How clean should a contractor leave a house when finished?

[Karin Crompton]

Hi all - thanks in advance for your input. I'm coming to the end of my first flip and am on to punch-list items. I'm wondering what expectations I should have for the condition of the house when the contractor is finished w/the job.

I do plan to have someone in to clean the house/shine it up before showing it (cobwebs, wash windows, that kind of thing). So how much cleaning do I expect of the contractor and how much winds up going to the Service Master/Merry Maids crew?

Thanks!
Karin

[Account Closed]

Originally posted by Karin DiMauro:

And K. Marie Poe, do you mean the contractors cannot use existing dumpsters or trash cans on the property? That makes sense to me. Glad you pointed it out b/c I wouldn't have thought of it ahead of time!

Yup, that's exactly what I mean. Trash/debris hauling is now required to be included in any quote for my jobs. If there is a demo quote (trash, flooring, sheetrock), the contractor needs to order and pay for the dumpster if they need/want one. A lot of crews in my farm are used to hauling and have trailers. They can try to go crazy on the mark-up for trash removal. But usually they want the job and will make their son or brother or cousin haul everything in a trailer to the dump. $100 versus $350-500. Roofers already order their own dumpsters or bring trailers where I am. Carpet guy always take the old carpet (even if they didn't remove it, I ask the demo crew to set it aside for when the new flooring comes.) The painters, plumbers and electricians are harder to train because they've been spoiled. Their crews often create a ton of debris but aren't used to removing it, even when the removal was included in the quote (even if it's only one or two 30 gallon contractor trash bags). They have trucks, they have guys, they know where the dump is. I show no mercy. :)