We all use some form of formular we work through. I use the word pain as apposed to window. I have as an example 2 houses about the same size and age that have about the same amount of glass but one takes about 4 times as long as the other. The houses in the photos are not the 2 Iâm talking about but they show the differences we can come across. The windows with the small squares are one pain with alluminum striping glued to the glass on the inside and outside. these are alot of work to get clean as there are no rubbers and therefore are almost impossible to do to a high standard without alot of ragging off on the inside. The brick house has about 500 pains.
How dose your formula work on this :rolleyes:? I use my formula and then tend to step back and think how much time will it take and do the two amounts work out about the same.
Before I get a hard time for it I know I shouldnât be on the roof. I donât get up there anymore (Once onlY). I can do it within reason from the ground.
I charge by the pane side. For my purpose each window pane has an exterior and interior surface so a double hung window would be a pane count of 4 for my bidding purposes.
A pane and a window are different. A pane(s) is just part of the window. As Micah said " you can have 1 pane or 20 panes of glass. The definition of the word âpaneâ is debatable. Clearly shown by Micah and Tony. Taking Tonyâs example of a double hung window, I would say it had 2 panes of glass or if the top sash had 6 cut ups/frenchies, I would say it had 7 panes.
Generally, I charge per pane but will also factor in time it takes as well.
It only really matters for bidding purposes. I use a modified form of Jim Willinghamâs factor bidding. He separated interior and exterior panes on his sheet so I do as well.
My work time is worth a buck a minute. 2 hours=$120.00. 3 hours $180.00 and so on. If you are a good with estimating the time it takes, then this is just another way to figure bids and not come out too bad.
âtheglassmachineâ
I take time into consideration too. In many cases Iâll take time into consideration and price my pane count to reflect my hourly target.
The reason I do this is because itâs a lot easier for a customer to comprehend your charging them 5 dollars a pane compared to charging them 125.00 an hour.
So on all of my estimates I give a pane count and a price per pane.
IMO, a pane count is the most accurate way of sizing up the job, both on what to charge and how long it will take.
If a customer calls up an tells me they have 20 windows, I still donât have the whole picture. Could be 1 pane per window, could be 5.
Now if a customer tells me they have 40 window panes, I know there are 40 panes of glass to scrub, 40 panes of glass to squeegee and 40 panes of glass to detail (double this for in/out). Itâs easy to determine how long it will take without even seeing the house. The only time Iâve been off by this method is when the customer wasnât honest with the pane count or they down played how dirty they were. Hasnât happened often though.
But hey, whatever has worked for any of you, all the power to ya!
That middle pic where you are standing on the roof with a wfp, could you not have done that from the ground?
Iâm asking (what may be a stupid question) because thatâs the way I used to clean windows the traditional way but I just oreder a pure water set up with pole with the hope of eliminating most ladder work like that. If it works, I might get back into windows heavy again but when I watch most of these videos with wfp the brush is always stuck 90degrees to the pole so in order to get in all the corners you have to be right under the window. Where they do show them cleaning windows off to the side the brush doesnât look like itâs doing an acceptable job⌠unless the window was really clean to start out with.
OkayâŚnext question after âWhat do you call a window?â is:
What are you responsible for cleaning?
Imagine an all brick home. Thereâs a lot of âstuffâ in the opening in the brick where the light comes inâŚsills, frames, etc. So, are you cleaning EVERYTHING that isnât brick? Or are you focused on cleaning glass and leaving everything else to the pressure washing guy?
I think youâll find this varies from company to company. Our basic service is all sides of the glass, dry brush and wet wipe the sills, and clean the screens w/ Screen Magic. (if the screens are horrible I suggest a deep screen cleaning for an additional fee) I also dry brush the frames.
