Post construction clean-up

[hotrodgirl]

For those of you who have built, how did you find the condition of your home at closing. Was it free of dirt and dust? Does the builder hire a clean-up crew for the major construction debris? And did you hire a cleaning crew before you moved in? Thanks for any insight!

[Dellie]

We are moving here in 2013 early summer.....I am curious too.

[elevatorman]

Our home was spotless. At the walk thru the builder asked if we wanted a crew to come in and clean anything and we said no. We did get a lot of dust and sand in for a while after we moved in from the other construction going on. Moved here 6/2009.

[English Ivy]

It was clean, but there were certain areas I cleaned myself. For example, the inside of all kitchen cabinets before putting our dishes, food, etc. in them.

Pay very close attention to your sliding glass doors looking for scratches and fingerprints. All three of our doors were scratched and had to be replaced. One of the replacements had fingerprints inside the two panes of glass. I keep rubbing and rubbing trying to get them off till I realized I never would, they were inside! So look at them carefully at different times of the day to find any imperfections there might be.

[applesoffh]

Our house had been cleaned prior to closing, but I wish I had had it cleaned right after moving in and before everything was unpacked. Because of all the construction going on in the surrounding area, there was a fine silt on everywhere, and all surfaces, including inside the cabinets, had to be re-cleaned.

[hotrodgirl]

Thanks so much for your replies. They were most helpful and I will definitely check out my sliders very carefully! Also hire a cleaning company as I won't move in directly after closing! As I believe I probably will be one of the first homes built in my neighborhood, there will undoubtably be a lot of fine construction dust! I see a lot of dusting and floor cleaning in my future!

[asianthree]

the house was perfect it was the dirt outside that kept coming in uninvited

[Happinow]

Our house was really clean when we moved in. The only thing that needed additional attention were the tile floors (we have tile throughout). It appeared they weren't rinsed that well. We had someone come in and clean them and seal the grout. Since you are in a new construction area you will have a lot of construction dust both in and out.

[Sable99]

Mom and I closed on our home in May. The house was clean except there was a lot of dirt in the window sills from the new construction in Charlotte. I put this on my "builder's list" before we headed back to Michigan. According to my property manager, the builder had the floors cleaned a couple of days after we left. But, she said the floor tiles got very dirty when they did a couple of other things on my "builder's list" and she called the Warranty Office. The builder had the cleaning lady back to clean the floors. The property manager raved about how the floors shined when they were cleaned this time! That is what I call good Customer Service.

A few things on my "builder's list" that you might not think of are: one of the sinks in the master bath had a large scratch, one of the lanai ceiling fans was really crooked and the granite where the side and back met wasn't even. According to my property manager, these were all fixed to her satisfaction.

[Joaniesmom]

One tip I learned from our furnace repair person after we built a home here in Ohio. Be sure to have the furnace thoroughly cleaned when you move in. I'll guess you need to have the add A/C cleaned in Florida.

If they are are running before there is a heavy-duty cleanup, all that drywall dust lodges in the mechanical parts and ruins everything. The dust is tacky like clay. When the repair person opened my furnace, it was pure white everywhere. Nuff' said.

I told all our neighbors, who had also built new, and got some pretty shocked phone calls later in the day. BTW, nice way to make some new friends. Nice of the repairman to point this out. He could have made a lot of money.

[Buzz Bowman]

Same issues with sliders. Small scratches (swirl marks) etched in the glass. Had all 4 panels replaced. Had a small issue with glue residue on floor. All were promptly resolved by our builder Larry Dasher.

[aljetmet]

One tip I learned from our furnace repair person after we built a home here in Ohio. Be sure to have the furnace thoroughly cleaned when you move in. I'll guess you need to have the add A/C cleaned in Florida.

If they are are running before there is a heavy-duty cleanup, all that drywall dust lodges in the mechanical parts and ruins everything. The dust is tacky like clay. When the repair person opened my furnace, it was pure white everywhere. Nuff' said.

I told all our neighbors, who had also built new, and got some pretty shocked phone calls later in the day. BTW, nice way to make some new friends. Nice of the repairman to point this out. He could have made a lot of money.

Excellent point. Note to self. Inspect the A/C unit and definitley replace the filter right after closing....

[hotrodgirl]

Thanks again! Your observations have been most insightful!!.