Redbourn is AL3, a village on Watling Street four miles north-west of the city, with Harpenden three miles off and Hemel Hempstead five. The bypass took the through traffic off the High Street in 1984. The prices are the city prices: weekly housework at £23 per cleaner per hour, carpets from £36 a bedroom and a one off deep clean from £186 with two cleaners.
An old village, and old houses in it
St Mary’s Church went up early in the twelfth century, and at the height of the coaching trade on Watling Street the village had at least 25 pubs and inns. If you live in one of the older houses near the High Street or round the common, expect us to ask a few questions when you book. Low beams hold dust and cobweb along every edge. Floors are often out of level. Stairs tend to be narrow and to turn, so the extraction hose is fed up by hand and the machine stays at the bottom.
On a one off deep clean in a house like that, the high dusting gets as much time as the kitchen, because a beamed ceiling looks grubby long before the floor does. Two cleaners for three hours is £186 with the kit included. A cottage kitchen that has not been properly done in years is nearer £238 for four hours.
Stair carpets that turn
A full flight is £41 and a short cottage run counts as small stairs at £29, with £9 for each landing. Winders at the turn take longer than straight treads, but the price stays the same. Our carpet page has the rest of the room list, anything from a £36 bedroom to a £61 through lounge.
The common in summer
Cricket has been played on Redbourn Common since at least the 1740s, and some county histories put it back to 1666. Houses near the common see grass walked in all summer, and a pale hall carpet picks up the green. Fresh grass marks lift with extraction. Ground in and left for weeks, they can leave a faint shadow, so it is worth booking the hall before the season is over rather than after it.
No station, and not much traffic
Redbourn has had no railway since the Nickey Line closed in 1979, and the old track is a path for walkers and cyclists now. For us that means a drive out, and a quieter one since the bypass. Where there is a drive or a space outside, the van parks at the house. If you are on the High Street, tell us, and we will find a space close by.
Weekly and fortnightly housework runs at £23 and £24 per cleaner per hour, three hours at a time. Harpenden has its own page, and everything else is on the home page.
Questions we get asked
Is Redbourn priced the same as the city?
Yes. It is four miles out and nothing is added for the distance. One off work has a £67 minimum, as it does everywhere we go.
How much is a deep clean in an older Redbourn house?
Two cleaners for three hours is £186 with the kit in the price. A beamed cottage with a kitchen that has been let go is closer to £238, which buys a fourth hour, and a third cleaner makes it £264.
Can you clean narrow cottage stairs?
Yes. A full flight is £41, a short run of cottage stairs £29 and each landing £9. Tight turns take longer but cost the same.
Do you do weekly cleaning in the village?
Yes. Weekly visits are £23 per cleaner per hour and fortnightly ones £24, and the shortest visit is three hours, so a weekly three-hour slot is £69.