Roof Cleaning

[Larry L.]

I seen where Bob W. said he could make a killing cleaning roofs in the south,I've also thought the same thing.

But we the people in the south had rather spend our extra money on our play toys as to have our roofs torn off with a powerwasher,thats one expence most here over looks as to maybe putting more life back into the roof as in maybe adding more years to its life before replacing.

I see house on top of house that needs their roofs cleaned,how would you sale a roof cleaning job to us in the south.Remember our way of thinking is not spending money on our roofs b/c of replacing every 10 to 20 years anyway,thats like buying a new car to us.

How do most of you get your sq.ft.,do you go by width and lenght of the house to get your sq.ft,if so what formular do you use.

How long would it take to wash a roof with the house width 30 lenght 50?,,,would a hour be average?.What would the cost be in supplies on a roof of that size?On a 4-12 pitch do you wear any speical kind of shoes?

I've been wanting to try that roof cleaning for a long time,there is a newbee here wanting to learn new stuff,I may as will learn with him.Teach me how to sale to a southern that thinks nothing of his roof as to yeAh it would look better but what the heck we have to replace in a few years anyway..

 

[Chuck Richard]

hey bigboy, i know that ? wasn't directed at me but 30% of my business are roofs. Mainly for realtors and people in high profile niehborhoods. Its very easy and very profitable. About the pitches, if i can't walk it safely with no harnesses i don't wash it. The target customers are those who are contatly tring to keep up with the joneses. Whats the use of a sparkling clean house if your dirty roof sticks out like a sore thumb. Most people don't care but there is that 30% who do. You can even make it cost effective for the average man by offering to clean only the part of the roof you can see from the road. As far as pricing I just charge my hourly rate plus 15 % for the risk factor. Once you have done them for awhile you can look at them and figure within 15 minutes how long it will take. to clean the roof i use same chemicals i use on house. Just don't let it sit on shingles to long.usally a 6/12 pitch is all i'll do. will do 8/12 if one story surrouned by grass. still young and can afford to fall once...lol... You can use new again but it makes roof very slick and cost more to use. you have to be very careful and always apply chemicals and wash down pitch. hot water makes it much quicker and easier.

Yor a realtors dream bigboy so you should have no problem getting in with a few of them. They love folks who have been in business awhile. And have plenty of personality i think you qualify.

 

[Larry L.]

Do not look at it as tho it wasn't directed at you Chuck,thats more than I knew,it helped.Like why didn't I think of just washing the front only for those tightwad southerns,good ideal.

yeah I know bout dat walking around stuff and getting your price,how long(hour)s) does it take to wash dat walk around up above.

Getting fleet prices is easy for me by walking around but I've never walked around priceing roofs,a big rig truck and trailer will take for a one man crew about 35 to 45 min. to do.

Was the hour to fast in the post up above,By picturing it in my mine and walking around it would two hours be about right for that size house,counting setup and all.

 

[Chuck Richard]

Realy depends on roof design but average size roof should take about 2 hours by yourself. be realy careful with older shingles looks can be deceiving. sometimes 10 year old shingles look 2 years old. always ask customer age of shingles so you can know what to expect and explain the risk to the customer.

 

[Chuck Richard]

heres some recent work

 

[Chuck Richard]

makes a big difference dont you think.

 

[Larry L.]

Yes it does,the job looks good:

(ask customer age of shingles so you can know what to expect and explain the risk to the customer)..

..what risk should I explain to the customer and what should I expect.

 

[Chuck Richard]

The older the shingles are the more brittle they become. This could create problems like roks coming off or even whole shingles. The older the roof the more time it takes. you have to use lower pressure tip say 2508, and make more strokes over same area with tip further away. The roof in the picture is 16 years old so it can be done effectively just takes more time and patience. Also a stronger mix will help. I just use sodium hypochlorite mixed with ulrta ivory injeced down stream. allow to sit 20-30 min. but do not let dry. then go to town.

 

[john orr]

Bigboy,

Until I got my PitchWitch and 48' Coress wand, I only did roofs I could walk. Now, the steeper the pitch, the better! I don't do all I'm asked to do, but I have been doing 1 or 2 a week.

An average roof will run $150 to $250. I downstream RoofBrite (about 1 or 2 gals = ~$4) then rinse with the PitchWitch. An average roof will take 1 to 2 hours. There is a learning curve to using this setup, but the results have been good...meaning the customers are satisfied.

Tip: Polarized sunglasses allow you to see the stains clearly through the glare on a wet roof. It works better on a lighter-colored roof.

