Commercial cleaning
Commercial post-construction cleaning
A finished fit-out is not a clean space. It is a space full of construction dust that has had two weeks to settle into every surface, plus adhesive labels on everything that arrived new, plus the residue of half a dozen trades. This is the clean that stands between practical completion and opening the doors.
It is the clean that stands between practical completion and opening the doors, and the thing that decides how it goes is not effort — it is when it happens relative to the last trade.
Start here
When to book it matters more than anything else
Tell us the program rather than a date and we will tell you the right window for it.
Too early
Trades are still finishing. Snagging, touch-up paint and last fixings all generate fresh dust and fresh marks, so everything cleaned before them gets cleaned again. This is the most common and most expensive mistake on a fit-out program.
The right window
After the last trade is off site, with enough time before handover for the space to settle and take a second dust pass. On most commercial fit-outs that means a main clean and a lighter follow-up rather than one visit.
Too late
The night before an opening. It can be done, and it costs more, because the whole thing has to be compressed and there is no room left for the settle period fine dust needs.
The work
Four stages, and the order is the method
01
Debris and residue first
Nothing else is worth doing until the loose material is gone. Cleaning a dusty surface before the room has been cleared just moves the dust somewhere else.
- Loose debris, offcuts and packaging removed from all areas
- Protective film peeled from glazing, fittings, appliances and fixtures
- Adhesive labels and manufacturer stickers removed from glass, frames and hardware
- Adhesive residue softened and removed rather than scraped off a new finish
- Paint specks, sealant smears and plaster splashes removed from floors, glass and hardware
- Grout haze cleared from newly laid tile
02
Fine dust, worked top-down
Construction dust is finer than household dust and settles for days after the last trade leaves. It has to come down from height in the right order, and it usually takes more than one pass.
- Ceiling grid, vents, diffusers and sprinkler heads dusted
- Light fittings, trunking and cable trays cleaned
- Ductwork faces and return-air grilles wiped
- Walls, partitions and glazing frames wiped down
- Door frames, hinges, closers and hardware detailed
- Baseboards, reveals and window sills cleaned
- A second pass over high surfaces once the space has been left to settle
03
Rooms brought to opening condition
Once the dust is out, the rooms are cleaned as rooms — the same standard we would hold on any commercial visit, on surfaces that have never been cleaned before.
- Restrooms cleaned throughout — sanitaryware, fixings, mirrors, floors and the fixings behind them
- Kitchen and breakroom units cleaned inside and out before anything goes in them
- Appliance interiors and exteriors cleaned
- Cabinet, closet and storage interiors cleaned before they are filled
- Reception and client-facing areas detailed
- Interior glass and partitions cleaned both sides at reach height
04
Floors last, and properly
Floors go last. Everything above them sheds onto them. New floor finishes also need handling that matches the material rather than whatever is on the van.
- Hard floors vacuumed, then washed with a method appropriate to the finish
- New carpet vacuumed thoroughly — construction dust sits deep in new pile
- Edges, corners, thresholds and under-cabinet lines cleared
- Protective residue and installation marks lifted from resilient flooring
- Final walk-through with the space empty and lit
How we run it
What separates a handover clean from a big tidy
Timing decides the result more than anything else
The single biggest factor is when we go in relative to the last trade, because a clean that happens while somebody is still cutting architrave in the next room is a clean that will need doing again. A clean run before final snagging happens twice. Tell us the program and we will tell you the right slot.
We plan for a second dust pass
Fine dust keeps settling for days. Any post-construction clean that promises one pass on a large space is describing a room that will look dusty again the following morning. We budget for the second pass. Nobody benefits from pretending it is not needed.
New surfaces get handled as new surfaces
Freshly installed stone, unsealed grout, powder-coated fittings, new glazing and factory finishes all need different handling from the same materials three years later. This is the part that separates a fit-out clean from a deep clean with more dust in it.
You walk it with us before we call it done
A handover clean is judged by whoever accepts the space, so it makes sense for that person to see it with us. Anything they flag gets done then. Not after a phone call the following week.
We clear loose debris, packaging and protective materials as part of the clean. Bulk construction waste and skips stay with the contractor — that is a waste-carrier obligation rather than a cleaning one, and we would rather be clear about the line than have it discovered on the day.
What it costs
What a handover clean is priced on
- Stage of the build
- A space with trades still finishing needs a different plan and a different price from one that is genuinely complete. Being honest about the program gets you a better number.
- How much dust is actually in it
- A refurbishment where walls came down is a different job from a fit-out of an empty shell. Demolition dust reaches further and takes more passes.
- Floor area and ceiling height
- High ceilings, exposed services and open ductwork add a lot of dusted surface that a floor plan does not show.
- Finish sensitivity
- Natural stone, specialist glazing, feature joinery and delicate metal finishes take longer because the method has to suit the material.
- Restroom and kitchen count
- Same as any commercial scope — these rooms carry the most fittings per square foot and take the longest to bring to opening condition.
- Deadline
- A program that allows a settle period between passes costs less than one that needs the whole thing compressed into a night before an opening.
Handover questions
What contractors and clients ask
How is this different from your residential post-construction cleaning?
When should we book the clean relative to the build finishing?
Do you remove construction waste and debris?
Can you work around a partially occupied building?
Will one visit be enough?
Also for businesses
Once the space is open
Building or renovating a home rather than a commercial space? That is a different job again — different surfaces, different scale and no handover deadline attached to it.
Residential post-constructionFurther reading
Related reading
For businesses
Tell us about the program
What the space is, roughly how big, what stage the build is at and when handover or opening is. The program tells us more than the floor plan does, and it is what decides whether this is one visit or two.
- Fully insured and bonded
- Background-checked cleaners
- A written scope before the first visit
- Serving Frisco and nearby communities