Finished a job yesterday for probably the richest family in my town(population 14,000). It ended up being a long day and I really felt underpaid at the end of it.
There were a total of 36 windows- This house is custom and has many huge picture windows along with a lot of triangular shaped windows. 3 sliders.
Lots of ladder work in and out for these triangular ones which were above all the picture windows.
Plus a bay window and a huge 4 foot wide by 15 ft high french window monster on the side of the house. This thing was over the stairs on the inside and in the bushes on the outside(lots of fun). We charge $7.00 per window , $9.00 for french(up to 10 panes) $12.00 for larger. We wash all screens and scrape as part of these prices.
So we did it for $291.00
There were only a few screens so I figured it would go pretty quick.
As it turned out this glass was really sticky. They had film on a lot of the windows which had bubbles in it and was just really hard to squeegee.
My wife and I work together as a team ,however I do pretty much all the ladder work, big windows,sliders roof work etc. This thing took us 6 hours!!!
So Im thinking do we raise our prices a little bit , improve our skills, become a better estimator or all of the above
ANY THOUGHTS?? Again this house was really laid out in an odd way so lots of repositioning ladders etc.
I charged 7.00 a window when I started in 1982. That was for in and out and screens and window seals. I have gone up alot since then. You should be charging more for two people working six hours on residential. Especially in the Northeast. You could cut your time by investing in pure water cleaning. The odd shaped glass is easy with the brush and the French windows or cut ups as we call them. I think your service is worth more than you are charging
If it was only you doing it then it was an okay price, but with 2 people maybe in the range of 5-600 dollars would be good. Were you able to walk the house before you gave the price (film on windows, shrubbery on the outside), you could easily explain all of the complications and even on the phone use the word rough estimate so you can change up when you get there either higher or lower. Pure water should cut down on the time outside. But your client will more than likely recommend you to some of their friends too, so it may well be worth it to you.
Im here in Sothern California and I already get complaints that our prices are too high. Even though we do the scraping ,screens, wear booties, do follow up calls etc etc. This job was kind of unique and I think I just under bid it. We did do the estimate on site. The windows were filthy and almost all of them had wooden frames and cracking paint. So I was a little hesitant to use the WFP. In the future Ithink Im just going to bid high on these complicated jobs. But like you say thorsg1 the referrals are coming in from a lot of customers and these ones should be no different. I try to make 50 and hour and maybe another 30 per hour for my wife but sometimes certain variables just dont allow for it. Really appreciate the feedback, keep it comin. How much are you charging per window Thor??
$291 in one day in perspective is not a bad day, that’s about $36+ an hour. Engineers make that much. But really for Resi your goal should be between $60-$100 an hour depending on your market.
I think it’s just a case where you figured it would go smoother than it did. I know I’ve had more than my fair share of those jobs. :mad:
We did one today that was from a customer we did 2 years ago. It’s a rental property that they repaint, clean, and get the windows done for each new tenant. (I know that should be done every time but around here you’d be surprised) She asked if the price would be different and I said after 2 years it would be. She still wanted it done and we ended up making $100 this time. Partly because I raised my prices when I changed service areas. Better clients here w/ more disposable income. She didn’t bat an eye! We made $100+ per hour together. The last time it was about $65.
This is true ,but with paying for gas ,advertising ,insurance and all the rest I’d definitley like to make more than that. I guess the cool thing about working with my wife is that we keep all the earnings. If I had an employee then this job wouldve really sucked
And that’s the point. Sure you made less per hour than you’d like but it’s all in the family. No money leaving your pocket. We got to the point when the wife was working for the school system that it was either I hire someone and her check go to covering employee expenses during slow times or have her quit her job and we keep all the money. It was a simple yet beneficial decision. We now have days during the spring and fall rush that we together make more in one day than she did in a month. 12 days like that and her paycheck is covered.
I think it was underbid, but we’ve all done it, I’m sure. Theres some jobs that take a lot longer because of certain circumstances, which on the first cleaning we may not see/realize,just raise it next time, if they were satisfied with the results, they’ll prob use you again. I bid a job before not realizing that all of her windows were the separate panes of glass on every window… i thought the grilles were inside the glass…my employee noticed it :o…, yeah, the boss overlooked it…i just went back to her and told her i made a mistake and had to increase the price , she said fine…didnt even hesitate…i always think that I went too low when they accept the bid so quickly…I’m keeping track of what I make per hr now minus my pt guy and its anywhere from $50-100 depending on job.
