Window cleaning after building work in Marrakech
A new pane scratched during the handover clean cannot be repaired. It is replaced, and the argument about who pays always starts after the floor tiles have gone down.
In short
Window cleaning after building work means removing solid residue — plaster, cement haze, paint spots, silicone, label adhesive and protective film — without scratching new glass. The central action is scraping with a fresh blade, always on generously wetted glass, held at a constant angle and pushed in one direction only. EPUREVA prices it as window cleaning — 75 MAD incl. VAT per window up to 2 m², 150 MAD incl. VAT per patio door up to 4 m², a 400 MAD minimum call-out charge — with a 40% supplement for paint, adhesive, cement or encrusted limescale. Frames and tracks are included.
Six residues, six treatments
A "builders clean of the glazing" does not exist as a single action. It is six separate problems, often present on the same patio door.
- Plaster and render splashes. Porous, they soften with soaking and then lift under the blade. Scraped dry, they roll under the edge and scratch.
- Cement haze. A thin, hard veil, often mistaken for dirt. It needs a longer soak and a gentle mechanical pass.
- Paint spots. Acrylic in drops, solvent-based in fine spray. Solvent-based paint demands a perfectly fresh blade — the smallest nick draws a line.
- Silicone. It does not dissolve in water: it is sheared off flat with a blade, then the remaining film is removed mechanically.
- Factory label adhesive. It has to be softened before removal; pulled off dry it leaves a grey ghost that traps dust for months.
- Protective film. Dealt with separately below: it is the worst of the six.
Protective film left too long in the sun
On a Marrakech site, a factory-applied protective film left for six months behind a south-facing patio door stops being a film: the adhesive bakes, migrates into the pores of the glass, and the plastic carrier tears into shreds the moment you pull at it.
Removal then takes three stages — softening, lifting in narrow strips rather than in one piece, then taking off the adhesive residue by wet scraping. It is the item that most affects how long a handover glazing job takes.
It has no price of its own: adhesive residue falls under the paint, adhesive, cement or encrusted limescale supplement, and a film baked across a whole patio door shows up on the photos, so the time needed is known before the date.
The lesson for a client is one sentence long: protective film comes off before the end of the build, not after. Left through one summer, it costs more than the glazing it was protecting.
Coated glass, the mistake that costs a whole pane
Some recent glazing carries a functional coating on the inner face — solar control, low emissivity, self-cleaning. That coating sits on the glass and it scratches under a blade, however well the blade is handled.
Coated glass is therefore never scraped. It is treated by prolonged soaking and soft contact, more slowly, and the result sometimes has to be accepted as partial. Identifying it means reading the frame marking and testing the reflection in a discreet corner — two minutes that save a patio door several square metres in size.
We check this systematically before any scraping, and we tell you the type of glazing before the work starts. The same principle of checking first applies to floors, described on scraping residue off floors after building work.
Why glass is never scraped dry
This is the rule that separates a finishing glazier from a labourer with a blade, and it has no exceptions.
- Soak the whole pane generously before the blade touches it. Water carries the loosened particles and stops them rolling under the edge.
- Fresh blade, changed the moment it starts catching. A nicked blade draws a continuous, perfectly straight line, instantly visible in raking light.
- Constant, shallow angle, never lifted mid-pass.
- One-way push, never back and forth: a return stroke drags an already loosened particle back under the edge.
- Full rinse with pure water and drying with no wiping.
A scratch made at this stage is permanent: no polishing restores the optics of scratched flat glass. That is the reason for the 40% supplement — not because the glass is dirtier, but because the action allows no second attempt. It is also why we put a caveat in writing: depending on the surface, some marks may remain.
The right moment in the build programme
Handover glazing belongs after the last trade has left, and before the keys change hands: we come in once every tradesman has finished. Done too early it has to be done again: a paint touch-up, a bead of silicone laid the day before handover or a skirting board sanded down is enough to undo all of it.
On a site run by a developer it forms part of the full post-construction clean, where reachable windows are already included: one visit, one team, and a shared checklist signed at handover. On a villa it dovetails with the floor treatment described on the villa page.
High glazing follows the general rule. Up to 3 metres from the ground, nothing changes; between 3 and 5 metres, by pole from the ground, a 25% supplement is added to the 40% one, with feasibility confirmed on photos; above 5 metres we do not do it, having neither a cherry picker nor ropes. The detail is on pole cleaning at height, and the price summary sits on the window cleaning grid.
Window cleaning after building work in Marrakech — prices and what affects them
| Service | Price incl. VAT |
|---|---|
| Paint, adhesive, cement or encrusted limescale supplement on the base, result depends on the surface, some marks may remain | +40% on the base price |
| Window, up to 2 m² whole frame, both sides where reachable, frames and tracks included | 75 MAD incl. VAT per window |
| Patio door, up to 4 m² the sliding door onto the terrace counts as a patio door | 150 MAD incl. VAT per patio door |
| Minimum call-out charge a top-up is added below this amount, before the supplement is worked out | 400 MAD incl. VAT per visit |
Indicative prices incl. VAT, confirmed after photos or a visit.
Our services
Frequently asked questions
How much does window cleaning after building work cost?
The price of ordinary glass — 75 MAD incl. VAT per window up to 2 m², 150 MAD incl. VAT per patio door up to 4 m², a 400 MAD minimum call-out charge — plus a 40% supplement worked out on that base for paint, adhesive, cement or encrusted limescale.
Example: 6 windows and 1 patio door come to 450 + 150 = 600 MAD, plus a 240 MAD supplement, making 840 MAD incl. VAT. The figure is an estimate, confirmed after photos or a visit.
How do you get paint off a window without scratching it?
By soaking the pane generously before anything touches it, then scraping with a fresh blade held at a shallow, constant angle and pushed in one direction, never back and forth. The water carries the loosened particles and stops them rolling under the edge. Scraping dry, or with a nicked blade, draws a permanent line that nothing repairs.
The protective film on my patio doors has been on a year — will it still come off?
Yes, but it is the longest item. The adhesive has baked in the sun and migrated into the pores of the glass, and the carrier tears the moment you pull it.
Removal is done in narrow strips after softening, then the adhesive residue is taken off by wet scraping. It falls under the 40% supplement; show the films on your photos so that the time needed is known before the date.
What is coated glass and why does it change everything?
It is glazing carrying a functional coating on the surface — solar control, low emissivity, self-cleaning. That coating scratches under a blade even when the blade is handled well. Coated glass is therefore never scraped: it is treated by prolonged soaking and soft contact, sometimes with a partial result. We check this before any blade touches the glass and tell you before the work starts.
Should windows be cleaned before or after the works finish?
After the last trade has left, and before the keys change hands: we come in once every tradesman has finished. A paint touch-up, a bead of silicone laid the day before handover or a sanded skirting board is enough to undo glazing done too early. On a managed site this stage forms part of the post-construction clean, with a shared checklist signed at handover.
There is a white haze on my new windows — is that dirt?
Usually it is cement haze: a thin, hard deposit left by mortar splashes and grouting water. It does not come off with ordinary washing and needs prolonged soaking followed by a gentle mechanical pass. If it survives that treatment, the glass was attacked by an acidic product during the build, and the mark is then permanent.
Do you clean frames and tracks as part of the after-works service?
Yes, they are included. They are in fact the heaviest items after a build: tracks collect cutting dust and mortar chips, and frames carry paint spray and masking tape residue. They are ticked separately on the checklist handed over at the end of the visit.