[Nichole1978]

Hey Guys and Gals :
My husband and I have our own floor business and we have been subbing a lot of work. Lately though we have been getting calls for our own accounts and we have been told that we are MUCH MUCH cheaper than everyone else out there. My husband was just called this morning on a construction clean up and we aren't exactly sure how to bid for it, being that it could be potential that we have this job as a permanent one.
The site is 6141 sq ft.total. 766sq ft is carpeting 502 sq ft is epoxy 4873 sq ft is VCT . They are looking for a complete cleaning from ceiling to floors to windows. I know the average pricing for windows is anywhere from $2.50 to $3 per pane. VCT waxing is anywhere from .32-.65 a sq ft with 4 coats of wax ( we usually stick with .50 sq ft when they are offices as to oppose a big open area. ) Carpets usually run .11-.18 sq ft for hot water extraction. But as far as the cleaning goes for the initial clean up we have no idea on how to price. It includes vacuuming, dusting all cabinets and walls and light fixtures. We won't need to rent a scissors lift just need a 10 ft ladder so no need to worry about getting extra insurance nor renting any equipment. Job will need approx 16-20 hours of cleaning and doing all floors.
They will also be looking to have someone clean the facility once it is up and running. Cleaning rest rooms, offices, vacuuming and emptying trash. We don't know how to bid for that. I do have an idea that it is approx $32/hr but not sure how accurate that is. I know if you supply paper products it is more. And it depends on how often they want it cleaned. If they want it more frequent than you give them a better rate. We just aren't sure on what that rate is.
Can you help me out please?
Oh the area of location is Scranton PA.

Thanks!!
Nichole

[Stringer]

Hi Nichole,

I am impressed with you candor and knowledge of the services that you provide.

As far as pricing 'regular nightly service' I have a few questions;

What type of building; one level, two or more?

What type of business; general business, medical, retail, etc?

Did they provide specifications for exactly what they expect done each night? This protects you and them, you know what must be done.

All this along with the frequency of cleaning impact your pricing.

Example; medical requires much more detail and proper chemicals to be used along with proper procedures for state requirements and everyone's safety.

Depending upon the type of business the general nightly cleaning (excluding the carpet cleaning, exterior window cleaning, VCT finishing, etc) can be figured by knowing how many sq ft you can clean per hour / per one person (if more people times/divide it by how many).

Say it is general cleaning which includes vacuuming, dusting, washrooms, kitchen/lunchroom, offices, trash removal and restocking of consumables (paper, soaps, etc) then you should be able to clean about 3000 to 3500 sq ft per hour per each time. 6141 divided by 3000 sq ft + approx 2 labor hours per night. Medical cleaning is usually about 1800 to 2000 sq ft per hour unless OR's (operating rooms) are involved then the sq ft per hour cleaned is less.

After you have the total hours per night now times that by how many nights per month as commercial pricing is usually monthly. To get a loaded hourly rate, take your basic labor per hour then add all costs and profit: taxes, insurance, supplies, equipment admin, etc.

I hope that I helped and that I wasn't too basic.

Please let me know if I can help further.

By the way, I am in Chicago (for the last 20 some years) but I am originally from Western Pa, I have a lot of family still there.

Stringer