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Advice on build your own system

justmyhouse1982

New member
Messages
4
Hey guys,

I've been quoted £15 per month to clean my windows.  I didn't ask for a price for the fascias and outside of guttering which needs doing.  Living near a busy road the windows get dirty fast. I am considering purchasing my own equipment; i think i could break even after about 1 1/2 to 2 years and have the benefit to clean my windows whenever I want whilst owning some nice gear.

My question is; if you guys was going to put together a decent set up for the home what would you choose?

Area Cardiff - water is soft.

House  - get to window and guttering with 5 meter pole

Thanks

 
Just buy a backpack, cheap fibreglass pole and a resin vessel.

Even cheaper if you buy second hand.

You'll soon get bored of it anyway I reckon.

 
I don’t actually Green Pro Clean Ltd; it’s the same when people ask me questions in my line of work I’m quite happy to give advice and tell them where to go for courses etc knowing that could be another one in the field. What do u do when a new start up wants advice - don’t give it incase that’s another company in the industry? You guys are the pros and know what you are talking about it’s a good place to start. 

Thanks part art timer advice much appreciated ?

 
£15 is a reasonable price to be honest, your looking at £300 to do it yourself, and you'll never get the finish you'd get from an experienced windy, plus taking into account recurring costs of resin etc. You'll be about 2 1/2 years in before you break even. 

 
Hey guys,

I've been quoted £15 per month to clean my windows.  I didn't ask for a price for the fascias and outside of guttering which needs doing.  Living near a busy road the windows get dirty fast. I am considering purchasing my own equipment; i think i could break even after about 1 1/2 to 2 years and have the benefit to clean my windows whenever I want whilst owning some nice gear.

My question is; if you guys was going to put together a decent set up for the home what would you choose?

Area Cardiff - water is soft.

House  - get to window and guttering with 5 meter pole

Thanks


Just buy a squeegee! money back after clean.

 
next you’ll be asking us what van do we recommend and what to advertise on your leaflets @justmyhouse1982 Haha?

Na as mentioned above D.I vessel from tap. Etc etc ?

but yes think about ongoing costs, won’t be a loads, but if you’re gonna be cleaning your windows monthly, gutters 9 monthly, then you’ll probably be tempted to clean the car etc, then a full bag of resin is £75ish. But hey free world. Enjoy 

 
When you haven’t already got the tools i really dont see it being logical to be honest. How much storage space do you have for all this extra stuff to be lying around?

DIY is often a false economy, there’s a lot of “have a go heroes” trying to save a few bob but more often than not it costs you time and a lot of inconvenience.

When you next need a carpenter, decorator, electrician, plumber, carpet cleaner etc, are you going to do the same and invest in that equipment to do it yourself also? There’s only so much space for things in a home.

Do you see where i’m coming from? There’s a reason that every one of us has a purpose. Not to mention the knowledge & experience that only lies with specialists.

I do my own plumbing as i’m qualified & used to be in the trade & still have the tools. however it’s mainly small fixes and maintenance. there’s still certain things i wont touch as i’ve been out of the game too long and am a bit rusty. (and because i cant devote the time to big home projects e.g. new bathrooms etc)

We tried painting the outside of my parents house once and it turned in to a real disaster. My brother kicked the paint tin that was hanging off the ladder and that’s all it takes for a job to go wrong. We looked like a right pair of melons. Paint on every rung of the ladder, as he came down he wrecked his work boots on the rungs which were slippery with paint. All over his trousers, 4 hour job cleaning it all up + the boots and good pair of trousers ended up in the bin. Hired a decorator in the end as i had advised at the start but nobody else would listen.

So as the saying goes “stick to what you know?”

Hope i’m making sense.

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app

 
When you haven’t already got the tools i really dont see it being logical to be honest. How much storage space do you have for all this extra stuff to be lying around?

DIY is often a false economy, there’s a lot of “have a go heroes” trying to save a few bob but more often than not it costs you time and a lot of inconvenience.

When you next need a carpenter, decorator, electrician, plumber, carpet cleaner etc, are you going to do the same and invest in that equipment to do it yourself also? There’s only so much space for things in a home.

Do you see where i’m coming from? There’s a reason that every one of us has a purpose. Not to mention the knowledge & experience that only lies with specialists.

