I recently had work done on my basement, where they braced it, but it was left in an absolute mess afterward. During the walkthrough, it was clear that cleanup wasn't done, but I thought it would just need a quick sweep and mop. However, after spending over three hours cleaning, I found that there was just too much dust, and the air quality in my home was affected for the rest of the night. I used five buckets of mop water and I still have a couple of days' worth of cleaning ahead of me. Also, they used my broom, which is now frayed, and there's a rug that was just left caked in sawdust and concrete dust. Plus, they left behind bottles and boxes from their tools. Is this cleanup situation typical, or should I address this with the contractor before I make the final payment?
4 Answers
Typically, cleanup should be included in your quote, and it seems like your contractor may have dropped the ball there. We always specify a cleanup charge, and customers often ask us to remove it, which ends up causing issues later. If you didn't have cleanup listed, then it's understandable that they didn't prioritize it. Just remember to ask for it next time!
I would reach out to your contractor and ask them to take care of the cleanup. In my opinion, they should leave the site in a better state than they found it, including removing all construction debris before final payment. It's a reasonable expectation.
It really depends on how you selected your contractor. Good contractors often factor in 'dust control' and cleanup in their pricing. If you chose someone based on a lower cost, you may have to accept the mess as part of the deal. If you think you went with a higher-end contractor, definitely raise this issue.
You definitely have the right to bring this up with the contractor. While it's unfortunate, many contractors nowadays don't prioritize cleanup, which is pretty frustrating. Personally, I always clean up myself after any work and then hire a cleaning service to do a thorough job. It might be a good idea to outline your expectations more clearly next time, so you don't have to deal with this again.