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Shopping Centre Cladding Advice

Daniel Perkins

Premium Member
Messages
773
Location
Dublin
Hey there,

I have to go and quote this job, it's basically the exterior of a shopping centre. 2 main glass entrances but both have like a grey marble cladding surround & a wall of cladding on one of the entrances. Just looking for a bit of advice as stone is not my speciality. Doesn't look the worst but until I see it in person I won't know. Straight wash with pure or need chems & what type of brush for the cladding ?

Any advice appreciated, cheers.

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Close up of the stone would be useful, Kevin Martin at tiling logistics is your best bet for advice on that he’s very helpful, as for brush for the cladding most would use a flocked cladding brush Gardiners sell them but we do a lot like this using hot water and supreme  stiff brushes the same as we use on the glass , depending what the cladding is dirty with I would use a Virosol mix on it light scrubb and rinse we di a lot of this type of cleaning , softwashing might be an option depending on the contaminant 

 
That's great thanks mate, I'm going out tomorrow and will get a close up pic. I have a 45cm flocked so that will be perfect, i'm hoping there's just a general dirt and maybe few bird dropping on the cladding, wishful thinking but we shall see. I would love to have a hot water option on my facelift tank, would cost a small fortune and don't think i am sufficient enough to do a diy setup.

 
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That's great thanks mate, I'm going out tomorrow and will get a close up pic. I have a 45cm flocked so that will be perfect, i'm hoping there's just a general dirt and maybe few bird dropping on the cladding, wishful thinking but we shall see. I would love to have a hot water option on my facelift tank, would cost a small fortune and don't think i am sufficient enough to do a diy setup.




Lol if you are doing jobs like that in the picture you should easily be able to afford a custom hot system ????

 
Lol if you are doing jobs like that in the picture you should easily be able to afford a custom hot system ????
Lol I am getting married this year so need all the money i can get, woman is killing me!!  Would love a custom hot water system but I wouldn't know where to start and would probably blow the van up ?

I haven't put a price in yet or seen the job, going out on site tomorrow so we'll see how the pricing goes. It's the second job I will do for this facilities company, the first one was a hard job to be honest, took me 3 1/2 days as it hadn't been cleaned in years, obstacles in way and awkward frames etc. Got some good advice from you guys on that thread before I did  it, so I was prepared but it was a bugger on the shoulders I must admit. He was happy with the job, so much so that he rang me with this one the next day. Whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen lol.





 I don't think this one will be as awkward but still a big job and 40 mins further away which is annoying. Do you price cladding like glass? It's something that I managed to avoid all these years, not purposely but just have never been asked to clean cladding like this up until this point.

 
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Lol I am getting married this year so need all the money i can get, woman is killing me!!  Would love a custom hot water system but I wouldn't know where to start and would probably blow the van up ?

I haven't put a price in yet or seen the job, going out on site tomorrow so we'll see how the pricing goes. It's the second job I will do for this facilities company, the first one was a hard job to be honest, took me 3 1/2 days as it hadn't been cleaned in years, obstacles in way and awkward frames etc. Got some good advice from you guys on that thread before I did  it, so I was prepared but it was a bugger on the shoulders I must admit. He was happy with the job, so much so that he rang me with this one the next day. Whether that's a good thing or not remains to be seen lol.





 I don't think this one will be as awkward but still a big job and 40 mins further away which is annoying. Do you price cladding like glass? It's something that I managed to avoid all these years, not purposely but just have never been asked to clean cladding like this up until this point.






We clean  a lot of commercial buildings that are plastic coated aluminium, price wise we charge considerably more for this type of work it’s much harder to do ,takes longer , but the results are very rewarding as you can see a huge difference before and after , where as window cleaning quite often the windows arnt very dirty and there is far less job satisfaction. 

 
We clean  a lot of commercial buildings that are plastic coated aluminium, price wise we charge considerably more for this type of work it’s much harder to do ,takes longer , but the results are very rewarding as you can see a huge difference before and after , where as window cleaning quite often the windows arnt very dirty and there is far less job satisfaction. 
Ok lovely that's good to know, I do enjoy the before and after of the job. It's a sense of achievement seeing the end product and then the reality that you just worked your absolute rocks off lol. He said it's grey marble cladding, whether it is marble i'm not so sure. I'll know more tomorrow, as usual thank you for your advice. Cheers mate.

