How much do your charge to clean VCT????

[Rescue]

It can't be the same as Ceramic T&G????? What would you charge a commercial Job approx. 3,000 sq/ft.????

 

[Scott S.]

What do you mean clean

mop, mop and buff, strip, strip and wax, shower scrubb, shower scrubb and wax.

Details help.

is it empty or are you working around stuff?
how old is it?
has it been maintained up to now?
is the dirt ground into the tile?

 

[ACE]

VCT pricing differs allot form one market to another. I would charge 800-900 for a strip and refinish job that size. If you haven’t done it before find someone to sub it to and do the work with them to learn the process.

 

[Lonny]

$.35 per sq foot- the longer it has been since the last strip and wax, the more charge per sq ft. I had one job that hadn't been redone for 15 years- literally. I had to strip the damn thing 3 times before I got all the wax off of it, then scrape where the rubber carpet runners were- painful thinking about it.

 

[Larry B]

VCT pricing differs allot form one market to another. I would charge 800-900 for a strip and refinish job that size. If you haven’t done it before find someone to sub it to and do the work with them to learn the process.

You would strip 3000 sqft for $800.00

 

[floorguy]

yup i would, and come away grinning about it to... take about 3-4 hrs depending on how long the finish took to dry....

soooo roughly $200 an hr on the worse end....you wouldnt?

 

[Larry B]

Nope!

 

[Able 1]

yup i would, and come away grinning about it to... take about 3-4 hrs depending on how long the finish took to dry....

soooo roughly $200 an hr on the worse end....you wouldnt?

Wax is vary expensive!

 

[floorguy]

its not wax..thats what you put on your car...its

FLOOR FINISH...

and depends on what you use, how much etc. Just like carpet cleaning chems can be expensive..

 

[Larry B]

You could put 4 coats of a good high quality finish on 3000 sqft for less than $200.

 

[marco8us]

You will use 2 gals of finish for every coat of finish you put down. 5 coats =10 gals. You will have anywhere from $170.00 -$200 in finish costs if you do the five coats. $25-$40 in stripper. Mop head expense if you don't have any. Black Stripper pad. Materials for this job will be anywhere from $200-$250.00. Less if you do less coats of wax.

 

[Larry B]

Where does labor

Equipment

Insurance

Travel

Expenses play into this?


I know a profit can be turned but why would you do a service like this for $0.27 sqft?

Even if you charged $0.35 sqft the customer would get a deal and if you done a great job on the finish I am sure you could get some maintenance work out of it.


For you guys responding to this how often would you tell the customer they need to re-strip the floor? I notice a lot of guys in my area that Low-Ball VCT work but then turn around and get the customer to re-Strip every 6 months.

 

[floorguy]

Well 1st off I let the customer decide when and how often..(for the most part) i mean it is their money and I hate when people TELL me when to do something, they dont know my situation, much like i dont know theirs..such as traffic volume etc.

so here let me give you a break down of a chain of stores i did about 4 yrs ago, then lost to the fookin MMM...


Mind you I drove as much as 4 hrs one way at times to do them for them (not the buffs, just strips) but when i was done i was servicing 42 of them of which 32 were with in a 60 min drive, and they let me buff 2 a night to make it worth my while...so anyway


I would strip one of their stores for $950 it was a set price for strip (DM sigining was $1000 so i went under to expidite payment)

They were roughly in the 7500 sqft range, plus i had to move clothes racks.

Took me and 2 other guys 4 hrs to strip...back then my guys that came with were making $10 an hr, then they left and i stayed to finish waxing, about another 4 hrs depending on drying time.

Took 10'ish gallons of finish 23% solids for 3 HEAVY coats..(i use the rubbermaid system) anymore then 3 streaks

Took 6'ish gallons of stripper...Remember these are stores that i started brand new, so its my stuff i am taking off...very little detail work to do, because i dont slosh my shit on the edges like most.

Brushes no pads..(are you fookin nuts to use pads...waste of money) set of brushes for the autoscrubbers run around $300, and i have yet to replace my 1st set i bought 8 yrs ago, you do the math...helluva lot cheaper then pads per year.

