Which add on has been the best for your business? Why do you love it? Maybe it has a great ROI or helps fill out the slower parts of your year?
I’m adding roof cleaning/moss treatment to my business for this upcoming year which I think will help fill in some dead time in the summer. I would love to add soft washing but with it being very dry/non-humid where I live (Western Canada, inland) there isn’t any mildew to be cleaned, only dirt and cobwebs which I don’t think offers enough work to justify the startup costs of a power washing/soft washing trailer.
Currently window cleaning and gutter cleaning are the big ones for me. I’ve dabbled in screen repair and gutter seam repair and am not wild on either of them. I just refer them out to companies if any clients ask, the ROI and headaches just make it not worthwhile for me honestly.
I’m going to be hiring my first employee this spring and really want to make sure I have consistent work for them throughout the year, which is something that add ons can help with.
i’m in winnipeg. my favorite add on is that i got rid of any add ons, no gutters, no changing light bulbs. occassionally we will wash a bit of siding but it is same equipment.
Interesting to think of, but I imagine using a WFP on siding gets pretty labor intensive after a while. Ive definitely always liked the idea of softwashing and letting the chems do the hard work personally (who wouldnt)
Maybe there is a market for softwash and flatwork in the commercial side of things focusing on cleaning up grime etc rather than focusing on non existent mold and mildew in my local residential market Hmm…
Ya, use the right tool for the job. WFP was designed for glass. I do pressure washing, and wash houses all the time, and there is zero way I would make money brushing siding. If you already have the clients and there is the demand, a decent pressure washer will pay for itself in less than 3 house washes.
I bet you would never use WFP on siding again. @DelirousDungo
as stated i do not offer it as a regular add on and i would not want to carry additonal tools especially a pressure washer.
“proper tools” hmmm the combination of brush and water has been used for hundreds years for cleaning: When houses were first inhabited, homeowners used branches taken from shrubs to sweep up dirt, hence using the first brushes. In 1859, the first brush factory in America was set up in New York from wiki
wfp tools were simply adaptations and combinations of cleaning techniques for other surfaces. a standard car wash brush is basically the same as wfp and it was designed for hard surface cleaning so saying the wfp is not a proper tool for washing an exterior wall covered in siding is an opinion not a fact.
as stated i do not offer this as a regular addon only if a customer enquires and the job is suitable. i think we did about 5 or 6 jobs this year that involved washing eaves trough or siding.
here is one:
wash outside windows $105
wash outside of easvestrough (not cleanout) $200
wash small area of siding $60
only the window cleaning was booked for the appointment, we did not require any additional tools, no chems or soaps were used. entire job completed in 2.75 work hours for $364 or $132 per hour
it is hard work if you are doing a big area. we did another 2 storey this year the wall wash was priced 50% higher than the window cleaning but was done in less time
i have a significant investment in my wfp and i want it working for as much of the day as possible prfferably ALL day EVERY day.
i cut out gutter cleaning for the following reasons:
narrow window off opportunity here, a little in spring mostly in fall which conflicts with our busy season for window cleaning.
*don’t like having truck cluttered with extra tools garbage bags leaf vacuum etc
don’t want the increased risk of working on roof/ladders
don’t want my wfp equip idle while i do dangerous dirty work
gave all my gutter clean out to a guy who specializes in it, he does new install, repair and cleanout and concentrated on window cleaning.
@DanTheWindowMan I love your trailer build from this thread over at PWRA…
I could see there being a nice niche doing that for storefront customers, maybe a downside is needing to do it early before stores open or in the evening when theyre closed.
How much did that little trailer setup run you and whats involved in that build? Looks like a hose reel and a portable 4GPM machine? I’m guessing you run a supply hose inside the store for water? Do you have a way to apply SH / surfactant using that build? An interesting idea for sure!
“Getting bird poop off of painted surfaces can be difficult without damaging the paint. Don’t try to just blast it off. If your ds solution doesn’t remove it, use a car wash brush like this:”
I don’t really view it as an “add-on” anymore, but housewashing is my favorite service, period. $200+/hr consistently, lower strain on the body, amazing sense of satisfaction from the stunning before & afters, etc. The wow factor to customers never gets old, for me.
It’s an all around winner, in my book. But having the right equipment and technique is a necessity to be able to truly enjoy it, IMO. I know a number of guys who practically hate it, for what it’s done to their bodies (doing it the hard way: ladders & high pressure all day)
Window cleaning is crap money compared to house washes.
$200+/hour regularly
I know, you cheap window cleaners would shit bricks thinking about a $2000 investment to do something that isn’t window cleaning because you already all make $10000/hour.
You’ve tapped into a real niche, there. A lot of commercial window cleaning is crazy competitive. Even in my tiny, relatively non-saturated market, about the only time I pickup a new commercial account is when it’s a new business, or one of my competitors went out of business.
I do not understand big city commercial window cleaning prices! It seems that $14 for a double hung residential window is pretty average nationwide but yet for commercial window cleaning there is guys doing store fronts in-and-out for $15 where I would get $60.00.
