First Log Home cleaning -Help!

GPWRI

GPWRI

New member
I have to go price out a cleaning and stain prep for a log home tomorrow and have never done one before or priced one out. I have have done wood fences but was wondering if you guys could steer me in the right direction as to what a " general" pricing is for log home washes and what you normally do as a process to prep for stain. I was just gonna downstream percarbonate then after apply a brightener and flush it with clean water. My machine is a 4gpm and i softwash vinyl mostly and charge about .11 cents a square foot normally. The customers i have are generally middle class so they are looking for some quality while also maintaining a fair price, not people that go with the cheapest quote. Thanks in advance
 
I guess you are prepping for the same stain to be applied? If not you would have to strip and brighten it and that's a whole different story. The log homes I've worked on were re stains and I made a 12% mix and rinsed.

You do have to watch the water it can seep in the house like around the windows so watch it...

Everett will chime in I know he works on lots of log homes and they can be tricky depending on what stain you trying to clean for re stain.

P.s I price my cleaning by estimating time and material to try and make 40-60%.So charge accordingly to what your company needs to make for the bottom line.
 
Seymore_BlEaCh said:
I guess you are prepping for the same stain to be applied? If not you would have to strip and brighten it and that's a whole different story. The log homes I've worked on were re stains and I made a 12% mix and rinsed.

You do have to watch the water it can seep in the house like around the windows so watch it...

Everett will chime in I know he works on lots of log homes and they can be tricky depending on what stain you trying to clean for re stain.

P.s I price my cleaning by estimating time and material to try and make 40-60%.So charge accordingly to what your company needs to make for the bottom line.
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This is exactly the answer i was looking for, thank you! So you are saying that you use a normal house wash mix to clean the house? Do you ever scrub at all? maybe even just trouble spots? I planned on telling the customer that most log homes have a possibilty of leakage when being cleaned and its a known fact. I am downstreaming with low pressure so i have confidence that it will be ok. If he isnt applying the same stain then i might pass because i am not willing to sacrifice my companies name and a customer's home due to my inexperience in the matter. Would any of you guys do it if you were fully versed in what chemicals and processes to use to do it even though it was a first time for your company doing a full wood restoration?
 
Pics would help of ya got them?
 
Gabe, Welcome to log home restoration! First thing you want to do is is make sure the homeowner is going to be home so you can see exactly what they want and to possibly inspect the inside of the home and take a camera. You are going to have to determine what the scope of the project is and what exactly has to be done. If this is my first time out I will treat it like a deck and want to strip it first and then maintain it from there. Regardless of stripping or just cleaning you need to inspect the cabin's overall integrity. How old is it? Is there chinking and what condition is it in? is it tight or are there visible areas for water to get to the inside? I want to see the inside to look for existing water damage or leaks and take pictures. This will also determine how I will proceed. I may use a pressure washer, I may use a garden hose and brushes, or I may cob blast. Depending what has to be done and how I am going to do it will determine my price. There are also other factors like re-chinking, log repair, window cleaning, etc. (we provide window cleaning on all wood home restoration) to consider. These are high dollar jobs and not like any of your typical pressure washing jobs. Feel free to contact me as well regarding pricing. For your first time go out and get all the information and get pictures. It will then be easier for us to help you. Tell the customer when you will get them the estimate back to them and deliver on that promise.
 
