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Original poster

New build cleanliness?

23 replies

honeylou42 · 01/09/2021 22:22

Please can I ask what state your new build was in when you moved house? We are due to move this Friday 3rd September, and popped up tonight to peep through the windows. Well the place looks a state, it's all mucky and dusty from the builders. There are handles missing off cupboards, tools laying around, and it looks like it's been used as storage for somebody else's new things ( oak furniture land parcels ) these are in the kitchen diner, and the garage is also still being used as storage for building equipment. We called up last weekend and asked to look around but they fobbed us off saying the painters were in so we couldn't go up, we now think this must have been an excuse. I can't settle now for fretting about Friday. I know they still have tomorrow but there seems an awful lot left to do, I hoped it would be beautifully clean and perfect for when we moved In 😬

OP posts:
LoveBigBundts · 01/09/2021 23:22

I’m curious too, ours doesn’t sound as bad as yours… But when we last visited, the place was dusty, there were footprints too

Nannyamc · 01/09/2021 23:26

Ah builders finish . Afraid you have a lot to do. Windows and doors floors and paintwork. Need a day to sort it out

Beetle76 · 01/09/2021 23:42

Ours was empty of all the extra building crap. It has been cleaned, but not well enough and needed doing again. But house was unfinished (kitchen incomplete, doors unvarnished and not enough paint on the walls) I think they were hoping we’d be desperate enough to move in and not kick up a fuss. We knew it would be like this so kept our rental for an extra month to over lap. So we did kick up a fuss. But it still wasn’t all finished in the extra month. They worked at glacial speed. Good luck!

Batgirl99 · 02/09/2021 11:24

Moved into a new build about a month ago there was a tiny bit of dust on top of kitchen cabinets other than that it was spotless. Cleaning crew came the day before we moved in.

purplesequins · 02/09/2021 11:32

abosuty filthy with a good layer of dust.

hoover and mop the whole place. leave it yo settle for a day or so and repeat.
for the first month or so thd dust will settle.

WhatsAppening · 02/09/2021 11:34

Ours was shiny and clean and with a bottle of champagne and flowers on the worktop.

It was half a million quid though so I did expect a level of niceness. Grin

feellikezerobucks · 02/09/2021 11:35

Ours was fully cleaned professionally...they even left plug ins downstairs and upstairs...which stunk and I hate them, but no issues on cleanliness...

ReeseWitherfork · 02/09/2021 11:36

My MIL runs a cleaning company that specialises in new builds. A team of them (usually about 3 for a standard house) spend a day making them look spick and span.

ChequerBoard · 02/09/2021 12:14

They will usually get a professional cleaning crew in to do a 'builders clean' so it should be good to go when you move in!

FrankOrTheBeans · 02/09/2021 13:37

I work in construction management. Firstly, there are two cleans we do - builder's clean and then sparkle clean which is left very last minute when snagging has been completed and the house is then ready. However, we often have last minute visits into properties after the sparkle clean so then require one more sparkle clean. Depending on how early you looked into your property it's very likely they were still going to be doing a sparkle clean.

However, some developers are very shit - Persimmon to name one so their standards are a lot lower. If you bought from a high-end developer the place will be spotless.

I would advise you to pay for your own clean when you go into the property anyway. I've had guys on site shit in kitchen sinks the week before completion. You honestly don't want to know where else construction guys relieve themselves during builds. So definitely do your own thorough clean!

thismeansnothing · 02/09/2021 14:18

Ours was cleaned 3/4 days before we moved in so was fairly clean. Just all the woodwork needed a good damp wipe down. Been here 2 month now and the battle with dust is something else as it's still a building site around us.

MrsRobbieHart · 02/09/2021 14:27

Go in with your phone camera and a pen and paper. You write down every single thing that needs repaired, properly installed, removed, finished etc and take lots of photos. Then you call the builder and tell them you have a snagging list and can they come down to go through it all and arrange to have it all completed ASAP.

thismeansnothing · 02/09/2021 14:41

Also highly reccomend getting a professional Snagger in once you complete. Ours has raised stuffed we wouldn't have noticed as we're not trained in electrics/gas/construction etc

rjacksmiss · 02/09/2021 14:43

Our is a Taylor wimpy and was spotless for us moving in.

whoknows2 · 02/09/2021 14:52

Ours was also spotless. Won't you do a snagging visit with the site manager before you move in to spot any imperfections?
Assumed this was the norm with all new builds but perhaps not.

FrankOrTheBeans · 02/09/2021 15:31

@whoknows2

Ours was also spotless. Won't you do a snagging visit with the site manager before you move in to spot any imperfections? Assumed this was the norm with all new builds but perhaps not.
This isn't the norm. We do our own internal snags and then once the customer is moved in an after-care team handle snags.

To those saying get a professional snagger. Please make sure you get a good one - I have accompanied "professional" snaggers around apartments I have completed and they found 2 snags - which were tiny aesthetic snags. The guy charged £650 for his 1hour time to the property buyer. He never inspected any of the mechanical or electrical items thoroughly. These are the items that will cause you more grief than a little paint work.

namechange7865 · 02/09/2021 18:28

Absolutely spotless, professional cleaners went in before our show around 5 days before and then again before moving day (Barratt). Not sure how much of that was because of Covid (probably the second clean) but there wasn't a spec of dust in sight, carpets vacuumed, floors mopped.

namechange7865 · 02/09/2021 18:32

Also didn't find it went dusty at all, no "settling dust" or anything like that, just the inevitable accumulation of dust eventually sadly!

waitingpatientlyforspring · 02/09/2021 19:10

Ours had the cleaners still in when we arrived to move in. It was perfectly clean and freshly hoovered.

Mindyourbusiness22 · 02/09/2021 20:45

Ours was spotless when we moved in

thismeansnothing · 02/09/2021 22:34

Wow @frankorthebeans our Snagger was here over 3 hours 😳 in the report we got they put the cosmetic stuff separately as alot of it was scratches to paintwork/gloss when they've put the carpet in etc and is stuff we'd end up sorting as we decorate anyway. But they were invaluable for issues we have no experience in and would have been oblivious to.. like we've one with the boiler and our electric box and the build of our garage. Deffo a thing to shop around for though.

earsup · 02/09/2021 22:37

My friend found a pile of diarhea next to one of the toilets...not happy...called up and they sent in a team to do a full clean again the day before moving in...!!

ABCDEF1234 · 02/09/2021 22:46

Charles church newbuild - spotless. It was professionally cleaned the day before we completed

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