cleanliness of your home when handed over...

joaninhac · Apr 07, 2008 12:00 pm

hi guys

as per my previous forums... we are currently waiting for defects to be fixed after having our pre-handover inspection last week... however questions seem to pop into my head all the time... for example:

i complained to the handover inspector about how dirty the house was... floor not sweeped, sliding door track full of dirt, windows dirty, even the eaves and gutters are all dirty.. his response was that a builders clean was carried out and it only a 'builders clean'.

Fair enough i understand that as it will never be clean to our standards but should't the home be a little presentable at least?

what do you guys think?

Paula · Apr 07, 2008 12:04 pm

Should be immaculate.

Dont accept anything less.

bec · Apr 07, 2008 1:44 pm

totally unacceptable

oznow · Apr 07, 2008 2:58 pm

I have seen my neighbour's house prior to handover. Pretty clean. The builder himself come to clean some of the left over dirt.

Adrian B · Apr 07, 2008 3:30 pm

Personally, I would hope that the house is construction clean. But hta, i mean that a reasonalbe effort has been made. I say that because peoples definition of cleanliness changes. Things like paint on tiles, bricks cleaned, rubble removed, plaster dust removed should all be cleaned.

Things like dirty windows (outside that is) and a little bit of dust cannot always be prevented, subject to surrounding construction. We saw the cleans arrive when we left, and tld them not to bother cleaning the outside windows as they would be worse (dust in our area at the time was shocking).

We went through the house and vaccuumed, cleaned shelves and mirrors again, because we wanted to do it to our standards before we moved furniture and clothing in.

Jac08 · Apr 07, 2008 3:40 pm

If you expect it to be immaculate you will be very disappointed. Plan I cleaning before you move your furniture in.....plaster dust will be on everything....cupboards, shelves, internal doors, skirting boards, etc. Most of them just give you a 'builders clean' and that's about it.

joaninhac · Apr 07, 2008 3:43 pm

Jac08

If you expect it to be immaculate you will be very disappointed. Plan I cleaning before you move your furniture in.....plaster dust will be on everything....cupboards, shelves, internal doors, skirting boards, etc. Most of them just give you a 'builders clean' and that's about it.

Yes i understand that... i don't expect the house to be 100% clean - immaculate - but i would expect the floors to be swept, the sliding door/window tracks to be dirt free, etc.... it's just filthy the way they've left it

clath · Apr 07, 2008 10:45 pm

Hi Joan i had my handover today. My floors were swept but i was furious with our builders clean

The toilet had pee stains over it..
kitchen benches and bathroom vanity tops where dusty..
the window tracks were dirty..
outside had rubbish every where..
the alfresco had not been swepted.
inside of cupboards and kitchen draws still had dust in them.
skirts dusty. ect ect...

I spoke to my csr and shes going to inform the building manager.

Im aware that the cleaning wont be perfect as my site supervisor says to me about any issues i raised with him

but i would be embarrassed showing this to a client.

after all my carpets and flooring are installed i will go and give the house a good clean .

Paula · Apr 07, 2008 10:49 pm

Congratulations on your handover Clath, I still think that the builders clean should be of a much higher standard -

I have a friend who is a builder, and once or twice he has got his wife to do the clean when he couldnt get the cleaners in time, and she worked all day getting the house perfect. He doesnt do handovers until the house is spotless...

Come on you builders, lift your game!

clath · Apr 07, 2008 11:16 pm

Hi Paula thanks for your congrats

yes i know someone who does builders cleans and it does take all day and its not a matter of just going in and cleaning like you would your own house theres alot involved.. will ask my friend how they do it and will post it here.

Mrs B · Apr 08, 2008 1:03 am

My SIL use to do new home cleans for all the major builders in Melbourne. They are treated appalling by the building companies and are paid a pittance. She was getting 50c a window that could take up to 45 mins to clean. The builders make a mess when the cleaners leave and often they are expected to come back and clean it up for no charge.