 
Went on site today, the slate around the entrances doesn't have to be cleaned as it is permanently damaged but bombarded me with a whole host of other jobs. It is a huge job, hard to even price it to be honest. I will have to break it down into detailed sections.

Few big office blocks with tedious framework, some low level marble that runs about 200m & some marble around entrances he wants me to quote... the marble isn't too dirty but they want it done anyways. Asked to quote high level stone cleaning around office windows and car park, off white colour with flecks in it but it's a huge soft washing job that is beyond me. I told him I couldn't do it. The glass clean is a massive undertaking as is, don't want to kill myself with this job but could be a good earner too so in two minds. Commute is 45 mins away too and I can only carry 500L of water each day, easily a few thousands litres on this job. This is everything I would have to do, biggest job I have ever attempted to quote.

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That’s a nice little job something to get your teeth into for a few days ??? can you fill up some barrels with pure as well then add them to your tank as the level drops that’s what we do on jobs like that if we cannot produce water on site . The picture you have put up of the grey stone that looks like granite to me we have loads of it hear in Cornwall , pressurewashing will bring that up fine , or softwashing with hypo would also work but it’s a bit of a pain for people being in the area . 

Can you get anyone to help you with this job ? It would make life a lot easier and get the job done quicker , also looks like you will probably need a 50-60 foot pole for some of that . Shame about all the ledges ?? they are a right pain for holding water you need to sweep it off before doing the lower pains of glass or it will leave bad track lines , as for pricing just break it down into sections that are more manageable think how much can I do in a morning , or compare a section to other similar jobs that you have done time and money wise , and always add a bit both time and money to cover anything that may go wrong . It is very easy to shoot yourself in the foot with a job like this , we always price high I never try and compete on price with other cleaners as some are very cheap for a reason they do a very poor job , sell yourself on quality and quality costs more , that would be a nice job to have in your portfolio get plenty of picture . Hope you get the job ??

 
I have 6 extra barrels that I could also put in the van. I granite isn't even that dirty to be honest. I have my father to give me some help but only for one day as he has other work elsewhere he has to do. The frames will be an absolute nightmare alright & time constraints will be a bugger. I have a 50 ft pole, I try not use it that much as it's a killer on the shoulders and forearms.

Yeah mate, I just wasn't sure whether to walk away and let him get a national crew or the likes to do it. I'm thinking about the money side of things as I am getting married this year but it could be a serious soul crushing job. I will put in a good price and see what he says I suppose, take it from there. 

Thanks again.

 
I only clean windows but a  friend of mine does a lot of work like this and if your going to get in to facade cleaning then invest in something like a Doff machine.

Soft washing isn't the answer especially with materials like granite and marble.

 
Remember: A pound per window & £1 per square metre of fascia you’ll be fine ?

Na all the best. Big old job. I’d have 3 bits of wheatabix in my cereal the morning you you do that. 

 
I only clean windows but a  friend of mine does a lot of work like this and if your going to get in to facade cleaning then invest in something like a Doff machine.

Soft washing isn't the answer especially with materials like granite and marble.




Depends what the contaminant is if it’s algy based it works very well we do lots of granite buildings this way , doff is the right tool if it’s carbonatious dirt but it’s overkill and very slow for just algy .

also to doff a building like that it would have to be scaffolded or cherry picker used , softwash would do that from the ground ,easily and quickly , if it’s bacterial dirt .

 
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I don't think I would be getting into the soft washing side of things as yet, it's a different skillset imo. Love the contrasting pics posted in the soft wash thread, serious satisfaction with the before and after pics. I haven't got a reply since sending the quote to the guy anyways, so looks like I have the weekend off ?

 
I don't think I would be getting into the soft washing side of things as yet, it's a different skillset imo. Love the contrasting pics posted in the soft wash thread, serious satisfaction with the before and after pics. I haven't got a reply since sending the quote to the guy anyways, so looks like I have the weekend off ?
I appreciate this is a bit of an old thread, but did the guy ever get back to you?

Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you price the job at?

Thanks ✌? ?

 
I appreciate this is a bit of an old thread, but did the guy ever get back to you?

Also, if you don’t mind me asking, what did you price the job at?

Thanks ✌? ?
Hey mate,

Didn't get the job in the end, quote was €5000 I think and he nearly had a heart attack. The job was about 50 mins ish away and I would have to have made several trips down & it's a huge job (Insides of them windows included!). I think he was expected something like 1 or 2 grand I said max, cheapskate and I also have refused to work with him on other jobs since that quote got rejected. One of those contract cleaning companies that let jobs lie for years and get into shocking states but yet want jobs done as cheap as possible. Not worth the hassle and I think that job would have broken me anyways ?

