Terrace cleaning at the end of building work

A terrace at the end of works does not carry the same kind of soiling as an interior. Almost without exception you find:

• cement haze from grouting, usually on external tiling more porous than the tiling indoors
• mortar and adhesive spatter, dropped while the slabs were laid or the low walls built
• cutting dust — tile, stone, concrete — which compacts with the first damp and turns into a crust
• rust marks left by offcuts of reinforcing bar or by trestles that stood in the same place
• paint and wood-stain residues from the external joinery and the balustrades

One thing must be gone before we arrive: rubble, offcuts, packaging and items to be thrown away. We do not clear out. A terrace still cluttered on the day is not treated, because every object moved would reveal an untreated area.

This is the tool everyone pictures for a terrace, and the one that does the most damage to recent work.

What it does well: lifting a crust of compacted dust, cleaning old paving, reconstituted stone, exposed-aggregate concrete, a rough coping.

What it damages: a joint less than a few weeks old, which has not reached its final strength and turns to powder; a joint on pedestal paving, which empties out; external terracotta or bejmat, which hollows out; fresh wood stain on timber.

What we apply: a controlled lance distance, a flat-jet nozzle rather than a concentrated one, a trial on a test patch at the edge of the terrace, and a flat refusal if the joint is too recent.

In that case the work is done with a low-speed rotary machine and the right pad, or by hand. The tool does not change the price: the terrace is charged per m², with no "pressure washing" line.

This is the invisible item on a terrace, and the one that costs most when it is left out. A terrace whose drains are blocked with cement slurry holds water at the first rain, and water standing on new waterproofing always finds a way through.

While the floor is being cleaned, we check:

• the accessible floor gullies and their baskets, usually full of grouting sand
• the rainwater spouts and overflows around the edge
• the channel drains and linear gratings, cleaned in place
• the waterproofing upstands at the base of the walls, cleaned without mechanical aggression

The check is done with water: you pour, and you watch where it goes. It is simple, it is quick, and nobody does it. A pipe blocked deep down is a job for a plumber.

A terrace is not only a floor, but our price per m² applies to the floor. What surrounds it is handled like this:

• patio doors and French windows opening onto the terrace: they are accessible windows, already included in the interior clean
• thresholds and sliding tracks, where the cutting dust compacts: dealt with alongside the patio doors
• balustrades, low walls, pergolas, external lighting: show them on the photos; anything beyond the floor is confirmed with you before the date, never added without your agreement
• spatter on a glass balustrade: scraped according to the rules set out on removing bonded residues

And one firm limit: no pitched roofs, no cherry picker, no ropes, no dangerous access. A glass roof or an upper-floor balustrade out of reach falls under window cleaning, with a pole from the ground and up to 5 metres only.

Three situations, three ways of working.

The villa terrace is generally at ground level, accessible, with a water point nearby. Logistically it is the simplest case, described with the rest of the property on a villa job with external areas.

The riad roof terrace is up high and it governs the drainage of the whole house. We take it on if it is flat, protected and reached by a staircase — the narrow staircase of a riad qualifies. It is done first, before the lower levels; water must be available in the property. The logic is explained on the medina riad page.

The apartment balcony is a small area where water cannot run freely: dirty water is vacuumed up rather than pushed over the edge, on pain of soaking the floor below. It is a point we check before starting, and it is dealt with alongside the apartment unit or a small studio job.

• Outdoor or roof terrace, standard tiles: 10 MAD incl. VAT per m²
• Terrace in another surface, or an unknown one: 30 MAD incl. VAT per m², adjusted once the floor is identified
• Roof terrace: at the same prices, if it is flat, protected and reached by a staircase

A terrace cannot be ordered on its own: it is added to an interior post-construction clean. Nor does it count towards the property's minimum — the top-up is calculated on the interior floors, then the terrace is added. And the condition or furniture supplements apply to the base, terraces included. Two calculations:

• 90 m² apartment in standard tiles: 90 × 20 = 1,800 MAD, top-up to the minimum of 1,400 MAD, so 3,000 MAD; 20 m² tiled terrace: 200 MAD; total 3,200 MAD incl. VAT
• 350 m² villa in standard tiles: 7,000 MAD, top-up of 500 MAD, so 7,500 MAD; 100 m² terrace and 40 m² roof in standard tiles: 140 × 10 = 1,400 MAD, base 8,900 MAD; many marks, +20%: 1,780 MAD; total 10,680 MAD incl. VAT

As for clearing out, we do not do it: rubble, offcuts and items to be thrown away must be removed before we arrive. The general method for this range is on the full post-construction service, the prices on the range price page and our schedule of services. For an estimate, tell us the terrace area and its surface material.