C & T Cleaning

Hi Everyone - My husband and I have started a post construction cleaning/Residential Cleaning service in houston texas. I found this website and find it VERY helpful! If you have any suggestions or advice for our newly started business, please feel free to send it our way!

t.peterson

Welcome C & T

Feel free to ask whatever questions you may have, we are here to help

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Craven's

Help! I recently picked up a cleaning contract with a business. I know that I have given them a good rate on cleaning every Saturday, now they are trying to get me to incorporate cleaning window blinds with my one day a week cleaning. What should I tell them? Cleaning blinds, carpet, floors were not in my contract other than damp mop. Now they want blinds cleaned, refrigerator (inside and out), microwave cleaned, and floors waxed. They feel that I only need to do a through cleaning once a month so I should throw all of the other things in free. The carpet is filthy and has oil stains in it, and I do not know the square footage. What should I do?

C & T Cleaning

We have been asked by a very successful builder in houston to put together a price sheet for windows (some three stories high), rough cleans, final cleans, touch up cleans and weekly cleans on new construction homes in the 500,000 to 1,000,000 sales range. I want to be competetive but am not sure how much the going rate in houston is. We have been doing jobs pretty cheap to try and get our name out there but this is a little different. Can anyone help me? Does anyone have a template of a professional looking price sheet I can use?

Thanks,

C & T Cleaning

Craven's

I am sorry, I can not help you. I have never had to do windows.

TheAllCleanTeam

What type of business? If they are getting a "good rate", the aforementioned services should be considered "add on". Since their request have changed, and subsequently provided you with more work they should expect to pay for these services. I would ask for a flat rate on the blinds (along the lines of $2.00-4.00/blind), and charge for the additional services. And if they expect you to do the carpets for free, I want whatever they're smoking. You can easily acquire a hot water extractor from a rental place to "steam" clean the carpets. If you want to bid on the carpets by square footage, and remain competitive with it I would ask for 0.20/sq.ft.


Hope this helps.

TheAllCleanTeam

Look in the yellow pages, if the market is saturated with post construction cleaning companies; the market may only warrant 0.10/sq.ft. + 4.50/window. If there's not much competition, or if the work isn't being bid out, I would hit them at 0.15 - 0.20/sq. ft. I have read that national average is between 0.18 - 0.20/sq. ft. and typically 5.00/window. As far as the template, I would make a simple excel sheet that has square footage the corresponds with different pricing scales.

FacilitySupport

I have just come across this site and judging by the dates I see posted, I’m just a little late to help. But I imagine there are other people searching for the same information and will get here the same way I did, so here goes….
Working with construction companies can be quite profitable when set up correctly. It should start with a business letter from a janitorial service or commercial cleaning company to the main office of the general contractor. An introductory letter requesting to have your company placed on their “bidders list”, along with a copy of your insurance and business licenses, construction industry references with phone numbers and some documentation of your abilities seems to go a long way. But that’s only the first step of many. A flyer or brochure will easily address your abilities. Construction site cleaning opportunities happen quickly and will go to the post construction cleaning company with all the paperwork completed and in place.

On your first trip to the construction you will need to shake the hand of the Site Superintendant or Project Manager. The key to working with construction contractors consistently is the contractors perception that you are familiar with their requirements and that you can accomplish them on a strict time schedule and in an uneventful manner. It would be smart to establish a new d.b.a. with a construction related name (i.e. Sparkle Cleaning d.b.a. Site Cleaning Support). Go to Home Depot and get a white hard hat ($10.00?) and a reflective safety vest ($10.00?). Go to an ad specialties store, get a work shirt and have them embroider your company name on it. Have them letter the hard hat and the vest with the same name also. Office Depot makes quick “no frills” business cards for about $10.00 for a hundred. Have some conservative basic cards made. Jeans and work boots are a must. On a construction site, the person from Site Cleaning Support with the uniform, hard hat and safety vest will quickly get an invitation to bid. The person from Sparkle Cleaning, with the “pink flowers and bubbles” business card, will either get punched in the nose or receive the kind of attention they don’t want! When you visit the site for the first time, look for the construction office trailer. Identify yourself as a contractor and ask for the Superintendant or Project Manager. Don’t try to sell anyone else, this is very important. Only speak with the Super, PM or their administrative staff in the office trailer. Contractors disrupting the flow of work on a site are a problem, will be asked to leave the site and will not be asked to bid. Your first statement to the PM should be: “Hi, I’m a cleaning contractor and I’m interested in competing for work on this project.” Shortly after that you should say: “I know you’re very busy and I won’t take up your time right now, but I do want to be considered when the time is right. What’s your turn over date?” and then “Our paperwork is already of file at your office and so I don’t pester you, what would be a good approximate date to stop back?” Shake their hand, leave a card and maybe a flyer and then get off their site. Your professionalism is truly appreciated by them. Good luck with your new ventures!

You can find additional information and a detailed scope of work at:
http://www.acleaningbid.com/index_files/construction_clean_up.htm

tokmik

We have been asked by a very successful builder in houston to put together a price sheet for windows (some three stories high), rough cleans, final cleans, touch up cleans and weekly cleans on new construction homes in the 500,000 to 1,000,000 sales range. I want to be competetive but am not sure how much the going rate in houston is.



Chandler Carpet Cleaning

Steve Gordan

Construction Clean up is the most important step in the evolution of a clean house.

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