Start a Construction Cleanup Service
A construction cleanup service is responsible for cleaning up waste left behind at a construction site. Carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and painters are paid well to work efficiently – not to pick up any waste that is left behind. Because of this, the home or commercial site must be cleaned from top to bottom before being handed over to the buyer.
This is a business that can be started on a shoestring. Your biggest expense will be an industrial strength dust vacuum. Other than that, you’ll need brooms, mops, heavy-duty garbage bags, and miscellaneous cleaning products. Because you will be working on construction sites, you’ll need to buy adequate safety gear including steel toed boots, safety glasses, and heavy gloves.
Starting a construction cleanup service is perfect for anyone that prefers to work at night and on weekends. Most contractors will want you to work after hours when the tradespeople are off-site. This is a huge advantage to anyone that has a full-time day job and wants to make some good part-time money.
Cleaning up a construction site is tough. You will need to be in relatively good shape and be well-organized in order to get the job done in a timely manner. It is a dirty job and you should be prepared for high levels of dust as you are cleaning. Your vacuum should be able to filter drywall dust and you should be wearing a dust mask at all times.
Part of your responsibilities will be picking up and sorting garbage. You’ll need to know what to throw out and what to keep. Experience helps here, but you should also have a talk with the contractor to ensure that good material is not left out in the open with the rest of the garbage.
The actual job will involve vacuuming/sweeping floors, cleaning windows, cleaning fixtures, and disposing of construction debris in residential or commercial construction sites.
You should be able to make $20-$30 an hour while you are on the job. Most contractors prefer to be billed and they will usually pay you within 30 days. Make sure you keep accurate records and account for every minute that you are on the job site.
The hardest part about starting a construction cleanup service is getting your first few jobs. You will need to be able to present your services to a prospective contractor in a professional manner. Many times you will need to negotiate your services and/or your price without giving too much away. Contractors are businessmen and they will always be looking for the best services at the lowest price.
Once you have a few customers under your belt, word will get around the industry and you’ll find yourself getting more work. This is, of course, provided that you do an excellent job.
Get started now by phoning a few contractors and offering a free cleaning to show what you can do. Of course, you’re not going to clean an entire house for free, just give them a sample of what you can do.
Before you start anything, go down to your municipal government offices and inquire about any permits or regulations that are required for you to carry out this service. It can vary greatly from one city to the other. Also, be aware that many contractors will require that you be bonded. At a minimum, you should have a police record abstract available.
If you’re looking for the perfect part-time, after-hours business, the construction cleanup service industry could be exactly what you’re looking for.
