Question about pricing as well as how long the job should take

jdc491

jdc491

New member
I was asked today to submit a quote for a 120 space parking garage via email. This would be my first parking garage so weather or not I take the job/bid the job depends on a number of factors. I am not going take take something I cannot handle.

However if everything falls into place and I do bid the job I have a few questions I hope you guys could answer.

I am waiting for a response with more detail but as of now I know it is a 120 car garage that they are looking to get oil stains and general dirt removed. So, lets assume they only want the floors done, what is the aprox. sqft of a 120 car garage? How much sqft can be cleaned on average with 8gpm 3500 psi pushing a 21" surface cleaner? Should I upgrade the size of my surface cleaner?

I also do not know if the job requires reclaim, I am waiting to get a response from the garage owner on that.


There is a good chance if I am awarded the job I am going to be interested in subbing some of the work to another contractor on this forum that has garage experience.

I know pricing varies greatly from state to state etc, however if anyone could throw out a rough estimate of what I should be charging per sqft with and without reclaim that would be great.


I am sure there is a lot more I will think of as the day goes on that I will be posting and asking.

Thank you in advance for any advice you may be able to offer, it is greatly appreciated.
 
Do you have hot water? What are the dimensions of the garage and how many floors? How many drains are on each floor if you don't have to reclaim? Rinsing further will take a lot longer. Plenty of water sources available? Just oil and dirt removal, or remove gum as well? Any pics available?
 
john neilson said:
I have yet to do garages, I personally would call the city about reclaim, The owner could say no, get a low bid and your stuck with the fine. Look at your bottom line cost of running your business, then figure in the rate you want to make, if you have help, you must make a profit off their labor, Does the garage have a budget?
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Thank you for the advice, I will call the city today and see. I know what I need to be at as far as an hourly rate my business needs, just unsure of the time needed for a job of this size. As far as a budget, still waiting to hear back on more details.


HighTide said:
Do you have hot water? What are the dimensions of the garage and how many floors? How many drains are on each floor if you don't have to reclaim? Rinsing further will take a lot longer. Plenty of water sources available? Just oil and dirt removal, or remove gum as well? Any pics available?
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Yes I do, 8gpm 3500 psi pressure pro hot water unit. Unsure of the dimensions as I am waiting on further details of the garage, at this time you know exactly what I know, 120 parking space parking garage. No gum to be removed, just dirt/grime and oil stains. I know its hard to help with such little info, just looking for some basics as far so how many sqft per hour should I be able to clean with 21" sc with 8 gpm? I have heard a few tmes rule of thumb is 1 gpm to every 4 inches on a surface cleaner, am I limiting myself with a 21" sc and 8 gpm?
 
I run a 28" with my 8 GPM and don't have any problems with it. Personally, I would just bid it with gum removal and remove the gum if you get the contract. Leaving the gum behind in a parking garage will make it look like it was have a++ed done.

Keep in mind also, the Pressure Pro units only go up to 160 degrees. When I clean garages I like to have between 180 and 200 degrees. With 160 degrees I would downstream the whole garage with EBC to make it come cleaner.
 
Approximately 40k sqft. Things you should know before bidding? Slope of garage (where will the water run). Traffic in the garage. Water supply location. Can you get your equipment in the garage easily.
 
120 spaces in an underground garage would factor to be about 50,000 sq ft. You have the space (20x9=180 plus you have to factor half the driveway if there is parking on either side so now its 180 + another 90sq ft at least per space. Then you have the ramps and other areas that are not going to be calculated by just saying it is 120 spaces. I do a ton of parking garage cleaning and I would never give a price without seeing it first, not even a ballpark over the phone. There are a ton of variables to consider.

Off the top of my head, the following factor into price.

