Gutter cleaning

[jcoat]

Guys,<br> Do any of you offer gutter cleaning as part of the &quot;maintenance&quot; aspect of your businesses? I'm doing maintenance small time (second source of income) and wondered if you have the blowers doing double-duty as a gutter vac. It seems like another source of income since you already have the blower/vac!

[geogunn]

for those grass cutters that aren't covered up, cleaning gutters is a great thing to do. often, I clean my mowing customers gutters. that's pure profit since you are already there!<p>this time of year I keep the 24 foot ladder on the trailer. lots of times the neighbors will spot the &quot;yard man&quot; cleaning gutters and you can get more than one customer without even moving the truck.<p>for gutters that take about 20 minutes to clean, I ask about 35 bucks.<p>I don't usually use special tools. sometimes I walk the roof an blow the leaves out, but mostly I clean 'em by hand.<p>good luck.<p>GEO

[GrassMaster]

Hello:<p>I cleaned most of my customers gutters, but I used a ladder like Geogunn does. It makes the work look harder & the customers want you to work hard. LOL, for some reason it makes them feel better!<p>If it looks very easy, they will do it themselves or they will replace you.<p>I always tried to figure out ways to offer as many services as possible to my customers, so it would make it harder for them to replace you.<p>Also smaller customer base & more profit per trip. That's the name of the game in this business!<p>----------<br>GrassMaster - Home: www.lawnservicing.com<br>My Start Up Page www.lawnservicing.com/startup/

[cjcland]

i once worked for a guy that offered this service twice a year to all his yearly contrac people, im glad you brought it up cause it reminded me aboutit i think i will add that into my yearly contract sales pitch to all my &quot;by the cut customers&quot;, thank you<p>----------<br>CJC Landscape Management<br>Winter Haven, Florida

[DMC300]

I JUST DID THIS FOR A CUSTOMER LAST WEEK!NOW HE WANTS ALL OF HIS TREES TRIMMED AWAY FROM AROUND THE HOUSE$$$$,I ALSO KEEP A HANDYMAN LICENSE CURRENT SO I DO A LOT OF LITTLE FIX-ITS$$$$.<p>----------<br>DON<br>LIANNES' MOWING

[geogunn]

followup to previous post.<p>yes...cleaning gutters can land you mowing jobs. it's good business!<p>GEO

[HOMER]

I do a little for those who ask, I try not to offer more than I have to for production purposes. I charge one guy 10.00 extra for it because it takes a little extra time.<p>Homer

[MOW ED]

I used to take all but learned from a SIGN only to do some. I now will only do 1 story asphalt shingled roofs of slight pitch. <br>3 years ago I was up on a top of a 2 1/2 story cedar shake roof. It was dry and it hadn't rained in over a week so I was &quot;safe&quot;. 10 feet below me was a porch roof with 5 skylights spaced evenly over 30 feet or so. Below that (ground floor 25 feet from roof) was a concrete patio and inground pool. So I was earning my $50.00 on the very top, backpack blower doin a job when it found some water in the gutters. The water sprayed up and before I could blink I was sittin on my ass, 10 feet below where I was (middle floor) precicely in between 2 skylights. Luckily I came to a stop. After the job was done, which was that moment, I got down and cut the skidmark out of my underwear. I then thanked the Lord and all of my deceased relatives that they did not want to see me that day and I never took another cedar roof or 2 story roof again.<br>Make money - stay in 1 piece. Becareful. Good Luck.

[southside]

Mow Ed <br> I bet that puckered up the seat covers ! :) I don't like heights.<p>Karl<br>

[jcoat]

Thanks a lot for the responses. I may have to check into the handyman license too! This forum is great and I've learned tons of pointers from some &quot;top dawgs.&quot;

[GrassMaster]

Hello Everybody & Mow Ed:<p>I know what you mean, something similar happened to me & it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. It changed my whole outlook on life!<p>I had that attitude that I want to do all the work & make all the money by myself. Well that soon changed for me.<p>Somehow I fell off a roof & hit the corner of the AC unit with my hip. It hurt so bad I layed there because I thought I broke my hip, I mean sheer pain.<p>Those brief seconds I was thinking about loosing all my accounts, because I had a broke hip. I had no one to help me & what was I going to do?<p>LOL, after a bit I finally decided no one was around & I got up. It was painful but it was just a world class bruise. I recon you could call me a sissy there for a few seconds!<p>Well that was when I decided I needed some help in case I got hurt again.<p>When I did get my help it was straight up the ladder of success from there. Money & accounts were comming in left & right.<p>Like I say quite a bit, In order to be a success, it takes more than one person!!!!!<p>----------<br>GrassMaster - Home: www.lawnservicing.com<br>My Start Up Page www.lawnservicing.com/startup/<br>

[thelawnguy]

The first time you fall off the roof you will seriously question whether the thirty bucks or so was worth it, believe me when I say, laying flat on your back with the wind knocked out of you, and you're not sure its really that, or you cant breathe cuz your neck is broken, you'll leave the gutter cleaning to the scrubs. Pick up another lawn instead.<p>Even the roofers I know wont clean gutters, the consensus is, if you're not making at least a grand up there, stay on the ground. No fun watching the grass grow for twelve weeks from the front porch while your busted hip heals.<p>Bill

[Charles]

I agree gutter work is dangerous. One slip and you can be dead or out of business. I have alway done gutters. One time i had the latter on a asphalt drive. I didnt realise it had a little slopt to it. The latter slipped and luckily caught the edge of the owners tire. Or I could have broke my neck. Charge good money for that type of job because it may be your last

[Eric ELM]

The neighbor behind us trimmed up his bushes nice and short and then went up on the roof with his back pack blower to blow all the leaves off the roof and out of the gutters. He slipped and fell on the bushes and the short branches went right through him and killed him. It is VERY dangerous work.<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

[jcoat]

I will have to agree with MOW ED in the single-story gutter cleaning. I've fallen like that before and it ain't no picnic; however, have any of you used the vacuum attachments and if so, what has been the best experience: Echo, Stihl, Shindaiwa, Red Max... I just want to know how effective these vac systems work and if they justify the cost of buying the extra hardware!

[slingshot]

well said lawnguy leave it to the scrubs if you are in the lawn care buisness stay there you only make yourself look bad if you are cleaning gutters , or painting decks or power washing driveways come on guys we are supposed to be pros dont kill your image everybody already thinks were just the guy who cuts the grass lets start acting and looking profesional