need help bidding interior building cleaning

[johnisimpson]

Hey guys,

I need some help coming up with a bid for cleaning the interior (ceiling, floor and walls) of an old knitting mill that is going to be renovated. I'm using a 4 gpm, 3000 psi machine, cold water. First problem is that the owners seem to think that cranking up the pressure and using straight water is the best course of action and I'm thinking that at least one of the other bidders is thinking along those same lines, so any recommendations on how to educate the owner would be appreciated. The building was probably built around the 20's.
There are two floors, 17,000 sq. feet each, hardwood but very dirty and they are thinking they will sand them down as one of the last steps of the renovation. Any thoughts on stripping the floors for them? Do you think this would save them money? or should I even expect much success on a floor stain that old? I'll be calling them first of the week to try a test spot if I think it's worth attempting the stripping. Right now they are looking at just blowing off the dirt and getting the floor clean. What do you think a fair rate for a simple cleaning would be and also a rate for the stripping ( I don't want to get into the sanding of the floor). I feel pretty good about the bid of the walls, roughly 600 linear feet per floor (one wall isn't being washed as it is coming down). They are painted (sure it's lead based) brick and they just want them cleaned.
Then there is the ceiling. Same as the walls, they just want them cleaned. Their quote on the project is "do what you can, what comes off comes off and what doesn't will be dealt with later." The power will be turned off at the main, but I'm not sure how concerned I should be about water getting into and sitting in the light fixtures (8' UV lighting). I'll cover the outlets and switches but I can't imagine how much time it would take to protect all the lighting. Should I worry about this?
I think that water can be squeeged along the floor and I'll use a water boom and pump to move it to a sanitary sewer outside.
Any advice will be appreciated. I'm also hazy about how much time to schedule for the job. I haven't tackled a job or bid of this scale yet and would like to have my bases covered. Let me know if there is more information I should provide.

Thanks

John

 

[doug mckenzie]

I THINK YOU CAN WORK AROUND THE LIGHTS,,SEEMS AN O.K. JOB. THE FLOOR THOUGH,, DON'T YOU THINK THE WATER WILL BUCKLE THE FLOORING??? BE CAREFULL WITH CHEMICALS YOU NEED VENTALATION NO??
SOMETHING LIKE THIS I TRY TO FIGURE HOW LONG IT WILL TAKE. AND ADD A GOOD FUDGE FACTOR. THERE CAN'T BE MANY PEOPLE BIDDING THIS JOB ANYWAY.
WHAT'S THE CILING MADE OF? WILL THE WATER FROM ABOVE DO ANYTHING TO IT?? IT'S ALOT OF WORK AND DIRT EVERYWHERE, GET EXTRA HELP ,40 DEG. NOZZLE, CHARGE A LOT. DO THE DEMO, IT WILL ANSWERE ALOT OF YOUR QUESTIONS. CHLORINE WILL GAS YOU HALF TO DEATH(CANOT USE IT)...
SUDS MCKENZIE

 

[johnisimpson]

Thanks for the thoughts and the quick response. The building is fairly well ventilated as many of the windows are broken and there are multiple doors to the outside to aid ventilation. I don't often use bleach and I'm not planning on trying it here. I was thinking of using a truck wash (pot ash base) on the walls and ceiling. The floors.......not sure yet. If they wanted stripping, then I'd probably be trying HD-80 and using masks for everyone involved. The buckling should only happen if the floor doesn't dry thoroughly, correct?? The building will have all doors and windows replaced so it will open a little more to help dry the floors. What do you think of trying to assist the process with fans or heaters in the building?

John

 

[charlie]

Make sure you are properly insured to do this job.

Charlie

 

[johnisimpson]

Charlie,

I carry general liability through Zurich (Joseph Walters). I'll give them a call and check, but do you know of anything in particular that I should be checking on?

John

 

[Dan S]

go ahead shake your head guys but this is a prime job for no pressure washer @ all .... low pressure chems. and no sanding ... check out the photo I have I think it is in the thread "Im still alive......... bummer huh?

no sanding no pressure washer .................... I will post a after pic. when Im done .............

I wouldnt use h20 on this job @ all John........ nothin but chem

yes it can be done.......

same chem on walls wood ....etc......... all can be done without h20.........

 

[johnisimpson]

Dan,

I'd love to hear more about this. What type of chems? How long does it take? how practical on a job of this size and how do you bid it?

