Stripping and Waxing

[richgallina]

I understand there are a bunch variables but can you please let me know where you would start at cost for a typical office (med size)

[lee@deepclean.us.com]

For 100 to 1000 square feet I charge a $1.00 a square foot.
Includes a full strip two coats of seal and two to three coats of good wax.

[encapman]

Strip & Recoat on smallish accounts like that are typically range anywhere from .50 to 1.00 per sq ft depending on where you're located, condition of the floor, accessibility, etc.

[richgallina]

This ones about 28,000 sq. ft. but mostly open areas.

[encapman]

With that amount of square footage you could maybe afford to go a little lower. But keep in mind that Stripper and Finish are not cheap. And labor is a major factor. I'd like to see you get $1.00 per hour. But the competition for floor care is brutally low, so your price will likely need to be more toward the low range of .50 per sq ft. Look at the account and where you need to be and go from there. It's hard to set a price in stone because there are too many variables. (one in particular is how much Finish build up is on the floor).  Floor stripping can be a major profit loser! It's hard to make money on it. When I did lots of VCT work, I'd hope to slightly better than break even on strip jobs, but I knew I'd make money on the regular floor servicing. For me the strip job was the low cost leader. Nothing to love about that scenario, in fact I hate strip jobs. The only way they're normally worthwhile is when they're attached to a more lucrative type of service. I kinda hope I've scared you away from it.    And if you do happen to get it, I can share with you how to make good time doing it with your Cimex.

[GroovyJon]

I could not agree with Rick more. I do commercial stone restoration & maintenance. I charge a $1.00 a square foot just for an initial strip of the wax, if more stripping is needed I upcharge from that point on. Please keep in mind the $1.00 is just for strip that does not include wax.

2nd, be weary of what kind of wax is on the floor, hope its a water soluble wax. Last there are many variables with a strip and wax that quite frankly customers do not understand nor really care. Like Rick said some people have saturated this market with cheap, cheap prices (have no idea how they can do it). With that being said most customers think a strip and wax as being an easy, cheap thing to do... Believe me it can be a nightmare. If you are going to take it please do not price yourself cheap, if you are being priced out by competitors cut it loose and move on to the next thing. This is all just my opinion from my experience.