My wife is fairly good at giving estimates but not so much when people ask for estimates for gutters. Most of the time the cust has no idea of how many linear feet they have. So my wife schedules me to go give an estimate. For a large window or pw job, I’m somewhat cool with giving estimates, especially if I’m in the area. I am not ok with giving estimates on gutters, just not worth it for me. So everytime she schedules the est, we get in an arguement. I need to figure something out. How do you handle it? (not your wife, the request for an estimate)
I bid by square ft, type of roof, height of home, gutter covers, last cleaned. I can verify the square footage on Zillow.com and look at the house on Google and/or Bing to see trees and any items that might make if more difficult. I can do most gutter bids sight UN-seen.
You could also check out your local area assessor’s website. Our county had a basic blueprint of every home on file, and it’s on the website. Helps us out a lot with square footage and linear footage an such.
You would still need to ask the customer a few questions for clarification though.
Conversely, you could go with some sort of flat rate pricing.
Most important questions:
-one or two story?
-square footage?
-roof type?
-can someone stand on the roof or is it too steep?
-are there gutters all the way around the house?
Do the gutters have covers or do the downspouts go underground?
Once you have the answers to those questions it’s pretty easy to nail down a price range.
Gutters have brought in great money for my business - i say hang on to them. I ask the same Qs as Gleam Team mentions and then figure I want to make X amount per hour and bid from there. I dont see why you wouldnt - its money and you can always benefit from the account (you get one more person sharing your name with friends). Just bid it so its worth your time
Just keep in mind when you are using the internet to see the houses, some of the pictures can be outdated. If you zoom in really close on street view, it’ll tell you the year the pics were taken. Price wise I’m doing $75 an hour. Still playing with this figure but so far haven’t gotten any complaints. Steep roof or not, blowing or scooping, clogged downspouts, I feel like I’m getting paid fairly. Not a hard service…to me anyway.
What are you guys charging per sq ft? I typically do a flat rate, I have a $125 minimum if I’m showing up just to clean gutters. My friend has a few customers asking him for gutter cleaning (which he doesn’t do, he just installs windows) so he is referring them to me… They keep asking him prices, he asked me what I charge per sq ft and I was at a loss for words, any help?
Usually I look at the jobs myself, I’m just too busy to check these out and I might as well go with the free help from my friend getting me some work and also doing the estimates
Mike Radzik
Pro Window Cleaning
Central, Mass
Sent from my iPad using Window Cleaning Resource mobile app
I let me website do most of my quoting for me (I use a quote plugin).
I standardized my pricing a while back and the standardized price is the minimum price to come out for the work (ex the cost of 25ft of cleaning is the same as 100ft).
My standardized prices include a certain footage of gutters. Anything beyond that there is an additional per ft cost. You can determine how much you want to get paid to arrive and clean. Personally I include 150ft with all of my cleanings. In my area, this covers 70-80% of the homes and the larger ones make us a little more.
Very rarely do customers ask to get an exact quote before we arrive. When they do I go through the standard Google street view and give them my best guess based on the worst case scenario cleaning (When gutters are completely full of dirt).
I keep it pretty basic. We have pricing for 1-2-3 stories, then an additional cost if they have gutter guards. Anything that seems like its going to take more time like a lot of ladder moves or a hard to each area that takes some manubering, I just add .5 or an hour of labor to the bid.
gutter cleaning is 80% of the time a higher per hour service for us then window cleaning. You just have to do that little extra. Pick one thing, like always rinsing the gutters out with water or always snake the downspouts, but just have it built into your pricing.
I love gutter cleaning season. Great $ if you do it right. Pick an area or two and focus your marketing there. You will be surprised how fast you can line up 6-10 gutter jobs a day.
I have 3 standard prices. Under 2000, 2000-3000 and 3000-4000 sq ft. Over 4000 sq needs someone to swing by to see how crazy they may be. Most jobs fall under 4000 sq ft so I can give a price right there. If they got gutter guards I add to the total.
People usually book the with the first person they call/give them a quote. Make the process as quick as possible. Noboby wants to wait 2-3 days for a gutter cleaning quote.
Sure sometimes we get a ****ty job that I would of priced more if I had seen it, but they are rare. Gutters are easy so the more the merrier.
I saw the national average is about $186. Does this sound about right?
$183 sounds about right. Our average job is $175.
We have a $100 minimum and charge $100 an hour and then 15 $25 minute increments, don’t tell this to the customer though! .
Don’t leave any debris on sidewalks, patios, decks, driveways. you can mow over the debris as it makes great mulch. Want your debris bagged and removed? It typically ranges from $25-50 extra.
We use the assessors web site or google maps while on the phone and give them a $25 gap erring on the high side i.e. $125-150, with bag and remove it will be $150-$200. If my technician arrives and it is going to be more we will call you ahead of time.
This method has worked to be in our exact price range 99% of the time and my office manager has never even been on a gutter cleaning job!
[QUOTE=diamondridge;249976]Most important questions:
-one or two story?
-square footage?
-roof type?
-can someone stand on the roof or is it too steep?
-are there gutters all the way around the house?
Do the gutters have covers or do the downspouts go underground?
DON’T FORGET HOW DIRTY ARE THOSE GUTTERS ARE THEY FILLED WITH LEAVES OR SHINGLE DUST?
AND DO THEY EXPECT YOU TO CLEAN THE WINDOWS AFTERWARDS.
5 gallon bucket with a hook attachment, extension pole with a brass squeegee handle beaten with a hammer to fit inside the gutter and a handheld blower.
a gutter pole, scoop, gloves, hose, and ladders are all the tools you need.
I have different service plans but basic is hand removal of deris and visually making sure the downspout is clear.
I charge by square foot of house.
I am just getting started in the business. Do you just scoop the gutter out and clean out the debris, or do you foliow up afterwards and hose the inside? And, are you cleaning the exterior of the gutter as well? What are you charging per linear foot? Any special equipment you like for the job?