 

[johnisimpson]

guys,

would love more input if anybody has some good thoughts on price or time

thanks

john

 

[Max_rob]

john, I did a job that may be similar to yours last month. It was for the New Holland plant near me. I charged them $9.00 a linear foot. Dimensions on the project were 2 buildings. Building one were 20' high and a total of 12,000'. Building 2 was 30' high, and 25,000'. I used a soap called breakthrough made by Hotsy, and a cold water pressure washer at between 1700 and 2000 psi. With this soap and pressure, I had no problems and the wall came clean the first time through. I also used side to side "roto" nozzles. To give you an idea on time, I averaged 1200, to 1500 foot a night, worked 8 hours a night. The walls were covered in soot and some lighter grease. Some area's like around the welding stations were a lot dirtier, but the soap worked just fine. I also should mention that I diluted the soap 4 or 5 to 1 gallon. All together this job grossed me just over $33,000. I ended up putting in about 14,000 for cost, but ended up netting me a little over 19,000. Not bad for a weeks worth of work. I also should mention that I hired one guy to help me and paid him $2 a linear foot. If you want to talk to me about this, just send me an email at rob@jampw.com or call me at (308) 233-2240.

 

[Dan S]

John ,

The Chem is part of a deal ya get when ya buy into "caltex"...

cant buy it alone ... so I guess I should of never posted the above b/c it wont reall help ya ..

This chem does it all ..... roof,wood,ceilings,mold,houses,......etc...
no high pressure no caustic chems.
and about 300 to 500 psi ..... in some cases........

those steps I am doing are close to being done and I will try and snap a pic. soon .....

as far as bidding thats a toughy since we cant see it but as a rule with the caltex you are looking @ around .50 to 1.25 per square ..or more ..... it's hard without really taking a peak @ what you are doing .......

 

[Beth]

Give me a call. We do construction clean up.
Beth

 

[timhays]

oh no not the low pressure scam.

i can tell you that if any water gets on the hardwood floors you will be replacing them. i know i do it everyday,and it is not cheap to come in and extract water control drying and replacment.
guess who pays for it?

 

[Beth]

It's a rare occasion that you will do interior cleaning of a construction site with a pressure washer. Exterior brick work yes, sidewalks, yes, but inside is a whole other animal. Inside the only time you can that we have found is in a kitchen (drainage is an issue otherwise) with either tile or rubber flooring. Then you can actually do it, and blow the dirt off, and down the drain.

Like I siad, we do alot of this work. Call me at 301-540-1243 if you want more info.

But whatever you do, I wouldn't use a pressure washer on a hard wood floor inside a building. It's not a deck.

Beth

 

[Beth]

HUH? Sorry, I reread the post.
HD-80 indoors? Even with ventilators, I would NOT suggest it. If anyone walks in, they will be highly exposed, and while HD-80 is not bad in an open area, in a closed one I would not want to risk the health of a passerby, would you?

Now as for its use, what's on the floor? HD-80 takes alot off, and is very versitile, but there are finishes on hard wood floors that I do not think it has been tested on yet.

Beth

 

[timhays]

it is common practice for hardwoods to be sanded with a floor sander,for restaining purposes. these are available for rent at a local rental yard.

 

[Dan S]

Timhays

ahhhhhhh! what do u mean by low pressure scam?

have you tried it?

you dont think it works?

alot of people say the same thing untill they see it......

 

[timhays]

Dan,maybe i should have rephrased my statement,i didnt mean to attack your product or method that you are promoting.

I do however have a problem with the marketing strategies of companies who sell memberships to there products or services.
if there products or services were worth the asking price dont you think they would sell em to the mass millions than try to make money off buying in?

just my two cents worth,none of the worlds greatest products require you to buy in to access them.

i also dont like biased opinions.

 

[Dan S]

you have some good points there Tim ..

I didnt buy into the expensive one ..... Thank God !!

But it really works well !!!!!!!

 

[timhays]

im glad it works for you.

 

[johnisimpson]

Just to keep you posted on how this goes, I talked to the owner and contractor yesterday and explained to them the potential risks of water damage to the floors. I talked about how we could remove the bulk of the water but then used points raised here about the water seeping under the floors and the extended drying time because the floors are indoors. I recommended that pressure washing might not be the best or safest way to clean the interior but added that if they still wanted to have it done that we would turn in our bid with a release statement. The contractor said he would think it all over but said if they chose our bid, then he would have no problem signing a release. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Thanks for all of the input.

John