Building Facade Cleaning in Miami, by Drone

Most Miami high-rises finish in 1–3 days depending on facade complexity, and towers above about 18 stories are staged from podiums, setbacks, or the roof, compared to the weeks rope-access or swing-stage crews need once rigging is counted.

Almost never. The drone operates outside the building envelope and the sound at the glass is similar to a window AC unit at 6 feet, quieter than the lawn-care crew most properties already accept. Most cleaning happens during business hours with no interruption to tenant work or condo residents. We provide tenant notice templates for property managers.

Yes. Most of Miami-Dade sits under Class B (MIA), Class D (OPF, TMB), or Class E airspace. Our pilots file LAANC authorizations 24–72 hours in advance, approvals typically return within minutes for our standard cleaning altitudes. We bake LAANC into the project schedule so it doesn't add a delay.

Yes. We routinely clean Miami-Dade buildings ahead of 40-year recertification and Florida SB 4-D Milestone Inspections. Our 4K geotagged photo and video set is what structural engineers expect in the cleaning portion of the inspection record, and recertification jobs get an expanded photo set keyed to the engineer's elevation drawings.

Drone facade cleaning uses a tethered industrial drone, flown by an FAA Part 107 commercial pilot, to apply biodegradable soft-wash detergent and a de-ionized pure-water rinse across the entire building envelope. The pilot, pump, and water tank stay on the ground; the drone reaches every elevation, parapet, sunshade, fin, louver, and recessed soffit without a single anchor, lift, or scaffold leg. Traditional 'facade washing' relies on rope access, swing stages, or boom lifts to put crew at height: drone facade cleaning eliminates the crew-at-height variable entirely, and finishes in 1–3 days instead of weeks.

Glass curtain walls (clear, low-E, ceramic-frit, tinted, mirrored, laminated, low-iron), painted stucco, EIFS / synthetic stucco, GFRC, precast and cast-in-place concrete, brick and mortar, ACM (aluminum composite metal panel), anodized aluminum, painted steel, porcelain rainscreens, terra cotta, coral stone, and architectural signage. Chemistry and dwell time are matched per substrate. What cleans salt haze off mirrored glass is not the same as what lifts mildew streaks off EIFS, and precast efflorescence gets a calcium-safe rinse.

Commercial facades run $0.12–$0.25 per sq ft, fixed price after a free site survey with no minimum charge, and bigger jobs get lower rates, $0.12–$0.20 at 40,000 sq ft and up. Totals follow facade area: $1,200–$2,375 at 10,000 sq ft, $4,800–$8,000 at 40,000 sq ft, $10,364–$20,000 at 100,000 sq ft. That is typically 30–60% less than scaffolding or boom-lift work on the same building, and well below rope access; the savings come from skipping rigging, permits, lift rental, and certified-anchor crew time.

Most facades finish in 1–3 days, and larger towers take a few days longer. Scaffolding and swing-stage crews typically need weeks, much of it spent assembling the rigging before any cleaning begins.

Yes. Low-pressure soft-wash plus 0-TDS pure-water rinse stays well below the impingement threshold for curtain-wall gasket beads, sealant joints, EIFS finish coats, and ACM panel seams. It is safe for low-E, ceramic-frit, tinted, mirrored, and laminated glass, and safer than ground pressure washing for EIFS, which high PSI cracks and delaminates. There is no impact force, no chemical strippers, and no driving water behind cladding: the two biggest risks of pressure washing on glass and EIFS facades are gasket failure and moisture intrusion, and soft-wash eliminates both.

No. Soft-wash chemistry plus pure-water rinse is rated safe for silicone and polyurethane sealants, EPDM and neoprene gaskets, fluoropolymer (Kynar) coil coatings, anodized and powder-coated aluminum, and elastomeric facade paints. There is no chemical attack on coatings and no mechanical erosion of joint sealants, the same workflow used on Class A Brickell glass towers is the workflow on Boca Raton coral-stone HOA buildings.

Yes, and this is where drones materially outperform lifts and rope access. The drone holds position at any elevation and angle, so vertical fins, horizontal sunshades, decorative parapets, illuminated cabinet signs, marquee canopies, porte-cochère soffits, recessed balcony walls, and architectural louvers all get reached without lift extension or rope rigging. These are the surfaces traditional methods skip or undercharge for, and the surfaces where dirt accumulates first.

Almost never. The ground crew sets up in a single parking space or service drive. Spotters maintain a brief perimeter cone zone directly under the active flight only. Pedestrian access, lobby operations, valet, and porte-cochère drop-offs continue normally throughout the project, a critical difference from scaffolding (sidewalk shed for weeks) or boom lifts (closed lane for days).

Yes. There's no swing stage outside windows, no scaffolding in the lobby, no boom lift in the porte-cochère, and no crew over the sidewalk. Tenants get a 48-hour notice, the drone flies one elevation at a time, and occupancy continues. Pre-dawn or evening flights are available for offices and hotels.

Most South Florida municipalities do not require special permits for FAA Part 107 operations on private commercial property. Scaffolding and swing stages routinely require building department permits, ROW (right-of-way) closures, and pedestrian-canopy engineering. Drone facade cleaning skips all three. We handle building-management approvals, certificates of insurance, and FAA LAANC airspace authorization before mobilization.

Yes. Most of urban Miami sits in controlled airspace near MIA. We file LAANC airspace authorization with the FAA before mobilization and carry the certificate on every job site. Our pilots operate under 14 CFR Part 107, with authorizations filed for controlled airspace near MIA, FLL, OPF, TMB, and PBI.

