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Cleaning checklists

Builders Clean Checklist

A builders clean is three jobs, not one, and quoting it as one is how cleaning companies lose money on construction work. This list separates the stages, and carries the site rules that apply to all three.

Free, no signup, no email Prints to A4 Written for UK cleaning businesses
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Builders Clean Checklist

Confirm which stage is being priced. Site induction and PPE apply to all stages.

Site
Plot / unit
Stage
Date
Site contact

Before entering site

A construction site is not a house. These are conditions of entry, not good practice.

  • Site induction completed and recorded
  • RAMS submitted to the principal contractor and accepted
  • PPE confirmed: hard hat, hi-vis, safety boots, gloves, eye protection as required
  • Dust masks appropriate to the work (FFP3 where silica dust is possible)
  • Permit to work obtained where required
  • Working at height arrangements agreed; no standing on unsecured surfaces
  • Power and water availability confirmed, and whether 110V is required
  • Waste disposal route agreed: which skip, and who owns it
  • Welfare facilities located
  • Emergency procedures and assembly point noted

First stage: rough clean

Usually during construction, once the trades are largely out of a zone.

  • All construction debris, offcuts and packaging removed to the agreed skip
  • Large debris swept and shovelled out
  • Floors brush-swept throughout
  • Stickers and labels removed from windows, sanitaryware and appliances
  • Excess plaster, adhesive, grout and paint splashes scraped from hard surfaces
  • Voids, cupboards and risers cleared
  • Stairwells and circulation routes cleared for safe access
  • Site rubbish separated for recycling per the site waste plan

Second stage: detail clean

  • All surfaces vacuumed with an M-class or H-class vacuum for fine dust
  • Walls wiped down where the finish permits
  • Ceilings and coving dusted
  • Light fittings, switches and sockets cleaned
  • Doors, frames, architraves and hinges cleaned, including tops of doors
  • Skirting boards cleaned including behind radiators
  • Radiators cleaned front, back and between
  • Windows cleaned internally including frames, beading and runners
  • Kitchen units cleaned inside and out; protective film removed
  • Sanitaryware cleaned; protective film removed; sealant checked
  • Fine dust removed from all horizontal surfaces, repeated as it resettles
  • Floors vacuumed then washed with the correct product for the finish

Sparkle clean: handover standard

The final clean before the client or buyer sees it. Nothing is allowed to be dusty.

  • Full re-dust of every surface, including tops of doors and units
  • All glass polished streak-free, internally and externally where accessible
  • Mirrors and splashbacks polished
  • All chrome, taps and handles polished
  • Appliances cleaned inside and out; manuals and spare parts left as supplied
  • Kitchen units, drawers and worktops cleaned and polished
  • Sanitaryware polished; limescale-free; sealant clean
  • Final vacuum of all soft flooring including edges
  • Hard floors washed and buffed to the finish specified
  • Final walk-through in the order a buyer would view the property
  • Photographs taken of every room at handover standard
  • Snagging list of anything not cleanable reported to site

Waste and site exit

  • All cleaning waste removed from site or placed in the agreed skip
  • Waste transfer documentation completed where you remove waste yourself
  • Equipment cleaned before it leaves site to avoid cross-site dust transfer
  • Any damage noticed reported in writing to the site manager
  • Site log signed and permit closed
  • PPE removed and disposed of or cleaned appropriately

Construction dust containing silica is a serious respiratory hazard. Dry sweeping of silica dust should be avoided in favour of M- or H-class vacuum extraction, and FFP3 protection should be used where exposure is possible.

If you remove construction waste from site yourself, you are transferring controlled waste and a waste transfer note is legally required. Most builders cleans avoid this by using the site skip.

Free to print, copy and use commercially, including with your own clients and staff. From CleanFlo, cleaning business software for UK companies.

In CleanFlo

RAMS the principal contractor will accept

No construction site lets you through the gate without a site-specific risk assessment and method statement. CleanFlo builds both on a 5×5 matrix and prints them to A4, so submitting them is a job rather than an evening.

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The three stages, and why they are priced separately

A builders clean quoted as one number is a builders clean that loses money, because the three stages are different jobs done at different points, with different access, and the scope of each depends on what the trades left behind.

The first stage is debris removal during construction, priced by volume and access rather than by area. The second is the detail clean once the trades are finished, priced by hours and by how much fine dust there is. The sparkle is the handover clean, priced by area and by the standard the client is expecting, which on a new-build show home is very high indeed.

Quote them as separate lines even when you are doing all three. If the programme slips and the trades come back after your second stage, you want the re-clean to be an obvious extra rather than an argument.

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Why construction dust changes the job

Fine construction dust is the defining problem of a builders clean and the reason domestic methods fail on site. It is suspended, it resettles for hours after disturbance, and a room that looked finished at four o'clock is dusty again at six.

That has three practical consequences. Work top down and expect to re-dust. Use M-class or H-class vacuum extraction rather than sweeping, both because it works and because dry sweeping of silica-bearing dust is a genuine health risk rather than a technicality. And build re-dusting time into the quote, because it is not optional and it is not visible in the specification.

Silica dust from cutting concrete, brick and stone causes irreversible lung disease. FFP3 protection where exposure is possible is the baseline, and it belongs in your risk assessment.

What the principal contractor will ask you for

Construction sites operate under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, and the principal contractor is responsible for everyone on site including your cleaners. In practice that means you will be asked for documentation before you are allowed through the gate.

  • A site-specific risk assessment and method statement (RAMS). Generic will usually be rejected. It has to name the site and the actual hazards there.
  • COSHH assessments for every chemical you intend to bring on site.
  • Public liability and employer's liability insurance certificates.
  • Proof of training for any equipment used, and CSCS cards on many sites.
  • Site induction for every cleaner, every site, recorded.
  • Confirmation of waste arrangements, usually that you are using the site skip rather than removing waste yourself.

A cleaning company that can produce these the same day wins construction work that a cheaper competitor cannot take. It is the clearest example in the trade of paperwork being a commercial advantage rather than an overhead.

Frequently asked questions

01 What is a sparkle clean?
The final stage of a builders clean, immediately before handover to the client or buyer. Everything is re-dusted, all glass and chrome is polished, floors are finished to the specified standard, and the property is left at show-home condition. It follows the first-stage debris removal and the second-stage detail clean.
02 How much does a builders clean cost?
It is normally priced per square metre or per hour rather than as a flat rate, because the scope depends entirely on what the trades left. Builders cleans typically cost several times a standard deep clean per square metre because of the dust, the debris removal, the repeated re-dusting and the site compliance overhead. Quote each stage separately.
03 Do you need RAMS for a builders clean?
Almost always, yes. Construction sites operating under CDM regulations require every contractor to submit a site-specific risk assessment and method statement before working, and generic documents are commonly rejected. Expect to also provide COSHH assessments, insurance certificates and evidence of site induction.
04 What vacuum do you need for construction dust?
An M-class vacuum as a minimum for general construction dust, and H-class for the finest and most hazardous. A domestic vacuum will pass fine dust straight through the motor and back into the air, which both fails to clean and creates an exposure risk. Dry sweeping of dust that may contain silica should be avoided entirely.

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