After builders cleaning in Prestwich, M25

St Mary's ward is mostly semis and flats. In the census 41.1% of households live in a semi-detached house, 23.8% in a purpose-built block of flats, 17.9% in a terrace and 14.7% in a detached house, and 65.0% own their home. The council tax figures for the area put 37.5% of homes with a recorded build date between 1919 and 1939, more than any other period, with another 16.2% from 1945 to 1972 and only 14.0% from before 1919.

A 1930s semi usually comes to the crew after a rear extension, a new kitchen or a loft. The dust from that work travels up the stairwell and settles on the landing, the banister rail and the tops of the bedroom doors, and it finds the inside of every built-in cupboard. The crew cleans from the top floor down, does the kitchen units inside and out once they are empty and goes round the house a second time before the walk-round. Getting plaster dust out of a home has more on why.

Two conservation areas lie within 800 m of the middle of St Mary's ward: St Mary's, Prestwich and Poppythorn, Prestwich. St Mary's has had extra Article 4 controls on external alterations since 1 October 2009, so new windows, doors or roofs there may need planning permission that would not be needed elsewhere; check with the council before the builder orders them. Inside the same 800 m stand 31 listed buildings, including the Grade I Church of St Mary and the Grade II* monument to John Brooks west of the church.

In an older house the crew wipes original joinery and glass by hand and tests a paint fleck before scraping it. Window cleaning after the builders covers stickers and paint on new glazing, and outside glass is extra and done only where it can be reached safely.