 
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Hey mate,

Didn't get the job in the end, quote was €5000 I think and he nearly had a heart attack. The job was about 50 mins ish away and I would have to have made several trips down & it's a huge job (Insides of them windows included!). I think he was expected something like 1 or 2 grand I said max, cheapskate and I also have refused to work with him on other jobs since that quote got rejected. One of those contract cleaning companies that let jobs lie for years and get into shocking states but yet want jobs done as cheap as possible. Not worth the hassle and I think that job would have broken me anyways ?
Quite right, mate. Definitely no point in lowballing yourself, especially on a job that size. Thanks for the update ?

 
Strangely enough this guy actually rang me on Friday afternoon looking for me to do a Builders Clean for some other random site to get him out of a hole, lol the guy has some neck. I ignored the call for the weekend and text him back yesterday saying I am too busy with my regular work and have to prioritise that. What I really wanted to say was "F**k off you cheapskate user" but I went with the polite route and deleted him from my phone and email.

I have actually just finished my last job with a contract cleaners so I officially do no work for any contract cleaners/facilities for the first time in 20 years. They are an absolute nightmare and i'm delighted to be done with them.

 
Strangely enough this guy actually rang me on Friday afternoon looking for me to do a Builders Clean for some other random site to get him out of a hole, lol the guy has some neck. I ignored the call for the weekend and text him back yesterday saying I am too busy with my regular work and have to prioritise that. What I really wanted to say was "F**k off you cheapskate user" but I went with the polite route and deleted him from my phone and email.

I have actually just finished my last job with a contract cleaners so I officially do no work for any contract cleaners/facilities for the first time in 20 years. They are an absolute nightmare and i'm delighted to be done with them.
Am I right in thinking you used to sub some retail window cleaning for nationals?

What made you stop?

 
Am I right in thinking you used to sub some retail window cleaning for nationals?

What made you stop?
Yeah mate, have subbed for various companies for as long as I can remember. Not masses of work but in quite a bit in places that I already would be in, so it made sense for me to take the work as I was already on site as such.

Over the years it has got worse, obviously these guys have to make a margin and to me that is fine once it is worthwhile for me to do the job. I did have some good ones actually but most are tedious, always moving the goal posts, looking for cheaper deal & changing the arrangement. Getting paid within 60 days is the challenge, nothing worse than doing a job and chasing the money for it.

I have actually binned 3 different customers in the last few days, one is the facilities company above, one is Applegreen garages & the other is KFC. All these contracts have gone from the promise of being regular to ad hoc. So you get a shout a few times a year to a site that is destroyed and looking to do it at the cheapest price. I just had enough and binned all three, felt good to tell them where to go even if we are facing an impending recession it had to be done. Might have to go down the legal route with KFC here trying to get paid the last 6 months.

I've always said this, the bigger the company are, the worse they will be to deal with in most cases as they are constantly haggling & only pay out on certain dates so you will have to wait for your money.

 
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Yeah mate, have subbed for various companies for as long as I can remember. Not masses of work but in quite a bit in places that I already would be in, so it made sense for me to take the work as I was already on site as such.

Over the years it has got worse, obviously these guys have to make a margin and to me that is fine once it is worthwhile for me to do the job. I did have some good ones actually but most are tedious, always moving the goal posts, looking for cheaper deal & changing the arrangement. Getting paid within 60 days is the challenge, nothing worse than doing a job and chasing the money for it.

I have actually binned 3 different customers in the last few days, one is the facilities company above, one is Applegreen garages & the other is KFC. All these contracts have gone from the promise of being regular to ad hoc. So you get a shout a few times a year to a site that is destroyed and looking to do it at the cheapest price. I just had enough and binned all three, felt good to tell them where to go even if we are facing an impending recession it had to be done. Might have to go down the legal route with KFC here trying to get paid the last 6 months.

I've always said this, the bigger the company are, the worse they will be to deal with in most cases as they are constantly haggling & only pay out on certain dates so you will have to wait for your money.
I thought so.

The reason I ask is like you I sub a very small amount  have done for years.This work is next to work I already do so has always worked well.Lately trying to get money out of them is impossible and some of the prices are 10 years out of date.I am thinking the same and getting shot of it.

 

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