Here is the one kick, I get my chems straight from a mfg, have for years back when my dad was doing it, over 25 yrs combined id say now...so i get a little better deal...but you guys that only strip every so often, also get took on chems CUZ YOU DONT SHOP AROUND!!!! you can get the same product for at least 25% cheaper, if you checked a few different places...And stfu on "I dont like to price shop..." then be stupid

so lets do the math

8 man hr @ $10 = 80 plus your taxes $100 roughly
chems 10 @ $45 a pail = $90
6 @ $7 a gallon = $42
Misc supplies, scrappers, doodle bug pads, mops(oh did you know they are reusable???) I still have my orignal dozen i bought not all of them but at least 6..plus used a few extra...needless to say a minimal expense per job cost.

so lets see say $250 direct related cost + what $100 for gas and equip maintainence..

so $350, i charged $950 which means cleared about $600 for 8 hrs of work...in a so called production type setting...$150 for brain dead work..

at now get this $.12 a ft avg :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: omg the insanity to work for that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

its called sytems people...everybody has them, and have their niches....

Now as John pointed out a few topics ago...yes I use propane strip equipment, I am not farting around with cords, and the 175 to get this stripped, we are using the V/AT of hard surface care, I was doing them for 4 yrs, and had my system down to a T...I mean I came into these places with $25k + worth of equipment to use on their floor..

So if you guys poo poo clearing in the $150 an hr range, then you just need to stfu and go back to ICS

 

[Larry B]

Little touchy are we?

Sounds like your proud of your $0.12 a sq ft but it still didn't save you a customer.


I was just asking a question and was not even attempting to push your TamPon any higher.



Just for the record I for one am not impressed with where you purchase chemicals or how you apply them.

We buy direct

We never lay less than 4 coats on commercial floors (Most manufactures recommend this)

We also use the rubber maid system (WGAS)

Propane or electric don't matter a bit because if you mix your stripper good enough that propane machine will not save you all that much time.

Also running stripper through an Auto Scrubber causes more rust and damage then its worth.



But then again with all the Negative sh!t you posted above you probably don't want to hear this but NO one singled you out.


Go find some 12 cent tile to strip and shove your ICS comments up your A$$

 

[floorguy]

Little touchy are we?

Sounds like your proud of your $0.12 a sq ft but it still didn't save you a customer.


I was just asking a question and was not even attempting to push your TamPon any higher.



Just for the record I for one am not impressed with where you purchase chemicals or how you apply them.

We buy direct

We never lay less than 4 coats on commercial floors (Most manufactures recommend this)

We also use the rubber maid system (WGAS)

Propane or electric don't matter a bit because if you mix your stripper good enough that propane machine will not save you all that much time.

Also running stripper through an Auto Scrubber causes more rust and damage then its worth.



But then again with all the Negative sh!t you posted above you probably don't want to hear this but NO one singled you out.


Go find some 12 cent tile to strip and shove your ICS comments up your A$$

hahah your post makes me laugh, since when did it sound like i had a tampon jam??? looks to me, your the one that got touchy..

as far as the custy...hey when corp makes the decision to go with a nation wide contract what you gonna do??? and for the record i could have kept it, at a 40% drop

you buy direct??? that sounds like from a mfg to me???

coats, I use to do 5 when i used the bucket and wringer method, now its this way...i see youve been in biz for 6 yrs??? hell i have tried more ways of applying finish then i care to talk about. and my 3 coat is equal to my 5 or your 4, i can guarntee you that...most if not all custys can go a year before need of strip, some it depends on if they pay for buffing or not...

elec vs propane is not a big enough difference??? wtf...thats like saying i clean just fine with a porty and bath tub water, in stead of ANY tm and heat?? take it you have never done it???

and did i say i ran stripper through my auto?? only thing been in the auto, is water or neutral cleaner on buffs...


where did i post negative....i simply said if you have a system in place you can make money at cheaper rates....no not all the time but sometimes....

and for the record i dont do it all at .12 you gimp...it was merly showing an example...

i also see you do quiet a bit of work....good for you, maybe thats why you can hang out here all day and all night, you got the chimps working for you....but when does your family see you???

