Building Types

Class A office tower

Leasing-grade appearance standards and tenant hours mean the schedule and the standard of finish matter as much as the cleaning method itself.

What Makes It Different

Appearance is a leasing asset, not a housekeeping line item

Class A office towers are marketed on finish quality — clean glass, a polished lobby, and a well-kept plaza — because those things influence tenant retention and new leasing tours. A soiling level that would be invisible on an industrial building shows up immediately in a lobby photo or a prospective tenant's site visit. That raises the bar on frequency and consistency, and it means the maintenance plan needs to account for leasing events (tours, renewals) as a scheduling input, not just weather and exposure.

Most Class A stock in downtown Vancouver and Metrotown/Burnaby's office nodes is curtain wall or high-performance punched glazing — see our curtain wall guide for the envelope-specific detail that applies here too.

Failure Modes

What actually goes wrong

  • Streaking on lobby-facing glass
    The most visible failure mode — shows up in every tenant tour and every photo of the building.
  • Water spotting from irrigation or window-washing overspray
    Landscaping at the base of the tower is a common, overlooked contributor to ground-floor glass staining.
  • Uneven cleaning cycles across elevations
    A schedule that treats the whole tower as one zone often leaves the leasing-visible elevation under-serviced relative to the rest.
  • Sealant and gasket wear at high-traffic entry points
    Revolving doors and entry vestibules see more wear and need separate attention from the general facade.
Access Strategy

How Class A towers get accessed

Access follows building height and envelope type exactly as described in the curtain wall and access-method pages — swing stage or rope access for the tower, boom lift or ground crew for the podium and entry. What's different for Class A is the premium on minimizing visible disruption: rigging is scheduled to avoid blocking the main entrance during business hours, and drop lines are sequenced away from the building's most photographed elevation during any active leasing campaign.

Frequency

Recommended frequency

Lobby and leasing-visible elevation — quarterly to bi-monthly
Secondary and service elevations — semi-annual
Entry glass and revolving doors — monthly detailing
Plaza and ground-floor hardscape — quarterly pressure washing
Scheduling

Sequencing and tenant impact

Circulate a floor-by-floor schedule 48–72 hours ahead so tenants can flag boardroom conflicts. Avoid scheduling major facade work during active leasing tours or building award events. Coordinate roof or mechanical-floor access for rigging with building operations rather than treating it as a standard maintenance request.

Compliance

What to check before work starts

Current certificate of insurance and WorkSafeBC clearance letter on file with property management
Anchor/davit inspection current within 12 months
Building-specific fall-protection plan reviewed by building operations
Tenant notice process agreed with property management before scheduling
Scope of Work

What to put in the scope

Specify frequency by elevation with the leasing-visible face called out explicitly, entry glass and revolving door detailing as a separate line item with its own (shorter) frequency, a tenant notice protocol, and a condition-reporting requirement so sealant or glazing issues get flagged to the asset manager rather than only the property manager.

FAQ

Common questions

Does Class A really need a shorter cleaning interval than Class B/C office?+

Usually yes, but the driver is leasing and tenant expectation rather than the glass itself soiling faster. A landlord marketing on views and finish quality will get complaints at a soiling level a Class B tenant base wouldn't notice.

Can cleaning happen while tenants are in the office?+

Almost always, since exterior work happens outside the glass line. The exception is boardrooms and executive suites during active meetings, which most property managers flag on a floor schedule circulated in advance.

Who pays for exterior maintenance in a multi-tenant office tower — landlord or tenants?+

Typically the landlord, recovered through operating cost pass-throughs (CAM charges) under the lease, rather than billed to individual tenants directly. Confirm against the specific lease structure for the building.

Get a leasing-grade maintenance plan

Send building class, tenant hours, and glazing type and we'll propose a schedule that protects appearance without disrupting tenants.

Next step

Get a budget number today, or book twenty minutes on site.