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What would I need for this job

DeLaCruz

Active member
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424
Location
Cornwall
Currently I am a pressure wash noob doing small jobs using softwash + karcher k5 to finish off. Just got a mega job that is gonna require a bit more kit I reckon - also not sure even sure where to start with a quote was gonna say £1200 for softwash /
Pressure wash and resand - dunno if that’s reasonable ? Understand the old “how much for this job is tricky based on area and customer etc, but any ballpark figures welcome (the drive goes around the corner for decent section not pictures also - any advice on upgrade pressure washer for this (up to £1500 I guess) would be greatly appreciated - thanks
 

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I would think it will take you 2-3 days in total spray ,wash , remove silt , what’s drainage like ?? Ware will the water go ? What’s the tap pressure like ?? With a 21 ltr machine it would be much quicker depending on drainage , price wise I would want a fair bit more than your suggested price .
 
Will have to go and pace it out - what’s a rough estimate per square/m you would charge on a big one like this ?
I don’t price by the sm I look at it and estimate how long it will take to do it could be a small area but have drainage issues so will take a lot longer , or it could be a big drive with no issues so would be much quicker . We have a minimum price of £150 for any pressure washing this stops ones saying I have a path 10 meters long how much will it be .
 
Will have to go and pace it out - what’s a rough estimate per square/m you would charge on a big one like this ?
Well, that would depend just how big it is and how much you want the job is going to determine how competitive you want to be on pricing.
When you say you're softwashing it I take it you mean spraying with hypo? So you've got the cost of hypo plus you can typically expect to do about 20-25 sqm per bag of KDS, costing £5-£8 a bag depending on where you buy it.
Assuming you haven't got wages to pay , £1200 seems reasonable to me with you coming away with a clear grand for 3 days work ( 2 days PW and a day to resand).
But on the other hand, if it's only say 100sqm then your price is way too high.

For your info according to Checkatrade and some 'price your job' type websites the UK average price to clean, resand and seal is £10.50 / sqm and the general range is £8.50 - £12.50 depending on location. That includes sealing but even so those prices seem a little high, unless using a premium sealer (which few people are prepared to pay for).
 
Personally I'd want a better idea of the actual size of the area so I could make an informed decision knowing how long it's likely to take, what my costs will be and then come up with a realistic price the customer is willing to pay. And bearing in mind that for a big job like that the customer is probably going to get other quotes so it's got to be priced reasonably.
 
Personally I'd want a better idea of the actual size of the area so I could make an informed decision knowing how long it's likely to take, what my costs will be and then come up with a realistic price the customer is willing to pay. And bearing in mind that for a big job like that the customer is probably going to get other quotes so it's got to be priced reasonably.
The problem I find is you have no idea what others will charge , in the past when we didn’t have so much work I priced stuff at a very cheap price and still didn’t get a lot of it I think pressure washing is one of the hardest things to price up
 
The problem I find is you have no idea what others will charge , in the past when we didn’t have so much work I priced stuff at a very cheap price and still didn’t get a lot of it I think pressure washing is one of the hardest things to price up
Exactly, I used to under price everything I would get asked to do. Got everything that I quoted for and soon realised how cheap I was. After 4 years I have found the balance especially commercial stuff where the money is. I can make £195 for 4 window clean jobs which takes 3 hours. They can cancel at anytime so I have just got to make hay while sun shines. This month will be my best month in the cleaning and maintenance game but its hard work and working late most of the time. I realise why folk turn their phone off after a 30min call about nothing.
 
The problem I find is you have no idea what others will charge , in the past when we didn’t have so much work I priced stuff at a very cheap price and still didn’t get a lot of it I think pressure washing is one of the hardest things to price up
I quite agree and I'm not advising him to go in too cheap. The secret is to try and come up with a price that will seem reasonable to the customer and allows him to make decent money out of it.
And of course it depends on the customer. Some are obsessed with price and will only go with the lowest while others can be wary of you if you're too cheap and they'll think you're a bit dodgy or a cowboy. Everyone's different so there are no hard and fast rules but in my experience the best approach is to look at the job and discuss it with the customer and how I'll go about it, answer all their questions and hopefully show them I know what I'm talking about. If relevant I'll also talk about cost of materials in general terms so they understand the additional costs involved and then hopefully come up with a price that is fair to both of us.
It doesn't always work but very often I'll find people accept it on the spot. Some even say they were going to get other quotes but won't bother now. But as I say, everyone's different so you just never know.
In relation to the original post I asked about the size to try and come up with a realistic price. Like you I don't typically measure up anymore and go by what I see. But I can't do that here and pics can be misleading so without more info it's purely speculative.
We've all done underpriced work and it's incredibly frustrating -and some customers still expect more. Nowadays I'd rather not do a job than do it too cheap because I know I'll be getting new enquiries that day or the next. But if you're skint anything is better than nothing (within reason).
 

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