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gutterdog · Dec 1, 2011

What's the most cut throat market?

Roof Cleaning New Jersey · Dec 1, 2011

Absolutely! Ive never hung up on a customer until I did my recent direct mail for gutter cleaning. Many people have called me and most tell me $125 is expensive. This one chinese lady grinded me to the bone with questions. She finally succomb to the $125 price and I know she had a $10 coupon. She said she rally needed it done and I was gonna do it Thanksgiving morning for her. She asks how long it would take and I told her about a half hour. "$115 for half hour" she said? I told her to call someone else and I hung up. And it felt pretty dam good.

Dec 2, 2011

It fel good? I'm gonna try it on my wife!

Roof Cleaning Severna Park MD · guest

I'm with ya on gutter cleaning, just saw several guys I'm competing with, $50 any house was one of them, and then one of my customer that I charge $105 showed me a door hanger that they received, $75 any house in the neighborhood (all two story homes).

There is another company that I recently beat out on quality who was charging $60 for 150' of gutter which is also 3 stories in the back. I'm well over double that price.

Gutter Cleaning is definitely cut throat here, these companies will do it for nothing, they can have it for that price.

clay · Guest

around here its pressure washing last spring ten trashy guys with beat up trucks that are falling apart bought home pressure washers and are out destroying homes for sixty bucks

RCIA Founder

I have been training roof cleaners a long time. But Some, not all Pressure Washers, are the worst cut throats, second only to grass cutters. There was once a time when no one would get on a roof for less then 350.00.

Roofs once cleaned for 600.00 are being cleaned here in Tampa for 250.00, sometimes even less.

A stupid and favorite tactic is to estimate a 600.00 roof, and low ball the job at 250.00 or 300.00, with the hopes of "up selling" add ons.

The end result is the customer winds up getting his house, roof, driveway, pool cage, deck and sidewalks ALL done for 600.00, when 600.00 was the price for the roof alone.

To make matters worse, once the Pressure Washers have quoted 250.00 on a roof in a neighborhood, that becomes the NEW price.

One neighbor tells the other he got his roof done for 250.00, neglecting to add he had a lot of other work done at the same time.

-- Edited by garyw on Thursday 8th of December 2011 08:51:46 AM

gutterdog · Dec 3, 2011

Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa Florida 813-655-8777 wrote:
I have been training roof cleaners a long time. But Some, not all Pressure Washers, are the worst cut throats, second only to grass cutters. There was once a time when no one would get on a roof for less then 350.00.
Roofs once cleaned for 600.00 are being cleaned here in Tampa for 250.00, sometimes even less.
A stupid and favorite tactic is to estimate a 600.00 roof, and low ball the job at 250.00 or 300.00, with the hopes of "up selling" add ons.
The end result is the customer winds up getting his house, roof, driveway, pool cage, deck and sidewalks ALL done for 600.00, when 600.00 was the price for the roof alone.
To make matters worse, once the Pressure Washers have quoted 250.00 on a roof in a neighborhood, that becomes the NEW price.
One neighbor tells the other he got his roof done for 250.00, neglecting to add he had a lot of other work done at the same time.

I start with the highest priced job, roof cleaning, then give discounts. Next year charging extra for scrubbing gutters. separate from all pricing.

-- Edited by garyw on Thursday 8th of December 2011 08:53:40 AM

Art O · Guest

Gutter Cleaning is the worst. They want you to clean the gutter for nothing. I hate gutter cleaning. It sucks

RCIA Founder

Yes, gutter cleaning is especially bad. The shoppers always HAD some guy who "blew out the gutters for 25 dollars" LOL

WE have a 150 dollar Gutter Cleaning Minimum , and tell customers some of the time, we can get the gutters clean for that.

Parts of South Tampa have very high 2 story roofs that are steep and unwalkable, with oak and pine trees galore. We have charged up to 500.00 to clean the gutters on some of these homes. It is no "fun" moving a 40 foot ladder around, and a fall can be fatal.

Art O · Guest

Chris Get the Gutter Rake. They can clean 30' of gutter from one spot

Roof Cleaning Virginia 540-949-6277 · Roof Cleaning Institute of America Premium Member/MODERATOR

No questions GUTTERS! I'm sure all of us have the same stories but I just love the chinese lady!

One told me after I said 125.00 that she could get a boy in the neighborhood for 50.00... I told her she should hire him!

