Real-Life Math
"I would like all the windows in my home cleaned," Nancy says over
the phone. "How much will it cost?"
"How many windows are in your house?"
you ask. Nancy has no idea. You arrange to drive to her house to give her
an estimate on the job. Walking around the house, you count each of the windows.
There are different window types such as casement windows, double hung windows
and bay windows.
Some of these windows, such as a bay window, are actually
made up of 3 windows. It's important that you mark down each type of
window because the cleaning cost varies according to their shape and size.
"The
math isn't sophisticated, but you have to be able to write up estimates,"
says Richard Fabry, a window cleaner in California. "If you have a lot to
calculate, you can use a computer to figure out numbers of windows."
This
is your fee schedule:
Regular windows: (up to 6 feet high or 3 feet
wide)
$7 to clean inside and out
$5 to clean one side
Large
windows: (over 6 feet high or 3 feet wide)
$10 per window to clean inside
and out
$8 to clean one side
Types of windows (Some are actually
made up of more than 1 window. Each must be counted for a proper estimate):
Bay
window = 3 windows
Double hung window = 1 window
Sliding door = 2
windows
Casement window = 2 windows
Nancy wants all the windows
to be cleaned inside and out, except for the bay windows. She only wants the
bay windows to be cleaned on 1 side. How much will it cost for you to clean
Nancy's windows?
This is what you find at Nancy's house:
20
double hung windows (5 feet high x 2 feet wide)
10 casement windows (3
feet high x 3 feet wide)
3 sliding doors (7 feet high x 4 feet wide)
5
bay windows (each window is 6.5 feet high by 4 feet wide)