Tools And Supplies Needed For Stripping And Waxing

This is part two of a four-part series on how to properly bid a job.

A reader commented that they have an opportunity to strip and wax about 1,975 square feet of VCT (vinyl composite tile) at a church. They asked if I could recommend the best way to bid this job and do the work.

I am making recommendations based on the tools you have is not necessarily best practices. My primary concern is that you may have to re-perform the work and you need to avoid that contingency. We determined how to establish the labor costs based on how long you thought it would take one person to strip, rinse and recoat the floor with minimal equipment. We now need to identify what tools and supplies you will need.

At this point I need to stress that you should find a local janitorial distributor who can assist you in selecting the best supplies for the job. He/she can provide much needed guidance on performing this task correctly. Supplies should include 1-2 gallons of stripper, 4-5 gallons of 20% floor finish (based on the number of coats you apply at 2,000 SF/coat), a sufficient number of neutralizer packets for the entire floor, a good quick change mop handle, mop heads (one cotton for stripping and pick up, one blended for neutralizer and rinsing and one quality finish mop for applying the finish). It would be better if you had a swivel brush with a brown or black pad for edges and baseboards. You need one or more mop buckets with wringer as well as a plastic liner which I will explain later.

If you work closely with your vendor, you can make this a win/win outcome. We will continue with the next steps in a future article.

Your comments and questions are important. I hope to hear from you soon. Until then, keep it clean...

Mickey Crowe has been involved in the industry for over 35 years. He is a trainer, speaker and consultant. You can reach Mickey at 678-314-2171 or CTCG50@comcast.net.