She had to fold it in because financially it wasnt worth it. Too many others always under cutting you and doing very poor cleans...it is the new home owner that pays the price. The cleaners are barely being paid award rates and this is why problems begin. For the sake of an extra $100 or so, we would all have much better cleaned homes.

Mrs B

joaninhac · Apr 08, 2008 9:57 am

Congratulations Clath!

I basically have the same dirty areas as you experienced with your home... i am so over them telling me no we don't do this and no we don't do that... we have another pre-handover inspection next week and i'm going to tell them.. fix it or else no handover.... the great thing is i'm not paying rent at the moment so we can take all the time in the world, as for the builder they are over contract so i would assume they'd want us off their back asap...

Talinsmum · Apr 08, 2008 10:10 am

Personally I'd expect it to be reasonable clean (rubbish removed, paint splatters removed etc) but we will either spend a day with the Dyson ourselves or pay someone to clean it top to bottom before we move in...

And for those who are going to wait till the flooring and carpeting are done before doing a clean, you might want to at least sweep down the floors before they come in, I remember reading (I'm sure it was on here) a few horror stories of carpet and flooring being laid over grit/sand and other bits of loose rubble which will make noises when walked on ....

Fiona

brittany · Apr 08, 2008 12:48 pm

I think some builders today use the term "builders clean" as basically meaning we don't clean. Building companies display homes are immaculate - maybe they should show potential companies through houses on handover.

joaninhac · Apr 08, 2008 2:15 pm

brittany

I think some builders today use the term "builders clean" as basically meaning we don't clean.

Brittany... you are so right!!!

Our handover inspector told us the house was cleaned that day, but i no for a fact that it wasn't. He * to my face, just like he did with other things while carrying out the inspection... he thought cause i'm a chick i wouldn't know anything... but he was so wrong!!! And he'll know it when it comes to next week's inspection... i'm gonna be sure to tell him!!!!!!!!!!!

ahuang · Apr 08, 2008 4:40 pm

clath

after all my carpets and flooring are installed i will go and give the house a good clean .

Don't like dirty stuffs under my carpets and flooring, as don't think the carpet/flooring laying guys will properly clean your floor before starting their work.....

I would suggest to do a clean before the carpet and flooring done, and then another cleaning after that...

ahuang · Apr 08, 2008 4:43 pm

joaninhac, you should request to have another cleaning done before accepting the hand over. That's what we did.

Becareful though, in our builder's acceptance form there's a clause saying "we confirmed there's no crack/scratches in all windows/basin/vanity/benchtop/shower screen.....". I complaint about this, as the house wasn't properly cleaned yet, how do we check and confirm if there's no scratches.

joaninhac · Apr 08, 2008 4:46 pm

ahuang

joaninhac, you should request to have another cleaning done before accepting the hand over. That's what we did.

Becareful though, in our builder's acceptance form there's a clause saying "we confirmed there's no crack/scratches in all windows/basin/vanity/benchtop/shower screen.....". I complaint about this, as the house wasn't properly cleaned yet, how do we check and confirm if there's no scratches.

ahuang... yes i will be demanding that they clean it again, and resonably clean this time...
thanks for the advice about the builders accptance and the clause... i will look out for this if i have to sign anything!

clath · Apr 16, 2008 12:11 am

I just spent this weekend just gone cleaning everything in my house dusted the walls down , vacumed the concrete before the carpet went down, inside of cupboards skirts took me 5 hrs reckon id make a good builders c leaner :wink:

I now have a clean home to move into.

joaninhac · Apr 16, 2008 10:12 am

well... the builder has agreed to have it cleaned again and properly this time as i showed them the 'Guide to Standards and tolerances' in which it states that - Building works are defective where windows are not clean, floors are not swept, mopped or vacuumed as appropriate, tiles, sinks, basins, through, baths, etc. are not cleaned and shelving, drawers and cupboards ready for use.

so i'm happy now... well at least with regards to the cleaning!