To lock my bathroom during renovations in the flat

I'm team "Just tell them what they can't do" but I get why you find it hard to trust them on that.

Can you fill the bath with something that would be inconvenient for them to move? In the name of creating space for them to be able to move around. I guess it depends on the extent to which you also need to be able to live in the flat while the work is being done but it sounds like you don't expect to be there (otherwise you could keep an eye on them, right?)
Maybe a combination of
-Telling them very clearly what you expect "We've just had the bathroom done and it cost an arm and a leg, can I ask that you treat it as an absolute no-go zone for tools and equipment. Please make sure everyone knows that. Do what you like with the sink in the kitchen, I don't care if you use that to mix paint in, haha!"

• Put your own protection in place for floors, maybe some cheap mats or something "Don't worry about these, they are literally just there to protect the floor during the renovations"

• Blocking access to the bath ( "I've put the coffee table and xyz in the bath so at least some things are completely out of your way and you don't have to keep shimmying the curniture around, hope that helps!"

-And finally after they have given you they "christ, you're obsessed about this bathroom" look, drop in casually that you or your partner are likely to drop in for some reason or other during the day. Working a half day, whatever, just so they know that someone will see if they are not respecting your property.

And equally, there are a lot of fabulous tradespeople who work very carefully in people's homes and are very respectful of women.

Please, just give her time to come up with a plausible story. Don’t rush her…

Following to find out where @Hocuspoc went to the toilet for the 10 days when the bathroom was being replaced!

Absolutely 💯

When we’ve had work done we’ve had a portaloo out the front.

BTW many community health care workers have no access to a bathroom as they go about their work. The ones I know use have a map of public toilets and also use facilites in cafes when they grab a coffee etc. it has really interested me to see how many people find this unacceptable for a largely male workforce when it’s absolutely the norm for a largely female one….:

Not to mention the people who think that if these men are not provided with a toilet they will ‘shit in the kitchen sink’ really?

I’ve never experienced anything like this, I’m having some plastering and painting done at the moment and they use buckets out on the patio to wash their brushes etc. could you not just explain that you’ve been badly treated before and would appreciate it if they used buckets for cleaning tools and the bathroom is purely for it’s intended use.

in my experience if you treat workers well and respect that they have a job todo, then they respect you and your property much more.

Then I think that's perfectly fine and your choice. What about shit?

Where do they go to the toilet then?

I had workmen in recently, they didnt wash anything in the bathroom sink other than their hands. No tools were stored in the bath or sink. Everything was covered.

Alhough I did feel kind of awkward having to ask the hot young workman if I could use the toilet, he dutifully moved all their stuff, uncovered it, closed the window, made sure I didn't pee surrounded by dust 😂. Every day it was always him in there when I needed a bloody pee!🤦‍♀️

FFS - why would a professional decorator wash their brushes in your bath/bathroom sink???

Is it just me or does that sound totally bonkers?

We had someone in to paper and paint hallway with high ceiling/walls etc and son's bedroom. He left no mess whatsoever, and certainly didn't even clean brushes/rollers in our house.

We did let him use the bathroom to use the toilet, as he was working a solid 8 to 9 hours each day.

🤣

Omg this thread has triggered every work and renovation man related bathroom memory 😭

I’d rather they piss in the kitchen sink tbh

Client has considered and has decided to keep a dangerous animal in bathroom thus…

Men are dicks though. I work in manufacturing and am so done with shitty ladies loos used by carriers to do their morning crap and them telling me I’m ‘too sensitive’. Bleugh.

Client is one of the parties giving consideration to H&S issues

Cover your bath and sink, with a plastic protector so they can't be used. Problem solved

You want people to piss or shit in your kitchen sink?! I guess if you don't mind that, then go ahead and lock it

Then the onus is on the builder. This isn’t their first rodeo.

Lol at all the optimism here. Recently had my bathroom redone because of massive flood (insurance claim), moved out while they did the works and came home one day unannounced to have a hammer whistle past my head. They were throwing tools down the stairs.

They drilled all the way through a stud wall so the plaster fell off the other side.

They kicked in one of the treads on the stairs.

I actually had to make an insurance claim against my insurance company.

100% sod their feelings. Ask them what their arrangements are for toileting. If they say your flat let them know they need a second option.

There is a statutory requirement under the Construction (Design Management) Regulations 2015 to provide welfare facilities and in a domestic setting that means you need to provide a WC and means to wash hands.

As someone who goes in and out of other people's homes for a living, bathroom access is a non-negotiable for me and if I was expected to work in someone's home all day without access to basic toilet facilities, I would leave and not come back.

Thankfully it's not something I've ever experienced IRL, but MN seems to think it's okay to treat tradesmen etc. like second class citizens for some reason, then they complain when the work takes ages or they're over-charged.

Don't be a dick, OP.

It’s not unreasonable to say don’t use the bathroom for washing tools. I had a stone basin fitted and the painter used it to wash the paint brushes but didn’t clean it afterwards and left paint residue on the basin. It could be cleaned off with a bit of scrubbing but I don’t see why I should have to tidy up after paid professionals - particularly when I have three young children and a husband I pick up after! They are good decorators so I had them back to do more work but this time said you must use the kitchen sink not the bathrooms for washing your brushes, they all agreed and I could tell the senior guy was pretty cross when I pointed out that my bathroom had been used again and there was more paint residue left on the stone basin. Needless to say it was properly cleaned by them by the end of the day. I’ve also caught workmen tipping dirty water with building residue/sand into a brand new Thomas Crapper toilet that’s just been fitted into a beautiful bathroom at great expense. Sigh. I cleaned that all up obviously it wouldn’t have flushed away and if it had it would have clogged our external drains/pipes. But you’ll look unreasonable if they have nowhere to pee so I think you need to have a frank conversation. The cost of a portaloo is probably minor if you’ve got somewhere to put it.

Just tell them not to use the bathroom for their tools. Don't lock it.