To not give builders food

We always give tradespeople acess to drinks and biscuits and tell them where the loo is, these are just basic things. I would hate anyone at my house to feel uncomfortable. My window cleaner also has a drink and a loo break at my house. It's just human decency in my opinion

I’m a gardener who often works on sites for one or more days. Please let them use your loo - particularly if you will use them again! Dust sheets are wonderful and the thin plastic stuff on a roll is mega cheap if you want things left spotless- outdoor work is invariably muddy at the moment!

I keep a mental not of people who have refused loo access - much of my work is rural and miles from the nearest public loo. We’re in a tourist area too, so parking is dreadful. I don’t appreciate climbing fences or peeing in the van bucket 🤢 AND I definitely don’t want to get caught with my ass out!!

Personally, I always bring a kettle etc with me - I have a little gas powered one for ease. Though the offer of a brew is always appreciated.

My favourite job last year was on an extremely hot day where a lovely couple brought out ice lollies!

Are you taking the piss? You seriously expect someone who is working in your house to get in their van and drive to a cafe (where they are not a paying customer) for a pee when you've got a toilet in your house?

I’ve always wondered about the possibility of blacklists. I live in a large village, lots of tradies here but they’re very discreet about who’s a bad customer. They all drink in the same place though so I’m sure they swap stories.

Next door just had new fences and the owners were out all day...everytime I had the kettle on I passed them one over. They were very grateful!

My dads a builder, if people make him tea and give him a biscuit he is a happy man. They do need the toilet sometimes though but will take boots off if you have carpet. Most builders and trades people are just normal people , they dont actually live in caves with no carpets :))) they will often have large or very large and beautiful houses that thry have built several extensions on and so understand about not making your floor dirty. They also love tea and coffee, offer a tea ehen thry get there and see their faces light up :) they also prefer to go to the cafe for lunch so no need to cook. People that don't offer a cup of tea or say, tou can use the loo if you need, well I would say to your face the builders will be very polite but go home to their family and say what a snooty person they worked with today, thinking they are above. Just because they are builders doesnt mean they live in council houses and drink stella. My dad doesnt drink and lives in a huge house in a nice area, building trade is actually quite lucrative and a lot of these guys are smart, well travelled and lovely people. Have a chat with them and offer tea,they will work harder for you :)

When we had builders in for a long time I set them up a little area in the conservatory. I was not going to be a tea maker for them! I bought a cheap small plastic kettle from Argos for them and they had Tupperware boxes of teabags, coffee and sage and some milk. I bought one pack of biscuits week for them. Nothing fancy, just a store brand version of something so biscuits were maybe 55p per week.

I also picked up some cheap mugs from charity shops for them and glad I did because one was knocked over and got chipped.

they didn’t expect it but they did appreciate it. But no way was I going to make 3-4 cups of tea with different sugar amounts etc.

edited to say absolutely do not cook for them! Bacon sandwiches are expensive and daffy. The beauty of setting them up a tea station is that you don’t have to make the drinks!

Husband is being a grump haha I would always look after any workman with drinks and biscuits 😊 just a nice thing to do.

My husband is a builder. He and his employee always come fully prepared with their own flasks, water and food. They don't expect to be offered drinks or biscuits, and would not do a lesser job if they're not offered. Not to say it's not welcome if it is offered though! What the OP is suggesting sounds really nice, but probably not necessary. They would be pissed off not to be able to use the toilet though. Other things which piss them off are: having to work in a garden that's covered in dog poo because the owners never clear up after their dog, and being told they can't start until 9.30 am, or some other late hour. Most builders want to be on site by 7.30 am to get a full day in.

Tradespeople speak to other tradespeople you know, and word gets around about customers to avoid. You'll be top of that list.

What you are suggesting sounds perfectly reasonable & is what I would do.
Your DHs attitude sounds a bit extreme to me.

Oh please, of course not, that's ridiculous. Hot drinks, some biscuits and waters. Done. They're not doing the work for free.

