Estimate Help...

[Able 1]

I really haven't done many bigger commercial estimates and could use some advice.

My residential prices are by the room at 140.00 for 4 rooms and hall(I'm right in the middle in my area), just to give you an idea on how to adjust it to your area.

I have a high end hotel that want's 4 levels of halls cleaned with a total of 13,688sq. ft. that I don't believe have ever been steam cleaned (they use bonnets).

The whole hose runs to the fifth floor seem like it will be a pita so really am not too excited about the whole thing, but I clean for the head management guys house, so whatever.

At .12 a foot it's only $1642.56 seems like alot of work for that, but maybe I work slow..

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[GeneMiller]

Keith the way i approach large estimates is simple. i figure how long it would take me to do each of the smaller areas and then just add it up. I normally figure time versus sq ft but either way will work. How much do you want to make for your time ? It's really that simple. Large jobs are just a bunch of little ones with one setup.

gene

 

[Able 1]

Keith the way i approach large estimates is simple. i figure how long it would take me to do each of the smaller areas and then just add it up. I normally figure time versus sq ft but either way will work. How much do you want to make for your time ? It's really that simple. Large jobs are just a bunch of little ones with one setup.

gene

I was trying to figure time, but the hose runs are going to suck!! When just looking at the job and the pita factor I was thinking I would shoot for $2,500 just doesn't seem realistic when I put it into sq. Ft. Pricing..

Realistically I will have to set up at both sides of the hotel for each floor..

Thanks for the reply..

 

[Ron Werner]

4 halls is rather easy, the stairs are more a PITA
Do you have enough hose or can you borrow enough to reach the far end from one side? If you can use 2.5" hose, you won't lose as much vacuum.
Or is there a way to bring the hoses up the middle of the building?

don't bother coiling the hose behind you as you clean, just turn around and face the direction you are cleaning and let the hose pull along behind you. It will go pretty quick. I cleaned a 4fl condo incl stairs, worked really well.

 

[Able 1]

4 halls is rather easy, the stairs are more a PITA
Do you have enough hose or can you borrow enough to reach the far end from one side? If you can use 2.5" hose, you won't lose as much vacuum.
Or is there a way to bring the hoses up the middle of the building?

don't bother coiling the hose behind you as you clean, just turn around and face the direction you are cleaning and let the hose pull along behind you. It will go pretty quick. I cleaned a 4fl condo incl stairs, worked really well.

5 halls per floor 4 floors(all halls over 150' long), if I was to clean it all from one position I would need at least 350' of hose(which I have) but it wouldn't be efficient.. I always run with a helper so hose management should be good.

I just don't want this to turn out to be one of those jobs that when your in the middle you just want to shoot yourself because you didn't charge enough..(been there done that )

 

[Ron Werner]

I was charging the prop mgr 40cents/sf for the condo halls I was cleaning
I was called a few years ago from a referral because their "normal" cleaner just wasn't getting it "clean enough"
Don't know if that helps you at all.
20 cents comes out to ~$2700, not that unreasonable for a good cleaner that isn't going to rush through it just for the paycheck, esp for the effort you'll be putting in.

Slop and Gobble and a Whittaker, kicks butt

 

[Goomer]

I don't believe have ever been steam cleaned (they use bonnets).

Sounds like you know now why they chose to bonnet it.
Did they specifically request hwe this time?

 

[Able 1]

I don't believe have ever been steam cleaned (they use bonnets).

Sounds like you know now why they chose to bonnet it.
Did they specifically request hwe this time?

Well the reason they called me is they want it done right no bonnet..

He(management) is one of my residential customers and his email said "I have some spots at the hotel and I know if they will come out you can get them out."

As I did the walk through I told the Head maintenance guy the spots look like dog piss, he said they are now "pet friendly" I told him that going to cost them in the long run ect (#1 killer of carpet imo).

 

[lance]

"Never been steamed cleaned" means extra charge and they want and/or need a good job done.

