“How long does commercial window cleaning take? In a fairly large block of apartments with hundreds of external windows, one company said it would take at least a week, is that right?”
When it comes to how long a job might take, it’s often difficult for contractors to know, until they perform a visual inspection of the building itself. The simple rule of thumb, however, is the bigger the crew, the faster the job will get done.
However, there’s usually a bit more to it than that.
There are several contributing factors that contractors need to take into account before being able to give any sort of accurate guesstimate on timeframes.
For two to three storey apartment buildings, jobs may only take a day or two. But again, it depends on the nature of the building, and accessibility. For example, anchor points. Anchor points are required by law for reasons of safety.
In order for contractors to perform the work safely, without injury, not only for themselves but also the occupants of the building and pedestrians below, they need to “tie off” on anchor points. Of course, the more anchor points there are, the quicker the team can rig up and move around, and the faster the process will be.
If there are a limited number of anchor points, this can cause delays as they need to look at alternative access points.
Another contributing factor of course is the weather.
Obviously, building maintenance, cleaning or repairs cannot be undertaken during bad weather or storms, so that can cause delays. And buildings in high wind areas may also lead to jobs taking longer, simply for safety reasons. Again, ensuring the safety of the team, ensuring equipment isn’t blown or dislodged in any way and of course ensuring the safety of others.
The type of windows themselves also play a huge part of how long the job might take.
For instance, louvered windows or windows composed of parallel glass blinds or shutters take longer to clean simply because of their makeup. Many buildings also don’t always have a parapet, which is a protective extension of wall along the edge of a building where one can safely stand and look over the edge. Buildings without this feature take longer as there’s greater risks involved.
Another point that many building managers often overlook is the amount of time it might take to physically carry all equipment to the top level. This is exacerbated in buildings where access cards are required. Having to share, or request access cards or keys can cause further delays.
The final factor is the condition of the glass. Buildings that have been neglected for lengthy periods of time take longer simply because there’s more work involved. When performing the initial inspection of a job, contractors will evaluate if there is a need to deep clean the windows, as opposed to a regular maintenance clean, which is suitable for minor stains and dirt like bug marks and cobwebs. Badly stained glass on the other hand, may require a much longer process of using a cutting compound to scrub the windows and remove the dirt.