Two houses can have the exact same # of window panes but can take anywhere from 1/2hr to 2hrs longer between them depending on different variables.
Like several other WC biz’s on this site, I charge per pane. But this last year I also add on “aggravation” charges. Just simple little $10 here, $20 here for tough ladder work, tricky storms, heavily soiled screens etc. With this method I’ve maintained or exceeded my hourly goal on most jobs.
It’s better to overestimate the time and come out ahead than underestimate and feel like you cheated yourself in the end.
So, I’m thinking that you answered your own question, but I’ll expand.
Many guys will tell you that the very first thing to do is to raise your prices. Like one guy said, he charged $7/window in 1982. I would say close to almost double that is fairly standard for in and out with screens. So raise your prices. I raised mine this year–actually still raising them. I will until I start to be turned down on jobs more. I close about 90% of my prospects and when I begin to drop below that, I know my prices are a little too high.
I know that a lot of folks use the whole price per window thing, and that’s fine if it works for you. I use the square footage method. It is another way to make bidding easier. Here is why: Most homes, including custom jobs, have on avg 1-1.5 windows per 100sqft. I usually charge between $100-$125 per 1000 sq ft of roof covered area. So if you ask the customer how big their house is, you will have an idea of the window count prior to even visiting the home. Plus if you over estimate and still get the job; A) you make more in less time than you thought you would, B) you give them back that money in the form of invoice being less than the estimate. That is always a nice surprise to the customer.
Secondly, figure out what type they are (the windows). Obviously, French panes will take much longer. Casement windows will go really fast. Screens will take some time. And ladder movements make everything longer too. All of these things go into a formula that is in my head. I really can’t explain it better than that. But you should be experienced enough to judge how long all of these things will take you. Then set your hourly requirement by how many people you have on the job. Each person should bring in roughly $40/hour. So for two people, I’d be charging at least $80/hr. On houses I usually put two to three guys on it. I set a goal of $500 per day.
As far as your skills go, I assume that you are somewhat experienced and know much of the trade. If not, it takes time to learn all of the tricks that make the job go faster.
I think that your best bet is to learn to estimate better and that take more time than learning how to clean faster.
Houses can be ricky. Last Fall I did a residence that looked innocent enough. Charged my regular price. But there was something wrong with the paint around the frames. I guess it was poor quality. No matter how many times I cleaned the windows, a milky substance kept bleeding out. And the woman was ultra picky. I got cooked on that day!
Hey Bert, best post yet! I dont know if $14.00 per window would fly but $8 or $9 might. Thanks for the tips. Ive been in biz for a couple years now and feel fairly experienced but I suppose I havent yet got a full grasp of how long certain things take. My goal is to make my price all inclusive. No add ons . So that means screens, scraping, frames, sills, tracks .In doing this I have to be very accurate in the final bid. But most people are very cool, Ive never had any complaints about anything so maybe they wouldnt mind a little extra charge if the job is tricky.
Also has anyone thought of package pricing?? Giving customers options and pricing them accordingly:
Bronze: out only ,screens brushed
Silver: In & Out, screeens washed
Gold: In & Out ,scraping,screens washed
Platinum: In & Out, scraping,frames,tracks, screens washed
Ive been playing with this idea except I think alot of peoiple would just go with the more basic packages and then you lose what could have been a better profit if you only offer the premium service.
…I started out including everyting…all inclusive. In my area…it seems to be the norm. There are the few who wants just the outside…we just adjust accordingly
If it took you and your wife 6 hours, that’s actually 12 “man hours.” So you charged $24.25 per man hour. For me that’s a little low but not so low as to lose sleep over. If you did a good job and go back next year, I would just do a slight increase to say $305 and then the following year to $320 etc…
I have been bringing up my customers like that for several years and have most of them at really profitable pricing. Not to worry, overall, I think you did OK on that job.