Art O · Guest

Henry Bockmen Wrote this

The Art of Gutter Cleaning

The gutters on your home are starting to overflow so it's time to clean the gutters on your home. Many homeowners do this project each year to properly maintain their homes. What you may not realize is that most gutter systems should be cleaned 3-4 times a year with each season. You may be wondering why should I clean out my gutters so often? The reason is each season trees go through various cycles that can clog up your gutters.

In spring, most trees drop seedlings and dead twigs. Spring is also the best time to inspect your gutters for any damages that may have occurred during the winter snow.

In summer, trees lose leaves from heavy storms and high winds. In early fall, you should remove leaves that have fallen early to keep your gutters flowing freely. At the end of fall or early winter, you want to make sure everything has been properly cleared from the gutter system to help prevent ice dams or buildup of ice in your gutters. The extra weight of frozen water in your gutters can easily cause them to pull away from the fascia and in many cases, fall off the house. Improper gutter maintenance will lead to clogged or damaged gutters and can cause thousands of dollars in damage to your homes foundation, exterior trim and basements.

To clean your gutters properly, rent a sturdy ladder and get your a neighbor to give you a hand. Ladders can be rented from most local rental centers for as little as $40.00 a day. When using ladders, make sure you stay away from power lines, trees and windows. It's a good idea to use a ladder stabilizer to make sure the ladder doesn't crush your gutters or slip while your doing the cleaning. Ladder stabilizers can be purchased at most hardware stores for about $30.00. Remember your safety is more important than clean gutters, so make sure you get someone to help you. Thousands of people die each year from falls and electrocution while working on ladders.

If you have gutter screens or gutter guards, make sure that they aren't damaged or clogged with leaves and branches. They won't help protect the gutters if the water can't get into them properly and the water may just flow over them making them useless, even if the gutters are clean! Carefully lift the guards to avoid damaging them and remove any leaves or debris under them and then reinstall them properly. You should run water over them to make sure they are working properly. Check your downspouts to see if they have screens at the top and clear them as well. If necessary, use a hose to clear any heavily clogged downspouts and make sure you replace any damaged gutter or downspout screens. While cleaning your gutters, inspect them to make sure the fasteners are properly secured. This can usually be done with a hammer, or in some cases a screwdriver.

You may find that over time, the spikes that hold the aluminum to the fascia board have loosened. Either drive the loose spikes back into place, or replace them with longer ones for improved support. When gutters are loose, the pitch is changed and the water will overflow at low areas. Since you have help from your neighbor, this is also the perfect time to inspect your roof for missing shingles, cracked vent pipe gaskets or bare nails. Make sure you return the favor and help him or her on their house when you're done.

Next year I think I will start to hand this to some selected homeowners

-- Edited by Art O on Sunday 4th of December 2011 02:00:55 PM

opie451 · Dec 4, 2011

Powerwashing and gutter cleaning here. There are a couple so called companies that offer"Any size house cleaned for $199" and some that offer the same PLUS gutter cleaning for $50. I actually stopped advertising PW for a while due to these guys. I think they have went under by now. Big surprise.

opie451 · Dec 4, 2011

What is this gutter rake???

MJ · Dec 5, 2011

No doubt gutter "leaf blowing" and pressure washing. We are going to offer concrete waterproofing combined with our surface cleaning next spring, going to offer it for about .80 which is north of .25 with no ladder work. Might be a tough sell.

Gutter rake is in and will be used on Thursday! Will report back. As seen on TV!

We are kind of backward with gutter cleaning, we remove leaves and then flush. We bucket debris, if we install gutter protection, we treat the inside of gutters with our top secret alga-cide prevention (OLD SH@50% with some cheap perfume) We try to do it right. Gutter guards can make of a lot of work. We disassemble elbows when necessary, when the snake or hanger won't work. We rope our buckets. We always take before and after pictures, it helps us justify our services and up sell gutter protection.

Newer roofs with no trees need gutter cleaning. I have been told that about 25% of a new shingles granules fall off the first 3-4 years, we have removed over 25lbs of granules from homes with shingles that were only a few years old. I was told that the manufacturers over coat them loosely because of the potential of loss during installation.

John Burdine · Dec 7, 2011

I am tempted to say gutters are the most cut throat but despite the competitors charging $50 I still get alot of gutters done at a better price point. I think commercial flatwork might be the most cut throat despite the lack of professional competition. It seems that the businesses who are hiring have some amateur doing their dumpster pad and sidewalks once a year for $50. At that point even professionalism is a tough sell.

The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Training & Certification Forum "Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"

The Roof Cleaning Institute Of America Training & Certification Forum
"Find A Certified Roof Cleaner Directory"