I do my own plumbing as i’m qualified & used to be in the trade & still have the tools. however it’s mainly small fixes and maintenance. there’s still certain things i wont touch as i’ve been out of the game too long and am a bit rusty. (and because i cant devote the time to big home projects e.g. new bathrooms etc)

We tried painting the outside of my parents house once and it turned in to a real disaster. My brother kicked the paint tin that was hanging off the ladder and that’s all it takes for a job to go wrong. We looked like a right pair of melons. Paint on every rung of the ladder, as he came down he wrecked his work boots on the rungs which were slippery with paint. All over his trousers, 4 hour job cleaning it all up + the boots and good pair of trousers ended up in the bin. Hired a decorator in the end as i had advised at the start but nobody else would listen.

So as the saying goes “stick to what you know?”

Hope i’m making sense.

Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
Mmmm. I'm one of those guys that would give anything a go. So I'm not sure how I would fit in to this response. ?

When I need a carpenter, decorator, electrician, plumber, carpet cleaner etc. I've done all that myself. When it was permitted in days gone by I've done electrics myself as well. I still wouldn't call in an electrician to replace a plug socket or a light fitting today.

I reroofed a house we had in South Africa, replaced damaged timbers and ceilings and completely repainted inside and outside with the wife's help. I fitted an anthracite heater with outside chimney as well. Couldn't do it now though.

Whats the difference with us building a DIY system to buying and have say Purefreedom fit a system for us?

 
Mmmm. I'm one of those guys that would give anything a go. So I'm not sure how I would fit in to this response. [emoji3]
When I need a carpenter, decorator, electrician, plumber, carpet cleaner etc. I've done all that myself. When it was permitted in days gone by I've done electrics myself as well. I still wouldn't call in an electrician to replace a plug socket or a light fitting today.
 
I reroofed a house we had in South Africa, replaced damaged timbers and ceilings and completely repainted inside and outside with the wife's help. I fitted an anthracite heater with outside chimney as well. Couldn't do it now though.
Whats the difference with us building a DIY system to buying and have say Purefreedom fit a system for us?
I would say you’re very gifted & graced by god compared to the average person. Very few people have the skills to turn their hands to many thing but good on you!


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I would say you’re very gifted & graced by god compared to the average person. Very few people have the skills to turn their hands to many thing but good on you!


Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app


I wouldn't say that tbh. I honestly believe that we all can do most things ourselves if we give it a go. After all, most jobs are done in third world countries by unskilled labour. In South Africa, every long distance taxi driver knew exactly how to fix anything on a Toyota Hiace minibus on the side of the road with limited tools. They had become more skilled than the Toyota dealership's own trained mechanics.

It did remind me of an era gone by though. Once in Johannesburg I was washing my car on the driveway as was the 'ritual' every weekend. An african man looking for work came up to me and asked for a job. I told him I had no job to offer him, but his reply was that I was doing his job. I've never forgotten that.

I once spoke to a sugar cane farmer on the North Coast of Kwazulu Natal. He told me about the sugar cane tractors and trailers that hauled freshly cut sugar cane from the fields to the local collection point for onward travel to the sugar mills for processing.

There were numerous fields on the farm that had entrance and exit gates. To make the job easier a young boy, usually between 10 and 12, would sit in the wheel arch of the tractor next to the driver and as they approached a gate the youngster would jump off the slow moving tractor, run and open the gate and jump back onto the tractor after closing the gate once the trailer was through. The tractor never stopped moving during this process. (Tractors in Africa don't have weather protection cabs fitted.)

One day the tractor driver didn't turn up for work. A furious farm owner flippantly asked who was going to drive the tractor now. This little guy said he would. He had never driven a tractor before but he had sat on the wheel arch and watched and learnt every movement the driver made. This little guy drove the tractor and fully laden sugar cane trailer with no problem. The farmer did gate duty for him to see how he managed. He had even learnt the bad habits the driver did which he learnt as normal practice. One was how to get the tractor around a sharp corner at 'speed' by locking the applicable single wheel - a version of a handbrake turn.

He continued to drive that tractor. ? And good on him I said.

I also think you can learn just about any skill watching relevant YouTube how to video clips these days.

