Two cleans, not one
The builders clean is the first, heavier visit. It happens once the main construction work is complete and before snagging or pre-handover inspections. The purpose is to remove the bulk of the construction mess so that final fix, commissioning and inspections can go ahead without dust and debris getting in the way.
The sparkle clean is the last visit. It happens after the snag list has been closed, after the final trade has left, and immediately before the client walkthrough. It is about presentation. Every surface the client will see or touch is brought up to a finished standard.
On larger projects there is often a middle stage as well, a second builders clean or a detailed construction clean, between the trades leaving and the snagging inspection. Whether you need it depends on how much work goes on after the first clean.
What a builders clean includes
The builders clean starts high and works down so dust does not fall onto finished surfaces.
High level first. Beams, ductwork, cable trays, light fittings, tops of partitions and door frames, all vacuumed and wiped. Then walls, glazing frames and skirtings for plaster dust, paint splashes and adhesive. Doors, ironmongery, sockets and switch plates wiped. Protective film removed from glass, metal and sanitaryware where the programme allows, with the residue cleaned off. Kitchens, tea points and washrooms cleaned inside cupboards and drawers as well as outside. Floors vacuumed with HEPA-filtered machines to lift fine dust rather than move it, then mopped or scrubbed according to the finish. Grout haze, paint and adhesive removed from hard floors with the right product for the material. Packaging, offcuts and loose debris bagged and removed to the agreed skip.
The output is a space that is safe to inspect and ready for the last trades, not a space that is ready to show.
What a sparkle clean includes
The sparkle clean assumes the heavy work is done and the trades are gone. Glass inside and out where reachable, frames, sills and mullions polished. Chrome, stainless steel and brushed metal buffed. Every horizontal surface wiped, including ledges, radiator tops and the inside of every cupboard. Sanitaryware descaled and polished, mirrors streak free. Floors given a final vacuum and mop or, on hard floors, a buff. Fingerprints removed from doors, glazing and switch plates. Labels and stickers removed where the client has confirmed they are not needed. Small amounts of fresh mess from snagging, timber shavings, drill dust and filler, dealt with. Bins emptied, the site left with nothing belonging to the cleaning team.
The output is a space the client can walk into and accept.
Snagging and practical completion
The sequence that works is builders clean, snagging inspection, snag rectification, sparkle clean, handover. The snagging inspection needs a clean space to be accurate, which is why the builders clean comes before it. The rectification works create mess of their own, which is why the sparkle clean comes after them.
The contract administrator or architect signs off the closed snag list as part of issuing the certificate of practical completion, which starts the rectification period. A sparkle clean done before the snag list is closed will be undone by the trades who come back to fix it. A sparkle clean done a day or two before the walkthrough leaves time to check the clean itself.
The site rules that apply
A fit-out is a construction site until handover, so the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 apply to everyone on it, including cleaners. Regulation 18 requires every part of a construction site to be kept in good order, so far as is reasonably practicable, and every part used as a place of work to be kept in a reasonable state of cleanliness. The principal contractor is responsible for that and for the site rules. The cleaning team follows them.
That means a site induction before work starts, the site's PPE rules, working hours, hot works and permit systems where relevant, and the fire and emergency arrangements. The cleaning contractor supplies risk assessments and method statements for the work, COSHH assessments for the products, and evidence of insurance. On many London sites the principal contractor will ask for CSCS or equivalent cards for operatives working before the site is handed over.
Waste is the other duty. Construction debris, packaging and cleaning waste leaving the site fall under the waste duty of care in section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Waste goes only to a registered carrier or an agreed skip with a written transfer note, and the notes are kept for two years. Agree at the start whose skips the cleaning waste goes into and who holds the paperwork.
What to agree before the team arrives
A written scope. Which areas, which finishes, what is excluded, and which finishes need a specified product or method. Stone, timber, powder-coated metal and specialist glass all have manufacturers' cleaning guidance and getting it wrong can void a warranty.
The programme. The date the trades finish, the snagging date, and the walkthrough date. The two cleans are booked against those, and if the programme moves the cleans move with it.
Access, power and water. A site with no power for vacuums or no water for mopping cannot be cleaned.
Protective film. Who removes it and when. Removing it too early exposes finishes to the last trades. Leaving it on means the sparkle clean cannot finish the surface.
Reporting. A signed completion sheet per area at the end of each visit, with photographs, so the main contractor can show the client what was done.
How Commercial Cleaning London delivers it
Commercial Cleaning London arranges builders cleans and sparkle cleans for fit-outs, refurbishments and new commercial space across London. Each project gets a written scope tied to the programme, with the builders clean and the sparkle clean booked as separate visits around the snagging date. The team is inducted on site, works to the principal contractor's rules, and brings its own risk assessments, method statements and COSHH file. A supervisor checks every area against the scope before the team leaves and signs the completion sheet with photographs, so the handover walkthrough starts from a space that is ready.