it's invisible.I wanted bit of a damp look"...."Yes that is why quote says Resiblock Trade dries clear / invisible and does not affect the colour or sheen in any way unless using multiple coats".
The odd one will try it on so cover yourself.
I was well off with my 50p a sqm, hit me with a smelly fish
but K in Kent you are a star! That is one informative post my friend thanks very much for sharing you knowledge with me and other forum members ,, very much appreciated,, :thumbsup: /emoticons/biggrin.png
but K in Kent you are a star! That is one informative post my friend thanks very much for sharing you knowledge with me and other forum members ,, very much appreciated,, :thumbsup: /emoticons/biggrin.pngThank you Cristian , that is very kind of u to say so. I'm only too happy to help - as are some of the other contributors on this forum.I was well off with my 50p a sqm, hit me with a smelly fish
Thank you K in Kent, I have given the customer a quote for both options and explained the pros/cons of having the drives sealed or not. I noticed in another of your comments you prefer to apply the resiblock trade by sparaying, how best would you go about this? Can you get away with a watering can or do you need to use a pressure spraying bottle? Thanks again, Andy.
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No don't use a watering can. The coverage isn't so consistent and the drops hit the ground with more of a splat and you don't want to disturb the sand - and last thing u need is the sprinkler falling off!
Use a pump sprayer wirh viton seals like this Hozelock although you can get cheaper ones with larger capacity if u look around and Amazon is your best bet.This just meant as an example for you.... Hozelock Viton 7 Litre Industrial Sprayer (max fill* 5L): Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools
These are meant for heavy duty chemicals and last longer. However,if it's just a one-off u will get away using a basic pump srayer for a tenner from Homebase etc. There have been times when I've forgotten my sprayer and realised on way to a job and if easier for me I've stopped and bought a cheap one rather than going home and they work fine - but won't last long cos they can't withstand the corrosive effect of sealers. But worth considering to start with and just clean it and pump through fresh water afterwards and u might get more use out of it.
Longer term though once the expense is justified get a decent one cos a cheap sprayer will pack up without warning
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scottish cleaning service
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I charge £3 sq metre and i tell them i will sand for free on a sunny day. I don't go below £3 unless its a massive area. I'm doing a PW on Friday on monoblock and the house costs 700k so there's no point being cheap or they will chase me. PW is like buses, don't get one for weeks and then 3 come at once, what i have found out. fwiw, Nearly forgot, i buy a bag of 25kg Hanson kiln dry sand for £4 a bag and it usually covers 80 sq metres.
scottish cleaning service
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I have a PW job tomorrow, removing a broken gutter stain down a red sandstone house. Now he has asked me to PW the driveway on Friday at £3 a sq metre, happy days. Monday i have another big 300sq metre PW job with a few extras. Like i said, haven't had one in weeks and now i have two and maybe three when the neighbours see or hear me cleaning the driveways.
Glazenwasser (.NL)
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Sorry this is a late post to this thread but hey..... pricing is just so vital that guessing can be a very expensive mistake... I only started pw as an addon late last year. I have had my fair share of mistakes and most of those are in connection with work hours... against expenses.
I have spent many weekends putting together my expenses and running costs for hourly running of my gx390, and associated expenses.
I now have a very clear idea based on my expenses how much I need to break even let alone make a profit.
How much does a 10l 4% hypo mix cost inc suf?, how many kilos of kds/sand per m2 of common paver sizes?, how much does it cost to drive quote/clean day/resand day? Equipment maintenance......let alone insurance, taxes and the other million things we all have.
By working this out you will have a much better idea if 2.50 per sq is enough if you'll need to clean that 124sq meter black lichen stained house needing 2x applications of 3% and 5% sh mix with sufactant on 60x60 slabs with 25mm x5mm joints needing kds/polymeric/slurry grout. Gx390 runs about 3.6l per hour that alone could be 20 notes off your price, run a hotbox ? that's diesel per hour too.
Merely working out how long it takes to clean a sq meter is not enough, how long do you take washing down, do you clean the customers windows too after getting them all minging?, setup/down, pre-treatments, mixing batches of hypo all take time. I am well aware this is all extremely boring and ultimately very nerdy but quoting all day long a busy fools price might not be worth getting in the van for if we only knew the costs involved.
I have been guilty of being a busy fool but am trying to be a little better informed and prepared.
Buying hypo in bulk and getting both grit sand and kds by the 1000kg saves a good amount and looking for days when fuel is cheaper for filling the van and jerrycans will save over the year.
Cheers
Dave.
I have spent many weekends putting together my expenses and running costs for hourly running of my gx390, and associated expenses.
I now have a very clear idea based on my expenses how much I need to break even let alone make a profit.
How much does a 10l 4% hypo mix cost inc suf?, how many kilos of kds/sand per m2 of common paver sizes?, how much does it cost to drive quote/clean day/resand day? Equipment maintenance......let alone insurance, taxes and the other million things we all have.
By working this out you will have a much better idea if 2.50 per sq is enough if you'll need to clean that 124sq meter black lichen stained house needing 2x applications of 3% and 5% sh mix with sufactant on 60x60 slabs with 25mm x5mm joints needing kds/polymeric/slurry grout. Gx390 runs about 3.6l per hour that alone could be 20 notes off your price, run a hotbox ? that's diesel per hour too.
Merely working out how long it takes to clean a sq meter is not enough, how long do you take washing down, do you clean the customers windows too after getting them all minging?, setup/down, pre-treatments, mixing batches of hypo all take time. I am well aware this is all extremely boring and ultimately very nerdy but quoting all day long a busy fools price might not be worth getting in the van for if we only knew the costs involved.
I have been guilty of being a busy fool but am trying to be a little better informed and prepared.
Buying hypo in bulk and getting both grit sand and kds by the 1000kg saves a good amount and looking for days when fuel is cheaper for filling the van and jerrycans will save over the year.
Cheers
Dave.
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