Advice

D

dantheman

New member
hey guys this is the deal. works been slow last couple of weeks (winter season)
but ive been getting a TON of hood cleaning calls (5 in last 10 days) i don't think anyone in my area really does it.

ive only done residential, commercal and a few fleet jobs. I went and saw one of the hood kitchens today for an estimate (its a chinese place...i know i know lol)

Ive attached the pics of the 2 hoods plus the worst parts. The restaurant is not open yet so im thinking of using this as an opportunity to at least try to learn it on the job. I could use the $$ What do yall think? how much would you charge for this job. even as someone who never cleaned hoods it looks really dirty to me

thanks as always
Dan

Hood 1/ Hood 2

Hood 1.jpgHood 2.jpg

Bad Area 1.jpgBad Area 2.jpg bad areas
 
WOW Dan... a bit grotty. We don't touch commercial kitchens so my input would be limited to a simple ...WOW.
 
Few things off the top of my head.. make sure you have plenty of sodium hydroxide, tarps, shop vac, pump up sprayer and a handful of razor scraper blades, also get a 4" razor scraper for the flat stuff. I have cleaned worse and from the pictures it looks like the grease is still... greasy not dry which should make it easier to scrape off. Consider your operating cost and time you will spend their. Your first time so factory a FULL days work, be sure that you know what THEY expect... the place is closed so if something gives your problem you shouldnt panic as you might have more time to fix the issue vs them needing to open in the morning.

Um.. $750? I know I would be a happy camper and could make quick work of that hood no doubt at that price however.. consider all factors that no one else knows here knows but you... id be all over that place. Wish my phone would ring 5-10 times for new accounts.. *ring ring* oh shap.. got to go!

I would still be profitable at $175... even giving myself a slave wage id be happy. Just saying the market can very especially if other people are hungry and want to work cheap.

Work does not get compromised due to low reward.
 
Daniel, It looks like it hasn't been properly cleaned for quite some time although pictures can be misleading. Have you looked into the shafts to see how much buildup they contain? If I were to bid that I would be around $1200 (including the initial cleaning charges) without seeing the filters/shafts/fans assuming they haven't been cleaned properly in the past. It will require a lot of man hours/diesel and gas for equipment/degreasers to get down to bare metal. An experienced crew of 2 would prob take 4-6 hours to complete it so make sure you plan plenty of time. Prices vary considerably from area to area so I am unable to say what your market will support price wise but it boils down to what you can charge and still be profitable with your operating costs. I prefer a sodium and potassium hydroxide mix on oriental greases and allow a much longer dwell time as well. Obviously hot water is a must. Expect a lot of scraping as noted above.

Also, if you haven't cleaned hoods before you might want to consider checking with your insurance co and pick up the correct policy. Most if not all will not insure that type of liability under a general pressure washing policy. Be careful of the suppression systems, they can cost upwards of 4k to recharge and cleanup if they deploy. Just a fyi if you haven't considered it.

Hope this helps in some way.

Edit: Don't forget to affix a certificate of performance sticker to the hood after you clean it. That is what the restaurant owner will need to get a CO to open. NFPA #96 is the guidelines for kitchen exhaust cleaning. It has everything you should need to know for compliance unless your city requires something more.
 
Last edited:
valley pressure wash said:
Few things off the top of my head.. make sure you have plenty of sodium hydroxide, tarps, shop vac, pump up sprayer and a handful of razor scraper blades, also get a 4" razor scraper for the flat stuff. I have cleaned worse and from the pictures it looks like the grease is still... greasy not dry which should make it easier to scrape off. Consider your operating cost and time you will spend their. Your first time so factory a FULL days work, be sure that you know what THEY expect... the place is closed so if something gives your problem you shouldnt panic as you might have more time to fix the issue vs them needing to open in the morning.

Um.. $750? I know I would be a happy camper and could make quick work of that hood no doubt at that price however.. consider all factors that no one else knows here knows but you... id be all over that place. Wish my phone would ring 5-10 times for new accounts.. *ring ring* oh shap.. got to go!

I would still be profitable at $175... even giving myself a slave wage id be happy. Just saying the market can very especially if other people are hungry and want to work cheap.

Work does not get compromised due to low reward.
Click to expand...

