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Hello everybody

M

Mark Davies

Been reading the forum a while now thought it about time i introduced myself .

Mid 40's , background is in construction . Struggling for work , i mean really struggling . Relying on agencies but i've had enough of them for many reasons . Looking into self employment and a new start . Cleaning is what i'm looking into most though i will stress i have zero experience whatsoever , except doing my own now and then .

Not sure if to focus on one thing , ie windows or go for something like fascia cleans as it could be easier on plastic than glass . That's my major concern , whether i can actually do the job or not . If i'm going to sell a service , i'm going to need to be good at the job .

Only got an estate car at present , no cleaning gear at all . Finance is out the question so it wont be a van for a while , if at all . Equipment will be purchased on a tight budget too . Been looking at a few DIY trolleys , may have a go at one soon and get practising .

Anyway , i could rattle on forever but that'll do for now.

 
welcome mate , if i were you and i'm sure most on here would agree , why not go traditional to start off . setup is a fraction of the cost and the skills you learn are invaluable . as for glass or plastic personally i market my self/services as an external cleaner covering everything from gutters to drives, fence painting and more to avoid being pigeonholed and limiting my customer base plus most of the tools , chemicals and skills are transferable and crossover ie you cant really clean the gutters without cleaning the mess off the windows and it is the same with pressure washing . and as this beautiful weather shows i cant really go out cleaning connys so i have a few jetwash jobs to fall back on which aren't reliant on the weather

 
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welcome mate , if i were you and i'm sure most on here would agree , why not go traditional to start off . setup is a fraction of the cost and the skills you learn are invaluable . as for glass or plastic personally i market my self/services as an external cleaner covering everything from gutters to drives, fence painting and more to avoid being pigeonholed and limiting my customer base plus most of the tools , chemicals and skills are transferable and crossover ie you cant really clean the gutters without cleaning the mess off the windows and it is the same with pressure washing . and as this beautiful weather shows i cant really go out cleaning connys so i have a few jetwash jobs to fall back on which aren't reliant on the weather


Thanks mate . It's a tough decision on what to start on and whether to try and sell one service or keep it open on a few . What you say about the chemicals , skills and tools being transferable is a good point , especially as budget is low . About as low as possible really . Carrying masses of equipment round won't be possible for me at present . Ladders and bits and bobs will though . How's your business doing ?

Welcome to the forum @Mark Davies You will be surprised how little you can get started with. Have you had a read of this yet?


Thanks Gav , no i haven't read that yet but i will do now though . Then reread it five times till it sinks in :eek:)

 
i started up in October just as people were locking themselves away for winter   :4_joy: so it didn't really  pick up till February . like you i started with an estate car and a couple of hundred pound to spend on gear , i actually quoted and got my first gutter clean before i had any ladders lol . now i do 1 or 2 days a week on the windows on a 4 week rotation [ its regular all year round bread and butter money ] and to be honest I've not really pushed that side since March . the rest of the time i do gutters,fascias , conservatories and pressure washing and as i go I've bought,upgraded and replaced tools . whereabouts are you mate ? 

 
i started up in October just as people were locking themselves away for winter   :4_joy: so it didn't really  pick up till February . like you i started with an estate car and a couple of hundred pound to spend on gear , i actually quoted and got my first gutter clean before i had any ladders lol . now i do 1 or 2 days a week on the windows on a 4 week rotation [ its regular all year round bread and butter money ] and to be honest I've not really pushed that side since March . the rest of the time i do gutters,fascias , conservatories and pressure washing and as i go I've bought,upgraded and replaced tools . whereabouts are you mate ? 


Thats good , pleased it's going well .  I'm going to have to do a few boot sales and get rid of some junk to raise a few quid to get some gear , thats okay though i need a good clear out anyhow .

I don't even need to earn a huge amount to support myself and my outgoings ( its only me ) , thats not me being defeatist or small time , just realistic to begin with . Plenty of experience on ladders , just not in a domestic situation . And stepladders for that matter .