1. size in sq ft
2. surface type (mastic asphalt, epoxy, concrete)
3. surface condition, smooth is way faster to clean than bumpy or pitted
4. access to water will dictate how many machines you can run. ie time on the job
5. how many levels (same sq footage, but multilevel takes longer)
6. drainage
7. discharge
8. how dirty is it. duh!
9. time of day to clean
10. the actual layout can really effect your speed, lots of corners, dividing walls and post will take much longer than just a big open area with posts
11. is it a live garage or will it be completely shut down, getting your hoses run over is a real piss off, so is getting hit by a car
12. probably needs to be power swept first
13. building infrastructure, ventilation, CO detectors, watch out for setting of sprinklers with your boiler heat.
14. clearance height for your vehicles, we drive little toy Nissans with 7000lb single axle trailers so we can go everywhere, gas mileage is great too!


I'm sure there are way more but that's kind of the gist of it.
 
ONPLS said:
120 spaces in an underground garage would factor to be about 50,000 sq ft. You have the space (20x9=180 plus you have to factor half the driveway if there is parking on either side so now its 180 + another 90sq ft at least per space. Then you have the ramps and other areas that are not going to be calculated by just saying it is 120 spaces. I do a ton of parking garage cleaning and I would never give a price without seeing it first, not even a ballpark over the phone. There are a ton of variables to consider.

Off the top of my head, the following factor into price.

1. size in sq ft
2. surface type (mastic asphalt, epoxy, concrete)
3. surface condition, smooth is way faster to clean than bumpy or pitted
4. access to water will dictate how many machines you can run. ie time on the job
5. how many levels (same sq footage, but multilevel takes longer)
6. drainage
7. discharge
8. how dirty is it. duh!
9. time of day to clean
10. the actual layout can really effect your speed, lots of corners, dividing walls and post will take much longer than just a big open area with posts
11. is it a live garage or will it be completely shut down, getting your hoses run over is a real piss off, so is getting hit by a car
12. probably needs to be power swept first
13. building infrastructure, ventilation, CO detectors, watch out for setting of sprinklers with your boiler heat.
14. clearance height for your vehicles, we drive little toy Nissans with 7000lb single axle trailers so we can go everywhere, gas mileage is great too!


I'm sure there are way more but that's kind of the gist of it.
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Very good post. Thanks.


Doug Rucker
Clean and Green Solutions
Pressure Washing Roof Cleaning School
Call or Text 281.883.8470
 
ONPLS said:
120 spaces in an underground garage would factor to be about 50,000 sq ft. You have the space (20x9=180 plus you have to factor half the driveway if there is parking on either side so now its 180 + another 90sq ft at least per space. Then you have the ramps and other areas that are not going to be calculated by just saying it is 120 spaces. I do a ton of parking garage cleaning and I would never give a price without seeing it first, not even a ballpark over the phone. There are a ton of variables to consider.

Off the top of my head, the following factor into price.

1. size in sq ft
2. surface type (mastic asphalt, epoxy, concrete)
3. surface condition, smooth is way faster to clean than bumpy or pitted
4. access to water will dictate how many machines you can run. ie time on the job
5. how many levels (same sq footage, but multilevel takes longer)
6. drainage
7. discharge
8. how dirty is it. duh!
9. time of day to clean
10. the actual layout can really effect your speed, lots of corners, dividing walls and post will take much longer than just a big open area with posts
11. is it a live garage or will it be completely shut down, getting your hoses run over is a real piss off, so is getting hit by a car
12. probably needs to be power swept first
13. building infrastructure, ventilation, CO detectors, watch out for setting of sprinklers with your boiler heat.
14. clearance height for your vehicles, we drive little toy Nissans with 7000lb single axle trailers so we can go everywhere, gas mileage is great too!


I'm sure there are way more but that's kind of the gist of it.
Click to expand...


Lots of excellent information. Thank you for taking the time to post. Unfortunately I stopped perusing the job before I even got to go take a look at it due to them receiving a $1100 bid. Due to a number of factors I knew I couldn't come anywhere close to a bid like that.

I will take note of everything you mentioned and continue to read about garage cleaning.
 
jdc491 said:
Lots of excellent information. Thank you for taking the time to post. Unfortunately I stopped perusing the job before I even got to go take a look at it due to them receiving a $1100 bid. Due to a number of factors I knew I couldn't come anywhere close to a bid like that.

I will take note of everything you mentioned and continue to read about garage cleaning.
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$1,100??? That's around 2 cents per s.f. if it's around 50,000 s.f. Crazy!
 
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