Just curious how could you make a profit on that job at $175? Labor alone would exceed that for me not to include materials, machine and vehicle fuel, insurance, workmans comp, etc. I just wanted to ask. If you don't want to disclose anything that's fine, everyone has different costs associated with doing business.
 
mx267 said:
Daniel, It looks like it hasn't been properly cleaned for quite some time although pictures can be misleading. Have you looked into the shafts to see how much buildup they contain? If I were to bid that I would be around $1200 (including the initial cleaning charges) without seeing the filters/shafts/fans assuming they haven't been cleaned properly in the past. It will require a lot of man hours/diesel and gas for equipment/degreasers to get down to bare metal. An experienced crew of 2 would prob take 4-6 hours to complete it so make sure you plan plenty of time. Prices vary considerably from area to area so I am unable to say what your market will support price wise but it boils down to what you can charge and still be profitable with your operating costs. I prefer a sodium and potassium hydroxide mix on oriental greases and allow a much longer dwell time as well. Obviously hot water is a must. Expect a lot of scraping as noted above.

Also, if you haven't cleaned hoods before you might want to consider checking with your insurance co and pick up the correct policy. Most if not all will not insure that type of liability under a general pressure washing policy. Be careful of the suppression systems, they can cost upwards of 4k to recharge and cleanup if they deploy. Just a fyi if you haven't considered it.

Hope this helps in some way.

Edit: Don't forget to affix a certificate of performance sticker to the hood after you clean it. That is what the restaurant owner will need to get a CO to open. NFPA #96 is the guidelines for kitchen exhaust cleaning. It has everything you should need to know for compliance unless your city requires something more.
Click to expand...

Good info Jason
 
Simply put, in my town there are allot of fly by night crews so in order to get the foot in the door I learned to cut costs fast and then once they see the work I can get done they more times then not pay my higher price... this expectation on price increase is set before we work.. it is no shock at all and once again in my area... it seems to work. Caustic is only $45 a 50# bag so its cost per job is only a few dollers, maybe 3bucks a job using allot? Next up is tarps, I use heady duty tarps which are maintained and cleaned, I also use large disposable clear tarps for various counters, equipment, etc totaling about 4 bucks depending on stuff to cover. Machine is great on fuel...average 3 gallons on burner and 3 on machine so round up to $20. Ill take a hearty cut of a hundred for a days work. So whats next.. I spray the chems, scrape the grease rinse off clean up and mop and go home to take a shower. Job done cheap and not making that high $ payroll but it describes how I can be profitable at 175 low ballin to the max.. oh yeah filters, those nasty things.. I already have a stock pile of fresh stainless steel heavy duty filters at home ready to be installed. I will take theirs home and soak them in my tank and rinse them off in cold water to save money on that damn burner... lol j/k bout the burner but essentially they are ready to go so Im not wasting money on fuel and making a gigantic mess on site if I can avoid it, which I always do. Having a large selection of filter sizes in back stock at your shop is key to being able to keep up with your daily cleanings. With out the filters from my shop my costs on chems would go way up and fuel costs needing to clean them on site.

Costs $
Chems- 3
Labor-100
fuel 6 gallons- 18
Disposable Tarps- 4 *can get it done with none

Total $125 Profit $50

My math is terrible and this was written way to quickly to send the numbers to N.A.S.A. for computational accuracy but I think its close enough to show a real world break down on a basic scale.
 
valley pressure wash said:
Few things off the top of my head.. make sure you have plenty of sodium hydroxide, tarps, shop vac, pump up sprayer and a handful of razor scraper blades, also get a 4" razor scraper for the flat stuff. I have cleaned worse and from the pictures it looks like the grease is still... greasy not dry which should make it easier to scrape off. Consider your operating cost and time you will spend their. Your first time so factory a FULL days work, be sure that you know what THEY expect... the place is closed so if something gives your problem you shouldnt panic as you might have more time to fix the issue vs them needing to open in the morning.

Um.. $750? I know I would be a happy camper and could make quick work of that hood no doubt at that price however.. consider all factors that no one else knows here knows but you... id be all over that place. Wish my phone would ring 5-10 times for new accounts.. *ring ring* oh shap.. got to go!

I would still be profitable at $175... even giving myself a slave wage id be happy. Just saying the market can very especially if other people are hungry and want to work cheap.

Work does not get compromised due to low reward.
Click to expand...


