Services
Post-construction cleaning
Builder dust, sticker residue and paint overspray cleared from new suites, remodels and conversions, so the space hands over looking finished and the first tenant walks into a property ready to show.
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Post-construction cleaning from Continental.
The contractor’s last day and the tenant’s first day are rarely far apart. In between sits a layer of drywall dust on every ledge, tape and labels on the glass, grout haze on the restroom tile and footprints across fresh flooring. Continental closes that gap with a post-construction crew that works the space top to bottom and leaves it ready for furniture, move-in and the walkthrough photos.
Because the same partner can carry the property afterward, the cleanup is never a one-off handed to a stranger. The crew that clears the punch-list dust learns the building it will maintain, and the plan we set for move-in rolls straight into recurring janitorial services once tenants arrive.
Three passes, matched to the build
Most projects get cleaned in phases. The rough pass follows drywall and ceiling work: debris out, floors swept, the bulk of the dust lifted so trades can finish without tracking it through every room. The final pass comes once fixtures, millwork and flooring are in, and covers everything a tenant will touch or see.
The touch-up pass happens after the punch list closes and the inspectors have walked through. Smudges from last-minute adjustments disappear, floors get a final dust mop, and glass and partitions get one more wipe before keys change hands.
Smaller jobs, such as one refreshed suite in an occupied office building, often fold the rough and final passes into a single visit. Larger shells and multi-floor buildouts keep them separate so each trade has a clean area to finish in.
What the final clean reaches
Dust settles on surfaces people rarely think about until a tenant runs a finger across one. The final pass starts high, with vents, diffusers, light lenses, sprinkler heads, door frames and the tops of cabinets, then works down through window sills, baseboards, outlet covers and every inside drawer and shelf.
Restrooms and break rooms get the most detail: grout haze lifted from tile, fixtures polished, and sticker residue and caulk smears cleared from mirrors, counters and appliances. Interior glass, entrance doors and suite sidelights get a streak-free finish through the same crew that handles window and detail cleaning.
Floors close the visit. Hard surfaces are scrubbed or mopped free of construction film, and new carpet is vacuumed thoroughly. Where new resilient flooring needs its first protective coat, that work moves to floor care on the same schedule.
Build and remodel work across our region
Construction across Northern California and northern Nevada takes many forms, and the cleanup follows each one. Office-to-housing conversions in San Francisco leave whole floors of demolition dust and new finishes to clear before residents move in.
New warehouses and plants east of Reno leave long concrete floors, office mezzanines and break rooms to clean before operations start.
Tenant improvements in office parks, refreshed lobbies, new restrooms in retail centers and remodeled apartment clubhouses get the same top-to-bottom finish.
Post-construction pricing across the region
One-time construction cleanup is priced by the square foot, often per phase. Across our area, a final clean typically runs $0.22 to $0.70 a square foot as of 2026, lower in Reno, Sparks and the Central Valley and higher on the Peninsula and in the South Bay. Light touch-up work in a tidy suite starts near $0.17, and heavy dust loads with high ceilings and tight deadlines reach $1.05.
The arithmetic is footage times rate. A 22,000-square-foot second-floor tenant improvement in a Sacramento office building, cleaned once at $0.40, comes to $8,800 for the final pass. Add a rough pass after drywall and a short touch-up visit after the punch list, and the project total grows by each of those lines.
The number of phases moves price the most, followed by dust and debris load, ceiling height and lift access, paint and adhesive removal, and how compressed the turnover date is. Floor finishing, carpet extraction and exterior washing are priced as separate lines, and a walkthrough with your project manager sets each one in writing.
From punch list to steady state
We start with the general contractor or your project manager. A certificate of insurance goes to your general contractor or property manager before the crew arrives on site. A quick site visit shows the square footage, the finishes and the trades still on site, and the cleaning dates go onto the construction schedule rather than squeezed in after it.
When the space opens, the transition is seamless. Day porters, nightly janitorial and periodic high dusting can start the following week under the same program and the same service manager, so the property looks as sharp a month after move-in as it did on day one.
A few useful answers
Common questions.
Should cleaning start before the last trade leaves the site?
Yes. A rough pass between drywall and finish work keeps dust from settling into new fixtures and flooring, and it gives the remaining trades a cleaner area to work in.
Can a remodeled suite be cleaned when neighboring tenants are still at work?
Yes. The crew works inside the suite, keeps corridors and elevators clear of debris, and schedules the noisiest work for evenings or weekends when neighboring tenants are away.
Who removes leftover drywall scraps and packaging?
Small debris goes out with the cleanup. Large construction waste stays with the contractor’s dumpster, and we coordinate the timing so the space is clear before the final pass begins.
How far ahead should we book a final clean?
Put it on the schedule when the punch-list walk is dated. That reserves the crew for the right window and leaves room for a touch-up visit before tenants move in.
Does the move-in clean roll into a recurring program?
It can. The cleanup plan carries straight into a recurring quote for janitorial and porter coverage once the space opens.
How is a final clean checked before handover?
A supervisor walks the space with your project manager against the punch list, and any spot that needs another pass is handled before keys change hands.
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