Post-Construction Cleanup
Post-construction cleanup is the residential service that closes out a remodel or addition — fine-dust HEPA vacuum across every horizontal surface, window-track and sill detail, fixture wipe, debris haul to the right disposal streams, and punch-list touch-up — from $600 for a single room to $2,500 for a full-property cleanup after a major addition. A general contractor "wraps" a kitchen remodel and three weeks later a homeowner is still finding screws under the fridge and drywall dust in the HVAC return. An addition finished but the temporary plastic sheeting is still stapled to the doorway and there are scraps of insulation in the new room. Handis runs the cleanup that turns a finished-but-dusty space into a livable room.
Service
What Does a Post-Construction Cleanup Visit Include?
A Handis post-construction cleanup visit is a residential service that takes a space from contractor-done to homeowner-livable — five layers of cleanup that compound on each other when skipped, run in the right order so the same dust does not get pushed around twice. Pricing starts at $600 for a single-room visit (a remodeled kitchen, an addition bedroom, a finished basement room) and runs to $2,500 for a full-property cleanup after a major whole-house remodel. The work is not maid-service — it is the dust-and-debris recovery after construction that maid-service is not equipped for.
Fine-Dust HEPA Vacuum on Every Horizontal Surface
Drywall sanding leaves a film of microscopic gypsum dust that settles on every horizontal surface in the room and migrates into HVAC vent boots, light-fixture cans, the tops of door trim, the lips of window frames, and the felt of the door bottoms. Standard household vacuums spray it back into the air through the exhaust. We use HEPA-rated shop vacs with sealed bags, run them across every horizontal surface (including the tops of ceiling fans and the top edges of cabinets and door frames), and seal HVAC supply and return registers off until the room is clean so the dust does not re-circulate.
Window-Track and Sill Detail
Aluminum and vinyl window tracks collect drywall dust, paint flakes, and small debris during construction. The dust mineralizes within weeks if it gets damp and turns into a permanent grey ring that no household cleaner removes. We clean tracks with a fine brush and shop vac, wipe sills with a damp microfiber, address any paint overspray on the glass with a single-edge razor (held flat to avoid scratching tempered glass), and check that the window operates smoothly before signing off.
Fixture, Trim, and Hardware Wipe-Down
Every newly installed fixture (faucets, sinks, light switches, outlets, door handles, cabinet pulls, trim profiles) collects dust during finish work. Stainless steel fingerprints and watermarks set in if not addressed within the first month. We wipe fixtures with a microfiber appropriate to the surface (no abrasive on brushed nickel, no chlorine on stone, no ammonia on natural-finish wood), polish glass and mirrors, and dust the trim profiles where shelves and crown have been freshly installed.
Debris Haul to the Right Disposal Streams
Leftover construction debris — drywall scraps, insulation batt cutoffs, flooring offcuts, cardboard packaging, pallet wood, broken tile, the cabinet doors that did not fit — gets sorted on site and hauled to the right disposal streams. Construction and demolition debris to a licensed C&D transfer station. Metal to a metal recycler (often paid back). Cardboard to recycling. Pressure-treated wood to a specific disposal stream (it is NOT regular wood waste). Paint and finish chemicals route to the King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program. You get the receipts with the invoice.
Punch-List Touch-Up Where the Contractor Left Something
Where a general contractor left something on the punch list — a missing outlet cover plate, a switch plate not flush to the wall, a door that swings but does not latch because the hinges were not adjusted, a piece of trim that was left short — Handis closes the small handyman-scope items as part of the cleanup visit. Anything that crosses back into licensed-contractor scope (a tile job that needs re-grouting, an electrical run that was left exposed, a permit-required correction) gets named in the walk-through report rather than buried in the cleanup invoice.
How Post-Construction Cleanup Works
Five sequential steps from the on-arrival walk-through through the homeowner walk and 30-day guarantee — the actual order we run on every Handis post-construction cleanup so the same dust never gets pushed around twice.
On-Arrival Walk-Through & HVAC Seal-Off
We walk the space with you, note what the contractor closed and what they left, and seal HVAC supply and return registers in the work area with painter's tape and plastic so the cleanup dust does not get pulled into the system and recirculated through the rest of the house.
Top-Down Coarse Debris Removal & Bag-Out
Loose construction debris — drywall scraps, insulation batt cutoffs, cardboard, flooring offcuts, broken tile, pallet wood — comes out first. Sorted into C&D, metal, cardboard, and hazardous-waste streams on site so the loadout at the end is single-pass to each transfer station.
Fine-Dust HEPA Vacuum on Every Horizontal Surface
HEPA-rated shop vacs with sealed bags run across every horizontal surface — the floor, the baseboard tops, the door-trim tops, the window-frame lips, the tops of ceiling fans and cabinet uppers. Drywall dust does not get re-circulated; it leaves the room in the sealed bag.
