New to rain gutter cleaning

gopher78

New Member
I have been cleaning windows for 10 years. I added on pressure washing a couple years ago, and just recently added on rain gutter cleaning. I live in Huntington Beach, California. I have really no idea how I should be charging for rain gutters. I don't want to try to do it by the hour though. Is there any type of linear foot price, and how much does it vary for the amount of debris.
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
-Corey
 
D

Dave Ott

Guest
grasshawg said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is meant by "linear foot"?

That's not ignorance. Hell I didn't know what linear feet was until I worked in a lumber yard.

A linear foot is the length measurment of an object. A house that is measured from one end to the other at 30 feet. = 30 linear (Length) feet.
 
S

steve r

Guest
gutters

grasshawg said:
Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is meant by "linear foot"?
as dave says linear ft is from point a to point b in a straight line
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
Sorry about the confusion on the linear foot thing. Also, quite a few companies include the downspouts in their linear foot measurements. Personally I think that's wrong but everyone is entitled to price things however they like.

If you have any questions about gutter cleaning, repairs, installs or gutter guards let me know. I've also got quite a bit of information about this stuff on my website also.
 

metrowash1

New Member
I'm glad ya'll covered this. I was wondering how to charge for gutters and...hate to say it, but I too did not know how to determine a linear foot.

THANKS! [white]
 

delam

New Member
Downspouts

Charge for the downspouts also. You may have to unplug one. At least check them to see if they are plugged.
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
In my area "most" but not all, gutter cleaning companies clean the downspouts as part of the job. Gutter cleaning is really easy, it may take a while to figure out the fastest ways to do things but once you get it down you can make just as much cleaning gutters as you do power washing.
 

DrWhipIt

New Member
I charge a $65 minimum, that gets them 1 hour of gutter cleaning then $50 an hour after that. The reason I don't charge per linear foot is this: I have done two identical homes, side by side with the same exposure to the same tree line. On one of the homes, the owner had them cleaned yearly and was bugging the GC during the construction of his 4000 sq. ft. home. The other guy bought his home when it was over two years old, and had no idea if the gutters had been cleaned or not. The first guys gutters took one hour to clean and none of the downspouts were plugged up. The second guys gutters (on a virtually identical house) took three hours to clean including some minor repairs and half the downspouts were clogged. If I had charged per linear foot I would have over-charged the first guy and lost my shirt on the second guys place. I will give rough estimates for gutter cleaning, but there are too many unseeable variables (neglect, plugged downspouts, #@*! gutter guards) for me to feel comfortable charging a flat rate.
 

Henry Bockman

New Member
Hey Dr.

Give me a call or come out and work with us one day. I can show you way's to cut your time in half when cleaning gutters and still give outstanding results. After all, we are here to help each other out right?
 

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