 

[Chuck Richard]

I hate the pitch witch i have . to much trouble to me . If I can't walk it don't clean it. anybody wanna buy my pitch witch only used three times best offer

 

[Bob Warfield]

Bigboy,
My mother was born and raised in Birmingham, I know all about southerners and their money. I guess what I should have said is that there are literally hundreds of what I would consider "upper class" homes in dire need of roof cleaning. I thought if I could get my rig down there and do 1 or 2 for the price of chems only, who knows. Like Chuck said, lot of people like to keep up with the Jonses. I may be way off base here but I really think it would work.
Chuck was dead on about time, safety, price, etc.
Thanks,
Bob Warfield
Restoration Specialties

 

[Larry L.]

Ok,understand about the older shingles as in taking longer and maybe stepping on a lose shingle and sliding off the roof,careful huh.

On this type roof do you charge twice as much over the cost of a roof hads in good shape.I'm I wrong in thinking a two hour job cost around 100 to 150 or do most get a cheaper price or more when doing roofs.

And how do you let it set for 20-30 without it drying,do you keep mist'ing with chemical mixture or mist with water,stuff around here will dry in 5 mins. with the sun beating down,figure it would dry faster on a roof.

 

[Larry L.]

Bob,I understand,I have thought the same as you,its the reasoning for Q'tioning,I may give it a try.The only expence I see would be latters,I have everything else.I have a flo-jet already setup on the rig,think it would be better and faster to apply the chemical or would the pumpup be better for this type work.

Thanks John for the average price and tip on the sunglasses,may as will look cool while working up there,lol.

 

[mike barrett]

big boy,chris at apple roof cleaningis a good source of info. lots of posts on delco. e-mail me if i can help. barrett@aug.com
mike
ps price on 30 by 50 $129 do not use pressure!!! soap tip

 

[Chuck Richard]

nothing wrong with pressure if tou know what your doing. Been doing 10-15 year old roofs with pressure for 4 years with no problems.

Bigboy downstream injectoin is the fastest and easiest way to apply chemicals. To keep it wet reapply about every 10 min. til ready to wash. dont buy into the rof chemicals tried em all and they do no better job than bleach and soap. Which one do you think costs less. also you don't necasarily charge double for older roofs you just charge for your extra time, whatever that may be. Call me sometime and i can get more indepth.

 

[john orr]

Chuck,

I only use the PitchWitch on roofs I can't walk. What problems are you having with it?

 

[Chuck Richard]

no problems just takes more time to use than i have to give. Worked great when i used it but comp is so feirce here can't charge for extra time involved and still get job.

 

[Bill B]

Chuck, I would be interested in what pressure you are running, and how close to the surface you are working with your tip. You are using a 2508 tip - at what gpm, and how close to the surface. I cleaned a couple of roofs earlier this year, more for practive than anything, using 2510 to 2520 tips @ 5 gpm. Used New Again. Took forever, but felt good about protecting the shingles.

 

[Dan Flynn]

The first time I tried the Pitch Witch I liked it. But other than hitting a tough to get spot here or there. I would have to agree with Chuck. I hate the thing.

I even tried it on a walkable roof and took it off. Too much of a pain! It spins all over and is hard to control. Heavy as hell on the end of the pole too! The owner uses a 4.0 gallon machine. That may help.

Maybe with the extension pole they sell, may work better. But not on my 3 ft wand or standard yellow 24 footer. I tried spraying just bleach and letting it sit once and it work like magic.

 

[Chuck Richard]

bill, to answer your ? i run 5.6 gpm at 3200 psi. But it has to go through 300 feet of line so i'm sure it is less when it reaces gun. Never checked to see though.Depending on age and dirtiness of shingles i hold tip any where from 2" to 8" off surface. Just use bleach instead of new again. both give same results but bleach is cheaper and is les slick. New again can be a real hazard on a roof you have to walk on even if very low pitch, hell i'v fell on deks using it and they are flat. To speed things up do a test on the shingles at gutter level to see how close you can get. The reason i say gutter level is incase something is damaged it is not in view from the ground. you should still inform homeowner if damage occurs but their less likley to be mad if its not noticable. Hot water will also speed up process but you get same results with or without.

Another huge profit maker is cedar shake roofs. If you go into a "high rent district" and do one i promise the work will never stop. Requires using a lift to be safest for you and roof. Alot of the upper class neiborhoods around here require them and people arn't going to let their neihgbors look good without theirs looking good also. Another plus about this kind of work is in these neighborhoods the people rely heavily on finding contractors by word of mouth, so if you make your first customer happy youll get their friends, family,neighbors,co-workers. and the cycle repeats over and over. Think about those #'s.