Funny you should ask where i am , i used to live in Bloxwich for a short time many years ago so know it fairly well but havent been there for nigh on 30yrs . Is the Boots still there on the High Street ? :eek:) I live in North Tyneside these days .

 
just about its surrounded by takeaways and charity shops now though . and i ran my own minibus company for 10 years and jumped at every opportunity to travel up Newcastle way for the weekend [ friendly people and great pub culture ] and like you my kids are grown up and moving out so my needs and priorities have changed so i'm back to my old mantra of working to live not living to work . with your background you should do well as the local windy also doubles as the odd job man and in my experience there is loads of scope for growth allowing you to grow and mould  you business in a way that suits yourself . 

 
Welcome fella

I have been a windie for about 26 years now but do conservatories and fascias etc

The add ons are a good earner but windows are always the reliable bread and butter work

I'm just getting into softwashing in a big way and it is very lucrative but i could never walk away from the window cleaning as it is the most reliable work and during the miserable winter when everything else driesbup i will still be doing my regular window round

Good luck whatever you do

 
as has been said before start of trad. £100 for ladders, £30 tools and £15pm insurance. Get the tools first and practice on your downstairs windows, YouTube is your friend there. Once you get the ladders then go for it! Build up a windows.round first, then go for the gutter clear/cleans. It's easier to sell an add on to an existing customer. When your making enough then switch to wfp abd then the sky's the limit!! Good luck ?

 
I kind of planned it out. Bought car valeting gear, window gear, carpet gear, gutter gear, pressure washer.

Got a couple.of websites built. Got a part time job then started. Reduced hours in part time job built a bit more then went for it.

If I was in your position I would get a  job first any job then save up for the gear. But I had zero interest in ladder work so starring trad was never a consideration

 
If I was in your position I would get a  job first any job then save up for the gear. But I had zero interest in ladder work so starring trad was never a consideration


as Adam says - its probably best to go straight into the wfp, skip the traditional altogether.

Im traditional and have been for over 25 years (slowly heading over to wfp) but the writings on the wall for that... don't get me wrong there will always be a place for traditional  - insides, shops, offices etc but if i was starting up id go straight in at wfp, to me its a no-brainer.

Why work off ladders if you don't have to? risk of falls, the wear & tear on your knees & rest of your body etc etc. You will have to use ladders now and again for the odd window or gutter clean but if that can be kept at a minimum then much the better.

Obviously money is a concern as not everyone can drop a few grand on a brand new wfp system.

Whatever way you decide on going - good luck buddy and remember this forum is a wealth of info

 
as Adam says - its probably best to go straight into the wfp, skip the traditional altogether.

Im traditional and have been for over 25 years (slowly heading over to wfp) but the writings on the wall for that... don't get me wrong there will always be a place for traditional  - insides, shops, offices etc but if i was starting up id go straight in at wfp, to me its a no-brainer.

Why work off ladders if you don't have to? risk of falls, the wear & tear on your knees & rest of your body etc etc. You will have to use ladders now and again for the odd window or gutter clean but if that can be kept at a minimum then much the better.

Obviously money is a concern as not everyone can drop a few grand on a brand new wfp system.

Whatever way you decide on going - good luck buddy and remember this forum is a wealth of info


A basic wfp setup wont cost much more than a decent set of ladders and trad gear.

Backpack, pole, D.I., sack of resin, barrels would be in the region of £300

I think my first setup was a homemade trolley and pole which cost about 100 quid!

my van mount was only about 200 quid as well lol

 
Thanks for the replies one and all . Loads of useful information provided in this thread alone already . Plenty for me to consider and think about . Try and prioritise what i'm going to buy i guess and start from there . Whatever i do i'll need insurance , that kinda thing .

Great resources on this site , so i best get searching .

 
Thanks for the replies one and all . Loads of useful information provided in this thread alone already . Plenty for me to consider and think about . Try and prioritise what i'm going to buy i guess and start from there . Whatever i do i'll need insurance , that kinda thing .