Wow! I would'nt even leave my office for the price of that job...my minimun charge for a hood cleaning is 350$ and that's for a 3 hour job!
 
valley pressure wash said:
Simply put, in my town there are allot of fly by night crews so in order to get the foot in the door I learned to cut costs fast and then once they see the work I can get done they more times then not pay my higher price... this expectation on price increase is set before we work.. it is no shock at all and once again in my area... it seems to work. Caustic is only $45 a 50# bag so its cost per job is only a few dollers, maybe 3bucks a job using allot? Next up is tarps, I use heady duty tarps which are maintained and cleaned, I also use large disposable clear tarps for various counters, equipment, etc totaling about 4 bucks depending on stuff to cover. Machine is great on fuel...average 3 gallons on burner and 3 on machine so round up to $20. Ill take a hearty cut of a hundred for a days work. So whats next.. I spray the chems, scrape the grease rinse off clean up and mop and go home to take a shower. Job done cheap and not making that high $ payroll but it describes how I can be profitable at 175 low ballin to the max.. oh yeah filters, those nasty things.. I already have a stock pile of fresh stainless steel heavy duty filters at home ready to be installed. I will take theirs home and soak them in my tank and rinse them off in cold water to save money on that damn burner... lol j/k bout the burner but essentially they are ready to go so Im not wasting money on fuel and making a gigantic mess on site if I can avoid it, which I always do. Having a large selection of filter sizes in back stock at your shop is key to being able to keep up with your daily cleanings. With out the filters from my shop my costs on chems would go way up and fuel costs needing to clean them on site.

Costs $
Chems- 3
Labor-100
fuel 6 gallons- 18
Disposable Tarps- 4 *can get it done with none

Total $125 Profit $50

My math is terrible and this was written way to quickly to send the numbers to N.A.S.A. for computational accuracy but I think its close enough to show a real world break down on a basic scale.
Click to expand...


The total cost of your job is the rate that should be charged by hour on a job like this... lol!
 
valley pressure wash said:
Simply put, in my town there are allot of fly by night crews so in order to get the foot in the door I learned to cut costs fast and then once they see the work I can get done they more times then not pay my higher price... this expectation on price increase is set before we work.. it is no shock at all and once again in my area... it seems to work. Caustic is only $45 a 50# bag so its cost per job is only a few dollers, maybe 3bucks a job using allot? Next up is tarps, I use heady duty tarps which are maintained and cleaned, I also use large disposable clear tarps for various counters, equipment, etc totaling about 4 bucks depending on stuff to cover. Machine is great on fuel...average 3 gallons on burner and 3 on machine so round up to $20. Ill take a hearty cut of a hundred for a days work. So whats next.. I spray the chems, scrape the grease rinse off clean up and mop and go home to take a shower. Job done cheap and not making that high $ payroll but it describes how I can be profitable at 175 low ballin to the max.. oh yeah filters, those nasty things.. I already have a stock pile of fresh stainless steel heavy duty filters at home ready to be installed. I will take theirs home and soak them in my tank and rinse them off in cold water to save money on that damn burner... lol j/k bout the burner but essentially they are ready to go so Im not wasting money on fuel and making a gigantic mess on site if I can avoid it, which I always do. Having a large selection of filter sizes in back stock at your shop is key to being able to keep up with your daily cleanings. With out the filters from my shop my costs on chems would go way up and fuel costs needing to clean them on site.

Costs $
Chems- 3
Labor-100
fuel 6 gallons- 18
Disposable Tarps- 4 *can get it done with none

Total $125 Profit $50

My math is terrible and this was written way to quickly to send the numbers to N.A.S.A. for computational accuracy but I think its close enough to show a real world break down on a basic scale.
Click to expand...


Wow, if i had that kind of numbers of fly-by-nights i don't know what I'd do. Oh yes I do, I'd go in the day after and show what hasn't been done and sell it and clean it again, properly. Either way that's rough on business having to deal with them.

Something else to factor in is how far away is it? Didn't see where you counted in vehicle fuel use. Maybe another $20-$30? Also business insurance/business vehicle insurance/wc insurance. On the low price end its about $10-$25 per day (assuming cost of 3000/yr BL [based on gross receipts], 1k/yr business auto policy, 800/yr workman's comp =4300 divided by 365 days) . Business taxes still have to come out, also however much office overhead (rent, utilities, insurance, etc) then you still have a few dollars in there for wear and tear/maintenance on the vehicle and equipment. If my math is correct that $50 profit just went to 0 or a negative number.

Not dissing or anything. Just pointing out there are other expenses one doesn't think about when figuring out if a job is profitable. Like Stephane said, I won't leave the office for anywhere near that price. Either way it's a tough market you're in if that is how low you have to go to land an account.
 
My town is small 5 minuets and im pretty much anywhere Gas is nil for vehicle. Work comp.. etc is a dream... just saying. I am pretty much my own crew, I will leave the house to make $20 on a 2 hour job because it puts food in my mouth. I've done that same small job now for nearly 2 years every 15 days. barely stopping for rainy days. I refuse to pass work on that I can make money on because I need it. Being small is my advantage, its also my downfall in many ways, no one is the top dog overnight and im far from the top of the hill. When the big jobs come around like a local food cold storage place... It makes things worth while.. specially after paying cash for my new washer.
 
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