After builders cleaning is £30 per cleaner per hour with £32 on top for kit, and two cleaners for three hours starts at £212. It deals with the plaster dust, paint spots and grime a renovation leaves in every room.
Sanding and plastering throw up dust much finer than anything a household makes. It hangs in the air long after the tools stop, then settles on top of door frames, inside light fittings, along every skirting and into cupboards that were shut the whole time. Wipe it with a wet cloth first and it smears into a grey paste. So the cleaners start at the ceiling and work down, vacuum each surface before it is wiped and change cloths often. That is slow work, and the hourly rate sits above our deep cleaning rate for that reason.
Prices for cleaning after building work
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| One cleaner for one hour | £30 |
| Kit charge, once per job | £32 |
| Two cleaners, three hours and the kit | from £212 |
A single room after a new bathroom may need no more than the minimum. A whole-house refurbishment or a loft conversion with a new staircase usually needs three or four cleaners for a full day. Tell the office what was built, which rooms were affected and whether the builders swept up, and the hours are agreed on the call. The kit charge pays for the vacuums, cloths, scrapers and products the team carries in.
Plaster splashes, paint spots and fine dust
Dust lifts from almost every hard surface given time. Plaster splashes on tiles, glass and sanitaryware are softened and eased off, and paint spots on window glass come away with a blade held flat to the pane. Protective film and stickers on new windows, sockets and baths are peeled, and the glue left behind is cleaned off. Window tracks, radiator fins, extractor grilles and the insides of new kitchen units get the same treatment.
Some marks stay. Paint that has soaked into bare wood, grout or natural stone, cement on textured tiles and plaster trodden into a carpet may be permanent or may need the trade that caused them. If you have spotted marks like these, mention them when you book and the cleaner looks at them first.
Timing the clean with the trades
Book the clean for once the last dusty job is over: sanding, plastering, tile cutting and the final coat of paint. An electrician fitting faceplates or a plumber connecting taps afterwards will make little mess, though any further cutting or sanding will undo the work. Ask the builder to take away rubble, offcuts and packaging before the cleaners arrive, so the paid hours are spent cleaning. The cleaners need running water, power to every socket, working lights in each room and, in winter, the heating on so washed surfaces dry.
A fine layer keeps drifting down for a day or so after the clean. One more wipe of flat surfaces before the furniture goes back is normal, and leaving a day between the clean and the furniture makes it easier.
New carpets and floors after a renovation
If new carpets are part of the plan, have the fitter come after the builders’ clean. The carpet then goes into a room that is already free of dust, and all it needs afterwards is a vacuum for the loose fibres that new wool carpet sheds in its first weeks.
Carpets that stayed down during the work are another matter. Plaster and sanding dust sink into the pile and turn it grey. The cleaners vacuum them thoroughly, then a hot water extraction clean from our carpet cleaning team draws out much of what is left; plaster that got wet and then dried in the pile may not shift. New tiles, vinyl and stone can have a hard floor clean at £6 a square metre once any sealing has been done.
Questions about after builders cleaning
Can the after builders clean happen while work is still going on?
Only once the dusty work has finished. A clean done between trades looks fine for an afternoon, and the next round of sanding covers it again. On a project that runs in stages, book a clean as each stage is finished.
Will paint come off the windows after decorating?
Paint spots and overspray on smooth glass usually come off with a flat blade and water. Paint on frames, stone sills or patterned glass is harder, and the cleaner says what can be done once it has been looked at.
How much does cleaning a whole house after building work cost?
It comes down to the hours. At £30 per cleaner per hour, a team of three working six hours is 18 hours at that rate, plus the £32 kit charge. Every other service is on the price list, and a deep clean at a lower hourly rate suits homes where the dust is everyday dust.