Everett Abrams said:
Gabe, Welcome to log home restoration! First thing you want to do is is make sure the homeowner is going to be home so you can see exactly what they want and to possibly inspect the inside of the home and take a camera. You are going to have to determine what the scope of the project is and what exactly has to be done. If this is my first time out I will treat it like a deck and want to strip it first and then maintain it from there. Regardless of stripping or just cleaning you need to inspect the cabin's overall integrity. How old is it? Is there chinking and what condition is it in? is it tight or are there visible areas for water to get to the inside? I want to see the inside to look for existing water damage or leaks and take pictures. This will also determine how I will proceed. I may use a pressure washer, I may use a garden hose and brushes, or I may cob blast. Depending what has to be done and how I am going to do it will determine my price. There are also other factors like re-chinking, log repair, window cleaning, etc. (we provide window cleaning on all wood home restoration) to consider. These are high dollar jobs and not like any of your typical pressure washing jobs. Feel free to contact me as well regarding pricing. For your first time go out and get all the information and get pictures. It will then be easier for us to help you. Tell the customer when you will get them the estimate back to them and deliver on that promise.
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Everett, I just came from the homeowners house and checking it out. I do not have any pictures as of yet although i will be taking them in a couple days when i am back out that way. The house is actually in very good condition stain wise, not actually sure why he would like to re-stain other than the north side which is black mold half way up to the fascia boards. I talked to him and he is not looking to get it stripped but is looking to get it clean and have no algae or mold on it. The stain is definitely well adhered to the wood and there is chinking and its in very good condition because the house is only 5 years old. The problem now is that he started pressure washing it till about half way up on the north side and i am not sure if the simple cherry plus SH will "blend it in". He is also aware of seepage as he is a general contractor and has done his house in the past and knows that he gets minor leaks here and there. I'm wondering if i should have him sign something stating that he knows that this is common with log homes and is aware that his does this as well. He is currently waiting for my estimate and i usually do square footage which his equals out to 3147 total square feet. i was thinking of doing it at .12 cents a square foot which is roughly $380. sound about right? as long as it is generally a wash and not a stripping?
 
I would have him sign something even if you included it as a note in the proposal about "current conditions". I have testified in these before and the bottom line is to always cover your butt as water on the inside is always the "deal beaker". Pictures that have the correct date stamp would be good too. Anyway about your proposal, if you are treating it as just a house wash then you are probably in the ball bark as I price by linear feet. Your first post alluded to staining as well in which this would be more and by your price I am assuming the staining is not needed?
 
Everett Abrams said:
Anyway about your proposal, if you are treating it as just a house wash then you are probably in the ball bark as I price by linear feet. Your first post alluded to staining as well in which this would be more and by your price I am assuming the staining is not needed?
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I very seldom only clean and not re stain like I think he's doing. So If clean only I would charge more to clean vs clean and stain.If you feel comfortable with that price than that's good it sounds like a simple cleaning and not that big?. I have a hourly figure I try to stay close to and try to leave some wiggle room if cleaning takes longer than I expected. You can fight with cleaning like stripping and only break even but the staining will be a piece of cake and you can make up the time then.

So price accordingly to how difficult/easy the job will be and always try plan ahead like Everett said document everything you see that you could get blamed for that was already broken or in bad shape already.

I also don't think cleaning a log house should be priced like a regular house wash as I don't think it's always that easy. I think it's a more specialized cleaning and should be priced that way
 
Everett Abrams said:
I would have him sign something even if you included it as a note in the proposal about "current conditions". I have testified in these before and the bottom line is to always cover your butt as water on the inside is always the "deal beaker". Pictures that have the correct date stamp would be good too. Anyway about your proposal, if you are treating it as just a house wash then you are probably in the ball bark as I price by linear feet. Your first post alluded to staining as well in which this would be more and by your price I am assuming the staining is not needed?
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Thanks for the tip on the correct date for the pictures! i seriously would have forgotten about that. Staining is not needed for this house as the home owner is going to do it himself and i personally got rid of staining as a service as i personally do not like doing it AT ALL! I wanna get fully versed and become a serious guru when it comes to residential washing and light commercial then maybe i will expand my services again. Also, how do you estimate by linear feet? say if it were a dollar a foot and you did 100 linear feet ( just an example) it would be 100 bucks, if you did a two story with 100 linear feet would it be 200? also what if there are dormers? a set price for those too? sorry for the questions just figured i'd harass you a little more :winknudge:
 
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Seymore_BlEaCh said:
I very seldom only clean and not re stain like I think he's doing. So If clean only I would charge more to clean vs clean and stain.If you feel comfortable with that price than that's good it sounds like a simple cleaning and not that big?. I have a hourly figure I try to stay close to and try to leave some wiggle room if cleaning takes longer than I expected. You can fight with cleaning like stripping and only break even but the staining will be a piece of cake and you can make up the time then.