.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
 
I wouldn't say that tbh. I honestly believe that we all can do most things ourselves if we give it a go. After all, most jobs are done in third world countries by unskilled labour. In South Africa, every long distance taxi driver knew exactly how to fix anything on a Toyota Hiace minibus on the side of the road with limited tools. They had become more skilled than the Toyota dealership's own trained mechanics.
 
It did remind me of an era gone by though. Once in Johannesburg I was washing my car on the driveway as was the 'ritual' every weekend. An african man looking for work came up to me and asked for a job. I told him I had no job to offer him, but his reply was that I was doing his job. I've never forgotten that.
 
I once spoke to a sugar cane farmer on the North Coast of Kwazulu Natal. He told me about the sugar cane tractors and trailers that hauled freshly cut sugar cane from the fields to the local collection point for onward travel to the sugar mills for processing.
There were numerous fields on the farm that had entrance and exit gates. To make the job easier a young boy, usually between 10 and 12, would sit in the wheel arch of the tractor next to the driver and as they approached a gate the youngster would jump off the slow moving tractor, run and open the gate and jump back onto the tractor after closing the gate once the trailer was through. The tractor never stopped moving during this process. (Tractors in Africa don't have weather protection cabs fitted.)
One day the tractor driver didn't turn up for work. A furious farm owner flippantly asked who was going to drive the tractor now. This little guy said he would. He had never driven a tractor before but he had sat on the wheel arch and watched and learnt every movement the driver made. This little guy drove the tractor and fully laden sugar cane trailer with no problem. The farmer did gate duty for him to see how he managed. He had even learnt the bad habits the driver did which he learnt as normal practice. One was how to get the tractor around a sharp corner at 'speed' by locking the applicable single wheel - a version of a handbrake turn.
He continued to drive that tractor. [emoji3] And good on him I said.
 
I also think you can learn just about any skill watching relevant YouTube how to video clips these days.
.
Sounds like you’ve had a pretty fulfilling life! I’m sure you’re right, if you put in the time and effort. I’ve had an array of occupations myself, i qualified as a plumber/gas engineer, also as a chef which i did for a long while. Not really related to what i’m doing now haha. I would like to learn a whole host of other things but to be honest the investment in extra tools isn’t an option and the storage space just isn’t there either.


Sent using the Window Cleaning Forums mobile app
 
Sounds like you’ve had a pretty fulfilling life! I’m sure you’re right, if you put in the time and effort. I’ve had an array of occupations myself, i qualified as a plumber/gas engineer, also as a chef which i did for a long while. Not really related to what i’m doing now haha. I would like to learn a whole host of other things but to be honest the investment in extra tools isn’t an option and the storage space just isn’t there either.


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I always believed that if doing it yourself saved more than buying the tools needed to do the job, then have a go. Obviously if I was never to use that tool again and it cost a lot then that would be part of the decision whether to do it myself or not.

Look at the fine job @Green Pro Clean Ltd did of kitting his van out. At first glance many here will say they couldn't do that and move on. But I believe we can all do something similar if we put our minds to it. I very much doubt Darren is a mechanical engineer by profession.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
I always believed that if doing it yourself saved more than buying the tools needed to do the job, then have a go. Obviously if I was never to use that tool again and it cost a lot then that would be part of the decision whether to do it myself or not.

Look at the fine job @Green Pro Clean Ltd did of kitting his van out. At first glance many here will say they couldn't do that and move on. But I believe we can all do something similar if we put our minds to it. I very much doubt Darren is a mechanical engineer by profession.
The way I look at anything nowadays is that if I go out and clean windows I can earn £30ish an hour. If there are jobs to do, painting, carpets etc, that need doing and I can get someone in to do it that costs less than £30 an hour then that's what I do.

 
I always believed that if doing it yourself saved more than buying the tools needed to do the job, then have a go. Obviously if I was never to use that tool again and it cost a lot then that would be part of the decision whether to do it myself or not.

Look at the fine job @Green Pro Clean Ltd did of kitting his van out. At first glance many here will say they couldn't do that and move on. But I believe we can all do something similar if we put our minds to it. I very much doubt Darren is a mechanical engineer by profession.


LMAFO -- you'd never believe what I did for 20 years before this if I told you. ??

I always said if you can plumb a garden hose, change a fuse in a plug, and follow instructions that say 'connect A to B' you can build a system.  The big things like bolting a tank in I have my local mechanic do it for about £60

 
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