Large commercial power washing job

Liberty SoftWash

Roundtable Host 2009
I got a call today about doing some power washing of a 200,000sq foot metal, standing seam roof in preparation for a roof coating application. The roof just has surface dirt that needs to be removed before it can be coated. I would have 2 possibly 3 pressure washers running. I haven't bid on a large job like this before and am not sure on pricing. I don't want to price too low but, I want to be fair. I was thinking .10-.20 per square foot because of the large area. Am I in the ballpark?
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Depends on how efficient they are as well as the washers used, we could do that building in a day with 3 guys but some could take up to a week to do it.

Just for example we did one in 6 hours with 2 guys that was all dryvit that was well over 125k square feet just 2 months ago

Its just up to you and how fast you are.
 
Sweet looking job good luck! With this weather I wouldn't be surprised if the water all evaporated as it is being washed away.
 
Not sure of your roof cleaning setup but if we are ever anywhere that has no water just fill the tank, then pump water with roof pump into pressure washer you'll be fine
 
On a roof that big, I would look into a water trailer or a water truck and fill it from a hydrant where you can with permission.

You can run a hose from the truck to your water tank just by gravity as there will be a lot of head pressure, done this a few times when there was no water close by.

Water trucks run from $300 on up, Hertz can be up over $800 but if you shop around you can find some better prices.

Water trailers 500 gallons run from $150 per day and have the regular 2" ball hitch, I have seen 1000 gallon water trailers but they are always rented out and go for $300 on up and you need a pintle hitch to pull them.

The rental places can also provide you with the hoses and fittings needed to connect to hydrants but not sure who you would ask for permission first, might need to rent a meter from the city first.

If there is no hydrant that you can find, let me know, I can help you with some other ideas.
 
On a roof that big, I would look into a water trailer or a water truck and fill it from a hydrant where you can with permission.

You can run a hose from the truck to your water tank just by gravity as there will be a lot of head pressure, done this a few times when there was no water close by.

Water trucks run from $300 on up, Hertz can be up over $800 but if you shop around you can find some better prices.

Water trailers 500 gallons run from $150 per day and have the regular 2" ball hitch, I have seen 1000 gallon water trailers but they are always rented out and go for $300 on up and you need a pintle hitch to pull them.

The rental places can also provide you with the hoses and fittings needed to connect to hydrants but not sure who you would ask for permission first, might need to rent a meter from the city first.

If there is no hydrant that you can find, let me know, I can help you with some other ideas.

I have had to go this route for some big jobs (not roofs, but buildings). We rent water trailers that have a pump on them to feed the pressure washers at 500 gallons a piece. Just be careful who you rent from, make sure their equipment is in good shape, because we experienced on supplier who's equipment was garbage failing on us every couple hours through a massive project once. The equipment supplier took care of us for the failure though, so I can't complain too much, but it cost us a lot in labor because their equipment wasn't in good shape. So, keep that in mind. Try to view the equipment you'll be using before hand, ask about age and condition, type of hitch/ball and wiring for trailer lights, etc. All of this stuff will make a big difference in your ability to get a job done using rented equipment.

Good luck with the job.
 
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