General Questions
General Questions
1. What’s the difference between an Estimate and a Proposal?
Estimates are used when the final cost of the project may vary. Your final cost may be higher or lower than the “estimated” cost and
unless the contract is clearly written AND understood, arguments between the contractor and customer can result. If you are receiving an Estimate from any contractor, you should understand exactly what is included, what is not, and what any changes will do to the estimated price if something is added or subtracted from the project.
Proposals are used when the final cost of a project is firm
and fixed. Proposals tell you exactly what your final cost will be... no more... no
less!
The majority of Hydro Scrub’s work is conducted with Proposals, but in
some cases, such as, stripping of wood finishes, Hydro Scrub utilizes estimates
due to the highly variable nature of such projects.
2. What are your payment terms?
Hydro Scrub’s payment terms are Net 15 days from the date of invoice, unless other arrangements have been made in advance. We offer a 6% discount for cash payments (no checks) at the time of job completion before we leave your site. A receipt will be provided for all forms of payment.
3. When will you schedule my project?
Hydro Scrub requires the receipt of a signed contract or email authorization before we schedule any work. We do this to both protect ourselves, as well as our customers. No work is performed without an executed contract. As the saying goes, “if it’s not in writing, it didn’t happen”. Contracts protect both Hydro Scrub and our customers.
4. Do you match prices from other contractors?
Bluntly, no! Unfortunately, procuring the services of a contractor is not like buying a retail product. A retail product in one store is the same as a retail product in another store. Such is not true with contractors.
5. Do you have minimum project costs?
Yes. Hydro Scrub has minimum service fees as detailed below.
For power wash services alone, the minimum fee is $150, unless you happen to catch us as we are literally driving by your location. In such cases, if you have a truly small project like a walkway or garage floor, our costs will be below $150. If you need power washing services and we are in your area, it is always best to
approach us “then and there”, if possible. If we have time during that day to
service your needs, your cost will be lower than if we have to come back... without exception.
For wood restoration services which includes the cleaning and refinishing your wood project, our minimum fee is $400; wood
restoration is simply a labor intensive task requiring multiple trips to your location. To reduce project costs, Hydro Scrub can provide
just the cleaning services and you can perform your own finish application.
6. Do You Provide Free Estimates or Site Visits?
It depends on your project and your location. Generally speaking, if your project cost
is expected to be above $400 and your location is within 15 miles of our facility, we will conduct a site inspection and prepare a contract at no cost to you. We will also
conduct a site visit for projects less than $400 if we happen to be in the
area. What we will not do is conduct a free estimate on your schedule if your
location is too far distant.
If your project is expected to be less than $400, we can typically quote that size project over the phone after asking some questions of you.
While would we love to visit each and every new customer,
please understand that each estimate desired by a customer takes a minimum of
one hour labor between travel, site inspection, customer service, and proposal
preparation not to mention fuel costs. Visiting small projects is simply not cost effective for us, nor you...spending one hour to "bid" a project which may only take one or two hours to complete is simply a poor choice of time management. So please understand, when you talk to us on the phone and we ask a lot of questions about your project, it helps us to help you.
7. Are you insured and licensed?
Hydro Scrub maintains the following insurance coverages:
Hydro Scrub also maintains business licenses or is otherwise registered/permitted to conduct business in each of the local municipalities (i.e., townships, cities, boroughs) in which we provide service. We are also a PA licensed home improvement contractor with the PA Attorney General's Office operating under license number PA 2014. You can check us out at the PA Attorney General Site
8. How long have you been in business?
Hydro Scrub has been serving the Lehigh Valley and surrounding areas since 1997.
9. Do you collect Pennsylvania sales tax?
Hydro Scrub has a PA sales tax license and collects PA sales tax, as required. Be advised that some of our services require the collection of sales tax while some do not. Unless you are exempt, the following applies to all residential, commercial and industrial customers. Generally speaking, anything washed which is attached to a building is taxed; this includes houses, buildings, decks, garage floors, roofs, gutters, etc. Anything washed which is not attached to a building is not taxed; this includes free standing gazebos, pool aprons, walkways, driveways, drive-thru lanes, dumpster areas, etc. Painting and staining labor services are not taxed... there is a painting exemption in the sales tax law.
10. Do you subcontract your work to other contractors?
To date, Hydro Scrub has not subcontracted any of its work to other contractors. This is not to say that we will never do such, but since 1997, so far we have not.
11. Do you work with homeowners if they wish to do some of the work (e.g., staining, painting, floor coating) themselves?
Absolutely! Hydro Scrub has numerous clients who utilize our services for the preparation portion of their project and they complete the remaining project task(s). We often do this for deck staining, paint preparation, and re-sanding of paver/brick walkways and patios.
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Hydro Scrub provides services in Berks, Lehigh, Montgomery and Northampton Counties, including the following areas:
Alburtis, Allen, Allentown, Ancient Oaks, Bally, Barto, Bechtelsville, Bethlehem, Boyertown,
Breiningsville, Catasaqua, Center Valley, Cetronia, Coopersburg, Coplay, Dorneyville,
East Allen, East Greenville, East Texas, Easton, Emmaus, Fogelsville, Fountain Hill,
Freemansburg, Green Lane, Guthsville, Hanover, Heidelberg, Hellertown, Hereford, Ironton, Kuhnsville,
Kutztown, Limeport, Lower Macungie, Lower Milford, Lower Nazareth, Lower Saucon,
Longswamp, Lowhill, Macungie, Maxatawny, Mechanicsville, Mertztown, Neffs,
North Catasaqua, North Whitehall,
Northampton, Orefield, Palm, Pennsburg, Red Hill, Salisbury, Schnecksville,
Shimerville, Slatington, South Whitehall,
Summit Lawn, Topton, Trexlertown, Upper Macungie, Upper Milford, Upper Saucon, Vera Cruz,
Weisenberg, Whitehall, Whitehall, and Zionsville. Zip codes serviced include: 18011, 18017, 18018, 18025, 18031, 18032, 18034, 18036, 18037, 18041, 18049, 18051, 18052,
18053, 18054, 18055, 18056, 18060, 18067, 18068, 18069, 18070, 18073, 18076, 18078, 18080, 18092, 18101, 18102, 18103, 18104, 18105, 18106, 18195, 19503, 19505, 19530, 19539.
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Hydro Scrub | PO Box 552, Macungie, PA 18062 | Phone: 610-966-3500 | Contact Us | 
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