The interval is set at the site survey. Oceanfront properties from Brickell to Hallandale Beach need cleaning most often (salt haze and tropical mildew accumulate fast); coastal-but-not-oceanfront Edgewater, Wynwood, Aventura, and Coconut Grove less often; inland Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Class A office and retail least often. Salt-air corrosion of metal cladding and EIFS staining both accelerate when cycles slip, and most facade warranties require documented maintenance, drone cleaning provides 4K aerial documentation accepted by every major coatings manufacturer.

$2M commercial general liability plus dedicated UAS (drone) aviation liability and hull coverage, workers' comp, and auto. Certificates of insurance naming the building owner, property manager, and HOA or condo board are issued before mobilization, typically within 24 hours of contract, same-day for repeat Miami property management clients.

Yes. Every project includes 4K geotagged aerial footage and elevation-by-elevation photo documentation, delivered to the property manager within 48 hours of completion. Condo boards, HOAs, asset managers, facade-warranty carriers, and commercial GL insurers routinely request and accept this documentation as verification of completed maintenance, and most Miami property managers attach it to the board package or annual condition report.

Choose drone cleaning when the building is over 4 stories, when occupancy can't be disrupted, when the facade is glass/EIFS/painted stucco that high-pressure damages, or when the property sits in dense urban blocks where staging space for a 60–125 ft lift is unavailable. Boom lifts still win on low-rise single-story strips with a flat parking lot and no airspace constraint. Rope access still wins on specific anchor-equipped sealant-replacement jobs where the work requires hands on the surface, not for cleaning.

Yes, and most Miami towers need exactly that. A typical Class A building mixes glass curtain wall, painted EIFS or stucco spandrels, and anodized-aluminum mullions or ACM accents. The drone switches between substrate-matched chemistries without remobilizing. Glass gets a low-E-safe formulation, EIFS gets neutral-pH detergent, metal gets an anodized-safe wash: one mobilization, one COI, one documentation package.

Organic growth (algae, mildew, lichen) comes off completely because the chemistry removes it down to the root. Mineral and metallic staining (rust runoff from railings, efflorescence, oxidation bleed) needs targeted treatment we assess during the survey; heavy staining may need a second pass, which we price into the fixed quote up front. We never use high-PSI to force a stain, which only etches the facade.

No. Soft-wash chemistry plus pure-water rinse is rated safe for 3M and SunTek window films, vinyl signage and decals, painted aluminum railings, fabric balcony screens, and Solarban low-E coatings. The reason is the same on every substrate: chemistry does the work, not pressure. There is no impact force and no abrasion.

Yes, and it usually adds zero cost. While the drone is staged, we extend the cleaning to building signage, channel letters, illuminated cabinet signs, address numerals, marquees, porte-cochère soffits, and street-level lobby glass. Bundling avoids a second mobilization fee or a separate sign-company lift visit, and keeps the entire street view consistent.

We sequence one elevation at a time on a published 48-hour schedule so tenants can clear balcony furniture and close exterior shades. Amenity decks, pools, and rooftop lounges are scheduled around peak hours, and spotters keep a brief cone zone under only the active flight. There is no overhead scaffolding or swing stage above occupied space at any point.

Usually not. The drone and ground pump operate from grade, so no roof access, davit, or window-washing rig is required. We coordinate only on exterior water access and a staging spot for the pump and tank. Operable louvers and outdoor-air intakes near an active elevation are noted in the survey and avoided during application.

Our drones fly in sustained wind up to 15 mph, with gusts up to 25 mph, and in light rain only (the manufacturer's limits). For wind above those limits, heavier rain, or lightning within 10 miles, we reschedule to the next available slot within 48 hours. Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) from FAA, common during presidential travel or major Miami events, get checked daily and flights are rescheduled as needed. There is never a weather-related cancellation fee.

Most commercial GL carriers price scaffolding and boom-lift cleaning at a higher risk tier than drone cleaning because there's no crew at height and no rigging over public sidewalks. We issue a COI naming the building owner, property manager, and HOA/condo board before mobilization, including $2M CGL plus dedicated UAS aviation liability. Property managers routinely report easier annual carrier renewals after switching to drone cleaning.

Drone cleaning is the cheapest, fastest first step in any major facade project. Before a structural engineer or facade consultant photographs the building for 40-year recertification, a thorough clean removes the visual flags (mildew streaks, salt haze, algae stains) that don't reflect actual structural condition but can bias the inspection narrative. Same logic applies pre-sale, clean exteriors directly improve buyer comps and broker photography. We coordinate timing with the engineer or broker so documentation captures the building at its best.

Yes. Most South Florida condominium and HOA reserve studies include a line for 'exterior cleaning' or 'facade maintenance'. Reserve estimates are usually built on scaffolding or rope-access numbers; drone cleaning comes in 30–60% below scaffolding, and further still below rope access, so boards often have meaningful budget room left for additional work in the same year. We provide an itemized proposal in the format your reserve study consultant requires.

A cheap high-pressure facade wash looks clean for a few months, then mildew regrows from surviving roots and sealants begin to show pressure damage. Soft-wash removes growth down to the root so results last far longer, and because there is no coating or sealant damage, the building avoids premature repainting and re-caulking. Over a multi-year maintenance horizon, drone soft-wash is typically the lower total cost, not just the lower-risk option.