Window Tracks, Fixtures, Trim & Punch-List Touch-Up
Window tracks get fine-brushed and vacuumed; sills wiped damp. Fixtures and hardware get the right cleaner for the finish. Trim profiles get dusted. Any small handyman-scope items the contractor left on the punch list — a missing cover plate, a door hinge to adjust, a piece of base trim to fit — close out in the same visit.
Homeowner Walk & 30-Day Guarantee
We walk the space with you, point out anything that crosses back to contractor scope (a re-grout, an exposed electrical, a permit-required correction), and document the work for the 30-day workmanship guarantee. The guarantee covers our cleanup work; it does not cover dust that recirculates from a contractor-installed HVAC system still settling for weeks.
Post-Construction Cleanup Pricing
Final pricing depends on square footage, the dust load left behind, HVAC and fixture count, and whether any punch-list touch-up rolls into the visit. Request a free estimate for an accurate quote.
Send us the scope and the timing — we will close out the cleanup before move-in day.
Why Handis for Post-Construction Cleanup
Most post-construction cleanup calls come three or four weeks after the contractor said the project was done. The homeowner has been living with the dust, finding screws on the floor, and starting to notice the HVAC has been blowing gypsum film into the rest of the house. The dust is harder to remove a month in than it was on day one — it has migrated, dampened in spots, and started to mineralize on window glass and trim. We do the cleanup the contractor scoped out of their invoice and tell you honestly when something on the punch list belongs back to them rather than charged into our visit.
HEPA shop vacs, not a household upright
Drywall dust is small enough to pass through a household vacuum's filter and blow straight back into the room through the exhaust. We use HEPA-rated shop vacs with sealed bags so the dust we lift actually leaves the house instead of getting re-aerosolized. The difference shows up two weeks later when the surfaces stay clean instead of re-coating.
HVAC sealed off during cleanup so dust does not migrate
Open supply and return registers pull cleanup dust into the duct system and re-distribute it through the rest of the house for weeks. Before any vacuuming starts, we tape and plastic-seal every register in the work area. The seal comes off at the end of the visit after the air settles. Drywall-dust recovery in HVAC ductwork is a much bigger project than the cleanup — well outside our trade — and we keep the dust out of the duct in the first place.
Sorted disposal — the receipts go on the invoice
Construction and demolition debris to a licensed C&D transfer station. Metal to a metal recycler. Cardboard to recycling. Pressure-treated wood to a specific disposal stream. Paint, finish chemicals, and any other household hazardous waste route to the King County Local Hazardous Waste Management Program — never the regular load. We sort on site so the loadout at the end is one trip per facility, and you get the receipts with the invoice.
Honest punch-list handoff
Small handyman-scope items the contractor left behind — a missing outlet cover, a door hinge to adjust, a piece of base trim to fit — close out in the cleanup visit. Anything that crosses back to licensed-contractor scope (a tile job that needs re-grouting, an electrical run that was left exposed, a permit-required correction) gets named in the walk-through report rather than buried in our invoice. The contractor still owes you the work you paid them for.
30-day workmanship guarantee on our cleanup
If a surface we cleaned shows our skipped spot, a window track we missed, a fixture we damaged through our wipe-down, we come back and correct it at no extra charge within 30 days. The guarantee covers our work. It does not cover dust that recirculates from a contractor-installed HVAC system still settling for weeks, a new surface that scratches from normal use, or the consequences of moving in before the cleanup happened.
Estimate
Tell us about the project — square footage of the remodeled area, the rough finish date, what the contractor closed and what they left, any punch-list items you know about, and when you need the space livable. We send a clear estimate for the full visit.
Customer Reviews
Recent post-construction cleanup reviews from verified Seattle-area customers.
New kitchen remodel "wrapped" three weeks before I called Handis. There was still drywall dust on every horizontal surface and screws in three drawers. The crew ran a HEPA vacuum across the whole first floor including the HVAC vent boots, detailed the new window tracks, wiped the trim. The house finally felt finished.
Whole-house addition. The GC's cleanup crew did the obvious stuff but missed the window tracks, the tops of doors, and the inside of the cabinet boxes. Handis went room by room with HEPA shop vacs and microfiber, then sealed the HVAC registers and ran air movers while the rest of the dust settled. Massive difference.
Bath remodel finished and a week later the new vanity top had a permanent dust ring set into the silicone bead. Handis got the ring out with the right cleaner, retold me the bead needed to dry fully before any wipe-down (which the GC had skipped), and finished the rest of the room. Avoided a vanity-top warranty issue.
Basement finish completed but the contractor walked off with a punch list of small items — three missing outlet covers, a sticky door, a piece of base trim short by an inch. Handis closed all three in the cleanup visit at member rate, ran the HEPA vacuum across the new carpet, and named the one item that belonged back to the contractor. Saved me a separate handyman trip.
New construction. Move-in day was Saturday. Handis ran the full property cleanup Thursday and Friday — every room, every window, every fixture, the garage. The driveway had a layer of demolition rubble from the previous house removal too, hauled that to the C&D transfer station with the receipt. Moved in Saturday morning to a clean house.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Handis post-construction cleanup — pricing, scope, scheduling, what we clean, and what stays with the contractor.