Why price is the wrong first filter
A facade cleaning quote is not a commodity price. Two quotes for the same building can differ threefold and both be honest, because they describe different work — different access method, different coverage, different insurance position, different definition of "complete".
Filtering on price first means you have chosen before you understand what you are choosing between. Filter on the five criteria below, then compare price among the contractors that pass.
Criterion 1 — Safety certification and lawful licensing
Ask for, and actually look at:
- Corporate registration. A registered company issuing official invoices, so the contracting entity and the party liable for a claim are unambiguous. Not a borrowed licence, not an individual trading informally.
- Operator licensing. For drone work, the Civil Aeronautics Administration's operator certificates — and, more meaningfully, a capability review approval held by the company, which assesses the organisation's personnel, equipment and operating capability rather than one pilot's certificate.
- Work-at-height certification, where the method involves anyone working at height.
The distinction between company-level approval and individual certification is worth understanding. A single certified pilot tells you about one person. A company-level review tells you about the operation you are actually engaging.
Criterion 2 — Insurance
Two policies matter:
| Cover | Purpose | Level to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Public liability | Third-party injury and property damage | NT$10 million for high-rise facade work |
| Employer's liability | Injury to the operating crew | NT$5 million |
Ask for the policy copies, before contract. Then check three things: the sums insured, the validity dates, and the named insured. A policy that is in a related company's name, or that expired last quarter, is not cover.
It is worth requesting these from every bidder at the same time. Contractors who carry proper cover produce it immediately; the delay itself is informative.
Criterion 3 — Track record
Not a portfolio of photographs — buildings comparable to yours. Cladding material, height, geometry and site constraints all change the job.
Useful questions: How many buildings of this type in the last two years? Can we speak to one of those committees? Has there been an incident, and what happened afterwards?
The last question is the one that separates candid contractors from polished ones. Everyone in this industry long enough has had something go wrong. What they did next is the useful signal.
Criterion 4 — Equipment and technical capability
Ask what the method actually is, and what it means for your building:
- What access method, and does it need a road-occupancy permit or scaffolding?
- What cleaning agent, and is it appropriate for your cladding? Glass, metal, stone and tile have different requirements, and the wrong formulation etches, corrodes or stains.
- Is there a record? Operational video and before-and-after imagery are increasingly standard and should be delivered to you, not just held by the contractor.
- What are the abort thresholds for wind and rain? A contractor who cannot state them does not operate to them.
Criterion 5 — How the quote is constructed
A quote you can compare states:
- The facade area it was calculated from, and how that area was derived
- What proportion of the facade will be treated
- What is included beyond the cleaning: permits, insurance loading, waste-water handling, making good
- What happens if the work is incomplete on inspection — is remediation free, and for how long?
A quote that is a single number with no basis stated is not transparent pricing, however low the number is.
The governance point
For a residential building, the management committee is generally the responsible party for common property maintenance. That makes contractor selection a governance decision, not just a purchasing one.
Two practical consequences:
Minute the basis, not just the choice. "The committee resolved to engage X" is weak. "The committee evaluated three bidders against licensing, insurance, track record, method and quote construction, and resolved to engage X on the following basis" is defensible.
Engaging a contractor does not fully transfer the duty. Where a principal knew of a safety risk and did not require it to be addressed, joint liability can follow. That is why the access method — whether anyone works at height at all — belongs in the committee's decision rather than being left to the contractor.
One suggestion on sequencing
Before commissioning cleaning, it is worth knowing what condition the facade is in. Cleaning restores appearance; it tells you nothing about whether tiles are debonding behind it.
A facade survey first means the cleaning scope is set by what the building needs rather than by what was quoted. We keep diagnosis and treatment separate for exactly this reason — we do not recommend cleaning in order to sell cleaning.
Book an asset assessment or call +886-2-7733-7678.
