# 10,000 sqft of Condo Walks



## Burkartsplow (Nov 1, 2007)

Hey Guys,
I have an condo complex looking to have there walks done. 10,000 sqft of walks. Most of them are 4 to 5 feet wide with a 2 inch trigger like the lots. going to use a 26inch snow blower on them. What should I charge per push/removal for the walks. Thanks
aaron


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

Use a Broom!


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## Burkartsplow (Nov 1, 2007)

Clapper&Company;805708 said:


> Use a Broom!


i am going to use your :realmad: face and make you :crying: while I make all this payup...


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## Clapper&Company (Jan 4, 2005)

LOL This sounds like a repeat of them Text Messgs lol


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

well, 10,000 square feet of sidewalks that are 4' wide is 2500 liner feet of sidewalk.

How long does it take you to go 100' with a snowblower? multiply that result times 20 and you'll need two passes, so double your time.

that won't be exact but it will give you an idea . 


that's about 1/2 a mile of sidewalk, thought of using a quad? (will it work)


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## fortywinks (Sep 17, 2007)

Aaron,
2500 linear feet and you will have to make two passes. So you are walking nearly a mile. How long does it take you to walk 4 laps around the track at LHS. Running an 8 minute mile is very acceptable so at a brisk walk I'm thinking its going to take you 20-30 minutes. And of course you don't want to be walking so fast as to be unsafe so 30 minutes should be conservative. Its also safe to assume the walks are not all connected so you have to go across parking lots, between cars etc. Plus any loading/unloading/refueling time and making sure you didn't miss anything and you are pushing 45 minutes. Does that sound right? If you were to pay someone else to do it what would you pay them? $20/hr for a shoveler seems to be the going rate around here but you want to make more than that and if you are out of the truck you need to compensate for that, no? My uneducated, inexperienced price would be $80-$100 for fuel, wear and tear, and time. 

Kevin


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

Dude...if you think one man is going to clear a minimum of 2" of snow and apply chems on 10,000 square feet of condo walks in 20-45 minutes you're nuts.


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## fortywinks (Sep 17, 2007)

*Dude...*

His post made no mention of salt/Ca++/ Mg++ so maybe my guesstimate isn't too far off. If the walks only have 2-3" on them thats nothing for a 26" snowblower. If its wet heavy snow then that is different. He asked for a price estimate on snow blowing/removal. 45 minutes seemed like a reasonable guess to me. My own drive is just a little less than 1400 sq. ft with an additional 200 sq ft of sidewalk and it takes me about 10-15 minutes with a 28in two stage ariens. i have to make sure I don't hit my neighbors house or cars and keep turning around. That 26 incher if its single stage with paddles will move alot faster than the behemoth I have. So I may be off on the time a little but with no chem. app. it will be less than you think it is. How much should he charge? That's the primary question. If he paid someone else to do it I'm guessing he would pay them approx. $20. I wouldn't do it for 20 I'd ask for 80-100 and I'm fairly new to this business. Does his contract charge by the hour or by the snowfall amount on the walks? Aaron should definitley recommend ice control to them and write it in the contract if they refuse. There was another thread on here where someone said they charged 15 cents /sqft for snowblowing and ice melt for sidewalks so in Aaron's case that would be about $1500 to snowblow and throw some ice melt.


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## fortywinks (Sep 17, 2007)

*Correction...*

The other thread estimation for sidewalks was 15 cents per linear foot so in Aaron's case $375. Sorry for the mistake. TCLA, I need you guys way more than you need me. Instead of jumping on someone why don't you just say I think you are wrong and then state why. You said I was "nuts" but I didn't see you chiming in with any info or advice regarding the actual question. So what did you add to the discussion other than insults. Pretty much nothing so far. Educate me. What is your time and price on his job?


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## scottL (Dec 7, 2002)

That is a fair amount of walk. You'll need two worker-bees. I don't care what or how fast you can do it when you have a worker-bee they get cold, sick, slow, don't show up ... You need two maybe three. Expect 2 hours a cleaning at @ 20 bucks an hour per then add profit. Larger outfits around here with tons of year round laborer's will always kill it on pricing - they pay their guys 8-12 and hr.

Seriously don't under estimate the weather/cold/snow when you are outside snow blowing/shoveling ...


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## Luther (Oct 31, 2007)

fortywinks;805944 said:


> He asked for a price estimate on snow blowing/removal. 45 minutes seemed like a reasonable guess to me. How much should he charge? That's the primary question.


Unlike many, I do not feel compelled to give an exact answer to such questions. I will pick and choose how much of my blood, sweat, tears and experience I will offer....and to whom.



fortywinks;806031 said:


> TCLA, I need you guys way more than you need me.
> 
> Not sure what this means sir....you don't need me for anything.
> 
> ...


You will expose yourself to the kill when you demand such information. I owe *nothing* to such a demand. Shame on me for even saying this......but I actually I PM'ed the OP with what I felt was enough appropriate in-site at the beginning of his thread.....he can confirm this if he wishes. I happen to like Aaron.

I did assume chems will be going down on the sidewalks. I believe it to be a safe assumption. Who in there right mind would open themselves up with such liability? If I am wrong and he happens to agree to not put down chems, so be it. No sweat of my back. I've never claimed to be the smartest person in the room, nor am I responsible for someone else's liabilities.

fortywinks, the operative word here is "condos". A good contractor following standards will also need to shovel in front of all garage doors, fire hydrants, etc. Again, I am not required to expose all details and demystify what needs to be done on someones site........unless I choose to do so. There are plenty of professionals hanging here who will chime in with enough information to give people clues and point them in the right direction. There are also those who will point you in the wrong direction......people need to decipher on their own. And sometimes you need to read between the lines to find a gold nugget.


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## fortywinks (Sep 17, 2007)

TCLA,
I'm still very new to the business. That's my I need u guys more than u need me. I don't bring alot of experience or knowledge to the table yet so I rely on this site alot. I joined this forum, asked questions and took the plunge. I carry alot of insurance, I'm bonded, I conduct myself professionally, and try my best to make my customers happy. You were bashing without an explanation of your reasons. Your last post about garage doors, being a responsible contractor etc. I consider very valuable info. If you had put that in your first post and said "I don't share prices or methods publicly but Aaron I'll PM you something" then we wouldn't be having this discussion. I read and try to learn. Your initial post taught me nothing other than you were showing how much better you were than me, how much smarter. Step back, relax, and take your "senior member" status seriously. I'm sure you can figure out a way to teach, share etc without giving away all your secrets. My guess is you are fairly successful but not successful enough to stop trolling sites like this for more info or advantages. That's why we are all here, I think. TCLA my skin is thick enough trust me. Best of luck to you if you need it. I'll continue reading and sticking my neck out, as there are no stupid questions. 

KB


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## big acres (Nov 8, 2007)

TCLA;805918 said:


> Dude...if you think one man is going to clear a minimum of 2" of snow and apply chems on 10,000 square feet of condo walks in 20-45 minutes you're nuts.


Ditto... and with condos you can't expect to just run a machine over it and call it done. You'll need a shoveler to follow up on the details like trails across the intersections, etc...

I think SIMA has a formula of 1600sf per labor hour, which means you should be billing it around 6.25 hours, and hopefully getting done in half of that. Don't forget travel, load time, etc... but you know all this because you've been on PS forever and are just curious what other guys would charge, right?


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