Post-construction cleaning checklist
Builders' cleans go wrong when they are quoted as one visit. They are three: a rough clean while trades are still working, a final clean once the site is finished, and a touch-up immediately before handover. This sheet keeps them apart, with minutes for each phase.
Before the visit
- Confirm the site is safe and the power and water are on
- Agree who removes construction waste — it is rarely the cleaner
- Ask what the protective film is on and whether it comes off
- Check what PPE the site requires
After the visit
- Walk the site with the contractor, not alone
- Photograph glass and finished surfaces before the trades return
- Book the touch-up visit before you leave
Phase 1 — rough clean
- Remove debris, offcuts and packaging60 min
- Sweep every floor, stairs and landings40 min
- Scrape stickers, tape and paint spots off glass and frames45 min
- Wipe down doors, frames and rough surfaces40 min
- Vacuum the site with a filtered machine, not a domestic one45 min
Phase 2 — final clean
- High dusting: vents, lights, tops of doors, ceiling edges60 min
- Interior glass, frames, tracks and sills70 min
- Cabinets and joinery inside and out60 min
- Appliances inside and out, protective film removed40 min
- Bathrooms and kitchens brought to handover standard70 min
- Floors washed, sealed surfaces buffed60 min
Phase 3 — touch-up
- Re-dust everything the trades disturbed since phase 245 min
- Fingerprints off glass, chrome and switch plates30 min
- Final floor pass before the client walkthrough30 min
Three phases, three prices
Rough clean is debris and dust so the trades can work. Final clean brings every surface to handover standard. Touch-up removes what the trades put back in the two days since. Quoting them as one number means absorbing the touch-up for free, every time.
Write the phases into the quote as separate lines with separate dates. Contractors are used to reading a programme; they are not used to cleaners who have one.
Construction dust is not household dust
Do not use a domestic vacuum on a construction site. Silica and plaster dust destroy the motor and, more seriously, a machine without proper filtration puts respirable dust back into the air. Use a filtered site vacuum and follow the site's own dust rules.
Dust settles for days after the last cut. That is the whole reason the touch-up phase exists — a final clean done before the trades finish is a final clean you will do twice.
Glass, film and warranty
Stickers, tape residue and paint spots come off glass with a blade at the right angle and plenty of lubricant. Done dry, or at the wrong angle, a blade scratches — and scratched glass on a new build is a replacement pane, not a complaint.
Ask before removing protective film from worktops and appliances. On some sites the film stays until the client's own handover.