 

[steve frasier]

I am still waiting for Rickie to come along and tell you to use the secret sauce and then mop it with bleach before stripping

You could put 4 coats of a good high quality finish on 3000 sqft for less than $200.

if you have a propane buffer any more then 3 coats of a quality floor finish is a waste of time/money, if it is on sheet vinyl then it is pretty easy to get a wet look with some P&G ProLine or NCL Withstand with 3 coats

if floor finishing is anything like how some of you carpet clean then all you really need is the wet look cause that is all the customer really wants is the wet look, who cares if you have 100% solids on the floor

 

[Larry B]

 

[ACE]

You have to bend to local market forces with vct work more then carpet cleaning. It’s more of a commodity. I happen to leave near Topeka and Kansas Citywhich are cesspools of low bid janitorial companies. The key is saving money on chemicals. I recommend the sam’s club wax $10.00 / Gal 23% soilds.

 

[Larry B]

I recommend the sam’s club wax $10.00 / Gal 23% soilds.

Have you ever had problems with it scratching when buffing or burnishing. We had a customer that supplied that stuff once it was a "ecoclean" finish and every time you put a pad on it the finish would scratch to hell.

Have you ran into anything like this?

 

[esquireservicesinc]

Depends on the area. If you are talking mostly an open area with not a lot of stuff in it I wouldn't do it for less than $0.50/SF, stripping and waxing. I would probably lean towards $0.65 though.

 

[floorguy]

tried sams club stuff once....yes it scratch or as i called it "carbonized" made little hard carbon chunks underneath it...


and steve, just cuz its a 25% solids doesnt mean 4 coats is = to a 100% Thats just how much of the gallon is the solids polymer, so if you evaporated it out, 25% of the gallon would be solid...

and its like everything else, some think they need 6 or 5 or what ever.....go to the basic...WHAT WORKS FOR YOU

 

[steve frasier]

and steve, just cuz its a 25% solids doesnt mean 4 coats is = to a 100% Thats just how much of the gallon is the solids polymer, so if you evaporated it out, 25% of the gallon would be solid...

I know that but you know as well as I do how people are taught to think by the saleman, probably should have said it different

 

[floorguy]

oh dear lord salesman :? :roll: :? :roll:

thats the part of this biz i hate...

is to try and be a salesman...cuz i hate them

 

[Carpet Cleaning Fool]

Hey, I just hooked a customer who wants the stained concrete in their 6 restuarants cleaned twice a week. It has a high gloss finish and I'm not sure how to proceed. Of course I told the client I would be happy to do it.

From what I read on this thread i'm guessing .35 s/f is a fair deal to strip and wax. But, they want these locations cleaned twice a week so I'm guessing just a buff between waxings.

What kind of price would be fair for buffing only? Also, I'm thinking about getting an auto scrubber and just running that accross the floors a couple times per week. Would that be suficient?

Any guidence you could give me would be appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Larry B]

If its in a restaurant you will have to scrub or mop the crap out of it before you buff. Grease makes nice smears.


To price that there would be questions

What if anything would you have to move?

How much equipment is on the floor (tables, chairs) ?

There can be lots of extra work in a restaurant setting taking care of floor finish. One of the biggest problems is chair legs messing up the finish

 

[Carpet Cleaning Fool]

Yes, all 6 locations are restuarants and about 20 minutes worth of furniture moving each. I'm thinking about sub-contracting it out to someone else but I've never employed a sub before. Then other questions arise like after hours access, alarm codes, insurance etc. etc.

I currently clean the rugs in these locations and they lost their tile guy and asked if i could take over. Not wanting to lose the carpets work to a janitor I'm seriously considering taking on the extra responsibility. I hope I don't make a mistake and ruin the entire biz relationship.

Another option would be to refer them to someone else entirely and wash my hands to buffing and waxing.

What do you think?

 

[Carpet Cleaning Fool]

Bty, each location is appx 1000 to 1750 s/f

 

[steve frasier]

if you don't have a propane buffer and an auto scrubber I wouldn't bother

 

[hogjowl]

I think Larry is confused about what board he's posting on.

But I'm so impressed.

 

[Carpet Cleaning Fool]

I hate to walk away from a steady paying gig like this.

This account alone could generate enough hours to justify hireing a full time employee. Something I have been unable to do as the o/o of a single truck rug cleaning operation.

I'm wondering if it's time for me to step out of my comfort zone and venture into the unkown.

Sounds like I'll need an auto scrubber and a high speed burnisher for starters. A fraction the cost of one TM. Doesn't sound like a big deal.