ᐅ Is a final construction cleaning by a professional cleaning company necessary and worthwhile?

I just received a call from our construction company asking if we want to include a final cleaning service. For our total of 200m² (living area ground floor + upper floor and usable area in the basement), it would roughly cost 1200 euros. This cleaning would cover all window surfaces, including the roof window, as well as all doors and floors, plus the bathrooms and toilets (tiles, sanitary fixtures, fittings), and also all surfaces in the technical room. A friend who is an architect mentioned that a thorough cleaning before the handover is generally advisable because only then can you clearly see if there are any scratches or damages.

Since our budget is not unlimited and we still don’t know exactly what the final earthworks and utility connections will cost, we are being cautious with new expenses.

Option 1: My wife and I clean the house ourselves, thoroughly and carefully. It will definitely take several hours and we’ll get all the dust. Cost: only cleaning supplies. Since we haven’t done any other DIY work, this would be a manageable part.

Option 2: Hire a cleaner, estimated hourly wage 15 euros including taxes/duties (?), with 30 hours of work that would be 450 euros. (Estimate based purely on online information). Even if it takes the cleaner 50 hours, it would be 750 euros in total. If it’s done sooner, say in 20 hours, that would be just 300 euros. And part of that might be tax deductible as well :-)

If you apply the plaster yourself, you will start to notice the first scratches and cracks.

When we built our house (145m² (1560 sq ft)), we also cleaned it ourselves—not mainly to save money, but to identify any possible damages or defects.

While cleaning the windows alone, we noticed several scratches on the frames and glass that a professional cleaning crew probably would have overlooked.

The three of us (my wife, mother-in-law, and I) took half a day to complete this. This was before the final inspection. After that, ceiling and bathroom plastering and sanding were done, the entire house was painted (up to that point, everything had been largely covered with protective sheeting), the floor on the upper level was installed, the kitchen was assembled, and the light fixtures were put up. This meant we cleaned everything again right before moving in. I would definitely do it this way again. For a 200m² (2150 sq ft) house, it might be worth considering professional help, but for the reasons mentioned above, I would still recommend getting hands-on yourself.

Definitely do the plastering yourself; this way, you are more likely to spot any defects.

The price is ridiculously high. A professional cleaner can make your entire house spotless in less than a day. That would cost only about one-tenth of the quoted price.

At our final inspection, the site had not been cleaned. The expert noted that the floors and windows were not accepted due to dirtiness.
A company had to clean the windows – which was paid for by the general contractor.
The window cleaners went through every window and frame together with my husband.
The floors were not accepted – fortunately.
There is enough trouble with them.

By the way, the window cleaning reportedly cost a bit over 200 euros plus VAT.
(2 people for about 3-4 hours)
My mother-in-law is now also hiring the company twice a year. She was very impressed.

Is the question serious?

You say your budget is almost exhausted, but you are considering hiring an external service for the final cleaning so you don’t have to deal with any dust?