Hello window cleaners! I just got asked to bid this high 5-story hotel for window cleaning inside and out. It’s a new construction and the windows are a mess, especially at the bottom level. There are 579 panes in total here are some pictures. What should I bid this for, anyone?
I’d also appreciate any word on why you’d charge what you charge please. Thanks everyone! !
Tough to give any suggestions based off this one photo, especially being ccu.
If this is a full CCU, how do you plan on cleaning the exterior at the upper levels? I don’t think you can use a WFP to get the initial cleaning done. You would need a lift or an aerial platform even at 5 stories due to the possible extension over the first floor. I use Sunbelt Rentals in my area, and a 60’ articulating man lift w/Jib that has a 40’ Horizontal reach, rents for $665 per day or $1870 per week plus tax. What would be helpful is if the construction crew already has one on site and will allow you to use it.
I think Luke said in one of his older CCU videos, that the average CCU price is $15-$18 per window for residential construction in his area. Hopefully you have been able to calculate your overhead per hour minimum rate and also how long it takes you to clean a window. For me, being that I am a solo owner/operator, residential cleanings take me 3 minutes for exterior and 5 minutes for interior plus 2 minutes for each screen. So each window takes me 10 minutes total time. I would calculate twice that amount of time for a CCU. My minimum overhead per hour rate is $50 so when I do residential window CCU’s I have to clean at least 3 windows per hour avg at $18 per window.
If you think 10 minutes per side of the window is a long time, figure a process of soaping, initial scrape, soap again, squeege, assess, soap 3rd time, steel wool (or bypass soap/wool step, and use melamime “magic eraser” for removing adhesives and finger prints)[this is a user prerogative], then final soap and squeege with rag detail and ledge. If you use a lift, you are going to have to factor any re-positioning time as well.
You have 579 windows at 10 minutes each, that is a serious amount of time. 5,790 minutes or 96.5 man hours for the exterior and another 96.5 for the interior. You may be able to pick up some time on the interior and let’s say cut it down to 90 hours. 96.5+90+3.5 (for movement of lift)= 190 man hours @ $50/hr = $9,500 plus your lift rental of $1,900. Puts your break even point of $11,400 if you are able to do 7 full 14 hour days or can finish all of the lift required windows in less than 84 hours and finish the remaining ones with a ladder.
579 windows x $18= $10,422. I would be $1k in the hole. I would negotiate that the company provide the lift at their expense. This would put me $900 up and I might bump the price by a dollar per window to make an additional $600 profit, which would take the total up to $11k. If I were to put in 19, 10 hour days, it would take me 4 whole weeks to do this job, but then again $11k revenue for a single month is not terrible and there is so little expense for the job overall.
GSARMedic: Very good review. From my experience “resist think that you will save time somewhere on post construction”, your times will average out and/or their is always something unexpected that will need to be addressed. Remember to sell yourself on your great service and not on price, you will get the jobs that are right for you.