"Bonnet cleaned" means extra dirty down between the fibers and likely residue left over from the previous cleanings.

If you were going to only do the bottom floor halls and two different set-ups, how much would you charge? Then multiply that by four. Add 10 to 15 percent for a buffer factor that you could always give back as a discount if the job goes better than you expected.

You have two TM's so couldn't your helper set the other one up and clean the other halls on the same floors? You could check his work as you go along because he probably won't be going as fast as you do.

The two highest floors are probably going to be cleaner than the lowest two, especially far away from the elevators. So you are going to be cleaning more square feet faster in those as compared to the other two (i would think that the lowest floor would be the dirtest and take the longest to clean, not including setting up the hose because that has already been seperated in a different bill.)

Are you going to scrub the carpet on any of the floors? If not, you might not need much prespray if there is residue and/or you are rinsing with a lot of hot water. And if you dont scrub then your helper will only be prespraying and moving hose out of your way. I did that before as a helper and we could have done a lot more faster if we had had two wands moving.

The areas from the elevators out about 50-60 feet will need the most attention as that is where most of the dirt from people's shoes comes off onto the carpet. You could give only those areas a good scrub and that would make the wanding go faster.

If each floor, not including set-up, is about 3425 sq. feet and takes 4.5 hours to wand (that's about 750 sq. feet per hour) then just cleaning time will be approx. 18 hours. So the cleaning bill is $1800.00 by itself.

Setting up all the way to the highest floor takes an hour (times two, for the other side of the building) and breaking down both sides of building takes another two hours. So four hours of that equals $400.00.

Total so far is $2200.00. Throw in a 15% buffer and that adds 330.00 to the bill. Total is now 2530.00.

If you charge them a straight 20 cents a square foot then the bill would be $2740.00.

If I was doing it I would want someone there to be able to "sign off" on the floors as the work is being done so that you know the job is completely done and ok'd after you have finished for the day or night. Especially all the carpet around the elevator lobbies. I wouldn't want to have to come back or run hoses again to clean up an area that wasn't as clean as the manager wants it to be.

Hope the job comes out well for you. Have a great weekend.

 

[davegillfishing]

before i even bid n stuff like this i find out how they pay.
if it is a 60-90 like most hotels it would be min 2500.00
i would adjust some for a faster pay and then some more for having a check
ready.
dont work for free unless you are broke and need to and i am not saying
that in a bad way..if you are broke and need the money drop your pants
and get the job..if not then consider the wear and tear on your equip, body and
charge a price that will allow you to retire at some point.
dave

 

[Dolly Llama]

I always run with a helper so hose management should be good.

halls = wide open
wide open = optimum production time

You should know your production times by now.
with 2 men a 1000sf pr hour is realistic and still do great work .

at 15 cents sf, I'd be all over it
if I was hungry, or could get them nailed down to a "regular" schedule , 12 cents could be workable too


I'd run the whole 350ft of hose .
You won't notice too much vac lose, cause you'll have gravity working for you.

The only PITA to multi floors is the initial set up to the top.
once that's done and you're running, it's all down hill from there ....literally ...
2 men crews should have no problem managing hoses
Cut lengths as you go along and have those lengths laid out ready to go on the next level if it increases efficiency


as Gene said, big jobs are just a bunch of little jobs in one spot .
If you know your production times for open area cleaning , it's just a matter of counting beans

..L.T.A.

 

[Able 1]

Thanks for all the advice, just kind of overwhelming to me... I think I will bid it higher, if I get great and if not that's OK too.

 

[Mike Draper]

make sure you can do it all in one day, they may want it done 1 level at a time so they dont have to close the hotel for 1 full day.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Figure the least you're willing to accept per hour for the work its going to complete the job. Calculate the hours and sub total, then divide by the sq/ft.

Encapsulation would be faster and allow you to make more even though you're charging less. How even if you're sure HWE is needed the I'm with Larry I can make money at .15.

 

[Jeremy]

Do yourself a favor and get a jiggler and some Snake Oil...