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I will be cleaning this type of floor for the first time.
It is actually the type of vinyl floor that is cut to size like carpeting and rolled into place.
Anyway, I need to know the approximate coverage of the wax and shine per coat.
Also how much do you guys charge for stripping & waxing.
The job I’m looking at is roughly 800 sq feet but in small room sections (Drs. office)
I know the price does depend on how many coats of wax n shine are needed, but I’m assuming roughly 3 coats.
How much to charge??????
Thanks for any input
I charge 45 to 50 cents per sq ft. The process is time consuming and the return on a job is never as good as cleaning carpets. Strip the floor and remove the slurry. Damp mop it to remove any residual. Let it dry. Apply finish. Dry time, more finish, more dry time, etc. Nothing wastes more time than watching the finish dry. Use a turbo fan on low speed to help dry the finish after it has started to dry down a bit. Too much air will dry it too fast and could push the finish into a ridge or puddle. If the floor has had any grocery store purchased finish such as mop and glow or anything like that, it may take 2 or more stripping processes to remove it. I’ve had floors with multiple layers of finish just ball up and make a gooey mess that takes forever to clean up, thus making the job totally unprofitable.
Thanks Loren,
I checked around hear in he NY/NJ area and prices start a t least 75 cents a square.
But that’s quite low, more like $1.
I like to use a basis point price such as $1 for average difficulty and modify up or down depending on volume & how hard the job is.
The 800 square foot job though is a small medical office with a bunch of small rooms or areas.
Anyway this is he first time doing this and I’m not sure what to expect from the wax and shine such as coverage per gallon and how many coats.
I’ve heard a few thin coats is better than less heavier coats.
Some jobs we get killed on the down time waiting for the coats to dry but what can you do.
If I finish a coat and the first area that I started on is dry already but I must walk through the last area I did that is still wet, will that screw it up if I wear booties or something?
The thin coats are the way to go. They will dry faster and completely. It’s sorta like paint, the first coat too thick and it won’t dry completely which leads to softness and adhesion failure down the line. Put just enough on to cover it without any dry areas, kind of like damp mopping, no puddles or thick areas. Just enough to make it look wet. The thinner the better, just make sure there are no dry spots. Now this is where the fan comes in handy. It will speed the dry time somewhat. Don’t use high speed unless it is starting to dry, start on low. With too much finish the fan will push a puddle ahead of the air flow and produce ripples and puddles on the floor. Don’t walk on it until the finish is dry or you will leave an impression where you walked, even with booties. On scrub and recoats, if the floor was in good condition and not overly soiled, and you did not overscrub it, 2 coats could be used but if it has been abused or scrubbed hard to remove ground in soil then 3 or more are needed. Let your eyes be the judge. The floor should have a really nice shine to it when you are done. Most businesses here balk at the price even at .50 and yes the price should be closer to .75 or $1.00 based on the amount of work and time required. I usually do vinyl floors in the winter when it is slow and can afford to spend the extra time.
WARNING!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you use a fan to dry wax faster….be very, very careful…any dust in the area will possibly become blown around and ruin you nice wax job…3 thin coats and applied in different directions was what momma taught me when we did dad’s 2800 sq/ft physician’s office 2x a year…
have fun…
You might rethink the pricing after the firs job…not like out regular work at all.
guys,
what kind of solution/wax are you using for Vinyl floor to make it nice and shiny? I might have some job too, but not sure what to use.Adrian
Dave–I agree with that. It is like turning on the customers ceiling fan to help dry the carpet faster. Fan cooties falling all over the room. Great, now to vacumm again. 🙄 Should have thought about that ahead of time. As for using alternate dirctions when applying finish, definitely. This will help cover any areas that may have been missed or not covered well. I forgot to include this in my original post.
I like to charge per coat usually around .25, as for people not liking the price, i figure its not my favorite to do, it takes alot of work, and is far from my principle bread winning jobs, so i price where its fair for me, and if they don’t like it the can find someone else. hopefully i don’t get in trouble with corperate, but waxie has an amazing mopping system that i picked up some time ago. its set up is very similar a swifter mopper, just industrialized. it makes it extremly easy to apply a thin very uniform coat evenly without all the mess. Also i try to divide the area up int at least quarters, so that the down time in minimized. i can continue to aply diffrent coats to different areas at different times. I also would warn againt using a fan. if coats are applied thinly enough it should dry quickly on its own. And yes shoe prints show up even through booties, especially when the surface is darker.
here is the sight for the mopping system
http://www.waxie.com/Fast_Glide_Lit.pdf
That is a nice efficient system to apply the finish. It is best not to use the fan to dry the finish but sometimes the humidity is too high and it doesn’t dry quickly even with light coats and then a fan could be on a low setting if used. Just a bit of air moving helps the drying process when needed. At 25 cents per sf I can’t make enough on the job to a decent return on my time. With sweeping, scrubbing, vacumming the dirty cleaner off, damp mopping, applying finish and the drying time between everything, a lot of time is burned and then include the cost of cleaner and finish, thus the 50 cent pricing. If the floor is to be stripped the price goes to 75 cents.
i guess i should rephrase. i charge about .25 per coat, so a de waxing plus three coats will be closer 1.00, to 1.25. also if there is alot of prep work that is obviously needed, i will add even more. i did a dentist office a little while ago, it had about 300, 400 sqft, and by the time i was done with prep and about four coats i charged 850, and they were thrilled to death about it.
I don’t do a lot of vct floors. Seems like the large ones wants to have them cleaned for half the price. I won’t give away my time and effort. The small ones don’t quibble much plus their cost per sf goes up.
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