After Builders Cleaning
From last trade out to ready to hand over.
A job can be finished and still look unfinished, and the reason is nearly always dust. Construction dust is very fine. It hangs in the air for hours after the last trade has packed up and gone, then it lands — on top of doors, inside cupboards, along skirtings, in the light fitting of a room nobody worked in. One pass with a vacuum does not deal with that.
So we do not do one pass. We take the bulk off first, working from the top of each room down, and let the dust that is still airborne settle. Then we go back over it. The second pass is the one that makes the difference, and it is why we book this work as two stages.
Agnes has been cleaning in and around Wembley since 2001, and a good share of that work has been for builders, developers and homeowners at the end of a refurbishment. If the property is a finished unit heading for photography or straight to completion, tell us when you get in touch. That is a clean to handover standard, and it needs a different plan from a house someone is about to move back into.
Who it's for
- Builders finishing an extension or loft conversion
- Developers handing over finished units
- Homeowners moving back into a refurbished house
Why the dust settles twice
Plaster, MDF and cut masonry all throw off dust fine enough to stay in the air. Open a door, switch a radiator on, carry a toolbox through, and it lifts again. A room can look clean at four in the afternoon and have a visible film on the sill by the morning.
So the plan allows for it. The first stage is the heavy work: dust pulled off high surfaces and ledges, residue taken off glass and fittings, floors cleared, kitchen and bathrooms brought back. Then the air clears. The second stage is lighter and faster, going back over the flat surfaces, the skirtings, the frames and the floors that the settling dust has found.
On a bigger job — a full house refurbishment, a loft conversion with new stairs, a block of flats going to handover — a separate visit a few days later is often the right call. We will tell you if we think the job needs one, rather than leaving you to find out on the morning the photographer arrives.
Paint, plaster and the stickers nobody got round to
Fresh work leaves marks that have nothing to do with dust. Plaster splashes dried onto the glass. Silicone smeared along a tile edge. Adhesive from the tape that held the dust sheets. Grout haze on new tiles, which looks like a cloudy film and will not shift with a cloth and water.
All of it comes off with the right method, and the method matters because the surfaces are new. Paint that went on two days ago is still curing, so it gets worked gently and never scrubbed. New glass scratches, so stickers and film are lifted without a blade wherever a blade can be avoided. Film on appliances, worktops and sanitaryware comes off completely, including the bits tucked under an edge. If something will not come off without risking the finish, we leave it and tell you. We would rather flag a mark than take the lacquer off a handle.
Floors, windows and handover standard
Hard floors take the worst of a build. Grit gets walked in, then walked across, and it scratches as it goes. We clean them properly and protect them where the finish calls for it: a polish or sealer on tile and stone, the right product and very little water on wood and vinyl.
Windows are done inside as standard, and the track is usually the worst of it, because plaster dust settles in there in a lump and has to be dug out. Outside, we clean what can be reached safely from the ground. Anything higher needs a window specialist, and we will say so.
For a finished unit going to photography or completion we work to handover standard, with the detail a camera picks up. Polished taps, no fingerprints on new white goods, clean switch plates, no smears on the glass. If you report a cleaning issue within 72 hours of us finishing, we come back and re-clean the items on that clean's checklist, free of charge, provided the property is still unoccupied and no further works have been carried out since. On a building site that last condition earns its keep: once a trade goes back in, the dust starts over.
Room by room
Kitchen
- Units cleaned inside, outside and on top
- New appliances cleaned and protective film removed
- Worktops, splashback and sink cleaned, silicone and adhesive residue lifted
- Oven, hob and extractor cleaned inside and out
- Plinths and the gaps beside appliances cleared of dust and offcuts
Bathrooms and en-suites
- Grout haze and dried plaster lifted off new tiles
- Stickers and film off the bath, basin, shower screen and WC
- Taps, shower heads and waste covers polished
- Silicone edges cleaned and left intact
- Extractor vent, ceiling and loft hatch surround dusted
Windows, frames and glass
- Glass cleaned inside, plus frames, sills and tracks
- Paint and plaster spots taken off the panes
- Trickle vents and rubber seals cleaned out
Floors
- Grit and dust vacuumed up before anything wet goes down
- Tile, stone and concrete washed and rinsed rather than mopped over
- Wood, engineered board and vinyl cleaned with the product that suits the finish
- Protection applied where the floor needs it
- Carpet and new flooring vacuumed, edges and under radiators included
Every room
- Dust off door tops, frames, picture rails and curtain poles
- Skirtings, architrave and radiators cleaned front and back where we can get to them
- Light fittings, switch plates, sockets and smoke alarms dusted
- Walls spot cleaned where marks come off without harming new paint
- Internal doors, handles and hinges cleaned
Stairs, hallways and communal areas
- Stair treads, risers and nosings cleaned, corners included
- Handrails, spindles and newel posts cleaned
- Entrance glass, letterplates and lift doors and tracks cleaned
- Meter and riser cupboards dusted out
- Floors done last, once the units are finished
Frequently Asked Questions
When should the clean be booked for?
After the last trade is out, and after the offcuts, packaging and bagged debris have gone. We need power and water on, and the rooms clear enough to work in. If a plumber or decorator is still due back, book us for after them. Cleaning a room that is about to be worked in again is money spent twice.
Why do you sometimes recommend a second visit?
Because construction dust lands in waves. Even after a thorough clean, what was still in the air comes down over the following days and shows up on sills, skirtings and dark floors. On a big refurbishment or a block going to handover, a shorter second visit a few days later is usually what gets it genuinely clean. If a second visit is worth it, you will hear that from us before the first one is booked.
What has to be off site before you start?
Offcuts, packaging and anything that has been bagged up. We clean, we do not cart things away, so that side needs dealing with before we arrive. If a few bags are still sitting in a corner on the day, tell us beforehand and we will work around them, but the clean is not finished until the room is clear.
Will you damage new paint, new glass or a new floor?
We work on the basis that everything in the property is two weeks old. Fresh paint is still curing, so it gets a gentle approach. Film and stickers come off new glass without a blade wherever possible. Floors get the product that suits the finish, and very little water. A mark that will not shift without taking the finish with it stays put, and we show you on the day.
Do you clean the outside of the windows too?
Inside is always included. Outside, we clean the glass we can reach safely from the ground. Upper floors, roof lights and anything needing poles or access equipment is a window specialist's job.
Can you clean a block of new or refurbished flats before handover?
Yes. Block and communal cleaning is one of the services we run, so blocks are familiar ground. We work floor by floor, units first and the stairs, lobby and lift last, so the finished parts are not being walked through while the rest is still dusty. Tell us the handover or completion date and we will plan the stages back from it.