Hello everyone!!!
For second time I need your opinions please please please!!!
I Have top and bottom 45 sections total in & out I believe is like 10 inches French pane 12 little windows each panel
Inside is empty I think is like 600 hundred little windows
What is the best tools???
And price ideas guys???
Sorry for the pic but is the best on google maps
Water fed would be ideal for exterior. If all of the panes are pretty close to the same size you could cut a channel so that at least its 1 pass. On interior I know a lot of folks just use a surgical towel and spray away .
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Thank-u for your advice Luke so what do you think about the price I was thinking 700 hundred
Sorry Luke I read a lot of comments so when you say 10 to 15 dollars per window means in and out or 10 to 15 only one side or both
I have used Luke’s advice on french panes and it is very helpful. Definitely cut a channel or two to fit the exact width of the individual pane, in the video he posted he then uses his finger along the top edge to remove the water then applies the rubber to the glass and straight pulls down, wiping each “ledge”/divider. This was way faster than spraying the glass and wiping each pane with a terry cloth towel and then a buffer cloth to remove any streaks.
WFP on the exterior is also great advice, but look around on the forum here and there are a few people posting about issues with french pane dividers and dealing with oxidation when using a WFP. Read the posts and take the advice of the experiences.
Pricing is going to be both regional and client specific. Where I am at the average window cleaning is $150 for 20 windows (in, out, screens, and sill track cleaned). Each additional window is $5 for flat glass and $7 for french panes. The majority of my clients are retired and have a set income. So I am no where near the prices in KC.
The best starting point is figure out what is the minimum you need to make per hour to cover your overhead and an average pay rate. For me, I am at $25 and $25 for each, so minimum of $50/hr. Calculate how long it will take you to do all of those windows. If it takes you 2 minutes per window to WFP the exterior that is 90 minutes, add an additional 30 minutes for set up and movement between windows, and 30 minutes to remove and clean the screens. So you’ve got 2.5 hours total, then inside is maybe closer to 5 minutes to hand clean each individual pane, wipe the tracks, and put back the screens. Add another 3.75 hours for the interior for a total time on site of 6.25 hours, which for me means I need to make at least $312.50 to meet my minimum hourly rate to cover my bills.
If you have less experience and it takes you longer, factor that in to your time per window calculation. But don’t screw around either. Clients appreciate a contractor who is efficient and thorough and are willing to pay for someone who will come in and get the job done quickly without cutting corners. If you dwaddle and raise your price to account for the extended time to meet your minimum, the client is not going to have you come back.
If I were to bid solely on the specs you gave me, I would be at $365 based on my calculations, which I would then round up to $375. So I know that if I work at my normal speed, I have my minimum covered and I can make a $62 profit. I also know that it gives me an additional hour of time to complete the job before I start to lose money.
Do yourself a favor and look at your local big company competitors. See what they are charging in their coupons or specials. If you know you can do a better job take their price per window and add a dollar or two as long as the average house you do is more than your hourly minimum at those same numbers.
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I really appreciate your help and off course your time I let you know next week if I have the approval
Thank u so much
For us in Lexington, Kentucky, we would be at around 775-850. We would do WFP on the outside, standard window cleaning inside. We just did some French-Pane today, not my favorite. Much success.
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Hey simple clean Kentucky!!!
Yeah I’m afraid to do this house,I know I’m going to lose a lot of time outside because I don’t have WFP.
I’m going to do traditional one guy inside and 2 outside
Haha I need to save more money for my wfp equipment
Thank you for your help
Hello from southern Alberta. We don’t get a lot of French panels around here. Mostly Munton bars to imitate French panes, but I’m finding that most cleaning companies around here don’t do WFP on residential at all. They seem to advertise that face to glass cleaning is the best way for residential as that is how the homeowner views it from the inside.
With that being said, I’m really hoping this service takes off for my business as I’m really enjoying it so far. I’d love to get into WFP cleaning to go after a few commercial buildings around here.
I like the idea of just cutting down a channel and going at each pane with a straight pull. If applying the solution isn’t too sloppy there likely wouldn’t even be much detailing. Maybe even instead of a traditional mop, use an old mop cut down and fit to a spare squeegee handle so it isn’t too big. Once the guys outside get going at it, I bet you’ll be surprised at how efficient it will go. We had a saying when racing bikes that might just apply to certain aspects of window cleaning. It is in regards to talking about how you use your hands on the throttle, brake, and clutch and how you go about applying and releasing them when racing.
Slow is smooth
Smooth is controlled
Controlled is fast.
Since you are going traditional, depending on the depth of the bars, you can get a strip washer/mop that fits between the bars. (If they are flat and only aesthetic, you could just use a normal 18 inch strip washer and a small squeegee.) You mentioned that they were 10 inch panes. Most company’s make a 10 inch channel and mop. I had a similar house come up except they were (2) 11 inch and a wider center. So I looked online and found that my local ACE hardware carried an Ettore 10 inch strip washer and I had just seen Luke’s video about cutting down channels so I did that as well. I had cleaned a similar unit in the same town house community and it took 5 hours. Each window was misted with a soap solution then “washed” with a terry cloth towel, dried with a 2nd towel, and finally each pane was buffed to remove streaks. I think the house only had 30 or so windows. Changing to the smaller strip washer and squeegee saved me an hour. Now I have a 10 inch Moerman Liquidator on an Excelerator Handle with a Fliq mop for when I have to do interior raised french panes. I also have a Moerman 10 inch mop and T-bar with the older better quality sleeves, all just to clean french panes when I come across them.
I think someone may have mentioned this but taking @Lukes suggestion of cutting channels to fit the French panes really is a big help, I highly recommend it. Speeds you up a lot!
Thank-U thank u for respond I appreciate your time
I wanted to say thank you all you guys for the advice I have the approval this morning to clean this house 690 in&out
I really appreciate to the forum.
Can we get commission on that?
Hey JackSmackPWC
Yeah right we need to pay a fee for the forum lol
But is truth this forum is so helpful for rookies and guys with experience I’m so happy to have this house
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The forum is free to you all and will always remain free. It costs us, but worth having a clean and easy to use platform that isn’t Facebook 
If any of you want to support what we do we have a Patreon. We offer a podcast, early access to our YouTube videos and other exclusive content. Plus it just helps us continue to keep creating content and running the forum ect.
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Awesome man! Hope the job goes well!
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You right I checking ACE and they sale this things too