End of Tenancy Cleaning in Limehouse

We had a second-floor warehouse conversion in one of the buildings overlooking Limehouse Basin — the kind of place where you can see the masts of the marina boats from the living-room window and hear the canal lock operating on a quiet morning. Two bedrooms behind full-height partition walls, one bathroom, and a long open-plan space with the kitchen at the basin end and the living area at the back. A couple — both working in the City, one stop to Bank on the DLR — had been there 2 years at £2,400/month. Franklyn James managing from their Narrow Street office.

Meter parking on a side street. Kit transferred via the communal stairwell — no goods lift in this building, just a wide industrial staircase with metal treads.

The open-plan space ran the length of the flat. About 25ft. Exposed brick on the basin-facing wall — 19th century, darker and more weathered than the Hoxton brick we usually see. Dry-brushed from top to bottom, one section at a time. The mortar was softer than modern pointing, so we worked gently. A couple of marks near the kitchen end — one looked like sauce, one like coffee. Spot-cleaned with a barely-damp cloth. The sauce mark lifted. The coffee left a faint shadow in the brick pore. Photographed it. Same principle as our Hoxton and Belsize Park marble work — porous material absorbs, and what absorbs isn't dirt.

The kitchen occupied the basin end. An integrated oven — Bosch. Door off, glass out, cavity sprayed, 20-minute dwell. One pass. Induction hob in a timber-top island — wiped with glass-specific product on the hob, specialist wood product on the timber. Extractor: ceiling-mounted, filter soaked. The basin-facing window was a large industrial-style frame — soft cloth on the metal, glass cleaned. The sill had a faint moisture film along the bottom edge. Not mould — just the condensation that comes with being 10ft from a body of water. Wiped and noted.

Reclaimed timber floor throughout — wide boards, dark-stained, sealed. Specialist product, barely-damp, working with the grain. The boards had a warmth to them — the kind of floor that gets better with age rather than worse.

Bathroom. Walk-in shower with one large glass panel. Limescale at ~275 ppm, 2 years. Descaler, 10-minute dwell, one pass. Basin and toilet done. Floor: slate tile, pH-neutral mop. The extractor fan was running well — no mould.

Two bedrooms. Both behind full-height partition walls that didn't reach the ceiling — the warehouse ceiling was visible above. Wardrobes wiped inside. Windows cleaned. Same reclaimed timber floors.

Franklyn James came the next morning. Their Narrow Street lettings manager — she knows every conversion around the Basin. Brick: finger-tested on three sections. Coffee shadow: noted, accepted. Timber floor: walked in socks. Kitchen: oven torched, island timber checked. Basin window sill: moisture noted as environmental. Shower panel: angle-tested. Passed.

Deposit back in 7 days. Full return. The couple were moving to a Georgian on the other side of Narrow Street — upgrading within Limehouse. That's what happens here. People arrive for the DLR commute and stay for the water.

The brick and the basin were the details on this job. Older brick, softer mortar, more care needed. And any property overlooking the Basin carries the same moisture signature at the threshold. If that coffee shadow or the sill condensation had been disputed, our photos would have covered both — porous brick absorbs and water creates condensation. Neither is the tenant's fault. Our guide on deposit dispute evidence explains how we document waterside properties.