Great resources on this site , so i best get searching .
use and abuse this site, best thing you can do, its amazing what's on here

 
I kind of planned it out. Bought car valeting gear, window gear, carpet gear, gutter gear, pressure washer.

Got a couple.of websites built. Got a part time job then started. Reduced hours in part time job built a bit more then went for it.

If I was in your position I would get a  job first any job then save up for the gear. But I had zero interest in ladder work so starring trad was never a consideration
I wouldn't get a job

The only thing that will do is take away the need to make the window cleaning work straight away

If you have no other source of income then it will force you to make it work

Just my opinion but i have been there after the firm i used to sub off sold up and left me high and dry

Would have built up much quicker through necessity if i didn't do any lorry driving work to pay the bills

 
One of  the main reasons i've decided to try this business is because I struggle to get any work as it is . I won't go into the financials but if i can't at least equal my earnings doing this line of work then I don't deserve to have a business anyway . I don't need to earn a massive amount to support myself . That's just my own personal situation .

Well anyway , i'm going to scrape enough money together to buy the basics . i'm not there quite yet but i will be hopefully soon enough .

Can anyone recommend a set of ladders , good for 2 storey but 3 and gutters if needed . I'm not quite sure what size would be best . Also , how about a starter pole and brush . General purpose and good all rounders if possible because to start i'll just be getting the one .

Decided to build my own trolley , well try anyway . Need to sort out my water set up too , haven't even done that yet . So i'll be getting a meter to sort that out . Oh and i'll need to put in an outside tap too but thats no problem .

 
I wouldn't get a job

The only thing that will do is take away the need to make the window cleaning work straight away

If you have no other source of income then it will force you to make it work

Just my opinion but i have been there after the firm i used to sub off sold up and left me high and dry

Would have built up much quicker through necessity if i didn't do any lorry driving work to pay the bills


Yeh I understand that mentality. But I dont  think that would have worked for me I would have claimed benefits and panicked and looked for a job. But then that's all i know. I've never been self employed before. Now that I've done it I can say yes sack the job off and go for it but coming from an employee mindset it's different. Its easier to look at things differently in hindsight.

 
One of  the main reasons i've decided to try this business is because I struggle to get any work as it is . I won't go into the financials but if i can't at least equal my earnings doing this line of work then I don't deserve to have a business anyway . I don't need to earn a massive amount to support myself . That's just my own personal situation .

Well anyway , i'm going to scrape enough money together to buy the basics . i'm not there quite yet but i will be hopefully soon enough .

Can anyone recommend a set of ladders , good for 2 storey but 3 and gutters if needed . I'm not quite sure what size would be best . Also , how about a starter pole and brush . General purpose and good all rounders if possible because to start i'll just be getting the one .

Decided to build my own trolley , well try anyway . Need to sort out my water set up too , haven't even done that yet . So i'll be getting a meter to sort that out . Oh and i'll need to put in an outside tap too but thats no problem .


No idea on ladders but best all round brush I've used is a gardiners sill. Great for everything Inc fsg and they last ages. Had mine a year used everyday.

 
Look on ladderstore or other sites (ladderstore were great service for me)

The lyte elt range are what you want

Trade rated but not expensive

I had the elt 8.5m ones (12 rung triples) for high work but heavier being triples

The 2 section ones are lighter for everyday use

 
id say a 22ft hybrid pole (either gardiner clx or water genie barracuda, both well built light poles that won't break the bank) and a gardener superlite sill brush. Ladders wise a 7m triple will do the job, I use a 6.92m abru triple from b&q cost around £95, then take the top section off for 99% of work. For trad tools id suggest unger or moerman tools. As for trolleys I wouldn't know, I use a water genie backpack which costs just over £80. The 1st thing you will need if getting a pole is a decent tds meter. Don't get a cheap one off eBay, pay around 15-20 for one off a wfp supplier. Once you know your tds reading you'll know the options for making pure, over 100 RO is advised, under that DI only will do (and cheaper to set up).

 
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