So price accordingly to how difficult/easy the job will be and always try plan ahead like Everett said document everything you see that you could get blamed for that was already broken or in bad shape already.

I also don't think cleaning a log house should be priced like a regular house wash as I don't think it's always that easy. I think it's a more specialized cleaning and should be priced that way
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Yeah i'm starting to see how more attention to detail will come into effect when cleaning a wood home. i'll have to figure out my numbers exactly to figure out what my profit would be for a project like this. This first house will probably be more of a learning experience for me i figure anyways. Thanks for the responses, I appreciate the help.
 
When I price my jobs there is no rule of thumb I spend twenty minutes looking at the structure then I take multiple pictures and look at them for an hour, I take into account every little detail. I really look at what is going to be needed and then I figure how long everything will take. you should already know how much it cost you to stand at a customers house for an hour. It cost me about $35.00 an hour, without supplies, just to be there. then I add on my hourly rate that I want .
 
Junker1 I like the way you think! The picture idea is awesome. I'm still figuring out exactly what my cost of business is before profit, i have realized the importance of this in the past few weeks and in previous years was a general pressure washer that would show up at a house and say "mmmmmmmm looks like about $250 sound good?" I actually got business lol. Now when i show up with a uniform and confidence in what i do and am well versed, the customers seem to be more at ease and i get higher quality jobs. Also, i thought it was a big no no to look at power washing in work per hour? everyone says go by the job. How did you figure out what it costs you per hour to be there? I'm only part time right now and dont have tons of returning customers yet and am still establishing a website as of now but ill get there soon.
 
Every business has operating cost. Your phone, fuel ,insurance, maintenance, advertising, website ,helper, and the list goes. If you add up every expense and projected expense ( maintenance of machine and vehicle etc. ) you should end up with your operating cost. Now remind you these are expenses you are paying whether you are working or not. Because I live in the northeast, and the fact that I do not do fleets yet I am limited to how many hours I can pressure wash a year. Being realistic because of my territory and the fact that my business is only 2 years old I am aiming for a 25 hour work week. I think I will only work 40 weeks this year. so 25 hours per week times 40 weeks equals 1000 hours. so lets say all my expenses added up $20.000 I need at least $20.00 an hour just to cover operating cost, add in a helper and my expenses rise to $35 an hour just to stand there. add in five gallons of stain supplies, rags brushes, paint, now total everything can rise as high as $50.00 an hour. I would like to make 60 k this year so I need to charge $110.00 an hour. Now of course I would like to work more than 1000 hours. but this is where I am starting at. my expenses will change as my company grows. some jobs I get $180.00 an hour, not often but some times. and then there are times I get $80,00 an hour. but I seem to be averaging $100.00 an hour.
 
Shane, I agree with you 100% and I would definitely price more for cleaning a log home. I just meant treat it like a wash since that's what it seemed the job evolved too without getting into detail on price(usually know how that conversation goes, haha). Depending on the home we brush around windows and skylights for fear of water getting in in these often compromised areas. Also you have to make sure you are cleaning the top and the bottom side of the logs which takes a little more time than just vinyl or aluminum siding. I also will not clean or strip a new job for someone else to stain, I do the whole job or not at all. I will clean a house in the future that we sealed or stained though. When a homeowner does something wrong you may get the blame whether they tell you directly or just to their friends and neighbors without you even knowing. I also will not do the reverse and seal or stain a job that a customer has prepped.
 
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