My dad is an ex trades person, he has been making cups of tea for a neighbour's work men for weeks, as she doesn't bother. I think it's normal and very kind to do tea/biscuits. I always would, it's least your can do for someone working in all weathers. (How cold is it btw!? 😪☔️) I think you should do whatever is easiest for you, if the table is easier, go for that.

I set up a drink and food table for council contractors outside my house for three weeks they left their lunch in my fridge days I was home used my microwave and kettle when needed I left biscuits for them and as a single mum got a shed load of jobs done for free evenings and weekends for my kindness recently theyve been clearing the gutters along the rural road I use for the school run so we’ve handed out water on our way home so my daughter is learning the art of human kindness too 😁

I have had various tradesmen in this year during a 3 month adaption to my flat
I kept teas, coffees and biscuits coming at regular intervals and they were all really grateful
As I was having a wet room installed they all had access to my ( only) toilet!

This sounds perfect op.

I would always offer hot and cold drinks to anybody working in/out of my house.

when we had a full house refurb we weren’t living here and they had brought their own kettle etc. but I did pop by with packets of biscuits and a tub of chocolates (it was around Christmas time) on a couple of occasions. It was a long project though and the workers were really nice.

When we had builders in (I worked evenings), I supplied regular tea, coffee and biscuits. I also made sausage sandwiches for before the concrete for the footings arrived and needed barrowing round and then most Fridays during the project.
It took me a couple of days to realise they were peeing in bottles so told them to use the bathroom (only one iupstairs).
Subsequent workmen have been offered varying refreshments depending on the length of the job: the boiler engineer gets offered a hot drink on arrival; the bathroom fitters were offered regular hot drinks and biscuits, as were the drive people; the solar panel fitters were offered a mixture of hot and cold drinks (squash, Pepsi Max) and biscuits and left access when we were away. We don't normally have biscuits in the house so had to get them in especially.
Everyone is told where the downstairs toilet is.

Hot and cold drinks and biscuits are sufficient!

Just drinks in my case, although I did buy some biscuits for the guy who installed our kitchen. He then offered to do the floor for me and came back on the Sunday to do it.

The post was from a tradesman, so straight from the horse’s mouth and he should know! I just don’t believe that most put out veritable banquets for their workmen. It would be expensive and time consuming. Hot and cold drinks and biscuits are sufficient!

Because some aren’t very careful with their aim( bet they are in their own houses, though!) do great smelly dumps and don’t wash their hands! If, like some, you only have one loo, you don’t want them trudging through your house to use it. There is a cafe very near me, and luckily workmen had their lunch there and used the facilities.

It sets you out as basically a nice person if you offer basic drinks/chocolate biscuits/some sort of snackage.

Beyond that though, I wouldn't bother, theres a good chance that what you offer is not to their tastes, half of 'em will be on a diet and off the chocs and whatever anyway, the other half will prefer fresh fodder from Greggs or McDonalds or whatever is near to where they are going to pick up materials etc.

I provided a tin marked 'help yourself' which contained a variety of chocolate biscuits/not chocolate biscuits, and access to a kettle and they could help themselves to milk from the fridge.

The biscuits did disappear, but I don't think anyone made a brew the whole time as Screwfix down the road does free coffee and they all turned up with Stanley cups/thermal mugs. We did buy one lad a McDonalds as we were going anyway and he was the only person on site that day and up to his eyes in something tricky, and that was accepted and meant he could leave an hour earlier.

They were welcome to use the loo as necessary, though I DID insist I was the first to get to use the new loo (fancy wash/dry job), I don't think it was used often though, again they mostly went on their lunch break.

Nor mine thank goodness!

No it isn't. Not at all.

Any workmen coming to my house would have a 12 mile round trip to use a public toilet.

I honestly don't get the angst that some mumsnetters get about other people using their toilet.

We had our kitchen done, took 2 weeks. We had tea/coffee/squash available, biscuits, fruit etc.
I was home once and got them bacon rolls from the café round the corner.

They did a great job, worked hard etc,.and said they appreciated the food. Often they can't even fill water bottle!