Calgary post-construction cleanup for facades, flatwork and the pre-handover walk
Exterior building facade, perimeter sidewalk, parking lot and dumpster pad cleared of mortar haze, concrete splatter, paint overspray and drywall dust. Pre-handover walk with the GC superintendent, scope confirmed in writing, work scheduled for the right turnover point. $5M active-site liability, COI to GC and owner. Most Calgary jobs land between $500 and $3,000 per project.
Three substrates, three residue types, one tight handover window
Post-construction cleanup is not a routine wash with extra dust. The residue types each need their own chemistry — mortar haze on brick dissolves with a buffered acid, concrete splatter on flatwork needs the same acid with a longer dwell, paint overspray on adjacent surfaces needs a solvent matched to the paint type. Drywall dust everywhere needs a dust-suppressant additive in the rinse so it does not become drywall-mud and re-stain what you just cleaned.
The schedule pressure is the other half of the conversation. GCs need post-construction cleanup completed in a narrow turnover window — after MEP commissioning, after final inspections, before owner walk-through. We work the GC's calendar, not ours. Pair post-construction cleanup with building washing for the routine post-handover facade contract, with sealing services for the post-clean concrete sealing or with parking lot cleaning for the lot reset before owner takeover.
Recent work
How a Calgary post-construction cleanup runs
Four steps from GC walk to pre-handover sign-off
Site walk with GC
Walk the property with the GC superintendent, mark up the scope on the site plan, agree on owner-vs-GC scope split, schedule the work for the right turnover point. Quote in writing covers the agreed scope.
Substrate-matched chemistry
Buffered acid on brick mortar haze and flatwork concrete splatter, solvent on paint overspray matched to the paint type, dust-suppressant additive in the rinse for drywall dust. Pre-test each spot before the main pass.
Methodical work pass
Top-down on the facade, perimeter sidewalk and lot second, dumpster pad and back-of-house last. The order keeps dust from re-contaminating cleaned surfaces. PPE and site protocols followed throughout.
Pre-handover walk and sign-off
Walkaround with the GC superintendent at the end, scope confirmed against the contract, any owner-walk concerns addressed before final sign-off. Invoice matches the contract scope and any pre-approved change orders.
Calgary construction season concentrates turnovers in two narrow windows. June through August sees the largest concentration of commercial completions as projects target back-to-school occupancy. September through November runs the second wave for owner-takeover of buildings going into winter operation. Post-construction cleanup crews get booked out two to three months in advance during these windows — early scheduling with the GC is the difference between hitting the handover date and slipping it.
Winter turnovers (December through February) are rare but possible; we handle them with heated water and indoor staging where possible. Summer construction-zone dust is the chronic background issue across every site in town during the active build season, which means adjacent properties (not just the new build itself) often need a simultaneous cleanup. Pair post-construction with building washing for the routine facade contract that follows owner takeover, with concrete cleaning for back-of-house slabs or with sealing services for the post-clean sealer pass.
Written quotesPricing
Annual + as-neededCadence
Hartford post construction cleanupOutcome
Pair post-construction cleanup with
Other services on the same or follow-up visit
Post-construction cleanup is the first wash of a building's life. Pair with the routine ongoing contract or the sealer pass that locks the result in.
Five questions that come up on most GC handover bids.
Exterior building facade, the perimeter sidewalk, the parking lot, the dumpster pad if used, any access driveways the GC's trucks ran through, and the surrounding landscape from construction debris. The chemistry pass clears mortar haze on brick, concrete splatter on flatwork, paint overspray on adjacent surfaces and drywall dust everywhere. Interior cleanup is a separate trade — we handle exteriors only.
Yes, the pre-handover walk happens with the general contractor's superintendent. We mark up the scope on the site plan, agree on what gets cleaned and what is owner-scope, schedule the work for the right point in the GC's turnover sequence (after MEP commissioning, before owner walk-through). Quote covers the agreed scope in writing so there are no surprises at the final invoice.
Yes, all three need different methods. Drywall dust is a fine rinse with a dust-suppressant additive so it does not just become drywall-mud and re-stain the surface. Concrete splatter on brick or flatwork needs a buffered acid to dissolve the cement; mechanical scraping makes the embedded dust worse. Paint overspray on adjacent surfaces (windows, brick, flatwork) needs the right solvent matched to the paint type — latex needs a citrus stripper, oil-based needs MEK-based. We will pre-test each spot before the main pass.
Approximately 0.5 to 1.5 hours per 1,000 square feet of exterior surface, depending on construction-residue depth and the substrate variety. A simple commercial single-storey on a 30,000 sq ft lot takes a full crew about two days. A complex mixed-substrate facade with multiple chemistry passes can run three to five days. We give the GC a confirmed timeline at the scope walk so the handover schedule does not slip.
Yes, $5M commercial general liability with active-site coverage, WCB on every crew, and we follow site-specific PPE and orientation protocols. Some larger sites require additional insurance limits or specific add-ons (pollution, contractor's equipment); we can add those for the contract term at a small additional cost. COI naming the GC and the property owner available within 24 hours of contract execution.
Calgary post-construction reviews
What GCs and owners say after the pre-handover sign-off
★★★★★4.9· 75 reviews on Google
★★★★★
Mid-rise commercial building owner takeover. Hartford walked the site with our super, scoped exterior cleanup in writing and finished one day ahead of the handover. No scope creep, no schedule slip.
Project Superintendent
Calgary · Beltline
★★★★★
Industrial warehouse complex on a tight summer turnover. Mortar haze on the brick facade, concrete splatter on the perimeter sidewalk, paint overspray on the loading-dock walls. Three chemistry passes, all done in three days flat.
Construction Manager
Calgary · Foothills Industrial
★★★★★
Suburban big-box retail. The GC had used a different contractor on a prior project who damaged the new brick with acid that was too strong. We were nervous about the chemistry. Hartford pre-tested every spot, no damage anywhere on the brick.
Construction GC
Calgary · Skyview Ranch
★★★★★
Owner-takeover for a mid-rise we just bought. The previous GC had not done a proper post-construction exterior. Hartford came in two months after handover and reset the facade and the lot. Property now looks the way it should have at takeover.
Building Owner
Calgary · East Village
From the blog
Post-construction chemistry, turnover scheduling and GC contract notes
Free pre-handover bid
Request your Calgary post-construction cleanup quote in writing
Tell us the project type (commercial, industrial, multi-residential), the approximate exterior square footage and the GC's turnover date. A Hartford account manager follows up within one business day with a pre-handover scope proposal.
