You have a handover date. The last trade is finishing this week. Somebody needs to book the cleaning, and the question is how much time to leave.
Here are realistic numbers, based on how commercial final cleans actually get staffed.
The short answer
| Size | Crew | Time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 5,000 sq ft | 2 to 3 people | 1 day |
| 5,000 to 15,000 sq ft | 4 to 6 people | 1 to 2 days |
| 15,000 to 40,000 sq ft | 6 to 10 people | 2 to 4 days |
| 40,000 sq ft and up | Phased crews | Scheduled in zones |
Those assume the site is clear of trades and the space is a normal finish density. Medical, restaurant and heavy glass buildings take longer. Open warehouse takes less.
What makes it take longer
Trades still on site. This is the biggest one. A crew cannot clean a room someone is still working in, and anything they clean gets dirty again. A site with three trades still finishing can easily take twice as long.
Heavy dust load. If nobody swept during the build, the final clean absorbs all of it.
Glass count. Interior partitions and window walls are slow, especially with paint specks to blade off.
Ceiling height. Anything needing a lift slows everything down and limits how many people can work in the area at once.
Floor finish. A polished concrete floor that needs scrubbing and burnishing is a scheduled operation, not a mop.
What makes it faster
- Rough cleans done during the build
- Power, water and HVAC running
- Trades genuinely finished, not nearly
- Dumpster on site with capacity left
- Clear access, keys or badges sorted in advance
- Elevator or lift access booked if it is an upper floor
That last one delays more jobs than people expect. A ten-person crew carrying equipment up four flights loses an hour before starting.
Build the schedule backwards
- Handover or inspection date – fixed
- Touch-up clean – 1 day before
- Buffer day – for anything that runs over
- Final clean – 2 to 4 days before handover depending on size
- Last trade off site – must be before the final clean starts
- Book the cleaning company – 1 to 2 weeks ahead
The buffer day is the part people cut, and it is the part that saves the schedule. Something always runs over.
How far ahead to book
In normal conditions, one to two weeks is comfortable for most commercial jobs. A large space with a phased schedule wants three or more.
End of month and end of quarter are the busy periods, because lease dates and handovers cluster there. If your date lands in the last week of a month, book earlier.
Rush jobs are usually possible – we schedule same-week work regularly – but a rush usually means a premium and a bigger crew.
The one-day-turnaround question
People ask whether a final clean can happen overnight before a morning inspection. Sometimes yes, with a larger crew and a night shift.
What it needs: the site genuinely empty, power and lighting on, access sorted, and a realistic scope. What it cannot fix: a floor that needed scrubbing and burnishing with cure time, or a site still full of trades at 6pm.
If you are in that position, call anyway. Even if the full clean cannot happen, a crew focused on the areas the inspector will actually walk is better than nothing.
Common scheduling mistakes
- Booking the clean before the trades are done. You pay to clean the same room twice.
- No buffer day. One delay and the handover slips.
- Cleaning before painting. Painters leave dust, spatter and tape residue.
- Forgetting the touch-up. Punch list work always leaves marks.
- Assuming square footage is the only variable. A 10,000 sq ft medical suite and a 10,000 sq ft warehouse are not the same job.
Booking a turnover in Cincinnati, Dayton or Columbus
We walk most sites within 48 hours and can usually schedule a crew the same week. Give us the square footage, the finish type and your handover date, and we will work the schedule back from your date and put it in writing.
If your date is tight, say so on the first call. It changes how we staff it.